Van Pelt, who broke Dan Marino's all-time passing record at the University of Pittsburgh and backed up Jim Kelly for years with the Bills, has a deep bag of Hall-of-Fame pedigree and he dug into it this season to help Finley with that footwork. They've been watching Aaron Rodgers tape because, for one thing, there is reams of it. During his stint as Packers quarterbacks coach, Van Pelt become the A-Rod whisperer, helping him to the 2014 NFL MVP and two years later helping him match Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in history to throw more than 600 passes with seven or fewer interceptions.
When Van Pelt left Green Bay to come to Cincinnati before last season as one of Marvin Lewis' best hires, Rodgers and PackersNation were none too happy as the state of Wisconsin lurched into Breaking News mode. Van Pelt arrived with his best foot forward. Which turned out to be the left foot.
Left foot forward. That's where Rodgers has his foot in the shot-gun stance behind center. Van Pelt has done it all three ways. With the feet even. With the right foot in front. Now after working with Rodgers, he's a left foot forward guy. He converted Andy Dalton last year and it's one of the reasons Finley needed time to adjust when Van Pelt got him started this year.
"I did it with Aaron in Green Bay. I really took it from him. Tom Brady has taken it from him," Van Pelt said. "Obviously I believe in it now. I've seen it live and I've coached it, too. I see the benefits in it. For a young guy it's hard to first get that. (Finley) was right foot forward. Complete change. It takes some time. He's gotten ten times better."
Van Pelt says it's like learning to throw with the other hand, which may explain some of Finley's spring passes. Dalton agrees. There's no question the left foot is the way to go.
"It gives you more rhythm in the pass game. Especially the quick game," Van Pelt said. "Less mechanical. More rhythmic. It's more like a little dance step as opposed to just a big heavy step. The rhythm is very important in the passing game. That's his game. The more he can play in rhythm with his feet, then he'll be more accurate."