I think this is just woefully inaccurate most of the time when used to try to explain quarterbacks who can't perform at a high level in the NFL.
It's not intelligence or necessarily even the ability to process information. It's a skillset. A manner of thinking and seeing. Up to that level, if you've got a good arm, you can afford to see guys come open and hit them with a good pass. The NFL doesn't allow you to do that. Instead, you need to see angles, recognize defensive leverage, anticipate what's going to happen over there based on what's happening over here, then make a split second decision not just to throw, but be able to throw it on time.
It's different, but i would liken it to why everyone can't be a light-out shooter in basketball like I was. Yea, I worked hard on my form and practiced a lot, but plenty of people who put in as much or more work on that than I did still wouldn't have been as good because I just happen to have really good spatial awareness, proprioception and depth perception. It translates to being really good at pool, darts, cornhole and so on. All those types of games that rely on being able to judge distance/angles, I excel at, because my brain works like that. Some people's don't. It doesn't mean they're stupid, it just means they don't have that skillset or innate ability.
I think being an NFL level QB and being able to see the field/game like that is something that you're much more naturally able to do rather than something you can cultivate, which is why you see guys bust out of nowhere. Cause in college, you can still play a high level without it. In the NFL, it's a no-go. It's Jay Cutler vs. Tom Brady really. Jay was a much superior athlete and thrower but Tom Brady just knew the angles, the leverage, the routes, he knew exactly where the ball had to be and when.
