Drawing

I've often wondered about the correlation between drawing and 3D animation. I've heard so many people say so many different things - the traditionalists swear by it, and I hear some people even draw out every frame before they even think of taking it to a computer. I've also heard some people say that the best 3D animators they've seen have never even had to pick up a pencil. I don't know which camp to believe. I've mentioned that I can't draw, and I consider it one of my biggest professional faults. I plan on remedying it regardless, but I often wonder how much good it'll do.
I can see it being valuable in the prototyping stage, especially when expressing my ideas to others. I remember one time at Crystal I was animating a creature whose movement we were still trying to define - our director asked me to do some quick sketches of how I thought the movement might progress, but I couldn't. It was a horrible feeling.
I still find that when I get to a computer, though, the ideas just flow, even without penciled prototypes. I'm generally able to find poses I like and create the motions I imagine, without the aid of a paper and pencil. Still, I think if I want to progress from my current skill level, to give my animation the detail I want to achieve, I need to take this step. At the very least, I need to get proficient at quick sketching - capturing the main ideas behind what I'm thinking in a very quick pose sketches.