Levi Lewis vs Jake Delhomme vs Brian Mitchell (Career)

[fanof71]

Had a flashback to Brian Michell on the LL 50 yard run Sat and his 50 yard touchdown during CCG.

[FeelDaRage]

Had a flashback to Brian Michell on the LL 50 yard run Sat and his 50 yard touchdown during CCG.

How good was Mitchell as a passer? Because looking at his stats it seems he was basically Desormeaux before Desormeaux. Talented athlete and great runner but leaves a lot to be desired as a passer which limits the offense.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Levi Lewis was crazy good at taking care of the ball. I wish Hud,Napier, and Mike could claim it was due to their coaching, and maybe they helped.

I started paying attention to Levi when Destin Cajun, a great RP poster, told me about this outstanding kid from Scotlanville High. He had an almost blemish free senior season. He lost his championship game because of some untimely turnovers.

We signed him a couple months later. Destin and I were drunk with joy at the bash. Guess he recalled that in SBC CG & NOLA Bowl. All those great attributes culminated in the greatest two seasons in football history at UL.

[Bandwagon King]

I don’t think it’s fair to compare them. All played in completely different eras on completely different teams.

I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that Levi is a better thrower than Jake. When Jake was here the defenses could get away with assault on the receivers and QB.

Mitchell was one of the most dynamic players in the history of college football and that translated to the NFL but not as a QB.

They are all great in their own ways and I’m grateful to have been able to watch all 3.

You're right it's not fair. But it's what fans, analysts & talking heads do. They were all great reps of the U. But Levi has not been compared in a very unfavorable light on this board to most of his contemporaries, much less the UL greats of all time. This is an opportunity for those who have grown tired of those comparisons to get a little pay back & for those who think of themselves as objective to give the young man his due based on his performance. And his performance has been amazingly great. As many people as contributed to this special season, his contribution was what mattered most. And he was the difference, especially these last two most important games.

[ULGrad@HOU]

Brian was pretty amazing to watch. This gives a glimpse.

[CajunVic]

Michael Desormeaux was not half bad either, he had 8 times on this list vs Mitchel’s 11 . . .

[Louisiana84]

How good was Mitchell as a passer? Because looking at his stats it seems he was basically Desormeaux before Desormeaux. Talented athlete and great runner but leaves a lot to be desired as a passer which limits the offense.

GOOD. Brian didn’t need his arm to beat you. He was money.

[fanof71]

GOOD. Brian didn’t need his arm to beat you. He was money.

Mitchell WAS the offense....

[DocCajun]

I also think that time-memory bias works against Levi here. Everyone can remember bad throws that Levi made on Saturday night. But looking back on Jake's career 25 years later, those bad throws seem to fade from memory.

This is spot on! Levi will get better and better as time goes on. Wait and watch.

[AirBill]

Levi definitely belongs in that hallowed group of three. I don't think there's any doubt about that any longer. We were lucky to have him as long as we did, and it will be a long time before anyone else wears number 1.

That said, we all know that it's impossible to compare QBs across generations. Not only has the game changed, the preparation and coaching of quarterbacks is light years ahead of what it was in the 80s and early 90s. Imagine how much better of a passer Mitchell and even Delhomme would've been with modern QB camps in high school and college.

Furthermore, I doubt we'd have been able to land Mitchell nowadays. He'd have had his pick of schools willing to play him at QB.

[fanof71]

Brian was pretty amazing to watch. This gives a glimpse.

Perfect example of what some of us were saying about LL..that he was a part of the offense and not the entire offense. He was the consummate point guard at QB...his talents made others better. So much for the opinion of the RPCA

[Hatch]

Just catching up on the thread. I think it should at least be mentioned that Terrance Broadway actually held the combined rushing/passage yards record and Levi didn't break that one until the Liberty game this year. Broadway put that number up in just 2 1/2 seasons.