That was the best pass of the day by their QB & they had that one receiver who was really their only go to guy. It was a long throw into the end zone. It was a great route, a great throw & the receiver had possession for the TD, but Gahrar's coverage & tenacious stripping of the ball before the guys hit the ground saved a sure fire TD that would have put have tied the game. It was just a top level play by everyone involved that our guy was able to win.
I was thinking it was 17-10, but I don't remember things as good as I used to. Anyhow it was as big of a big time play all the way around as you'll ever see. I mean people talk about "big time" college sports. It doesn't get any bigger than that. And I might add anyone who watches the way Levi worked the offense in the first half & doesn't see how important he was to this team & the extreme amount of talent, leadership & willingness to take massive shots to allow his receivers time to get open & make plays is just a hater, or blind as a bat. That guy was truly every bit as great a QB as Delhome, or Brian Mitchell ever were. And I'm a huge fan of both those guys.
Levi left no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't have had the season we had without him leading the team with his play and the intangibles he brought to the team! His level of play towards the end of the season just continued to get better and better.
Our SBC brethren are so happy he is gone. Most couldn't understand why some on this site questioned his ability. I know they didn't see all of his games like we did and likely missed some of his errant throws which were head scratchers at times. I chalk most of those up to his inability to see his target well enough to make a more accurate throw. I know some of you will think, there Slickrick goes again, talking about QB height, but you tell me if you can make an accurate throw if you can't see the intended receiver or not see a LB moving underneath or a safety over the top. The really elite passers can throw their receivers open or place the ball where his guy is the only one who can make the catch. They don't do that if they don't have clear, unobstructed line of sight. Being 5'9 or 5'10 isn't going to do you any favors throwing from the pocket. But throwing from the pocket with protection allows the deep throws and explosive plays due to pass accuracy. Rolling out for a guy like Levi opens up the field of vision, but not everyone is accurate throwing on the move. I thought with his running ability, we should have had more RPO plays. We saw more of that toward the end of his career, but not enough for my liking.
We never had the shotgun when I played. We did have a west coast passing offense that our west coach OC brought to Lafayette. We had an 80 series pass play that was extremely difficult to defend and impossible to sack the QB. I say that as the no. 2 QB who always scrimmaged against the no. 1 defense and was never sacked on an 80 series play...three seasons! Also, at 6'0", I never had to find a receiver because I wasn't in the pocket, we had three options, 88 to the right and 89 to left. We typically ran a short comeback route where the wideout ran a 10 yard out, but on this cut back, he angled back toward the LOS and caught the ball 8 yards downfield. The inside receiver ran a seam route or sat on a hook route 8 yards deep. The QB was throwing on his 7th step from under center. We rarely threw the inside route as the outside route was usually open and though it was a longer throw, it was easier because you running the same direction as the throw. Throwing the under route was sometimes, throwing back toward the middle of the field. The seam route was necessary to set up the out route. Pretty simple play, never got sacked. Edit>The third option was not throwing and running it. That didn't happen often, though Roy could have done it a lot if he weren't so worried about not being drafted as a QB. I did it once in a game and scored the go ahead TD against Lamar. That was exciting!
Love that insight and history SlickRick
NGS
My question though, is how much of the throws Levi didn't make were his fault & much was the fault of his receivers? The fact is there were two really consistent guys he could count on to not only run the right route, but get open & catch the ball when they got open. That was Leblanc & Rogers. Lacy & Williams both had mad athletic ability, but couldn't catch a cold sitting on an ice berg. I'm 1000% with you on wanting to see Levi take off more, not only because he was so dangerous, but also because he wouldn't take the pounding he took. But none of that is on him. Other guys & the coaches have responsibilities as well. I know you want to have several guys be able to play. But in some instances, guys weren't ever gonna be able to make plays consistently.
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