Just like we had no idea how good we were after the near disaster against Nicholls last year, we will need a few games to see where we really are. Lots of bright spots and some obvious question marks.
OK, name me one program with an elite, pass first QB that is 5'10". Also, are you saying we have an ELITE, pass first QB?
I have absolutely nothing against CF, in fact I believe his leadership is critical for the success of our program. At this time, he looks to have a better arm than LL, but I haven't personally seen enough of him to form a solid opinion. LL did improve his passing accuracy, his final 2 seasons, especially the deep ball so CF has a lot to prove for now. FYI, I've been in Texas the last 2 years and haven't had the opportunity to see any practices and watch CF. He did make a couple of "special" throws Saturday rolling to his right. I wish he would turn upfield a little more when throwing on the run to square his shoulders, easier to do rolling to the right for a right hander. A must-do when rolling to the left for a right hander.
My concern with a short, pocket passer is throwing over the line and have your passes sailing high due to the height of release. Sailing a pass high over the middle is a huge NO NO. Brees released his passes as high as he could to avoid batted balls. Brees is taller than CF. You can't teach height, but you can alter your mechanics to maximize your release point. I said the same thing about Broadway when he first came over from Houston. He was releasing the ball just barely helmet high. I mentioned this to Jay Johnson during a gridiron alumni meeting and said they were working on that very thing. TB wasn't an elite passer, but he was very effective throwing it and was a huge threat running it. When a defense has to include a spy on the QB, that's one less guy in pass coverage. When a dual threat QB is on the move out of the pocket, the DB's are in a difficult situation to pull coverage or stay in their zone or on their man.
If you have an elite, pass first QB with a high release point AND you have great pass blocking you should win a ton of games. If you are an elite program to boot, you can win it all. How many elite programs have this today? Is the guy that won the Heisman last year a pass first QB? Does he have the wheels to keep a spy on him?
Yeah, but I going to go with the 24 teams that offered him to play QB, including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Tx A&M. I think those staffs know a thing or two about evaluating HS players. I see the same thing they saw in him. I know he played the scout team QB last season, so that didn't help him learn our offense. CBN put a premium on protecting the ball and was comfortable with LL and CF so he didn't get the chance to develop within our system. And apparently things didn't click for him this spring. I get it.
We all want to win the SBC championship again, this year, so going with the safe choice at QB is definitely understandable. But remember, LL improved every season and our peers thought he was the difference maker for our program and why we won the championship and 3 west titles in a row. I agree. Sure, we had a good running game that helped our QB, but so did App. BTW, we were 4th in total rushing and App was 5th. CC was 1st! CC was also 2nd in passing offense and 1st overall, and have the best QB in the conference, a dual threat guy....oops! But, against APP, we had the better QB and match-ups and took them down twice last year.
I think LL2 can do the same if given the opportunity and patience. He obviously hasn't convinced our staff that he would be a better option at this point in time. I have no idea what their rationale is because I've been out of state the last couple of years and haven't been at the various meetings I usually attend. But, if our run game isn't effective and we struggle protecting the pocket passer, we will struggle to win games and that could/should open the door for others. Sure, that may be the call for ZC to come off the bench but it could also be LL2's shot, who at least has game experience while playing for Maryland in the Big10. So for those getting on me about LL2, this is my opinion. I could care less what you think cuz we all have opinions, just like we all have _______s.
LL2 dressed Saturday, had receiver gloves on...lets see what group he warms up with Saturday...
My opinion, when the offense is primarily designed around the ability of a QB to run, at our level, it will fail.
Pass first QB’s who have the ability to extend a play or scramble for a first down will always be more effective. A QB’s ability to dissect a defense and make timely and accurate throws is infinitely more valuable than a QB who can make some throws but can run.
So I’m watching the game again for the 4th maybe 5th time and I’m still finding new numbers on the field. We put like half the roster out there. I mean 65-70 players. Anybody know the participation numbers??
There are currently 2 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)