End of a QB Era

[Anonymous]

Travis Wilson took us as far as he could. Honestly, I thought the coaching staff did a damn fine job with him. He came with serious flaws in his mechanics and poor decision making which persisted through out his career. Like Shaquile O’neal’s horrible free throw shooting, there are some motion mechanic things you just can’t coach up or out. It becomes muscle memory and it’s near impossible to change. Travis Wilson is one of those and he is not alone.

I’ll give Travis Wilson credit for his ability on the read option run. It is the one area of reading defenses that he has a good handle on.

What I never understood was Travis refusing to stand in the pocket. He was always too quick to leave the pocket and once he was on the run trying to throw, he was basically worthless. This is a kid who would risk life and limb for an extra yard at the end of a run, but he was deathly afraid to stand In the pocket and risk getting hit.

He took us as far as he could. It was an exciting year. It could have been better, much better.

[Tony (admin)]

Yes agree @westslopecutthroat with your comments. He’s a good kid and has guts beyond what any of us could probably imagine. There were some basic things he never seemed to figure out, like stepping up in the pocket and letting the rush go by or getting rid of the ball instead of taking a sack.

While we might think the UCLA game was lost because of his lack of QB skills, there are certainly many games we won because of his running skills, like the Michigan game.

[UtahSig]

Well said. I am really hopefully we can see an improvement at the QB position next year, but I am not going to bag on Travis. He has given his all for this team, but like everyone he has his limitations.

I am really hopeful we see PAC 12 level talent on the field next year at QB and WR.

[Anonymous]

I think come November 2016 we might be missing Wilson. Just my opinion though. Utah’s wideouts don’t get separation at all either so it isn’t all on Wilson. BUT that interception called back in the first quarter was just awful guy sat on the route and he was covered made no sense.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the receivers were not getting much separation, but that’s where a real accurate QB can throw the receivers open. Josh Rosen was doing that on his first two drives. He is very accurate when given the time.

Yes we need to improve at the receiver position, but the good ones are going to come until we improve at the QB position. I’m hoping this Troy Williams kid is the answer but he only has two to play two so he is unlikely to draw a bunch of good receivers to Utah.

I forgot about that INT that was called back. I had a great view of the play and that was a pass that should have never been throw and it was behind the receiver, which is pretty typical. We got bailed out on the penalty.

I noticed that they corrected Joe Williams from first to second half. He was trying to beat the defense to the sides with his speed, but UCLA was just too fast. They had him turning up field more in the second half and he got better results.

The defense really adjusted well after the first quarter. They started to get some pressure and hits on Roaen. But the best defense was keeping Rosen off the field and Utah was doing that for long stretches with the run game. They just did not put up a lot of points for that effort.

[Anonymous]

Well, next year will be a rebuild. New QB, probably Troy Williams. Need a whole new set of PAC 12 level receivers. Defense will need to be rebuilt. Think I’ll be doing a bit more fishing next year during the season.

[Tony (admin)]

Regarding our receivers not getting separation… Was the Arizona receiver who caught the winning pass in double OT open? Sometimes it’s about the player’s desire. In the pac-12 with the speed every team has, I just don’t think we are going to see our receivers THAT open. The passes have to be on the money. Patterns and routes run well, and the QB needs to hit the right spot, not behind, high, low, or to the linebacker.

[Anonymous]

Tony, you nailed it. On the first two drives, Rosen was deadly accurate. You can tell he has the mechanics and precision of a tennis player. Imagine what it takes in terms of footwork and stroke to hit a passing shot down the line while running it down. Lot of stuff going on to make that and Josh has it. Wilson is not even close. I swear he skipped a pass or two off the shoulder pads of a defender. Where we needed a quick pass play on second and goal to thwart the D stacked for a run, we didn’t have the QB to pull it off.

[Anonymous]

Rosen had some wide open guys at times. They would get key first downs watch the game again.

I can think of two or three Rosen dropped in to tight coverage. I can think of a few he messed up and nearly had picked to.

[Author]

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