WR

[kmc165]

Why is it each receiver on our team has 1 or 2 good plays a game and then doesn’t make a good play again for the rest of the game? It seems we have no reliable receiver, even Vele.

[Larry B]

I don’t feel like our coaches give receivers many chances to make big plays. Look at the second half yesterday, Barnes throws and completes two long passes to begin the second half and then we get a heavy dose of run the rest of the way. It’s like Whitt felt like he gambled and won on those two long passes and then decided to walk away from the table.

[The Miami Ute]

I agree. That and the fact that Utah was always ahead by double figures in the second half. There’s no need to gamble if your running game is consistent and you’re ahead.

[RoboUte]

Because we don’t pass and when we do our QB isn’t very good.

[Yergensen]

Munir McClain has played in 2 games this season, his stat line: 4 targets, 4 receptions 131 yds or 33 yds per catch. He’s a playmaker.

Other coordinators would design and call plays his way. But Whit and Ludwig value defense, ball and clock control.

[bopahull]

that’s pretty much why we are 5-1 and not 1-5 right now. I hope our offense really starts to click. Barnes did yeoman work out there today, but I still don’t think he is a P5 QB.

[2008 National Champ]

define P5 QB

[bopahull]

Power 5 conference #1 QB. Barnes did a heck of a job extending plays with his feet but he takes far too long finding receivers. The O line often gave him 4 or 5 or 6 seconds before breaking down. On most of his pass plays I could see open receivers early but he waited too long and then they weren’t. He needs to make reads quicker and be more decisive.
Don’t get me wrong, I was happy and relieved at the offense we had today. It was by far the best this season. Do you think this offense as it was today will fair this well against Oregon or Washington? 34 points might well be enough to beat those teams with our defense, but is this offense capable of generating this many points against those teams?

[Charlie]

I saw that as well. Not surprising for someone with few starts and in and out of games. Good news, Barnes is at the early point where game to game can see good improvement. Hopefully he can build some rhythm.

[2008 National Champ]

There are a lot of P5 QB’s out there and I’d say Barnes is about average. He’s actually pretty good at avoiding the rush and has done a decent job of picking up yards when the opportunity is there. He doesn’t have a classic running style so he looks slower than I think he actually is. And I agree that I would like him to decide where he’s going with the ball sooner, especially on his hot reads. I like that he is willing to throw the 50/50 ball like he did to McClain that I’m not sure a lot of P5 QB’s would or could.

At the same time, we just watched the CAL kid everyone was so excited about continually miss open receivers in the quick passing game. We see P5 QB’s every week that don’t deal with pressure well, can’t go through their progressions, or can’t deliver the ball on time with any regularity.

The only reason I asked is because there is such a big range in what P5 QB’s bring to the table. If you were only referring to the upper crust, then no, Barnes isn’t in that class right now and may never get there. But there’s also a lot of pretty bad QB’s in the P5 that I wouldn’t take over Barnes. He’s easily as good or better than Nolan or Galbraith were at OSU last year and they won 10 games with them.

[bopahull]

Unfortunately, I think to get to where we all hoped this team could be, it is very difficult with at best slightly below average power 5 QB as our starter. That is probably OK short term, but I had high hopes for this team and I don’t think Barnes (as tough a man as he is) is going to get us there. I hope he proves me wrong if he continues to be our starter for the rest of the season.

[2008 National Champ]

I think back to the 2000 NFL season when Baltimore had an incredible defense and was able to win the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at QB. Dilfer had 12 TD’s and 11 Int’s, didn’t complete 60% of his passes. And yet Baltimore won all of their playoff games by multiple scores.

2023 Utah doesn’t need Penix, Williams, etc to win games. They just need someone who can run the offense Ludwig calls without making major mistakes. It doesn’t even have to look pretty. It just has to get done and I don’t see anyone else on the Utah roster capable of doing so at the moment.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I agree. I thought Parks would be money this year. Plus adding Pittman and Matthews would help.

Parks dropped a couple against OSU and has disappeared. Pittman has been a no show. Only Matthews has stepped up.

I think it’s safe to say we won’t be WR U anytime soon.

[Charlie]

Pittman was always a long shot to see if his health would hold up.

[Author]

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