stbone

A lot of these kids are going to find out the hard way that for every success in the transfer portal, there are 10 Dorian Singers.

When we are discussing QB development, I think we hugely mischaracterize success rates in developing QBs. At the end of the day, high-level QB play is so valuable because it is so rare. QB success is nearly impossible to scout because it ultimately comes down to a weird mixture of experiences, character, physical ability, mental ability, and…[Read more]

I think CFB is trying to convince me that they are the WWF.

Also, if Wash. had played Whitt ball, this game would be over. Passing on 3rd and goal instead of running to waste time is Atlanta-Falcons against the Patriots in the Super Bowl level of stupid.

Seeing Aaron Rodgers recovery, makes me wonder … maybe Cam’s initial timeline was accurate. Also makes me wonder what treatment decisions weren’t made that impacted the recovery timeline.

It doesn’t really matter why he didn’t stay healthy, fact is, he didn’t. And, when he finally was healthy at the bowl game, he was reinjured in short order. RB is a position where durability is one of the top attributes. If you are a RB that can’t stay healthy, you aren’t that much of a RB. JJ’s career is pretty comparable to Luke Staley’s.…[Read more]

I love balance (the 2021 offense was almost perfectly balanced average 216.8 rushing yards per game and 214.3 passing yards per game). I think, without Kuithe, we have the WR talent to recreate the 2021 offense.

Who did we have in 2021 that could create a big play downfield? (Dixon?) With healthy Kuithe, we have the passing pieces to be better…[Read more]

I agree that we should should strengthen our weaknesses and push to improve at every position. That said, we don’t need to be the greatest show on turf to be a top team. If we recreate the 2021 offense (average approximately 400 total yards per game with an even split between running and passing), we will be an incredible team. We were one…[Read more]

I love WRs as much as the next person, but I don’t think we need a dominant WR to be successful. In our offense, what we need are receivers that force LBs to read every play and that keep safeties from being parked in the box. If we do those two things, then our running game will be successful and we will be able to move the ball consistently and…[Read more]

The NFL used to have traditions as well. Many of these were fan started/propagated traditions. Things like the Barrel-man in Denver, Raider Nation, or the Dawg Pound. All of these traditions either died or were hollowed out as the NFL was corporatized and as the blue-collar fans were priced out in exchange for more corporate boxes.

If college…[Read more]

It seems like Nate Johnson believes that development is synonymous with playing time. He also seems to have an inaccurate view of his performance when he did get game reps.

Most of the credit should go to Morgan, but it seems like Ludwig should get credit for creating conservative game plans that got the most out of BB and NJ while minimizing mistakes. However, we probably disagree with what NJ and BB had to offer. From what I saw, BB has not yet developed the ability to quickly process the game and is not…[Read more]

You are mistaking hyperbole for a presumption, but it appears as if you are presuming that the short leash is holding BB and NJ back, and but for the short leash, they would be far superior to what they currently are. As evidence, you are pointing to an example of a cherry-picked backup, but for every Staub or Fifita, I can point to 10 backups…[Read more]

Assuming you are correct and they were given the play and had very few options, their limitations prevented them from receiving more latitude. In other words, if they couldn’t even reliably execute under the simplest conditions, it is a fools errand to think they could would have executed better if we placed more demands on them.

It wasn’t the…[Read more]

Following your argument, you are saying we need to expect bad results in order to let a quarterback develop. While there is some truth to that, good development involves giving your quarterback a short leash (or as some would say, a simplified playbook) until they demonstrate mastery of that. As they demonstrate mastery, you expand the…[Read more]

Your take is way off base.

The problem isn’t that Johnson doesn’t know the system or that the system is too complex. The problem is that Johnson can’t process with any pressure and is one of the least accurate passers in recent memory. Reading the report of his performance at the Elite 11, you can see that his problems pre-date Utah. Blaming…[Read more]

It isn’t just familiarity that makes me less excited for the Big12.

At the end of the day, I don’t think there is any win in the Big12 that will reliably draw national attention and improve Utah’s standing. Saying this another way, without OU and Texas, there is NO big stage in the Big12. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be tough teams and big…[Read more]

I have never understood why speed translates differently to the field for some players vs. others. For example, Clark Phillips ran a 4.5 40 at the combine, but was frequently catching people from behind and closing on receivers. Other players have fast 40 times, but it doesn’t translate to their game play.

I 100% agree that speed is important (it…[Read more]

There were a couple of times that our rush was a fraction of a second from getting home to Nix (for example, play 4 of successful Oregon pass plays from the link). A separate observation is that we are known for playing press-man with our corners, but I am not seeing that as much as in the past. The fact that the rush is almost, but not quite…[Read more]

Vele was about as open as you can hope for, with his man trailing and to the inside. With Vele about on the hash, there is loads of space to the sideline to work with. A good throw, and there is no chance of interception.

McCLain was almost certainly open on the play. The Safety was playing with inside leverage and no outside defender.