Excellent article comparing Justin Thomas & Tracy Ham

Skeptic

Helluva Engineer
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tech_wreck47 said:
http://yellowjackedup.com/2015/06/2...arisons-to-tracy-ham-fair-part-2-differences/

And part two is in.
Click to expand...
I was surprised to find the one observer quoted -- and one is not a good sample size obviously -- say that Thomas throws better than Ham. All I have to go on is YouTube, but Ham could flat out wing it, and do it in tight windows. Running and passing to the left there is no comparison, or at least to me. Ham was very good. I'd like to see some others who saw Ham check in, or those better at analyzing some often grainy film from the '80s. That being said I'd take either in this offense and not feel discounted. I think the observers comments on Johnson were on the money, at least from similar things I have read since at GT. Competitively, the guy wastes no time feeling sorry for himself and won't let the team when a player goes down. Whether Nesbitt to a broken arm or two top Bbacks to knee injuries, or Snoddy and Smelter, it is get over it, and next man up.
 
TheGridironGeek

TheGridironGeek

Jolly Good Fellow
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Skeptic said:
I was surprised to find the one observer quoted -- and one is not a good sample size obviously -- say that Thomas throws better than Ham. All I have to go on is YouTube, but Ham could flat out wing it, and do it in tight windows. Running and passing to the left there is no comparison, or at least to me. Ham was very good. I'd like to see some others who saw Ham check in, or those better at analyzing some often grainy film from the '80s. That being said I'd take either in this offense and not feel discounted. I think the observers comments on Johnson were on the money, at least from similar things I have read since at GT. Competitively, the guy wastes no time feeling sorry for himself and won't let the team when a player goes down. Whether Nesbitt to a broken arm or two top Bbacks to knee injuries, or Snoddy and Smelter, it is get over it, and next man up.
Click to expand...

I always think careful observers of a team -- that is position coaches, beat writers, teammates and so on -- often have a more slanted picture of what a player can do than a small # of smart fans and scouts. Reason being, the former group sees a player practice every day. For instance, there were probably Vikings linemen who wondered how Fran Tarkenton was ever sacked once, in his entire NFL career, since they had to chase him around at practice.

This "jellyfish" deception (worse as you get closer) isn't as bad for most positions as it is for QB. Thomas is probably a better practice passer than Ham, who was probably one of those QBs who makes 4 or 5 breath-taking, game-changing throws in an outing and is otherwise hit or miss with his throws.

It's possible for a QB to be "effectively wild" (and I think this cuts to the heart of some of our past disagreements) if he is smart with where the ball is going. Wild, leading-angle throws into the ground are rarely intercepted. A lot of perfectly thrown balls are. An option QB is asked to flip the field with his arm, not rack up nice %'s between the 20's. No spread-option coach ever said, "I feel we would have won a championship last year, if it wasn't for that sub-50% completion stat in Week 4."

Most of JT's misses are due to bad communication or defensive hurries. He throws a very catchable, accurate mid-range pass and has had flashes of brilliance with the deep ball. I'm excited to see what a year under his belt reading D1 defenses will bring.
 
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