Jeff Sims Preseason Love

[JacketFan137]

And no wonder. He was a QB first and foremost. One of the could-have-beens of the 2019 season is what would the team have turned out as if Graham hadn't been hurt and the OL had been able to put a consistent 5 on the field. Here's what it could have been:



True, that wasn't a very good NCSU team; they went 4 - 8. But if Graham had been healthy, imho, we would have won a couple more games, at least. He would have been murder in the spread.

As for Sims: I keep saying it so I'll say it again. He needs to run more. The one game we've played where he has run the ball enough to keep opposing Ds honest - UNC in 21 - he was lights-out. I hope Long sees that and that a certaIn head coach we know lets him alone to act on it. If so, I see better results for both Tech and Sims. Provided the OL jells, that is. This season is all on Key.

i’m not sure if what you said about graham is really true. if he was capable of being a good QB at this level i think he would be a QB at southern. he’s moved to WR now. i’m not sure if qb was ever in the cards for him after we moved away from the option

 

[JacketFan137]

I'm worried about who our quarterbacks are going to throw the ball to. Adonias Sanders is gone. He saved us in the Duke game. Not hearing much about BlackStrain and my understanding is Blackburn has been injured. That's two 4 star guys.

adonicas sanders really didn’t contribute a whole lot if you look at the games. he was big for duke but absent entirely from many games. definitely a lot of unknown with our returning and new pass catchers but sanders is the definition of a replaceable asset

i’m interested to see if we get any looks for DJ moore. he was an under recruited player who’s film looked a lot better than his ranking imo. would not be surprised if he’s on the field a good bit as a true freshman

 

[takethepoints]

i’m not sure if what you said about graham is really true. if he was capable of being a good QB at this level i think he would be a QB at southern. he’s moved to WR now. i’m not sure if qb was ever in the cards for him after we moved away from the option

Well, we won against a favored NCSU with him at QB and looked better then we had all year in the process. But you are right: Graham was recruited as a spread option QB and he would have been dynamite in that O. Sims would have had a year to develop too boot. And I have no doubt he would have beaten Graham out eventually.

Btw, if you ever have the time look at Graham's junior year in high school at Fitzgerald. He threw for 1725 and ran for 956, accounting for 39(!!) TDs. He was a four star with many rivals after him too, just like Sims. Too bad he never got the opportunity he was recruited for. See this:

https://247sports.com/Video/Junior-Highlights-5239040/

When I saw this I thought we'd win the Natty when he was a junior. That's the best QB highlight film I've ever seen.

 

[bobongo]

I'm worried about who our quarterbacks are going to throw the ball to. Adonias Sanders is gone. He saved us in the Duke game. Not hearing much about BlackStrain and my understanding is Blackburn has been injured. That's two 4 star guys.

Adonicas was really developing nicely. Made some nice catches, especially the one that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Dukies.
I was looking forward to seeing what he could do this year before he transferred out. Malichi Carter's still around. 37 catches last year. He can help us out.

 

[bobongo]

I would until he and the team prove we can effectively pass. It is a team game though and no QB throws well running for his life within two seconds of the snap to receivers who are well covered.

That was one problem. The other was that when he did have time to throw, the ball was habitually late arriving. Hopefully he'll have better timing this year with improved coaching (and another year under his belt).

 

[Oakland]

adonicas sanders really didn’t contribute a whole lot if you look at the games. he was big for duke but absent entirely from many games. definitely a lot of unknown with our returning and new pass catchers but sanders is the definition of a replaceable asset

i’m interested to see if we get any looks for DJ moore. he was an under recruited player who’s film looked a lot better than his ranking imo. would not be surprised if he’s on the field a good bit as a true freshman

We lost three of our top receivers. Gibbs (Portal) and McGowan to graduation. Last year's leading receiver, Michael Carter is still there. Sanders was the fourth leading receiver. I was hoping the two other guys I mentioned would be tearing up the field. Hopefully someone will emerge as a receiving threat for us.

 

[GTBandman]

If our new QB coach has Sims looking at someone else and not staring down where he will throw it - we will be much better and I expect a big year with fewer turnovers. He has enough physical ability to be successful.

 

[iceeater1969]

We lost three of our top receivers. Gibbs (Portal) and McGowan to graduation. Last year's leading receiver, Michael Carter is still there. Sanders was the fourth leading receiver. I was hoping the two other guys I mentioned would be tearing up the field. Hopefully someone will emerge as a receiving threat for us.

#1 would be a nice thing.
Can't gt have nice things?
suprise

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

<this is me thinking about what you just said out loud>

The running game is ready to go if the OL gets on track.
The passing game--well, there were some issues with the receivers. We've seen flashes, and if they play like they're capable, then we have a very good WR unit. Some of that depends on the QB (prob Sims) playing better and getting the receivers feeling like the ball is coming their way.

The OL isn't quite the one missing ingredient on offense--QB and WR play could be better--but it's close enough to say that we're good OL play from being good on offense.

--
On defense, we could get a lot better if interior DL plays better, if we get better LB play, and if we get better secondary play. I think any of those units improving could make a difference, but we're 3 ingredients away on defense.

--
So, I think the OL getting well probably fixes more other things than any other unit improvement. I could say it's the biggest thing. I don't think the other units like interior DL, LB, and DBs are that far behind in how big a difference they could make.

I'd be massively impressed if our LB unit stepped up, though--and that could be huge. Same with our other defensive units.

I'll take any of the units improving and would love for ALL to improve.

Every team in America except for Rice, Tulane, and Duke are all playing the "IF" game. One "IF" is good. Two IFs can be overcome. Three IFs are always problematic and more than three IFs usually end up being too much for teams to handle. I see us with about 5 IFs.

 

[JacketFan137]

Every team in America except for Rice, Tulane, and Duke are all playing the "IF" game. One "IF" is good. Two IFs can be overcome. Three IFs are always problematic and more than three IFs usually end up being too much for teams to handle. I see us with about 5 IFs.

just making up metrics at this point cmon now