Good. I was not meaning to imply there was no drop off after he went out. When I look at those drive stats, what is so different than has happened to us the last two games with lesser players? We have given up first down conversions and penetration into our end of the field but not many points. We will never know what would have happened if he had stayed in, but I reject the notion that, automatically, there would have been a ton of scores. I do acknowledge, however, that Stoudt did not seem ready to play when he went in.
BTW, didn't we sack him in his first series and cause a 3 and out?
First series...
1. Clemsoning from the start... a first play QB draw. PJ spied on him and wrapped low for no gain.
2. Roll left, overthrow to scott. Announcers assume the clemsoning is due to watson's busted hand.
3. Full house blitz, checks down hot to gallman in the flat, jamal golden wraps at the catch.
I am sorta mystified about how bend-but-don't-break works, but I know that when the field shortens there is more traffic in the dink 'n screen 'n draw alleys, so it helps to have something else working. At risk of being lumped in with the rock rubbers, I do think Watson is "something else" when healthy. He can bust contain, is a dangerous option keep threat and can fit tight redzone windows. The teams we've played so far didn't have that threat in the red zone. Towles could do the run and keep part, but if the mercer and vandy qbs were to roll into the teeth of the D, it'd be more threatening to their health than the D.
I don't mean to say that automatically tons of points would be scored, but I do agree with you that Stoudt looked like he wasn't ready. IIRC, he looked a lot more comfortable later in the year when the gameplan was better suited (or the pressure was off).
As a total aside, the tape reminded me of how consistently Jamal Golden found right place. He also seems like a good guy. Hope he can carve out a career in the NFL.
