Let’s talk...IMO this needs to happen...

malak05

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
267
The best pass rushing team in the ACC came in and did cause some havoc at times on passing plays but I saw several times terrible QB play by completely missing WRs and forcing balls to not open WRs when others were in same line of sight wide open. Graham is a young QB you can expect some up and downs and he's literally the definition of that throughout year he has had periods were everything delivered is way high or just un- catchable and then he will have a stretch were he just drops in perfect deep passes. I'm not so sure he's going to figure that out and ultimately Pitt game was a failure on multiple fronts surprisingly I put the least blame on the O-line that game.
-QB play first and foremost Graham was terrible even when he had time everything was poorly delivered or just missed open guys. LJ came in and LJ made some easy completions good but no true running threat handles reads terribly and when it matters just cracks
-Play-calling was pretty lack-luster as well we had a aggressive pass rushing team and stout up middle run defense but we kept forcing inside runs and never attempted to hit some bubble screens or HB screens at time's to offset that pass rush plus we had few designed outside runs that game-ala outside zone, hb pitches, occasional speed option to attempt to stretch pitts D where their strength was obviously up the middle.
 

malak05

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
267
Jury still out on he seems like a player so far who takes one step forward and one step back and obviously some of that can be attributed to the overall gaps we have on oline but last game was a big glaring black eye it wasn't like he missed a few that he knows he should've made he went thru a stretch there that was just absolutely awful and passes were not even close. That's some mechanical and awareness issues right there that at this point in his season would hope to be seeing less and less of not what he showed. Graham is a QB with the ability and talent to be a productive ACC QB but still someone that's gonna have to grow in several major QB areas to get there and every play counts for him. We haven't seen Yates or Gleason play so far in College but I watch them and I see QBs with good mechanics, awareness, and they both have a knack for making things happen.
 

lv20gt

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,563
As far as transfers go, most likely getting a QB in the transfer market won't make much of a difference. We have big issues both along the OL and in the receiving group, including TEs here, that need to be fixed. I'd argue both of those are bigger issues than QB at the moment. WRs look like they could be a good bit improved with some of the guys we have coming in, including the transfer. OL though will still probably be an issue, hopefully to lesser extents, for the next couple of years. If we magically put a Lamar Jackson or Johnny Manziel on the team next year it might make a significant difference, but those types of players aren't going to transfer to play behind the OL we have with the, at best, unproven receiving group.

Our best chance is for one of Graham/Yates/Gleason to win the job next year, go through the growing pains, and then hopefully in 2021 when the WRs and OL is sorted out to some degree the experience will pay off. It doesn't make much sense to go through these transition years and not get experience for a QB for year 3/year 4.
 

GT_EE78

Banned
Messages
3,605
IMO we need to really comb through the Grad Transfer market for a QB or JUCO ranks. Nothing against James Graham, but with a Grad Transfer(or a QB ala Yates shows up in spring) I can see us winning more games than we have this season. Defense is playing great for the spots they are in. What do y’all think? Go Jackets
That's what we needed before the season started.
 

SteamWhistle

Helluva Engineer
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4,422
Location
Rome, GA
The only Grad transfers we can get have to come from Duke, Stanford Northwestern. And forget Juco because most Juco kids can't get into Tech and hardly any of their classes transfer. Why have so many forgotten that we are an Academic Institution. Calculus Calculus Calculus.
We have Grad transfers on the team right now not from any of those 3 schools.
 

LargeFO

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,168
We can get grad transfers from practically anywhere. That isn't like trying to get a guy to come here from Hargrave or Garden City.
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
17,810
Right now Graham lacks two things that will make him a good passer:

1. Accuracy
2. Ability to see the field.

Accuracy is one of those things you either have it or you don't. You can improve somewhat, but you're not going from 43% (current completion %) to 55% (where Patenaude wants his QBs). IMO, QBs that run offenses like ours need to be in the 60%+ zone. Graham is missing too many easy throws an average QB would make.

Our receivers are getting open. Roll the tape and watch how many of our receivers are actually open, but Graham is either making one or two reads and doesn't know where to go, or he just totally misses open receivers. This is a problem. It can most definitely be inproved with film review and reps, but Graham also has to have the ability to anticipate routes vs coverages.

Right now Graham is a phenomenal athlete playing QB, but I'm personally not sold on Graham being our QB of the future. Between Graham and LJ, those are the best we've got right now and our coaches have to make the best of it. I'd love to see Graham ball out and prove me wrong, and he makes some VERY tantalizing throws, but the consistency just isn't there to project him to be the QB we need.

Joe Hamilton's freshmen season he threw for a 57% completion rate. As bad as we thought he was that year (and the boos did rain down on him), he was at least completing the football enough to keep the chains moving. GT has way too many 3 and outs because other teams are loading the box challenging us to throw, and we just are not making them pay.
 

smokey_wasp

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,486
Dont see an obvious waiver case for Gatewood to us unless I am missing something, so he likely wouldnt help next year. By the following year, I would hope we already have someone.
 

smokey_wasp

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,486
Right now Graham lacks two things that will make him a good passer:

1. Accuracy
2. Ability to see the field.

Accuracy is one of those things you either have it or you don't. You can improve somewhat, but you're not going from 43% (current completion %) to 55% (where Patenaude wants his QBs). IMO, QBs that run offenses like ours need to be in the 60%+ zone. Graham is missing too many easy throws an average QB would make.

Our receivers are getting open. Roll the tape and watch how many of our receivers are actually open, but Graham is either making one or two reads and doesn't know where to go, or he just totally misses open receivers. This is a problem. It can most definitely be inproved with film review and reps, but Graham also has to have the ability to anticipate routes vs coverages.

Right now Graham is a phenomenal athlete playing QB, but I'm personally not sold on Graham being our QB of the future. Between Graham and LJ, those are the best we've got right now and our coaches have to make the best of it. I'd love to see Graham ball out and prove me wrong, and he makes some VERY tantalizing throws, but the consistency just isn't there to project him to be the QB we need.

Joe Hamilton's freshmen season he threw for a 57% completion rate. As bad as we thought he was that year (and the boos did rain down on him), he was at least completing the football enough to keep the chains moving. GT has way too many 3 and outs because other teams are loading the box challenging us to throw, and we just are not making them pay.

These are some solid points and I may have to rethink my stance. The arm talent is enticing, but the accuracy probably cost him P5 offers at QB. And with today's spread offenses, completing <50 % kinda takes some doing.
 

TheFlyest

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
838
The kids a freshman for God’s sake can we let him develop. Hell there’s one freshman and a recruit right after him.
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
17,810
These are some solid points and I may have to rethink my stance. The arm talent is enticing, but the accuracy probably cost him P5 offers at QB. And with today's spread offenses, completing <50 % kinda takes some doing.

Graham throws a beautiful ball, and he has legit P5 arm strength. Throwing the ball well and being a good passer are two totally different things. Right now I'd take a Peyton Manning duck throwing QB that has a high completion percentage.

College OCs and QBs dream of seeing the coverages other teams are giving us. We need to make them pay or defenses will continue to load the box and take away our run game challenging us to beat with the passing game.
 

smokey_wasp

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,486
Graham throws a beautiful ball, and he has legit P5 arm strength. Throwing the ball well and being a good passer are two totally different things. Right now I'd take a Peyton Manning duck throwing QB that has a high completion percentage.

College OCs and QBs dream of seeing the coverages other teams are giving us. We need to make them pay or defenses will continue to load the box and take away our run game challenging us to beat with the passing game.

Probably why Lucas was the expected starter all offseason and why he got into this game and was having success with the short passes. He is at 57 percent this year. But, he is a far inferior runner, which isn't great behind our O-line. So, yeah. No great options.
 
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