Putting 412 years on Duke was nice but I think the best stat line of the night from our offense was TOP... 39:27 to 20:33... that is fantastic. Yes, our defense helped out with getting a lot of 3 and outs for us; but the screens and chunk runs allowed us to milk the clock a bit. I'd LOVE to see us put 500+ yards of offense of UNCheat and hopefully give up less than 200 on defense!
Correct, BUT…in spite of that we trailed late inthe 3rd quarter. Had we not rallied for a dominant 4th quarter (something we were unable to do in our 2 losses) we would have lost this game. Therein lies the problem.
I’m certain that’s it, but my question is, “what changed?” We had a lot more looks late last year and brought basically everyone back. It’s just strange…injuries must be playing a part
I’m sure injuries have taken their toll. Brent also mentioned in his post game press conference that they realized they had sort of gotten in a “phone booth”, his words, when talking about the play calling/overall playing the offense. We stopped using the whole field which we did a much better job of over the latter half of the year.
Key is honest.
The idea of a hand injury makes some sense to me. Key wouldn’t want to advertise this, if true. Not only have we reduced the mid-range passes, we saw HK sail some passes Saturday night…something I don’t recall him doing in the past (the sequence in the 2nd quarter when we got inside the 10 but he missed 2 passes in a row comes to mind). I am sure HK is superior in his reads and decision making, so the thought of replacing him with another QB is a no-go. So….this idea may be true.
TFP was clinically delusional about impact of talented skill players ( going to be elite nfl) , but underestimated the need for offensive line. He imagined stuff.
STOCKTON ONE TARGET
If he does have a hand injury and inaccurate throws are likely, it explains why we are reluctant to hrow intermediate passes in the middle of the field for fear of interception. That throw 5 feet over the wide open receiver's head in the end zone tells me something definitely is wrong. I disagree with eliminating this part of your offense by not trying a backup QB for a series or two if the hand injury is true. Pyron showed he can win games in 2022 and should be improved. The offense we are playing now can win games against teams like Duke and UNC but will not be successful against ND, Miami, and the leg humpers, IMPO.
Think Clemson’s Hunter Renfrow. While the star WR’s cleared the field, Hunter ran short, precise routes and had great hands. Stockton could be a critical part of the offense before long.
Are you sure a backup (no disrespect to ours intended) can complete better than 74% of their passes, especially if they are expected to attempt higher-risk throws?
I agree 100%...unless it works. Then I am okay with it!!
His high completion rate is inflated due to the high number of screen passes he throws. All I am saying it is better to give your backup a chance to prove himself on the field of play if your QB has a serious injury if you want to compete against good teams. If you don't, you will never have a decent backup QB, just like Scooter. Your opinion that an injured King is better than a healthy Pyron without giving Pyron a chance to prove himself on the field of play is silly, IMPO.
Pat Nix is way too high. I would put him below the water boy and the any of the concession stand workers.
I understand your point about developing backups. Best done in the context of low-risk game situations unless you have a really serious injury to King. There is no conclusive evidence of that in the Duke game. We've had only two games this year that otherwise allowed for backup reps - VMI and the second half of the GSU game. Pyron and Philo had significant minutes in the VMI game (both going 3/5), but not so much in the GSU game which could have been a missed opportunity.
