QB battle

alentrekin

alentrekin

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Longestday said:
No film from the scrimmage... they asked for no pictures and no video. I would never post film of a scrimmage anyways.

Here are some observations not mentioned clearly else were... and some added perspective.

The 1st defense came on strong for MJ's first few series. Keep in mind there was also a lot of juggling of the OL to start out as well. This put MJ at a disadvantage. Even with that disadvantage, MJ did not have smooth meshes. It almost looked like Mills was getting to the line to fast at times with MJ as well. I think some of those missed pitches will show defended on film (I could be wrong ; ). Although there was one were the defender taking the pitch was 5 yards back and MJ could have pitched given the distance of the defender. The defense was taking away the pitch just like the spring game. There was a general smoothness missing during the MJ series for the whole offense and for MJ in particular. There were several offensive penalties to start out. As CPJ said, the O has a long way to go to get ready for UT. But, this was just the first scrimmage.

TM took on the second team defense to their endzone. Keep in mind second string also had some 3rd string due 1st strings missing. He also ran the 2s at least twice.

LJ got to take the 1st O after MJ. The OL did start to perform better after the juggling (which should have helped LJ and would have helped MJ). LJ did show some very good abilities, was smooth and showed poise. LJ got to take the 1st O at least twice.

Jay Jones got in on the 2s and showed some serious sparks. Jay was dynamic, takes big risks, and has the potential to have big plays for either team (as CPJ said). He had some back field double reverse scrambles and a wild pitch. He is going to continue to improve as he starts following/staying inside the system and making the right decisions in a bad situation.

TM got to go with the ones and moved the 1s down the field. I will qualify that the D had some minor regression as the scrimmage went on. I know it sounds like I am hedging on TM, I am not... I am just letting you know what I think. I am not anti TM. In fact I was very impressed with TM's two midline plays! I think I have some internal bias for LJ for some reason and I don't know why... I can see TM starting and would be happy with his performance.

I think anyone there, if they look back with an honest eye, can factor in some of the issues MJ was facing with the OL and a fresh D, TM playing against almost 3rd string defense to start, and the defense losing steam as the scrimmage progressed.

Right now I am a toss up on LJ and TM (looked the best in the spring game and had a great scrimmage) with MJ and Jay following with individual areas needed for improvement.
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How did LJ's triple reads and pitching look?

That's my concern with him. The hope I had for TM and MJ was that they would have the experience to run the base triple. On LJ v JJ, I am more comfortable (biased) with Jay because I think (glad to be corrected) that he's a better tight space runner than LJ, so is more suited to the triple as a runner. And in our passing game, if we are to choose between pocket presence / height and escapability / improv, I'll take the latter. That being said, until JJ shows ball control, he can't play. We have more depth than usual across the board, so we would be very difficult to prepare for with a Tevin-like operator.

I ask about LJ's triple skills in part because I have been watching a lot of 2013 film. As most of us know, that team didn't really run the triple by the end of the season and it was crippling to a team that was otherwise very talented. While I think CPJ can call a game for many different styles, our personnel are suited for a triple and shoot, not a run n shoot.
 

SlawDog

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Just a little tidbit: you never pitch the ball just to be pitching. You pitch the ball when the pitch key takes the QB. The question is, how many times should the QB have pitched it and didn't?
 
tech_wreck47

tech_wreck47

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SlawDog said:
Just a little tidbit: you never pitch the ball just to be pitching. You pitch the ball when the pitch key takes the QB. The question is, how many times should the QB have pitched it and didn't?
Click to expand...

I do wonder how many times the pitch was there and not taken. There was only one pitch in 91 plays.
 
alentrekin

alentrekin

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tech_wreck47 said:
I do wonder how many times the pitch was there and not taken. There was only one pitch in 91 plays.
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My current video feed has been 2013. We all know what happened, but that O was talented -- shaq, smelter, waller, godhigh, laskey, sims and all the other AB who contributed in 2014. Vad actually had some skills and bright spots (see Q1 UGA) but the Vad and shoot didn't include any meaningful threat of the triple. He was a load on the QB follow and was adequate in the midline. But the D was in our face once they realized we had nothing to threaten the perimeter except for godhigh running for his life on rocket tosses.

IMO, the offense doesn't work at all if you can't force the safety to choose between alley support and covering the seam/hook.
 
awbuzz

awbuzz

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“Our guys, they’ll know who the quarterback is,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that we’ll tell the other team who the quarterback is.” From AJC
 

danny daniel

Helluva Engineer
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2,613
SlawDog said:
Just a little tidbit: you never pitch the ball just to be pitching. You pitch the ball when the pitch key takes the QB. The question is, how many times should the QB have pitched it and didn't?
Click to expand...

Not many. Maybe two or so. Those non MJ QBs were getting wide fast and eating up 5 to 7 yards so most times I thought that was the better choice, especially since our D seemed to be on the pitch guy most of the time.
 
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