QB battle

33jacket

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I saw tevin Washington first ever pass in a gt uniform as a freshman. I was shocked and absolutely horrified he even got a scholarship. It was beyond pathetic. I would venture only 1-2 of you on this board were with me that day to see it. Folks. I cannot begin to explain how bad it was. Everything from his grip, his throw, no power, floating wounded ducks. At one point I turned away I started to laugh.

Let me tell you right now, tevin never became a great natural passer but were JJ is starting from, where TM is, is a million times better than where tevin was. And tevin was good enough.

Imo when we say a passer can pass he just needs to set his feet and be comfortable, is a but if an oxymoron. That is why he cant pass. Some qb are never able to do it. Never able to get calm. Right now I see this with mj he just never seems comfortable back there. Tm also has some passing issues. But; he seems to be finding a zone a little quicker than mj. Mj injuries delayed getting him back. Hopefully he does mature in that aspect

But. Its passing. Which is a small part. There are other things at play more important
 

dressedcheeseside

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14,217
I saw tevin Washington first ever pass in a gt uniform as a freshman. I was shocked and absolutely horrified he even got a scholarship. It was beyond pathetic. I would venture only 1-2 of you on this board were with me that day to see it. Folks. I cannot begin to explain how bad it was. Everything from his grip, his throw, no power, floating wounded ducks. At one point I turned away I started to laugh.

Let me tell you right now, tevin never became a great natural passer but were JJ is starting from, where TM is, is a million times better than where tevin was. And tevin was good enough.

Imo when we say a passer can pass he just needs to set his feet and be comfortable, is a but if an oxymoron. That is why he cant pass. Some qb are never able to do it. Never able to get calm. Right now I see this with mj he just never seems comfortable back there. Tm also has some passing issues. But; he seems to be finding a zone a little quicker than mj. Mj injuries delayed getting him back. Hopefully he does mature in that aspect

But. Its passing. Which is a small part. There are other things at play more important
How do you explain him passing like crazy in hs if it's something inherent?
 

ilovetheoption

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Lol so you come to conclusion he cant pass from 1 spring game where he was playing hurt? Im not saying hes a good passer or anything but idk if thats fair game to make that conclusion.
The very first thing I said in my post is that I know it's too small of a sample size and I know you can't make judgement entirely based upon that. The people who are super excited about Jones the only thing they've seen of him to get super excited is the spring game. Why is it crazy for me to feel one way and reasonable for them to feel another if we're all basing on the same information?
 

33jacket

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How do you explain him passing like crazy in hs if it's something inherent?

As far as mj the systems can get people comfortable. We do alot of wrong side drops and blind drops off our option. When you set your feet you haven't even looked downfield yet. If you are not comfortable with this you can have happy feet. Some qb adapt some struggle. Sitting in gun facing the whole field with a 3 step drop quick pass in high school is like the 180 to what we do. So its an adjustment.

Maybe matts never been comfortable in the system. I am not saying it has to be inherint. I am saying you can visibly see on tape he has happy feet and by nature if he does,he will have issues passing
 

Boomergump

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A few thoughts:

This has been one of the more entertaining threads in history and I just figured out why. It reads like a masterpiece murder mystery. We are all analyzing clues like coaches' comments and body language, player comments, practice video clips discerning who is lining up with who, scrimmage observations, spring game observations, injury reports, HS film, pundit articles, and home made graphs etc. I guess biorhythms will be next. We all want to be the one who predicts the killer correctly. I guess it all makes for good fun, but to be truthful, I am perfectly comfortable to just find out who starts when the time comes. The big mystery I am concerned about is: are we going to win the darned UT game? I do indeed have one QB in mind who I think will rise to the top of the heap at some point, but, at the same time, I realize each of these kids are at a different place in terms of their development. Regardless, the guy who starts needs to be the guy who can most help us win in a couple weeks. Period.

When discussing who is the better passer, we have to be realistic about what passing in this offense means. Ask yourself this: what percentage of passing plays in the CPJ era have unfolded as they were drawn up on the chalkboard? You know, with pockets formed and throws going out on time? By my estimation, VL was probably the most gifted passer for us during this time (in a conventional sense). However, how often did he get enough time to even show it? Part of what we all need to factor in is improvisational and roll out abilities, because the majority of our pass plays develop this way. It doesn't make it bad. It just is what it is. Our splits are wide and our guys up front start every play with a hand on the ground and their butts up in the air. Additionally, defenses are aligned way closer to the LOS and typically run blitz 80% of the time and just keep coming if it is a pass. The guy who is the "best passer" for GT is not necessarily the guy who throws the prettiest ball. In the end, the guy who will be our QB will be the guy who puts tremendous stress on the defense because he can elude and take off for a huge gain, or get the ball downfield accurately throwing on the run after keeping his eyes where they belong and keeping the play alive any which way he can with his feet. I want good passing from formed pockets as much as the next guy, because they do happen, but I am realistic about who were are as an offense too. With that said, I don't know who of the 4 fits this description best. As we all know, JT fit it pretty darned well.

One of the coolest things about this competition, NOT CONTROVERSY, is how different the games will be called with each one of them. For this reason, I think the decision pretty much needs to be made yesterday. Gotta get reps in regardless of who wins out.
 

Techster

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So, I'm not as high on JJ as the rest of us. For starters, I KNOW this is a small sample size, and I KNOW I could be entirely wrong, I KNOW this...but I watched the spring game, and JJ was more than unimpressive as a passer.

Like the ball security is one thing. You can improve that, but you can't become a passer.

Throwing is not passing. JJ has a strong arm, nobody contests that, but he missed BADLY on a couple of throws that should have been easy completions. What's worse is that they weren't just inaccurate throws, they were the wrong KIND of throws.

This is the spring game:

Here are JJ's throws
1:07:36 This isn't just a little off..this is bazooka'd over he head of an open receiver. He didn't need to drill this. This is an easy pitch and catch. (for comparison, look at 1:29:00)
1:15:42 I mean....again, that's not a misread, which you can work on, or a defender made a great play...that's just an airball.
1:34:30 Meh. This is a deep miss, which happens. This one doesn't bother me as much.
1:37:40 Nice. This is a deep out, which means you need to bazooka it in there, and he did.
1:40:00 Runs around in the backfield and finds a guy underneath. Playground play, and his biggest passing play of the night.
1:41:47 Runs around in the backfield and lobs it up for an interception. Playground play, and his worst passing play of the night.

That's not being a passer, and it doesn't scream to me "this guy is going to develop into even a Justin Thomas level passer, who can at least hit an open A back streaking down the seam when the defense overcommits to stop the run".

It looks like a dude who doesn't have the passing instincts (something that I think you don't generally develop this late in your career) to ever be even a marginal passer.

You can't base a passing game around "run around and see if somebody gets open". That's backyard stuff.

This is why i'm not sold on JJ as the future.


These are good observations, and similar to the ones I made of his recruiting video. A lot of the passes in his recruiting video would not have been graded by scouts because they were not thrown in the rhythm of the offense. Once you start running around in the backfield and the play breaks down and the WRs are improvising to get open, then you are no longer playing within the offense. It becomes backyard football at that point, and JJ is using his superior athleticism to out-athlete HS players. MUCH harder to do that on this level. Sometimes you have to have the ability to do that, but coaches want you to play in the rhythm of the offense. That's why you hear coaches yell "Throw the d@mn ball!!!" to young QBs all the time. QBs have to have the ability to anticipate windows and throw within the rhythm of play as soon as their WRs get open. They have to have the touch to throw it at all levels of the field. JJ's tape doesn't exhibit any of that...and the Spring game, when he was in the best group of OLs, shows how important playing within the offense is, and the ability to anticipate windows and throw it to the WRs with accuracy. It's not there for him...yet.

That's not to say QBs can't improve accuracy. They can...but only so much. You're not taking a 50% passer and making him a 65% passer. Espccially, not in our offense. Can he go from 50% to 55%? Yes, but that requires a lot of reps against in real action. I'm not sure JJ is even a 50% passer yet. I read one time from an NFL GM that a QB either has accuracy or he doesn't. You're not going from college as a 55% passer to the NFL where windows are much smaller, and DBs are a lot better, and defenses are more complicated, and expecting that QB to improve his completion percentage. The same applies of HS QBs to college.

I think the passing mold of JJ is similar to Nesbitt. VERY strong arms, and both could make any throw to pretty much any level of the field. Nesbitt had the benefit of Demaryius Thomas at the other end of his passes which helped with his accuracy percentage (look at what happened AFTER DT left GT in 2010). Nesbitt was not a great passer though, and really not even a good one. He was a more a thrower with exceptional athleticism. That's where I put JJ. JJ has phenomenal athleticism, and he's probably the best pure runner of the QBs (probably tied with JeT for best runners ever under CPJ at GT), but he's not a great passer. Can he be? I think he can improve enough to be okay, but from what I've seen, it's hard to see him get to the JeT level we've seen in 2014 and 2015.

I am rooting for JJ to prove me wrong though. Would be ecstatic if he did. He would be a lethal weapon if his passing matched his running ability.
 

SlawDog

Banned
Messages
295
A few thoughts:

This has been one of the more entertaining threads in history and I just figured out why. It reads like a masterpiece murder mystery. We are all analyzing clues like coaches' comments and body language, player comments, practice video clips discerning who is lining up with who, scrimmage observations, spring game observations, injury reports, HS film, pundit articles, and home made graphs etc. I guess biorhythms will be next. We all want to be the one who predicts the killer correctly. I guess it all makes for good fun, but to be truthful, I am perfectly comfortable to just find out who starts when the time comes. The big mystery I am concerned about is: are we going to win the darned UT game? I do indeed have one QB in mind who I think will rise to the top of the heap at some point, but, at the same time, I realize each of these kids are at a different place in terms of their development. Regardless, the guy who starts needs to be the guy who can most help us win in a couple weeks. Period.

When discussing who is the better passer, we have to be realistic about what passing in this offense means. Ask yourself this: what percentage of passing plays in the CPJ era have unfolded as they were drawn up on the chalkboard? You know, with pockets formed and throws going out on time? By my estimation, VL was probably the most gifted passer for us during this time (in a conventional sense). However, how often did he get enough time to even show it? Part of what we all need to factor in is improvisational and roll out abilities, because the majority of our pass plays develop this way. It doesn't make it bad. It just is what it is. Our splits are wide and our guys up front start every play with a hand on the ground and their butts up in the air. Additionally, defenses are aligned way closer to the LOS and typically run blitz 80% of the time and just keep coming if it is a pass. The guy who is the "best passer" for GT is not necessarily the guy who throws the prettiest ball. In the end, the guy who will be our QB will be the guy who puts tremendous stress on the defense because he can elude and take off for a huge gain, or get the ball downfield accurately throwing on the run after keeping his eyes where they belong and keeping the play alive any which way he can with his feet. I want good passing from formed pockets as much as the next guy, because they do happen, but I am realistic about who were are as an offense too. With that said, I don't know who of the 4 fits this description best. As we all know, JT fit it pretty darned well.

One of the coolest things about this competition, NOT CONTROVERSY, is how different the games will be called with each one of them. For this reason, I think the decision pretty much needs to be made yesterday. Gotta get reps in regardless of who wins out.
Brilliant
 

Milwaukee

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These are good observations, and similar to the ones I made of his recruiting video. A lot of the passes in his recruiting video would not have been graded by scouts because they were not thrown in the rhythm of the offense. Once you start running around in the backfield and the play breaks down and the WRs are improvising to get open, then you are no longer playing within the offense. It becomes backyard football at that point, and JJ is using his superior athleticism to out-athlete HS players. MUCH harder to do that on this level. Sometimes you have to have the ability to do that, but coaches want you to play in the rhythm of the offense. That's why you hear coaches yell "Throw the d@mn ball!!!" to young QBs all the time. QBs have to have the ability to anticipate windows and throw within the rhythm of play as soon as their WRs get open. They have to have the touch to throw it at all levels of the field. JJ's tape doesn't exhibit any of that...and the Spring game, when he was in the best group of OLs, shows how important playing within the offense is, and the ability to anticipate windows and throw it to the WRs with accuracy. It's not there for him...yet.

That's not to say QBs can't improve accuracy. They can...but only so much. You're not taking a 50% passer and making him a 65% passer. Espccially, not in our offense. Can he go from 50% to 55%? Yes, but that requires a lot of reps against in real action. I'm not sure JJ is even a 50% passer yet. I read one time from an NFL GM that a QB either has accuracy or he doesn't. You're not going from college as a 55% passer to the NFL where windows are much smaller, and DBs are a lot better, and defenses are more complicated, and expecting that QB to improve his completion percentage. The same applies of HS QBs to college.

I think the passing mold of JJ is similar to Nesbitt. VERY strong arms, and both could make any throw to pretty much any level of the field. Nesbitt had the benefit of Demaryius Thomas at the other end of his passes which helped with his accuracy percentage (look at what happened AFTER DT left GT in 2010). Nesbitt was not a great passer though, and really not even a good one. He was a more a thrower with exceptional athleticism. That's where I put JJ. JJ has phenomenal athleticism, and he's probably the best pure runner of the QBs (probably tied with JeT for best runners ever under CPJ at GT), but he's not a great passer. Can he be? I think he can improve enough to be okay, but from what I've seen, it's hard to see him get to the JeT level we've seen in 2014 and 2015.

I am rooting for JJ to prove me wrong though. Would be ecstatic if he did. He would be a lethal weapon if his passing matched his running ability.

JJ throws a great ball. Go look at Nesbitt throwing a football, it's fugly. Not an accurate comparison.
 

MountPGT1990

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Messages
289
I've been a GT fan for 30+ years and I have never seen a fall camp have so much intrigue, excitement, confusion, and have a HC be so secretive about the QB position. Over the last couple of weeks it's been a lot of fun trying to figure out the pecking order of MJ, TM, LJ, and JJ. I honestly have thought at different times 3 of the 4 guys could be the starter in the first game.

There have been twists and turns at every corner with injuries, hints of position changes, closed practices/scrimmages, and even on ramblinwreck.com some of the QB's names have been left out of the highlights for the scrimmage updates.

At the start of camp CPJ was convinced that MJ was heir apparent even after missing almost all of spring practice, but over the last couple of weeks I'm not so sure things have turned out the way CPJ had planned. Just this past week CPJ has gone stealth mode and is being very cryptic in his interviews when asked about the QB position . I can't wait to see when the mystery is unveiled and see what he has planned for Tenn.!

I'm going to offer up my opinion and expertise as an armchair QB of where we currently stand at QB position and I have a genius idea of what we can do to help shore up the BBack situation!! Please challenge my thoughts as I'm sure many of you will disagree....

Let's take a look at the 4 QB's and what we know so far:

1) JJ:

Jay Jones aka "Willie Beamen" aka "The Future", he prob has the most raw athleticism of the four and should be a true star for us at some point on the flats if not later this year, then most think sometime next year. He has the most "Big Play" potential, as CPJ has said many times "he's a big play waiting to happen....for somebody", meaning he's as likely to throw a 5o yard TD bomb as he is to throw a pick 6. He has all the upside in the world, just pure natural talent which is exciting and I'm not sure we've had a QB as talented as Jay under CPJ. CPJ has said JJ is a QB and will NOT move to another position.

JJ probably has the highest ceiling but right now also has the lowest floor of the bunch. He is still a little too green, he has been banged up much of camp, he is too much of a risk to be counted on at the moment, but that could change sooner than later. For now, I think JJ is #4 on the depth chart for Tenn.

2) LJ:

Lucas Johnson is the tallest of the 4 QB's, the majority probably thinks he has the best passing skills of the bunch and when he runs he looks like Colin Kapernick: he glides down the field with his long stride and just eats up yards when he takes off running.

LJ is super talented and at this very moment is probably the most diverse of the group. LJ's ceiling is prob close to Jay's and currently his floor is higher than JJ.

CPJ has been super secretive about LJ, especially over the last week. Not a single question about LJ has been asked by the media in post practice interviews....conspiracy theory, CPJ has told them off the record not to ask about LJ???

We do know that LJ has been getting a ton of reps with the 1s and I think CPJ is planning to unleash LJ on Tenn at some point in the game, just not sure how much?? I think CPJ knows Tenn is going to load the box and make us beat them with some resemblance of a passing game. I think CPJ knows LJ offers the best chance to loosen up the Tenn defense and to make them pay for loading the box. I also think CPJ is pretty dang smart and he doesn't want to put too much pressure on LJ as a freshman and is protecting him from the media.

3) TQM

TM is extremely athletic and CPJ knows he has to find him a spot on the field to play. CPJ opened up camp saying there's a good chance TM will get moved to Aback in order to find a way to get him on the field. CPJ knows TM can help this team win games and is too athletic to have him on the bench.

After the first scrimmage most came away singing TM's praises and saying he by far looked the best of the QB's. He's been healthy all camp and CPJ continues to say he's getting better and better every day, his confidence is growing and he can run the system TM is an adequate passer, just enough ability to keep defenses honest, he has "quicks", and can run the midline. Some have said just put him in a #5 jersey and most wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and JeT.

I think TM has surprised CPJ with his play so far, he's healthy, and has been taking a majority of the reps with the 1's. I believe TM will be the starter against the Vols and should do a solid job, he definitely has enough tools to beat the Vols and will continue to improve and get better as the year goes on and gets more and more reps. TM is here to stay at the QB position at least for the remainder of this year.

4) Matthew Jordan:

Last but not least we have MJ who CPJ said was the starter and that it was his job to lose at the beginning of camp.

CPJ loves to go with experience, and MJ is starting his 4th year on the flats and knows the playbook inside and out, this is HUGE in running CPJ's system with success. CPJ also knows MJ has missed tons of time since the spring, and is not getting the reps he needs. Most here have repeatedly said MJ is limited in the passing game (of the 4 QB's probably ranks #4 in passing ability), and even has issues pitching the ball.

I believe CPJ does put a premium on a QB getting reps and being healthy during camp, which is why MJ is no longer the slam dunk starter for Labor Day that CPJ had planned on. MJ has been injured almost of spring and fall camp which leads to being rusty and I think a loss in some confidence, evidenced by CPJ yelling "pitch the damn ball" numerous times in the only scrimmage that MJ participated in this camp. There have not been too many glowing reviews of MJ's performance so far in camp, I think most who still think MJ will start are basing their hopes on him having the most in game experience of the four.

Yes, MJ helped get us a huge win in Blacksburg last year, but if we honestly go back and look at that game it was more VT handing us that game on a silver platter with 5 turnovers rather than stellar play from MJ guiding the offense. He did have some good runs, but passing was sub par and he ran a very limited playbook by design.

I believe MJ has the lowest ceiling and highest floor of the group. He has the experience, knows the play book and how to run the system and prob will not lose a game for us. He is the safest bet in game one and CPJ knows he prob will not lose the game for us. I still think there's a very small chance if MJ can return to practice this week that he could start on Labor Day, but I think his ship has more than likely sailed as a a full time QB for GT. Which leads me to suggesting a hybrid /position change for MJ.

Now before you throw your hands up in the air and call me an idiot, hear me out for a second.

I think most agree MJ's biggest weakness is passing, he's adequate at best (some have said down right turrible), he has issues pitching the ball, and has lost his confidence a bit as QB from rust or whatever the reason, but he knows the system, it's his fourth year on the flats, and he's a beast running the ball.

We just lost the best player on our team two weeks before the opener. We have a ton of unproven talent at Bback right now. No one knows the system better than MJ, why not move MJ to Bback and get him on the field? He's an absolute beast running the ball, he knows the plays and can quickly adapt, plus we eliminate his glaring weakness of passing the ball. I can easily see him being the next Synjyn for us and being a leader at the position. Our remaining corps of Bbacks are freshman and sophomores, we can add an upper classmen to the group who everybody already respects and looks upto. He could be a serious leader for the Bbacks.

CPJ has said numerous times " Nothing really bothers Matt", I think he would adapt well to the change and it wouldn't bother him, he's a team player and could really develop into a successful Bback.

We could also still use MJ as a QB in goal line and short yardage situations, kind of like a wildcat package.

To Summarize:

I think CPJ wants LJ and JJ to continue getting reps running his offense this year and doesn't want JJ to get buried on depth chart. CPJ knows we have something really special in JJ and he's going to get him real reps this year in practice and will not send him to run scout team (that's TO's job this year).

CPJ also knows we can only have 3 QB's getting serious reps in his system, so that's why he was pushing early that TQM might move to Aback. Things have changed and now and TQM looks to be the starter leaving MJ the odd man out. It makes perfect sense to move MJ instead of TQM as CPJ has said numerous times LJ and JJ are most talented QB's he has had at GT. CPJ wants to develop both LJ and JJ this year and give them as many reps as he can.

My predictions:

1) TQM starts vs Tenn and plays well and stays at QB remainder of the year

2) LJ plays a significant role vs the Vols and it's no mistake he's getting lots of reps with the 1s and CPJ is being so secretive about him for a reason. LJ could pass TQM as starter down the road.

3) JJ is third string and continues to develop, question is how soon before he can harness his ability and eliminate the negative plays? Maybe later this year, probably next....we shall see. I think before it's over he has a chance to be next Joe Ham

4) MJ has been hurt and has been passed on the depth chart. Let him run a "Wildcat Package" as QB in certain situations, but move him to Bback and let him be the leader of that group. He will quickly adapt knowing the playbook inside and out and we scan eliminate his weaknesses. Just give him the ball and let him ram it down the throats of opposing defenses.


What say you???????
 
Last edited:
Messages
2,077
Miami was his first action in a monsoon. I don't count that one.
He was 3-9 vs VT and I agree it could have been better. He needs to set his feet and throw like he can.
He has the arm strength, just needs to set properly and throw it.
We are now two weeks from game time. No starter has been named, or even hinted at. That indicates to me that we will definitely see two quarterbacks against Tennessee. I believe it will be situational, not a case of "who gets the hot hand". I am not really in favor of that, but like Rock, I will trust CPJ's decision. Now, the question remains, which two? I have no idea.
 

ATL1

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Whoever has the most talent and is the most consistent should start. If it's freshman so be it.
 

Techster

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Messages
18,235
I've been a GT fan for 30+ years and I have never seen a fall camp have so much intrigue, excitement, confusion, and have a HC be so secretive about the QB position. Over the last couple of weeks it's been a lot of fun trying to figure out the pecking order of MJ, TM, LJ, and JJ. I honestly have thought at different times 3 of the 4 guys could be the starter in the first game.

There have been twists and turns at every corner with injuries, hints of position changes, closed practices/scrimmages, and even on ramblinwreck.com some of the QB's names have been left out of the highlights for the scrimmage updates.

At the start of camp CPJ was convinced that MJ was heir apparent even after missing almost all of spring practice, but over the last couple of weeks I'm not so sure things have turned out the way CPJ had planned. Just this past week CPJ has gone stealth mode and is being very cryptic in his interviews when asked about the QB position . I can't wait to see when the mystery is unveiled and see what he has planned for Tenn.!

I'm going to offer up my opinion and expertise as an armchair QB of where we currently stand at QB position and I have a genius idea of what we can do to help shore up the BBack situation!! Please challenge my thoughts as I'm sure many of you will disagree....

Let's take a look at the 4 QB's and what we know so far:

1) JJ:

Jay Jones aka "Willie Beamen" aka "The Future", he prob has the most raw athleticism of the four and should be a true star for us at some point on the flats if not later this year, then most think sometime next year. He has the most "Big Play" potential, as CPJ has said many times "he's a big play waiting to happen....for somebody", meaning he's as likely to throw a 5o yard TD bomb as he is to throw a pick 6. He has all the upside in the world, just pure natural talent which is exciting and I'm not sure we've had a QB as talented as Jay under CPJ. CPJ has said JJ is a QB and will NOT move to another position.

JJ probably has the highest ceiling but right now also has the lowest floor of the bunch. He is still a little too green, he has been banged up much of camp, he is too much of a risk to be counted on at the moment, but that could change sooner than later. For now, I think JJ is #4 on the depth chart for Tenn.

2) LJ:

Lucas Johnson is the tallest of the 4 QB's, the majority probably thinks he has the best passing skills of the bunch and when he runs he looks like Colin Kapernick: he glides down the field with his long stride and just eats up yards when he takes off running.

LJ is super talented and at this very moment is probably the most diverse of the group. LJ's ceiling is prob close to Jay's and currently his floor is higher than JJ.

CPJ has been super secretive about LJ, especially over the last week. Not a single question about LJ has been asked by the media in post practice interviews....conspiracy theory, CPJ has told them off the record not to ask about LJ???

We do know that LJ has been getting a ton of reps with the 1s and I think CPJ is planning to unleash LJ on Tenn at some point in the game, just not sure how much?? I think CPJ knows Tenn is going to load the box and make us beat them with some resemblance of a passing game. I think CPJ knows LJ offers the best chance to loosen up the Tenn defense and to make them pay for loading the box. I also think CPJ is pretty dang smart and he doesn't want to put too much pressure on LJ as a freshman and is protecting him from the media.

3) TQM

TM is extremely athletic and CPJ knows he has to find him a spot on the field to play. CPJ opened up camp saying there's a good chance TM will get moved to Aback in order to find a way to get him on the field. CPJ knows TM can help this team win games and is too athletic to have him on the bench.

After the first scrimmage most came away singing TM's praises and saying he by far looked the best of the QB's. He's been healthy all camp and CPJ continues to say he's getting better and better every day, his confidence is growing and he can run the system TM is an adequate passer, just enough ability to keep defenses honest, he has "quicks", and can run the midline. Some have said just put him in a #5 jersey and most wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and JeT.

I think TM has surprised CPJ with his play so far, he's healthy, and has been taking a majority of the reps with the 1's. I believe TM will be the starter against the Vols and should do a solid job, he definitely has enough tools to beat the Vols and will continue to improve and get better as the year goes on and gets more and more reps. TM is here to stay at the QB position at least for the remainder of this year.

4) Matthew Jordan:

Last but not least we have MJ who CPJ said was the starter and that it was his job to lose at the beginning of camp.

CPJ loves to go with experience, and MJ is starting his 4th year on the flats and knows the playbook inside and out, this is HUGE in running CPJ's system with success. CPJ also knows MJ has missed tons of time since the spring, and is not getting the reps he needs. Most here have repeatedly said MJ is limited in the passing game (of the 4 QB's probably ranks #4 in passing ability), and even has issues pitching the ball.

I believe CPJ does put a premium on a QB getting reps and being healthy during camp, which is why MJ is no longer the slam dunk starter for Labor Day that CPJ had planned on. MJ has been injured almost of spring and fall camp which leads to being rusty and I think a loss in some confidence, evidenced by CPJ yelling "pitch the damn ball" numerous times in the only scrimmage that MJ participated in this camp. There have not been too many glowing reviews of MJ's performance so far in camp, I think most who still think MJ will start are basing their hopes on him having the most in game experience of the four.

Yes, MJ helped get us a huge win in Blacksburg last year, but if we honestly go back and look at that game it was more VT handing us that game on a silver platter with 5 turnovers rather than stellar play from MJ guiding the offense. He did have some good runs, but passing was sub par and he ran a very limited playbook by design.

I believe MJ has the lowest ceiling and highest floor of the group. He has the experience, knows the play book and how to run the system and prob will not lose a game for us. He is the safest bet in game one and CPJ knows he prob will not lose the game for us. I still think there's a very small chance if MJ can return to practice this week that he could start on Labor Day, but I think his ship has more than likely sailed as a a full time QB for GT. Which leads me to suggesting a hybrid /position change for MJ.

Now before you throw your hands up in the air and call me an idiot, hear me out for a second.

I think most agree MJ's biggest weakness is passing, he's adequate at best (some have said down right turrible), he has issues pitching the ball, and has lost his confidence a bit as QB from rust or whatever the reason, but he knows the system, it's his fourth year on the flats, and he's a beast running the ball.

We just lost the best player on our team two weeks before the opener. We have a ton of unproven talent at Bback right now. No one knows the system better than MJ, why not move MJ to Bback and get him on the field? He's an absolute beast running the ball, he knows the plays and can quickly adapt, plus we eliminate his glaring weakness of passing the ball. I can easily see him being the next Synjyn for us and being a leader at the position. Our remaining corps of Bbacks are freshman and sophomores, we can add an upper classmen to the group who everybody already respects and looks upto. He could be a serious leader for the Bbacks.

CPJ has said numerous times " Nothing really bothers Matt", I think he would adapt well to the change and it wouldn't bother him, he's a team player and could really develop into a successful Bback.

We could also still use MJ as a QB in goal line and short yardage situations, kind of like a wildcat package.

To Summarize:

I think CPJ wants LJ and JJ to continue getting reps running his offense this year and doesn't want JJ to get buried on depth chart. CPJ knows we have something really special in JJ and he's going to get him real reps this year in practice and will not send him to run scout team (that's TO's job this year).

CPJ also knows we can only have 3 QB's getting serious reps in his system, so that's why he was pushing early that TQM might move to Aback. Things have changed and now and TQM looks to be the starter leaving MJ the odd man out. It makes perfect sense to move MJ instead of TQM as CPJ has said numerous times LJ and JJ are most talented QB's he has had at GT. CPJ wants to develop both LJ and JJ this year and give them as many reps as he can.

My predictions:

1) TQM starts vs Tenn and plays well and stays at QB remainder of the year

2) LJ plays a significant role vs the Vols and it's no mistake he's getting lots of reps with the 1s and CPJ is being so secretive about him for a reason. LJ could pass TQM as starter down the road.

3) JJ is third string and continues to develop, question is how soon before he can harness his ability and eliminate the negative plays? Maybe later this year, probably next....we shall see. I think before it's over he has a chance to be next Joe Ham

4) MJ has been hurt and has been passed on the depth chart. Let him run a "Wildcat Package" as QB in certain situations, but move him to Bback and let him be the leader of that group. He will quickly adapt knowing the playbook inside and out and we scan eliminate his weaknesses. Just give him the ball and let him ram it down the throats of opposing defenses.


What say you???????

It's like this guy aggregated all my QB posts and reposted them...:)

Just messin' with ya...I feel the same way about most of it.
 

bass ackwards

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
95
Poor nesbitt. His passing was bad, and it seemed like when he did hit his mark the receiver would drop it. Smelter was the first receiver since cpj has been here where I was confident he would catch if it was in the same zip code.
 
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