Spring Position Battle - QB

[Boomergump]

It is all about the game situation at hand. One of the things that used to unnerve me the most was watching Reggie Ball fight like mad for the last 2 feet when he was already 4 yards beyond the sticks. Then, of course, he would cough the ball up.

 

[jchens_GT]

How about on 3rd down with a yard to go for the first in a tight ball game in the closing minutes?

Hopefully our starter next fall plays with an awareness of what kind of situation is he in. You don't necessarily want to fight for every single yard in every single situation. He needs to know when to scrap for that 4th and short and when to slide after he has already passed the sticks.

 

[redmule]

The question is, "Will we be better?" You can't separate qb play from the ol, so lets's start there first. We lost a lot of talent on the ol, but that talent wasn't on the field, healthy, or playing in their natural position for much of the year. So 'will we be better' must be measured against what actually happened rather than the skill set of the players leaving. With the caveat of fewer injuries, then I think the argument can be made that the odds of us having better ol play this year are pretty good. The same rationale applies to wr. Transfers and injuries really set us back last year especially early when the schedule was brutal. This year, again with the caveat of injuries, the wr corps will be better and deeper. Poor Vad had a patchwork and inexperienced ol and wr for much of the year. Obviously, the same thing could happen to Thomas, but this year's potential versus last year's reality (and that is all we can argue right now) suggests a better supporting cast for the starting qb. Additionally, I think there is no doubt that Thomas's skill set is better matched to the TO than Vad's, so CPJ will undoubtedly be more comfortable in his game planning and play calling. I guess I'm saying last year's offense was an experiment at qb that never had a chance to succeed given the injuries and issues at ol and wr. Measured against these realities, I think we will be better at the qb position than we were last year.

 

[swampsting]

Guess those guys never saw college football Hall of Famer Tracey Ham play.

Definitely going to be interesting to see how things shake out this spring and summer. I hope Justin runs away with it.

JT is certainly faster than Tracy. But man could he play.
I still liken JT to Greg Hill, and I watched the 1999 I-AA national championship game again on DVD the other night just to remind myself how fast and quick Greg was. Good dude, too.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

The question is, "Will we be better?" You can't separate qb play from the ol, so lets's start there first. We lost a lot of talent on the ol, but that talent wasn't on the field, healthy, or playing in their natural position for much of the year. So 'will we be better' must be measured against what actually happened rather than the skill set of the players leaving. With the caveat of fewer injuries, then I think the argument can be made that the odds of us having better ol play this year are pretty good. The same rationale applies to wr. Transfers and injuries really set us back last year especially early when the schedule was brutal. This year, again with the caveat of injuries, the wr corps will be better and deeper. Poor Vad had a patchwork and inexperienced ol and wr for much of the year. Obviously, the same thing could happen to Thomas, but this year's potential versus last year's reality (and that is all we can argue right now) suggests a better supporting cast for the starting qb. Additionally, I think there is no doubt that Thomas's skill set is better matched to the TO than Vad's, so CPJ will undoubtedly be more comfortable in his game planning and play calling. I guess I'm saying last year's offense was an experiment at qb that never had a chance to succeed given the injuries and issues at ol and wr. Measured against these realities, I think we will be better at the qb position than we were last year.

Good post!

 

[Moonknightatl]

I agree with the comments about not being upset with Justin's pitches. For such a young player, he is fearless on the pitch which is a huge contrast to VL who always seemed very timid about making the pitch. I expect JT will make some mistakes on the pitch next year which could lead to a turnover but I also predict he will hit some huge plays with the pitch as well. It is tough to visualize JT running this offense full time because he is not similar to any of GT's prior QBs running this offense. He probably is closer to the mold of some GSU QBs from the past.

 

[daBuzz]

I agree with the comments about not being upset with Justin's pitches. For such a young player, he is fearless on the pitch which is a huge contrast to VL who always seemed very timid about making the pitch. I expect JT will make some mistakes on the pitch next year which could lead to a turnover but I also predict he will hit some huge plays with the pitch as well. It is tough to visualize JT running this offense full time because he is not similar to any of GT's prior QBs running this offense. He probably is closer to the mold of some GSU QBs from the past.

You guys should know that both TW and VL were taught by Coach Johnson, "If the pitch is in danger, keep the ball & turn up field". That would be followed by a statement about how every drive should end in a kick. Ideally, that's an extra point or a FG but a punt isn't going to kill you like a turnover does.

So, in that respect, don't be surprised if Justin becomes more conservative with the pitches this year. If he doesn't, I suspect you'll see a lot of Byerly instead.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

............... Measured against these realities, I think we will be better at the qb position than we were last year.

Maybe it will turn out that way. But losing your starting QB with 2 years of eligibility to go is never good. It may turn out that someone else develops and is better than Vad, but probably 80% of the time that won't happen. You may be right that it was the OL that caused Vad to fail, but I saw too many unforced throwing errors and lack of commitment to blame more than 1/4 of the problem on the OL.

Throughout the season, I wanted to see other QBs play more since Vad wasn't showing the progression expected. I always thought Vad should start, but never that he had become "The One" that I expected. As others have said, he was too tentative rushing (ended up <3 ypc which is awful for an option QB) and passing around 125. Hopefully, someone (JT or Byerly) will develop, but we'd be a lot better going into next season with Vad and his {unrealized} potential. If for no other reason than to be a yardstick to show that JT or Byerly have really progressed.

 

[UgaBlows]

Vad last year was the worst quarterback in the Johson era, personally i'm not sad to say adios to him, lets move on!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

But losing your starting QB with 2 years of eligibility to go is never good.

9 times out of 10, I'd agree with you. However, that one time in ten is what actually happened. Never say never. If Vad had stayed with the same lack of heart and desire for the offense, we'd be in waaaaay worse shape right now. It's a good thing all the way around that he said Adios.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Throughout the season, I wanted to see other QBs play more since Vad wasn't showing the progression expected.

This doesn't make sense to me, Nuke. If you think a guy has all the tools to be a great qb in your system, why would you suddenly limit his snaps? That would a) completely kill his confidence while b) not allowing him to work through his issues. This offense is built on the notion practice makes perfect. The only way to get better is game reps. Limiting Vad's game reps sends the message you've given up on him and are going in another direction. You might as well bench him completely.

 

[Rodney Kent]

I agree with GTNavyNuke: There are merits to both situations. When a QB is struggling, it seems good at times to bring in new blood to energize the team. Also, the starter can watch the defense during this time to see how they are playing the offense. If the new QB cannot help, then the option is always available to bring the starter back into the game.

 

[bat_082994]

9 times out of 10, I'd agree with you. However, that one time in ten is what actually happened. Never say never. If Vad had stayed with the same lack of heart and desire for the offense, we'd be in waaaaay worse shape right now. It's a good thing all the way around that he said Adios.

Had he stayed, I'm not convinced he'd be the starter come football season. That being said, both parties are better off

 

[GTNavyNuke]

This doesn't make sense to me, Nuke. If you think a guy has all the tools to be a great qb in your system, why would you suddenly limit his snaps? That would a) completely kill his confidence while b) not allowing him to work through his issues. This offense is built on the notion practice makes perfect. The only way to get better is game reps. Limiting Vad's game reps sends the message you've given up on him and are going in another direction. You might as well bench him completely.

Vad was in between being the starter who played lights out and being incapable. He had the talent (In My Humble Opinion Only) to be great. But when that didn't happen, and other QBs were in the same talent range, they should be played more. (Again IMHO) Putting all your eggs in one basket isn't smart, we don't do it at other positions and shouldn't at QB. If the message that Vad takes is that you've given up on him, he is the one with a problem. Players at other positions seem to get over their egos.

I wish Vad had stayed (with a good attitude) and worked things out. He has the talent to be great and something happened to him mentally this year. I wish it hadn't.

 

[GTonTop88]

Jt will give us our first legitimate threat at qb to take it the distance on any givin play. With him at Qb I would expect defenses to try to make him pitch the ball more than try to turn him inside and take out the pitch man. We will definitely have alot of big runs this year

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Jt will give us our first legitimate threat at qb to take it the distance on any givin play. With him at Qb I would expect defenses to try to make him pitch the ball more than try to turn him inside and take out the pitch man. We will definitely have alot of big runs this year

I think you're right. Last year, our # 1 threat running the ball was the pitch back, Godhigh, so defenses force the qb keeper. This year our most dangerous running threat is the qb. D's will force us to pitch now that Godhigh is gone. I really hope we have an Aback step up.

 

[WrexRacer]

At <200 lb, I see a lot of defenses forcing JT to keep the ball and take a boatload of hits. Vad's game changed significantly on one massive hit by the UNC D. We'll see if JT is willing to take that second hit that Vad spent most of last season trying to avoid.

 

[jayparr]

At <200 lb, I see a lot of defenses forcing JT to keep the ball and take a boatload of hits. Vad's game changed significantly on one massive hit by the UNC D. We'll see if JT is willing to take that second hit that Vad spent most of last season trying to avoid.

You do remember Nesbit was the tackler

 

[gtg936g]

At <200 lb, I see a lot of defenses forcing JT to keep the ball and take a boatload of hits. Vad's game changed significantly on one massive hit by the UNC D. We'll see if JT is willing to take that second hit that Vad spent most of last season trying to avoid.

To make him keep the ball on a TO play, they have to take the dive and the pitch man. I know this seems obvious, but to do this, that leaves JT one on one with either a LB, Safety, or Corner...... I like my chances with JT one on one in those situations. Now, I admit that teams tried this with Tevin to some degree of success, but most teams did this because he was the easiest to tackle based on his size and speed. One on One he was easier to defend than an AB or BB. You miss your chance with JT, he can take it to the house with his speed. Tevin could make you pay, but JT can make you pay dearly. I honestly expect our BBs to carry the ball a lot. If I were on D, I would try to contain the speed and take my chances with the size of the BB on the inside.

 

[Longestday]

A lot of teams "showed" taking the BB, but their true intention was the QB. This was making reads difficult.

JT is so very quick on his mesh. He holds the mesh for a second and then shoots out like lightening. You do not know who really has the ball.
JT makes a decision and goes with it 100%, right or wrong.
JT is also quick to the edge. Vad had a lot of strung out plays.
JT shows no fear in pitching. We may have the opposite issue as Vad. We will no longer cringe at a missed open pitch man, but have to deal with wild pitches.

Vad was better in his "run effort" in 2012 and spring of 2013. I believe the hired QB coach got into his head, and Vad started acting like a pocket passer. I think the main hype of Vad was truly due to his run effort. People kept saying he was a great passer, but the evidence on the field was not in support. Stronger arms yes, great passer, no.

I was excited about the possibility of Vad, but I was always level headed in the fact that he could not beat out Tevin.

I am exited about JT. Paul has always shown him favor for some reason and he must see something to give that favor. I still think our winning will truly come down to the OL blocking more than anything including JT versus Byerly.