Starting QB speculation

[slugboy]

I’d love to combine Graham’s deep ball with the rest of Sims’ passing game. I think Sims has been reading better than Graham was last year, but neither one is reading like Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers yet. There are also examples of the receivers playing better this year.
Hopefully, we can get on a cycle of improvement—make reads—make good throws—complete passes—get first downs—make more reads—get receivers and QBs on the same page—and so on. The 3-and-outs were brutal last year.

 

[SWATlien]

FWIW, my observation has been that Sims looks so comfortable delivering the ball on short and intermediate routes with excellent accuracy and a really quick release. Part of the reason we struggled to move the ball last year was an inability to complete these passes for one reason or another. The one area that I’d say needs improvement through two games is the deep ball, but it’s probably a little to early to throw that out as a weakness IMO. Against UCF we had some opportunities that were missed due to some obvious no call pass interference. If those get called maybe we look at this differently.

I’m guessing that he lights it up on Saturday against Syracuse, particularly if we get the TE’s back.

He threw a nice deep completion against FSU for a TD.

He has the ability just needs more experience.

 

[UgaBlows]

No, he was a QB in high school. Some schools wanted him as a WR or DB, but he played QB.

Yes I know he was a QB in highschool, and a very good one at that. From what i remember GT is the only P5 school that offered him as QB, everyone else looked at him as an athlete- WR, RB, DB

 

[ncjacket79]

No, he was a QB in high school. Some schools wanted him as a WR or DB, but he played QB.

It no one wanted him as a QB and if you look at his recruiting page he was listed as a DB.

 

[ncjacket79]

LOL...and where was this forgiveness for JG? Yall are hypocrites

This is after 2 game for Sims and a season for James. Bit of a difference.

 

[Techster]

Where did our oline rank last year? This argument gets old and is biased

It's not biased when the QBs last year did have a clean pocket they still missed wide open receivers or didn't see them at all. Since TO moved to DB, I'll use him as an example since I don't want to pick on an player that active's at the QB spot. If you go back to game threads where TO was the starter, I said many times TO knew where to go with the ball, he just was not accurate getting the ball there. Go back and look at game film of our WRs. Again, I've said many times our WRs last season were open, our QBs just didn't see them. All you have to do is look at how frustrated our WRs were at the end of their routes.

People act as if Jeff Sims has an amazing OL this year. Outside of Ryan Johnson, it's the same players on the OL and a true freshmen. They are better, but don't act as if Sims is playing with a clean pocket every pass. Being a good QB isn't just about looking for the open receiver and making the throw, you still have see the rush and work your feet inside the pocket to evade the rush:



Look how fast Sims get the ball out on pass plays.

On the TD pass to Malachi Carter (last play in the video), Sims has the ball for about a second and took a single step drop before releasing the ball. At that point, Malachi isn't even open, but he throws Malachi Open by putting the ball where only Carter had a chance. High and to the outside...and the defender just runs right by Carter...no chance to defend the ball.

At the 0.57 second mark in the video, notice how Sims avoids the pass rusher by stepping up in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. The pass rusher even gets a hand on Sims's arm. Our QBs last season would have taken off. Instead, Sims steps up calmly and again throws open to our WR who at the time had a defender on his hip.

At the 0:45 second mark, there are 3 defenders bearing down on him. Sims sits calmly in the pocket, and again throws to spot only our WR can make a play. Keep in mind, this is with two DLs directly in his face. He gets clobbered as soon as he releases the ball, but he completes the pass.

We don't make any of those throws last season. The fact that people are complaining when Sims had a bad game and he STILL completed 50% of his passes with over 200 yards tells you the progress we've made at QB.

Sims has a LOT to work on, but the people who are making excuses for the success he is having or trying to downplay his what he's done are either looking for something to complain about, or just don't understand the QB position.

 

[lv20gt]

LOL...and where was this forgiveness for JG? Yall are hypocrites

There were plenty of people here that were commenting last year about the numerous issues with our offense that went beyond the QB position and affected it. There was an absolute ton of forgiveness for nearly all of our players last year, especially on offense and that includes Graham. To act like that wasn't the case is ridiculous and overall, including your other posts, just paints you as someone who has a personal connection to one of the players and his upset he got beat out. That may or may not be the case, but it's how you are coming across, if you care.

The difference between Graham last year and Sims this year is which plays are the exception to the overall trend. Last year Graham showed flashed of ability. Enough to believe he could be the answer if the rest of the team around him improved. But those flashes were the exceptions. Overall it was pointing to a few plays and saying "this shows he has potential". With Sims, most of the plays are successful to some degree. That is apparent with how well we've moved the ball. The plays that are the exception are the ones he messes up. With him you point to a few plays and say "this is where he needs to improve to live up to his potential".

It isn't bias. Both Graham last year and Sims this year are playing in less than ideal situations, and have room for growth. Both got/are getting the same forgiveness. The difference is Graham needed that forgiveness much more often last year than Sims needs this year, and it's not all because of those around him.

 

[kg01]

I never saw what y'all were so enamored with on Graham in the first place, so I'm fine with the growing pains we're going through right now.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Gleason at some point soon. Can't keep making mistakes and keep the job.

 

[augustabuzz]

It's not biased when the QBs last year did have a clean pocket they still missed wide open receivers or didn't see them at all. Since TO moved to DB, I'll use him as an example since I don't want to pick on an player that active's at the QB spot. If you go back to game threads where TO was the starter, I said many times TO knew where to go with the ball, he just was not accurate getting the ball there. Go back and look at game film of our WRs. Again, I've said many times our WRs last season were open, our QBs just didn't see them. All you have to do is look at how frustrated our WRs were at the end of their routes.

People act as if Jeff Sims has an amazing OL this year. Outside of Ryan Johnson, it's the same players on the OL and a true freshmen. They are better, but don't act as if Sims is playing with a clean pocket every pass. Being a good QB isn't just about looking for the open receiver and making the throw, you still have see the rush and work your feet inside the pocket to evade the rush:



Look how fast Sims get the ball out on pass plays.

On the TD pass to Malachi Carter (last play in the video), Sims has the ball for about a second and took a single step drop before releasing the ball. At that point, Malachi isn't even open, but he throws Malachi Open by putting the ball where only Carter had a chance. High and to the outside...and the defender just runs right by Carter...no chance to defend the ball.

At the 0.57 second mark in the video, notice how Sims avoids the pass rusher by stepping up in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. The pass rusher even gets a hand on Sims's arm. Our QBs last season would have taken off. Instead, Sims steps up calmly and again throws open to our WR who at the time had a defender on his hip.

At the 0:45 second mark, there are 3 defenders bearing down on him. Sims sits calmly in the pocket, and again throws to spot only our WR can make a play. Keep in mind, this is with two DLs directly in his face. He gets clobbered as soon as he releases the ball, but he completes the pass.

We don't make any of those throws last season. The fact that people are complaining when Sims had a bad game and he STILL completed 50% of his passes with over 200 yards tells you the progress we've made at QB.

Sims has a LOT to work on, but the people who are making excuses for the success he is having or trying to downplay his what he's done are either looking for something to complain about, or just don't understand the QB position.

The OL may have the same names but they're not the same players.

 

[Techster]

The OL may have the same names but they're not the same players.

True to an extent, but if you look at that video, you also see that we're still not giving our QB a clean pocket to make throws. Sims is just very savvy about negotiating the pocket when he needs time, and he's good about knowing where to go with the ball so he can get it out quick. A QB that understands those things, or has the ability to buy time in the pocket helps his OL and makes them look better than they are. It's the same with a QB that has none of those abilities and holds on to the ball too long...they make the OL look worse than they really are.

The OL and QB dynamic are related.

 

[CPJacket]

You have to also look at the TYPE of interceptions that were thrown between the first 2 games. The first 2 in the first game were poor decisions. The two in the UCF games were tips/plays made by the UCF Dline. To me they are not equal. It shows he had better decision making for the UCF game and that is progress. Those balls could have just as easily hit the ground and he would live to play another down. I know, if's and buts, ...... but that means something. We were unlucky on Saturday and we need that to change. Good teams make their own luck, and as we play more, we'll hit a "good-team groove". The fumbles can definitely be cleaned up, so I have a lot more leeway with this team.

 

[Techster]

I never saw what y'all were so enamored with on Graham in the first place, so I'm fine with the growing pains we're going through right now.

Graham has some really impressive flashes. He makes some throws that are NFL level. But as another poster has pointed out, those throws were not consistent enough to keep us moving the chains.

Graham has the physical tools and skillset to definitely play QB, it's the ability to anticipate, read the defense and know where to go against that defense, and accuracy on a consistent basis that gives Sims the nod over Graham.

 

[bos]

We really talking about the QB? These are the same people who said we should pick one and stick with him.

I for 1 am not sold on our starter yet. Too many overthrows that remind me of recent qbs gone by. Absolutely no reason to leave the starter in the game after the score had gotten out of hand.

As much as I want to see Gleason or Yates, I don't think it's a bad idea to keep Jeff Sims in there. Yes he's played a bad game and made mistakes, but I believe the purpose of leaving him in the game is to get him those valuable reps so he can learn.

 

[augustabuzz]

We really talking about the QB? These are the same people who said we should pick one and stick with him.


As much as I want to see Gleason or Yates, I don't think it's a bad idea to keep Jeff Sims in there. Yes he's played a bad game and made mistakes, but I believe the purpose of leaving him in the game is to get him those valuable reps so he can learn.

Very much like Joe Hamilton's early career.

 

[danny daniel]

May lose another one as well. I was hoping to see a backup Saturday for the last possession to see who is number 2. Took a chance with Sims getting an injury when game was basically over. That shot he took which looked like targeting to me could have been really serious. I was at the game and did not see a replay. The guy left his feet and head first. Refs were about as bad as I have seen.

Refs were bad but I believe the refs got this call right. Sims starting down just before impact, either a dodge or a late decision to slide and I believe the defender could not avoid this contact. Sims has taken some big hits as he does not seem to slide laterally to avoid head on hits. I hope he learns soon..

 

[Deleted member 2897]

I’d love to combine Graham’s deep ball with the rest of Sims’ passing game. I think Sims has been reading better than Graham was last year, but neither one is reading like Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers yet. There are also examples of the receivers playing better this year.
Hopefully, we can get on a cycle of improvement—make reads—make good throws—complete passes—get first downs—make more reads—get receivers and QBs on the same page—and so on. The 3-and-outs were brutal last year.

Yep. Peyton Manning threw 30 Interceptions his first year in the league. It’s about continuous improvement for all positions.

 

[RonJohn]

Why is it that every thread about players turns into an argument about which player is the biggest bum? We have good players in the QB position. Why can't the discussion be about how deep the position is, or which player we think is best? It is possible to state an opinion that Player A: can make certain throws, can make good reads, can run well, etc without making statements that Player B wouldn't be able to start on a rec league team.

 

[smokey_wasp]

LOL...and where was this forgiveness for JG? Yall are hypocrites

Huh? I don't think I have ever been particularly hard on JG. He did some good things, performed admirably in a tough situation, but I did think he was going to need to take a huge step forward to compete with the guys coming in.

 

[Jacketman]

It no one wanted him as a QB and if you look at his recruiting page he was listed as a DB.

I just checked Rivals, 247, and ESPN and none of them had him listed as a DB. I will say that other schools may have wanted him to be a WR or DB, but he didn't do any of that in HS, he was a dang good HS QB.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

I just checked Rivals, 247, and ESPN and none of them had him listed as a DB. I will say that other schools may have wanted him to be a WR or DB, but he didn't do any of that in HS, he was a dang good HS QB.

He played DB in high school, and that’s where other teams were recruiting him. He was rated as ATH because he could play multiple positions. We were the only P5 program recruiting him to play QB.