Johnny Football vs Tommy Armstong

[Landlord]

Interesting because at the Elite 11 camp last year he was really standing out in the classroom.

I watched most of those and remember that also. But there's just no telling how that translates onto the field and into live situations. The brain is a weird thing.

Which also isn't to say that he is incapable - he's just new. It's not at all surprising that he's behind the curve but hopefully he makes up some ground and pushes hard.

 

[Abdullah the Butcher]

What exactly is Ryker? Spread, triple, drop back, anyone know what his main strength is?

 

[Army_Allen]

The vibe I'm getting from this thread is it's more of a Fyfe vs. Stanton battle for 2nd string. I AM DISAPPOINT

- but not entirely surprised.

Why disappointed?

If Armstrong is the best qb we have, why is it so disappointing that he's the man? Why is it so disappointing that Fyfe would be 2nd string if he's actually better at this point than Stanton (which I doubt will be the case when all is said and done)?

I'm oober confused right now.

)

It's fine if Tommy is the only decent option we have. As long as he doesn't get hurt.

Yeah, but from wwhat we saw last year, Tommy had better have made huge strides this year to deserve to have the starting spot locked up. He was well below average last year,,and if his play doesn't improve dramatically, this year won't be any better than last.

Tommy was not "well below average" He was pretty decent at times. I'll average at worst. But "well below average"? AKA bad? C'mon. He was not a BAD quarterback. He showed his flashes of brilliance, as well as the typical mental lapses of a freshman.

Below average at times. And I would say he showed one drive with a flash of brilliance. The Michigan final drive. There was no IT factor for me and that's why I'm disappointed that either there's a bias to not have a battle by coaches, or that Stanton isn't up to par at the moment. When I think of what a Freshman with freshman mistakes but having a good year overall is, i think Braxton Miller. Great years as freshman would obviously be the Manziel and FSU qb years. But to not expect more from RS freshman in this day and age of qbs getting playbooks catered to how they played in hs isn't too much to ask. If anything I think Tommy was the one missing something between the ears last year with all his errant throws.

 

[robsker]

The vibe I'm getting from this thread is it's more of a Fyfe vs. Stanton battle for 2nd string. I AM DISAPPOINT

- but not entirely surprised.

Why disappointed?

If Armstrong is the best qb we have, why is it so disappointing that he's the man? Why is it so disappointing that Fyfe would be 2nd string if he's actually better at this point than Stanton (which I doubt will be the case when all is said and done)?

I'm oober confused right now.

)

It's fine if Tommy is the only decent option we have. As long as he doesn't get hurt.

Yeah, but from wwhat we saw last year, Tommy had better have made huge strides this year to deserve to have the starting spot locked up. He was well below average last year,,and if his play doesn't improve dramatically, this year won't be any better than last.

But he was a freshman last year pressed into service rather unexpectedly. So... to have expected much more than we saw last year out of Tommie would have been fairly unreasonable. No one should expect an average-level QB performance (against major college QB standards) from a freshman who was not the intended starter who was thrust in after injury to the #1 guy.

Now, with a year under him, with lessons learned and with a mindset of coming in as the starter one would be inclined to think that Tommie will likely be very much improved. So... we should be fairly encouraged. of course, it would be great if Stanton was playing so well that he challenged and pushed Tommie. While, so far, that has not seemingly happened, it is still early. Perhaps over the summer and into fall Stanton will have really progresses and be pushing Tommie later. I do not see QB as being a major concern for NU next season... probably not a concern at all.

I have no

 

[sd'sker]

i like tommy. i think he can take us far. definitely a good enough qb if we have a stout defense.

but it is funny how people see totally different things when watching the same qb.

 

[robsker]

Army_Allen:

That Tommie is unlikely to be a Braxton Miller or a Manziel is probably already clear. If he that kind of skill it would have been evident even in his first few games. But... those two are very special players and few QB's are at that level.

Regarding Tommie, there is no reason to think he will be less than good. There is hope, and a reasonable hope it is, that Tommie could be pretty good. he may be that as early as conference time this year. Again, I do not think we need to be overly concerned about QB play. NU will be fine at QB.

 

[robsker]

i like tommy. i think he can take us far. definitely a good enough qb if we have a stout defense.

but it is funny how people see totally different things when watching the same qb.

agreed. If the defense is good and turnovers are down, Tommie is plenty good enough (I should think) for NU to be better this season than last. The issue is not so much Tommie (except perhaps his contribution... and hopeful non-contribution to turnovers) but the defense and the turnovers. If Tommie is relatively free from turnovers, NU will be fine at QB.

 

[Landlord]

But he was a freshman last year pressed into service rather unexpectedly. So... to have expected much more than we saw last year out of Tommie would have been fairly unreasonable. No one should expect an average-level QB performance (against major college QB standards) from a freshman who was not the intended starter who was thrust in after injury to the #1 guy.

Tommy played really awful at times. Freshman or not, there were some moments where he just flat out stunk.

He went 6 of 18 for zero touchdowns and 3 interceptions against Purdue of all schools.

15 of 29 for 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions against Northwestern.

9 of 21 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against Michigan State, which is a lot more forgivable considering their defensive talent, but also two killer fumbles in our own redzone.

Taylor Martinez and Cody Green never had performances close to that bad their freshman years. Danny Etling at Purdue, Zach Kline at Cal, Jake Waters at Kansas State, Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, and Trevor Knight at Oklahoma are a few examples of other new freshman quarterbacks that didn't have any performances that bad (Jake Waters was a juco sophomore*)

He did some really nice things but some really terrible things too. He's got a long ways to go.

 

[robsker]

But he was a freshman last year pressed into service rather unexpectedly. So... to have expected much more than we saw last year out of Tommie would have been fairly unreasonable. No one should expect an average-level QB performance (against major college QB standards) from a freshman who was not the intended starter who was thrust in after injury to the #1 guy.

Tommy played really awful at times. Freshman or not, there were some moments where he just flat out stunk.

He went 6 of 18 for zero touchdowns and 3 interceptions against Purdue of all schools.

15 of 29 for 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions against Northwestern.

9 of 21 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against Michigan State, which is a lot more forgivable considering their defensive talent, but also two killer fumbles in our own redzone.

Taylor Martinez and Cody Green never had performances close to that bad their freshman years. Danny Etling at Purdue, Zach Kline at Cal, Jake Waters at Kansas State, Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, and Trevor Knight at Oklahoma are a few examples of other new freshman quarterbacks that didn't have any performances that bad (Jake Waters was a juco sophomore*)

He did some really nice things but some really terrible things too. He's got a long ways to go.

He did have some rough stretches, agreed. My thought however is that he need only refrain from such turnover games (and with the added experience, the new context of knowing he is the starter, and the additional maturity in the system it is reasonable that he will improve). If the defense is improved and fumbles are reduced, NU will improve over last year. If the standard is simply improvement over last year, then Tommie needs basically to play solid and not hurt the team... which is reasonable to assume he can do.

If the standard is to be a legit conference championship contender and, say a top 15 team, then improvement in almost every area is required... and at QB, then Tommie would indeed have to improve a lot (beyond simply playing solid and not hurting the team). Can Tommie improve that much? Who knows? We'll see.

 

[H2h]

But he was a freshman last year pressed into service rather unexpectedly. So... to have expected much more than we saw last year out of Tommie would have been fairly unreasonable. No one should expect an average-level QB performance (against major college QB standards) from a freshman who was not the intended starter who was thrust in after injury to the #1 guy.

Taylor Martinez and Cody Green never had performances close to that bad their freshman years. Danny Etling at Purdue, Zach Kline at Cal, Jake Waters at Kansas State, Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, and Trevor Knight at Oklahoma are a few examples of other new freshman quarterbacks that didn't have any performances that bad (Jake Waters was a juco sophomore*)

He did some really nice things but some really terrible things too. He's got a long ways to go.

I have to slightly disagree. In 2010 a healthy Taylor led the Nebraska offense to 17 points against South Dakota State. His stats might not have been as bad as Tommie's were, but that game you could really tell Taylor was a freshman. Probably the worst healthy-Taylor game he ever played. Probably.

 

[The Dude]

The vibe I'm getting from this thread is it's more of a Fyfe vs. Stanton battle for 2nd string. I AM DISAPPOINT

- but not entirely surprised.

Why disappointed?

If Armstrong is the best qb we have, why is it so disappointing that he's the man? Why is it so disappointing that Fyfe would be 2nd string if he's actually better at this point than Stanton (which I doubt will be the case when all is said and done)?

I'm oober confused right now.

)

It's fine if Tommy is the only decent option we have. As long as he doesn't get hurt.

Yeah, but from wwhat we saw last year, Tommy had better have made huge strides this year to deserve to have the starting spot locked up. He was well below average last year,,and if his play doesn't improve dramatically, this year won't be any better than last.

I don't agree with the well below average part (both he and Ronny did an admirable job), and by all accounts it's already his job to lose, so I don't see any value in your assessment.

 

[Mavric]

It seems fair to say the Husker defense has won more than it's lost during the first seven spring practices.
But most media onlookers agreed the offense performed well in the early portions of Wednesday's practice, with Tommy Armstrong appearing confident in his decisions and the O-line opening some holes.

Johnny Stanton also threw a beautiful long ball to Tyler Evans that hit the receiver in stride for a touchdown.

LJS

 

[Mavric]

Apparently Statnton's TD traveled about 55 yards in the air and hit Evans in stride.

 

[NUpolo8]

The vibe I'm getting from this thread is it's more of a Fyfe vs. Stanton battle for 2nd string. I AM DISAPPOINT

- but not entirely surprised.

Why disappointed?

If Armstrong is the best qb we have, why is it so disappointing that he's the man? Why is it so disappointing that Fyfe would be 2nd string if he's actually better at this point than Stanton (which I doubt will be the case when all is said and done)?

I'm oober confused right now.

)

Yeah count me in this group too actually. Except I'll be Uber confused

 

[True2tRA]

I'm Ewber confoose as well.