My QB mis-analysis

R

Ronznotes

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QB-

I wish I believed in Tommy Armstrong. But I don't.

Passing percentage: 52%
Yards per Rush: 3.7
Interceptions to Touchdowns: Even

I know he was a freshmen and I know he is a "leader" on the team. But I see virtually no reason to believe he has the skills to win 1, 2 or 3 of the games on our schedule that we don't have superior talent. That is what we have to have out of a position with youth. A game manager or whatever is what you can settle for with a Senior while the very talented underling learns the ropes. Martinez had his issues, but he put fear in a defensive coordinator with his feet and his arm. He was very high or very low, but as a linebacker, you didn't dare assume the next play was a "low" play. Armstrong seems to have none of those skills.

If I were a defensive coordinator playing Nebraska with Armstrong, I would do everything possible to force him to beat us. Cover the pitch man on the option, cover Amer on the zone read, and confuse him with the pass coverage.

Stanton. Is his potential higher? Seems like it. His running threat seems higher and the spring game shows that when he knows what to do, he delivers the ball.

Fife. Is his potential higher than Armstrong? I am so unconvinced about Armstrong, that I will say "yes". Good passer and quick running the ball. This would be difficult selection for Beck or Bo. it would signal that our recruiting of QBs is lacking when a walk-on takes the job. It also sets us up for another first time starter for another season; then Fife likely gets beat out a year or two later by Stanton.

I will be shocked to have Armstrong end the season as the starter. I would rather gamble early on Stanton or Fife and get through the first few games as warm ups. I predict Armstrong struggles at Mid-season develops a semi-mysterious injury and we make the move to Stanton. This locks us into another 4 loss season.

We are Armstrong or bust. He has to stop throwing picks that look intentional and develop into a gitimate running threat or we will waste a talented 2014 season.

p.s. I have been trying to decide who Armstrong reminds me of, and it's a less talented Steve Taylor or maybe he is just Cody Green transferring back from Tulsa. We would be blessed if he turns out to be Joey Ganz, but he's probably Mike Grant.



 
I just hope that Beck really looks at his ability to pass the ball in practice. Find passes he (and the receivers) can complete in their sleep. If they are not completed 7-80% (or some other formula) in practice ditch them. Spoon feed him success early on the get him comfortable. Like RGIII his rookie year, they only called plays he felt good about and executing. Do the same with TA.

We have the best RB in the B1G and possibly nation. Lean on him. Lean on Cross, Newby and Taylor. Let our run game slow the game, grind the D and win the games. Throw in enough PA to keep the D honest with low reward/high percentage designed passes. Play call so that we are facing 2nd and mi or 3rd and short instead of 3rd and long. TELL TA to lean on the experienced receivers in Bell and JT.

If TA can't get it done, move on. Nothing wrong with that. Don't hitch the Big Red Wagon to one guy because of the "it" factor or he started last year. Get the best guy and try to truly find him before kick off.

 
You should take a step back & look at all of the stats. TA had 6 Ints in 2 games (NW - Purdue) & one vs a very good D Mich St. I'm trying to remember correctly, but I think 2 were WR tips, 1 was a over shot on a long ball & the rest were bad reads that caused INT's. He also showed some flashes of greatneee. He was also only a Fr & was splitting time with RK3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWZzoJJMObM

This throw was very good. It was slightly behind Enunwa which actually helped him aviod the big hit. The pass itself was 50 yds. Even if Enunwa only catches the ball, it completely flips the field postion and gives NU a new set of downs.

He also had some very good option plays that I think you will see more of this year.

 
Blackshirt96 said:
You should take a step back & look at all of the stats. TA had 6 Ints in 2 games (NW - Purdue) & one vs a very good D Mich St. I'm trying to remember correctly, but I think 2 were WR tips, 1 was a over shot on a long ball & the rest were bad reads that caused INT's. He also showed some flashes of greatneee. He was also only a Fr & was splitting time with RK3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWZzoJJMObM

This throw was very good. It was slightly behind Enunwa which actually helped him aviod the big hit. The pass itself was 50 yds. Even if Enunwa only catches the ball, it completely flips the field postion and gives NU a new set of downs.

He also had some very good option plays that I think you will see more of this year.
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He "only" had 1 INT against MSU because he was too busy fumbling the ball at the 5 yard line.

Understand, I want Armstrong to show he can play. I was excited to see him play once TMart got hurt. He has to show a lot of growth this season to warrant putting him in the field.

 
I don't think he is way off base at all. I know people love to talk about how well TA runs the option but I guess I did not see it all that much. Teams will let him run and key the option back, because TA is not really a burner AND because there is no proven guy behind him.

Now, with that being said...TA might be a "winner" some guys just win...I don't know why but they do...

 
You guys are falling for the fallacy that the QB is more important that he really is. Don't get me wrong he is most important but not by a wide margin. Take Brady and Manning. Widely considered the 2 best in the NFL. Brady goes down early in a year and Matt Cassel took them to a first round bye. Manning went down early and they earned the first pick. System and surrounding talent have a huge influence.

My take in last year is the offense was designed for Taylor. Tommy needs a different offense to be successful. The way things went down last year it wasn't conducive to switching midstream. With the OL and RBs we have this year the QB shouldn't be a huge concern.

 
SouthAfricanHusker said:
You guys are falling for the fallacy that the QB is more important that he really is. Don't get me wrong he is most important but not by a wide margin. Take Brady and Manning. Widely considered the 2 best in the NFL. Brady goes down early in a year and Matt Cassel took them to a first round bye. Manning went down early and they earned the first pick. System and surrounding talent have a huge influence.

My take in last year is the offense was designed for Taylor. Tommy needs a different offense to be successful. The way things went down last year it wasn't conducive to switching midstream. With the OL and RBs we have this year the QB shouldn't be a huge concern.
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The system had nothing to do with him fumbling snaps and throwing erratically. He needs to show real improvement in reducing turnovers or start making big plays consistently enough to offset the turnovers.

 
SouthAfricanHusker said:
You guys are falling for the fallacy that the QB is more important that he really is. Don't get me wrong he is most important but not by a wide margin. Take Brady and Manning. Widely considered the 2 best in the NFL. Brady goes down early in a year and Matt Cassel took them to a first round bye. Manning went down early and they earned the first pick. System and surrounding talent have a huge influence.

My take in last year is the offense was designed for Taylor. Tommy needs a different offense to be successful. The way things went down last year it wasn't conducive to switching midstream. With the OL and RBs we have this year the QB shouldn't be a huge concern.
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I see what you're getting at, but I think the QB for the Huskers this year really is important by a wide margin and will have a heavy influence on the season, until we know what we've got at all the other places.

We've got a lot of good pieces on this team and a lot of players with a ton of potential. But, I don't think they're collectively good enough to compete for a conference title or BCS berth without an above average quarterback performance. I'm just not sure if the team around the QB is good enough to make up for a lot of poor performances. That said, I'm withholding any real judgement on TA until after I see him this year. There's a big difference between preparing as the starter all off-season and being pushed into the limelight as a RFR after a four-year starter goes down.

 
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I'm not ready to give up on TA. He was largely serviceable as a freshman tossed unexpectedly to the wolves. That said, we need to see major improvement. 52% throwing isn't good enough, he needs to hit 60% or damned close to it. He needs to improve that TD/INT ratio. I'd like to see him get close to 2:1 but that's probably optimistic. I don't mind the YPC number, he has a knack for the option.

If he looks like he did last year once we're playing Fresno or Miami, then I will be worried. Before that, though I want to see how much progress he's made with a full spring, summer, and fall to prepare as the more or less designated starting QB.

 
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SouthAfricanHusker said:
You guys are falling for the fallacy that the QB is more important that he really is. Don't get me wrong he is most important but not by a wide margin. Take Brady and Manning. Widely considered the 2 best in the NFL. Brady goes down early in a year and Matt Cassel took them to a first round bye. Manning went down early and they earned the first pick. System and surrounding talent have a huge influence.

My take in last year is the offense was designed for Taylor. Tommy needs a different offense to be successful. The way things went down last year it wasn't conducive to switching midstream. With the OL and RBs we have this year the QB shouldn't be a huge concern.
Click to expand...
I agree with the notion that Tommy needs a different style of offense to be successful, and that it didn't make much sense to try to adopt a new system halfway through the year just so one guy could play better. With an offseason to improve and reinvent, Tommy's numbers should improve and hopefully improve dramatically.

However, the QB is the most important player on the team, and the position's importance exceeds that of all the other positions by a wide margin, unless you create an effective system where you throw maybe 5 times a game without running the option. The QB touches the ball on every offensive snap. Kenny Bell can have 10 yards between him and his defender, but that won't mean anything unless Tommy can accurately deliver a pass to him. Ameer can bust out a 50 yard run, but that won't mean anything if Tommy mishandles a snap or throws an interception. Don't let minor instances of backup quarterbacks having success mislead you. A team without its starting quarterback is in a world of trouble.

 
Oh sure. But how good is his throwing motion?

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