Triaging the QB room
- Thread starter Scarlet
- Start date
I’ve always found it interesting when people complain about a thread or how much discussion a certain thread is getting or why people are discussing things inside a thread.
Do they not understand they aren’t required to read every post or thread within this board. that it’s ok to not read something you aren’t interested in?
Undone
New member
The discussion is, would that have not been an issue if Thompson was here. I'm not saying we would have for sure seen better offensive production with him as the starter, but that's the point of the conversation.
Well we've actually had a few long throws (a couple of them TD's) this season that got drives going, kept them going, or finished them off.
Maybe helpful thing to do is to look at points per game this season versus previous seasons. Here's what that looks like:
- 2023 currently: 114th
- 2022: 101st
- 2021: 78th
- 2020: 101st
- 2019: 63rd
- 2018: 54th
In the 2020 season we didn't get the benefit of playing two complete nobodies to blow out because of COVID. But anyway, we're just so bad this year at getting points on the board. So if a QB run game is the only thing making our offense work, is it even saying very much?
Toe
New member
And IGC. And Fleeks is another subtraction from the WRs. And for that matter, so was Betts...
Lorewarn
New member
And most of them were off option passes after we'd established the option and qb run game and defenses bit.
We would add some amount of better passing production with Thompson, but how much considering the state of our receiver room?
ColoradoHusk
Donor
Guy Chamberlin
Active member
We've had some big pass plays keep us in games and win games.
We've had some big QB run plays do the same.
We also lead the world in unforced turnovers. That's the difference.
Let's not pretend we can tweak our not-ready-for-prime-time quarterbacks into schemes and playcalls that will be both safe and successful. Rhule and Satt can take all the heat in the world for choosing Jeff Sims as the horse they want to ride in their transition year, but what they're asking QBs to do are things every QB should be able to do.
Might be nice to have a couple of those starting receivers and running backs we lost. That's not Haarberg, Sims, or Purdy's fault. But they just aren't P5 worthy quarterbacks. And that's sad. For them. And us.
We've had some big QB run plays do the same.
We also lead the world in unforced turnovers. That's the difference.
Let's not pretend we can tweak our not-ready-for-prime-time quarterbacks into schemes and playcalls that will be both safe and successful. Rhule and Satt can take all the heat in the world for choosing Jeff Sims as the horse they want to ride in their transition year, but what they're asking QBs to do are things every QB should be able to do.
Might be nice to have a couple of those starting receivers and running backs we lost. That's not Haarberg, Sims, or Purdy's fault. But they just aren't P5 worthy quarterbacks. And that's sad. For them. And us.
In the long run and for next year’s growth it is better that those young receivers are getting meaningful snaps and making mistakes to learn from this year when the QB’s are not good.
Guy Chamberlin
Active member
I think Nebraska earned a great reputation as a rushing steamroller operating with option quarterbacks, but we haven't been able to coast on it as both offenses and defenses have adapted the past 20 years. We still hold the door for high school dual threats who want to keep playing quarterback, when other schools want to convert them to other positions. Great athletes with great YouTube clips, but not the passing skills needed to succeed at the next level. Agree we don't need the elite 5 star or air raid guy, but we may want to identify the competent passer first before we get excited about what he can do with his legs.
ColoradoHusk
Donor
Yes, I agree it’s good in the long run. However, the young receivers may have not produced as well as they could have to get another win or two this season. It’s easy to blame the OC, OL coach, or QB, but the whole offense has had issues with health and reliability.
Undone
New member
It's a good point. Now maybe it's more of limiting dumb interceptions though also. That's been a pretty big problem this season also.
Another thing that's similar to your point would be how we had two key RB's get injured for the season. So maybe the running QB's filled the gaps there because if I'm looking at team stats correctly, we're actually 32nd in the nation in rushing yards per game.
Hard to say all things would have been equal with injuries if Thompson had been the starter but maybe there's something to that one.
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JJ Husker
Donor
I mean I sort of get it.
No amount of message board discussion is going to change the QB room diagnosis from critical/near death. Tough to “triage” when there is no pulse to be found. But yeah, it can be passed by easily by anyone who doesn’t want to see it.
I was just giving him the business (as Wally Clever would say).
BigRedBuster
Active member
Lorewarn
New member
I think in a hypothetical world with Casey still here, we'd have a handful less turnovers, some amount more passing production more than offset by a greater loss in rushing production, and he'd miss at least 4-5 games being hurt and maybe we get one more win that we left on the table. Based off nothing other than my own intuition, I think this year's offense was more or less doomed to be mediocre and then was fated into all-time-bad status with injuries no matter what.
gossamorharpy
New member
Let this be a lesson to us all- you simply cannot live and die by the portal year in and year out, particularly at a position of utmost important like QB. I dont like bagging on frosty at this point because its been well covered, but so much of this issue goes back to us hitching our wagon to 2AM and pretty much refusing to bring in another qb until 2am was an upperclassmen. We as a progrum left very little options besides going into the portal and we're left with a swing and a miss on a portal guy, forcing a local kid who prolly 2nd/3rd string at best, and another project from the portal that simply doesn't seem to P5 material consistently.
Lets hope Kaelin is the start of us building out a qb room organically and truly up-leveling QBs where they dont play until they're truly ready and their time is now.
Lets hope Kaelin is the start of us building out a qb room organically and truly up-leveling QBs where they dont play until they're truly ready and their time is now.