QB evaluation

[Birdswin]

I have said this before, but who is making the evaluation of the QBs and making the recommendation to Spack on who to play?

It is extremely clear, there was blatant mistake made in the second half of the Mo State game and then perpetuated in the Youngstown game. Jefferson should have been playing and getting the practice reps.

Who?? the QB Coach, the OC? If not them then Who? I know it is ultimately Spack's decision, however, there are other coaches making recommendations and providing support for their decision - basically pleading a case for one QB over the other to Spack.

Then, are these the same coaches doing the recruiting for QBs? If so, then we know why, there seems to be a problem with developing QBs, and why we rely on transfers.

 

[Brick]

Well after yesterday I don’t think the QB cupboard is as bare as I feared. Jefferson played a flawless game and it’s clear the kid has an arm. That TD pass was a thing of beauty and a great catch. As I understand it Jefferson has had a redshirt season? So that year of experience was evident yesterday. Not saying the
Other kid won’t be good but a year on the college level to get bigger, stronger is invaluable. Having said that I am a basketball guy who’s simply a football fan.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I was going to refrain from bringing this up but since Birdswin did...

I voiced on the board before the game that I thought Jefferson should start. Really (I mean really) good decision to have Hatfield as the backup QB. Baltz could well be the future of the ISU team but at this moment in time, he is not ready. I thought he was lost against MoState but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he had no work with the 1st team. I would have pulled him earlier against YSU to give Jefferson at least some decent time to show what he could do Granted Jefferson was not great either but he barely has time to get settled. Jefferson was really solid yesterday and managed the game well. Nice run on the TD and his pass to Edgar was perfectly thrown. The question is can he make those types of throws consistently? None of us know the answer to that but the Coaches should. They see him every day in practice. The two years in the program and his decision making on the field was apparent yesterday. So at this point, you have to question the decision of the coaches to go so hard with Baltz and force things instead of going with Jefferson. I think it brings into question even more the ability of this coaching staff to evaluate and develop QBs. This was not week 2...this is the end of the season and playoffs and it appears they had absolutely no idea of which QB was the best to replace Davis.

The key now is can Jefferson do it consistently? Likely he will not have Robinson running for almost 300 yards next week. He may have to shoulder a bit more of the load but yesterday's game should have been a huge confidence builder for him. The O-Line has to continue to play well next week and it is so great to have Edgar back on the field. It would be nice to even the series up with Central Arkansas after the playoff loss in 2016. Oh geez...here comes that awful gray and purple field again!

 

[fourthandshort]

I just think the pressure cooker was on full steam trying to earn a top 8 seed ... coaches and players alike responded poorly to Davis injury.

We came into game yesterday humbled with much lower expectations. Jefferson looked much more relaxed and sure of his role yesterday. That and getting a break from playing tough MVFC defenses helped a ton IMO

 

[DaveBird10]

Imo I think Baltz may be the future and more talented but Jefferson being in the system for a year was more prepared and it showed. I've always liked Jefferson bc of his ability to run, he just needs to improve on the passing game.
I also want go give a kudos to Trenton Hatfield. This kid arrived here with the hope to be a qb and switched to running back his redshirt freshman year, to safety his redshirt sophomore year and then to be a backup quarterback yesterday with how important he is on special teams says a lot. Some kids might not do that but since he did it shows what this team is about.

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[TIMMY]

I would hope QB decisions are made as a group based on of what kids show in practice.

I'm not going to get real excited just yet. 4-7 for 52 yds and a TD. OK good first test. Very happy Edgar is back. Playing with a lead on a day that your RB ran for 300. Let's see what happens in Arkansas.

I was very happy with the way they tweaked the offense. I wish we would have seen more of that all year. Robinson would be over 2000 yards. The power stuff was really nicely blocked and one play set up another. It didn't hurt that SEMO stayed in that 5-2, 7 in the box most of the game.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I just think the pressure cooker was on full steam trying to earn a top 8 seed ... coaches and players alike responded poorly to Davis injury.

We came into game yesterday humbled with much lower expectations. Jefferson looked much more relaxed and sure of his role yesterday. That and getting a break from playing tough MVFC defenses helped a ton IMO

I imagine Jefferson was much more relaxed. Baltz was not going to play unless it was a crisis and his backup was Hatfield. Jefferson knew he was the guy they were going with Saturday. Before that, he was obviously not the first choice. Probably did not do a lot for his confidence when he was pulled in the YSU game and then Baltz came in and threw the interception. O-line had a big day and big production from Robinson that Baltz did not get at YSU. Good start but we will see how they handle the C Arkansas front 7.
I think most fans came into the game with lower expectations but it sure did not look like the players came out that way. I was impressed with how they came out and grabbed the game by the throat right away. I don't think SEMO knew what hit them and never really recovered. We will never know but I don't think it would have made a difference if their starting QB began the game or not. I thought the backup played okay and their receivers made some nice catches. They also had a few decent plays called back.

 

[Total Red]

I was very happy with the way they tweaked the offense. I wish we would have seen more of that all year. Robinson would be over 2000 yards. The power stuff was really nicely blocked and one play set up another.

It's interesting that the "tweaked" offense included extra blockers and tight formations something posters on this board told us wouldn't work earlier this season.

Every week you have to do what will work best with the personnel you have and the opponent you face. Having Jefferson at QB while leaning heavily on Robinson carrying the ball in the manner to which he is accustomed worked extremely well this week. I agree that UCA will be a new puzzle to solve.

 

[fourthandshort]

I was very happy with the way they tweaked the offense. I wish we would have seen more of that all year. Robinson would be over 2000 yards. The power stuff was really nicely blocked and one play set up another.

It's interesting that the "tweaked" offense included extra blockers and tight formations something posters on this board told us wouldn't work earlier this season.

Every week you have to do what will work best with the personnel you have and the opponent you face. Having Jefferson at QB while leaning heavily on Robinson carrying the ball in the manner to which he is accustomed worked extremely well this week. I agree that UCA will be a new puzzle to solve.

eh .. yeah that was me.

I still contend it wont work against the toughest defenses in FCS, which are largely the top half of MVFC teams. The holes were pretty big on saturday, bigger than theyhave been all year. Does anyone really believe the holes would/will be that big against NDSU, SDSU, or UNI ? SEMO did not know us well .. and they just aren;t nearly as good defensively as top tier MVFC defenses.

And their alignment while positioned as a 5-2-4 was really a 3-3-5 in terms of their personnel groupings. So their LBers turned DEs only weighed 225 lbs, ther DBs turned LBers weight only 190 lbs. Lot easier to block a 225 lb DE than a 250+ lb DE.

Between them not knowing us, not being as good as MVFC defenses, and the size advantage .. yes, Robinson saw a lot of daylight. Seriously .. think about how many times he got stuffed at LOS against YSU a week earlier. Do we really believe play calling was that much different against SEMO (an OVC team who did not know us) than YSU ... or NDSU, SDSU, and UNI ???

Now we face UCA, a team who's only real strength is their pass game in a conference that likes to pass. So they won't be used to a ground and pound game. Like SEMO< they play in a lesser conference and their stats dont match their record. So that could work to our advantage again and it buys us one more week of bringing our QB along.

I stand by what I said ... more people in the box against top level defenses will not work. But our new reality is we can't throw a lot .. so we work with what we have. As Jefferson's comfort level and confidence grows, he may prove to be able to throw a little more, plus we have Edgar back .... we'll see how that goes.

 

[redbirdfan04]

I do feel we are the only team that has a chance at an upset this round. The two biggest issues I feel we are going to have is tired/sore bodies and travel. We can not hide the fact they have had a week off and do not have to travel. I think this gets over looked often. I really think we will know who is going to win this game after the first five minutes of the first quarter. If they start throwing the ball all over us and we get a quick three and out we are in trouble.

 

[JHBird]

I'm glad their strength is their passing game. Our DB's might be our strength, so it's strength vs strength there. Now, can we run the ball on them? I feel more confident in that we're not playing a valley team. I hope Jefferson runs the ball more as well.

 

[TIMMY]

I'm not sure the play calling was better this week but the execution and the blocking scheme was. But you have to go with what you've got. So what do we have. A great RB. An Oline with some big dudes who are good run blockers. Pass blocking? ehh. One really good receiver. The others will get better. A good fullback. A tough kid at QB with a good arm but no experience. So will this work against everyone. Hell no. But no scheme is does. You just have to put your guys in the best position to compete. X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's? This week we had both. Coaches really coached it up. :clap:

You are right. SEMO played it like a 5-2 with 3-3 personnel. That's what it's all about. Making "them" do something they aren't made to do. Oh, and it didn't hurt we really blocked up their stud Mike linebacker.

 

[DaveBird10]

I'm not sure the play calling was better this week but the execution and the blocking scheme was. But you have to go with what you've got. So what do we have. A great RB. An Oline with some big dudes who are good run blockers. Pass blocking? ehh. One really good receiver. The others will get better. A good fullback. A tough kid at QB with a good arm but no experience. So will this work against everyone. Hell no. But no scheme is does. You just have to put your guys in the best position to compete. X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's? This week we had both. Coaches really coached it up. :clap:

You are right. SEMO played it like a 5-2 with 3-3 personnel. That's what it's all about. Making "them" do something they aren't made to do. Oh, and it didn't hurt we really blocked up their stud Mike linebacker.

Now they did change the scheme up a little bit. Ty Pennington has been on the roster then entire year and this was the first time they had a powerhouse backfield with Pennington, Robinson and McCloyn. With what they ran last week can they add a zone read or option out of that look for this week?

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[StLRedbird]

I'm not sure the play calling was better this week but the execution and the blocking scheme was. But you have to go with what you've got. So what do we have. A great RB. An Oline with some big dudes who are good run blockers. Pass blocking? ehh. One really good receiver. The others will get better. A good fullback. A tough kid at QB with a good arm but no experience. So will this work against everyone. Hell no. But no scheme is does. You just have to put your guys in the best position to compete. X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's? This week we had both. Coaches really coached it up. :clap:

You are right. SEMO played it like a 5-2 with 3-3 personnel. That's what it's all about. Making "them" do something they aren't made to do. Oh, and it didn't hurt we really blocked up their stud Mike linebacker.

I'm a little worried we don't come out full of the same amount of piss & vinegar against UCA. Any thoughts about Beathard's style of running things from the press box? Is that something he consistently does?

I read some chatter about Zach Hall maybe playing on Sundays somewhere down the line. We sure kept him in check.

 

[ISUBU]

I don't think enough has been said about Jefferson's game decisions Saturday. I thought he did a great job of avoiding big mistakes. If we're going to be successful with this offensive strategy, it is important that we not move backward or turn the ball over.

 

[DannyCooksey]

going back and looking at his HS tape and reading more about his HS career..........Jefferson is very talented IMO.

confidence and reps are key IMO. the young man can throw the ball and is athletic. im excited to see him throw the ball more this weekend.

 

[TIMMY]

I'm not sure the play calling was better this week but the execution and the blocking scheme was. But you have to go with what you've got. So what do we have. A great RB. An Oline with some big dudes who are good run blockers. Pass blocking? ehh. One really good receiver. The others will get better. A good fullback. A tough kid at QB with a good arm but no experience. So will this work against everyone. Hell no. But no scheme is does. You just have to put your guys in the best position to compete. X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's? This week we had both. Coaches really coached it up. :clap:

You are right. SEMO played it like a 5-2 with 3-3 personnel. That's what it's all about. Making "them" do something they aren't made to do. Oh, and it didn't hurt we really blocked up their stud Mike linebacker.

Now they did change the scheme up a little bit. Ty Pennington has been on the roster then entire year and this was the first time they had a powerhouse backfield with Pennington, Robinson and McCloyn. With what they ran last week can they add a zone read or option out of that look for this week?

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I like Robinson running north/south but some speed option with Jefferson and JR might be interesting. Out of a heavy set it could put him 1 on 1 with a corner.
There's something to be said for running an offense that your opponents don't see. Navy is a good example, but there are others. Everyone plays against spread offenses and RPO's nowadays. Make a corner play like a linebacker or a linebacker set the edge like an end and you're cooking with gas.

We got so much push on their Dline their stud linebacker got caught up in the wash. He couldn't scrap and became a 1 gap player. Nice.

 

[MadBird]

Back to QB evaluation - and the larger question of recruiting/development, etc.:

Spack's been here 11 years. By my count there have been 4 QB coaches (counting Beathard twice), and during the two years Dicken was OC, he wasn't listed as QB coach, so there may be 5 - Huard for 4 years, Eric Koehler for 1, Beathard for 2, no one or Dicken for 2, then Beathard for 2 again. There have been 5 offensive coordinators (again counting Beathard twice) - Steve Farmer, Huard, Barnett, Beathard, and during two years there were 2 co-coordinators + a passing game coordinator (3 different guys - Dicken, Clark and Deti) then Beathard again.

So you know, once Huard left after 2012, no one has been OC or QB coach more than two years running. That makes recruiting tough, evaluation tough, development tough. One coach recruits you, you're his kind of QB, then he leaves. Maybe you don't suit the new guy or his scheme or you don't see eye to eye. Or you don't pick up the system and so forth very quickly. You get moved to WR or DB or move on.

There has not been a lot of stability on that OC/QB coach line for a while. Gotta get that straightened out.

 

[fourthandshort]

I don't think enough has been said about Jefferson's game decisions Saturday. I thought he did a great job of avoiding big mistakes. If we're going to be successful with this offensive strategy, it is important that we not move backward or turn the ball over.

I honestly don't recall a single mistake from Jefferson .. mental or physical. I'm pretty sure I never yelled at my TV because of him even once !! Others who know more about schemes, etc may have noticed a few things I'm sure. But he looked really under control all game. Just needs to stay within himself again this week.

Only thing is I wish is that Jefferson had kept it a couple more times ... but hard to argue with giving it to a guy who got 41 carries and 297 yards .. reminder, he had a 20 yard run called back on a penalty, or he would have gone over 300. ISUr was the talk of 1st round .. before we were the team that no longer looked like they belonged in playoffs, now were the team that everyone is talking about upsetting a seed. UCA was off and undoubted watched our game live. They will be much better prepared than SEMO.

This week ... I'm hoping Jefferson keeps it more often (and slides mroe often !!!), and we throw it a few more times, and we hand off to Brown or McClyon a few more times. I don't think we should look to Robinson to run 41 times again .. or hurdles a defender late in game !!!

 

[Virginia Redbird]

We really just got a glimpse of Jefferson on Saturday. He did not throw much but when he did it seemed to be with good accuracy. The TD pass obviously could not have been thrown better. He looked effective running the ball as well. It would be good to see the backup running backs get a few more carries but in the end, Robinson was tearing SEMO up and the O-line was knocking their defense back. Why would you do anything differently when it was so obvious SEMO could not stop it. The Birds did not have to show much else besides #25 and that may be a good thing. Central Arkansas was certainly watching but they did not really see much besides a big strong O-Line knocking big holes for the best running back in FCS. They know Edgar is a threat but the Birds did not have to show much else to put SEMO away.
With a solid game under his belt I think Jefferson will be more of a factor. The coaching staff should have more confidence in him now. It was very apparent they did not have that type of confidence in him prior to Saturdays game. Good on Jefferson for stepping up with a lot of pressure on him. I am looking for another strong performance against UCA.