Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
nadB
True.
Jus couldn't resist reminding everyone, boxer.
BTW, terrible home schedule this year with only 5 home games, and they're charging (best I remember) as much for season tickets this year as last year when we had 7 home games??
The 11:00 A.M. start for our only decent home opponent this year especially sucks.
I think our high expectations made it seem like J'Mar was worse than he was. His misses were conspicuous but he was not BAD. I've seen bad at Tech. I remember Dooley saying we struggled completing passes "against air" and it wasn't an exaggeration. There were a few years that I actually cheered in glee when we made a completion--I mean ANY kind of pass completion was reason to rejoice. We had a drop off from what we saw from Sokol, Driskel, and Higgins but it was far from awful. Receivers are a big factor. Having a player like Trent Taylor can cover alot of sins. We need a dependable 2nd option to emerge at receiver. There have been glimpses from Bonnette and Smith. We saw potential in Hardy and Scott. I liked what I saw in Toussant and Hebert in today's scrimmage. But we need a couple of those guys to really break through in order to take some of the focus off of Veal.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
DogsWin
Good post A few fans on here truly BELIEVE that QBs (by faaar the hardest position to grow into quickly) are as good as they are going to get as freshmen. Ridiculous
We have CUSA’s 3rd most productive returning QB and some have “written him off” just like they did Higgins. Logical facts revelation is dismissed due to their “feelings” about a player. Lol. You’ll have more success trying to convince a republican to become a democrat or vice versa than to explain things to them rationally.
I don't recall seeing....no, honestly....any posts that read: Smith will not get better. He has peaked, and that is it. Maybe I missed such a post, and if I did, please show me one. What I have said, and what others have said, is he sucks. And then some posters have modified it some by saying he is very mediocre. There have been some posts about what specifically Smith needs to improve on. His completion % is woeful...what is it, like 55% or so? There are also concerns about his so-called running ability. Higgins was a MUCH better runner. Don't believe that? Go back and watch some video of Higgins and compare it to Smith. It's night and day.
I have admitted I was wrong about Higgins. And, I'll say it again, I hope to hell I am wrong about Smith. But...Smith now has about as many career starts that Higgins had, and he is NOT anywhere close to being the same quality QB. Higgins' last game was the bowl vs. Navy. We stood right next to each other and watched him torch a good Navy team. We would have all loved for Higgins to have had another year of eligibility. Smith's last start was the Frisco Bowl where he did pretty good, but it was the defense who won that game.
I expect Smith to be better this year than last year. Gawd! let's hope so! So, no, he hasn't peaked. But unless he demonstrates stark improvement, Tech football is squandering another year.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
Except he doesnt suck. He just wasn’t spectacular. He was simply serviceable last year. And the continual complaint of his play from last year as if it will also happen this year is an implication that they think he can’t get better. They don’t have to outright say it, what they say says it for them.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
People seem to forget the difference between who Higgins was throwing to and who Smith was throwing to. Completely different situations. Higgins did great, but he benefited from two NFL recievers. I think we saw Smith and Veal starting to develop their chemistry towards the end of the year. Hopefully we see that continue to develop and some of our other talent gel with Jmar.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
I do not agree with that excuse, about the WRs. If Higgins had thrown passes into the turf 7 yards short of the mark, or sailed them 20 feet over their heads, the two NFLers, Taylor and Henderson, wouldn't have caught them either. Some of you are searching for excuses to defend Smith.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
dawg80
I do not agree with that excuse, about the WRs. If Higgins had thrown passes into the turf 7 yards short of the mark, or sailed them 20 feet over their heads, the two NFLers, Taylor and Henderson, wouldn't have caught them either. Some of you are searching for excuses to defend Smith.
Yep. Horrible passes can't be caught by the best receivers. Not all were horrible passes, but many were when there was ZERO pressure on him. That has nothing to do with being young.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
PawDawg
Yep. Horrible passes can't be caught by the best receivers. Not all were horrible passes, but many were when there was ZERO pressure on him. That has nothing to do with being young.
Smith very rarely had zero pressure on him. Short arming passes can certainly have a lot to do with being young and being unsure of where you're supposed to go with the ball. You're a guy who likes to pick apart Holtz's statements. What do you make of his statements regarding Smith so far this spring?
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
johnnylightnin
Smith very rarely had zero pressure on him. Short arming passes can certainly have a lot to do with being young and being unsure of where you're supposed to go with the ball. You're a guy who likes to pick apart Holtz's statements. What do you make of his statements regarding Smith so far this spring?
He sounds optimistic, but he did last year too.
FWIW, I know when a QB is under pressure. We all saw the easy misses last year. Some were at the feet of the open receiver and some over their heads. If he can get over those jittery moments I think he will be fine. I always thought he had those jittery moments because our HC was causing pressure, not the defense.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
PawDawg
Yep. Horrible passes can't be caught by the best receivers. Not all were horrible passes, but many were when there was ZERO pressure on him. That has nothing to do with being young.
Smith had some bad throws for sure, but he also had just as many dropped balls that would have been caught (particularly by Taylor). We will find out this year what Smith has in the tank.
Re: Excerpts from Today's Football Conference
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Originally Posted by
detltu
Smith had some bad throws for sure, but he also had just as many dropped balls that would have been caught.
I don't believe there were any more dropped balls than ever before. Henderson dropped a bunch when he was here. Dropped passes are part of the game and we've all been seeing them for years at every level. I hope our QB proves me wrong regarding his passing ability. A great arm with great instincts is not taught, those assets are the reasons guys become QBs.