If we have to live through 2013 again this year, we need to look at more than just replacing the QB.Originally Posted by HogDawg
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If we have to live through 2013 again this year, we need to look at more than just replacing the QB.
Yep. CUSA is BAD...a lot worse than the WAC (at least pre-exodus). J'Mar is young and he's going to make mistakes. If he sees the same level of improvement that Ryan Higgins saw under the Skip regime, I think we'll be just fine. I think Smith has more to work with than anybody we've had save Driskel and McCown.
Those two are actually interesting examples. I was in school when Luke was the QB and it seemed to me that he played better when he was younger. As he got older, he seemed to get tight and play like he was thinking too much. Obviously that was a coaching thing as evidenced by his decade + in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if J'Mar is going through a similar transition. Things were simple and he had nothing to lose against Arkansas. Now, there's hype and his team is depending on him for more than one game. Add to that the fact that his WR corp took a step back and his OL is playing poorly and you can understand some rough outings. I am hopeful that the staff who took two transfers and Higgins to new heights, will be able to get J'Mar back on track.
Should be an interesting weekend. I highly doubt WKU is as bad as they looked last Saturday...and I'm praying that we aren't.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
Tough assignment, beating WKU on the road, but if we can do it we are assured of at least a 2-2 start, and I think most of us would have signed up for that before the season began.
Good old Memorial Gym
Many of us (not me) had us 1-3 after the first four games. Our schedule set up for it. The team can overcome a 1-3 start, but I don't believe our fan base can. Getting blown out last week was a step back. Losing the next two will be as well.
Agreed. 2-2 ain't pretty, but it beats starting 1-3, which I posted about 2 months ago. 1-3 is simply not an acceptable start anymore. As PD points out, it KILLS your home crowd for the rest of the season, because fans don't want to watch an inferior product. We've simply gotta start 2-2.
The good news (for LA Tech) is, WKU appears to be vulnerable this week too. The Hiltoppers lost to a Big10 bottom feeder last week, and their fans on CUSA board are saying that this years WKU offense has no resemblance to last years CUSA championship team. So, there's a chance........
And you lend credence to what fans say on an Internet board?
It is true WKU is breaking in a new head coach. So, maybe he has junked their high-octane offense for something more mundane. But given that Holtz has too, that is just sauce for the goose.
Stats seem to indicate it too. Their rushing yards are absolutely dreadful.
I think that was one of Luke's problems too. Stacked at WR when he arrived, not so much by the time he left.
Luke's problem was that he had trouble reading zone defenses. The more complex the zone defense the more Luke struggled. Phil Bennett was the DC at Kansas State late in the 2001 season when he threw several defenses at Luke that Luke could not handle. That gave a blueprint to everyone else Luke faced moving forward.
Luke was rated by several draft analysts before the 2003 season as the 3rd rated QB in the draft behind Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. Had he been able to pick apart the zones that teams like Rice, SMU, UTEP, etc... threw at him in those final 2 seasons he would have been a first round draft pick. The fourth QB in the 2004 draft was JP Losman from Tulane, who went in the 1st round with the 22nd overall pick the Bills. Luke would have not slid past that pick.
So Luke had piss poor QB coaching?
hope not-- I personally do not throw in towel on OC who had us consistently has us in top 5 offense 3 years in row and put 73 points on board after 2 games. Just wish he would not call the fumble -interception-drop pass plays. I 100% back our Coach and his staff. We lost to Miss State--it was ugly and handfiull of players had horrible games
I can't help but wonder is "protecting" quarterback during practice and scrimmages backfires when he gets hit during game -- Coach Fitch did not lose the game, poor ball protection did. Coach Fitch did not forget how to put together great offense...
Thank you Skip for Sokol- Driskell-patience with Higgins -Carlos- Trent etc. Thanks for 73 points in 2 games and consistently putting top 5 offenses on the field ...Unfortunately we are developing new qb. Is what it is----- I absolutely pointed this out last year after Arkansas game-- J'Mar is work in progress -- coach has to adapt offense to what he has-- I hope to goodness they develop fast, especially protecting the ball
As you know, losing two Tech greats to the NFL is a step back for sure, but we have good receivers now. One of them will end up being as good as Henderson barring the obvious. It's not easy for guys who got limited PT last year to just walk in and and start playing. We will be fine at receiver. I believe at QB too.
He had problems with zone defenses, as did Zac Champion. On the other hand, two QBs that did not have nearly the talent but with the same coaching - Max Causey and Matt Kubik - could pick apart zone defenses.
Luke owes a lot to Jon Gruden.
Not impressed!
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