Home Football Better Seth Collins Comparison

Better Seth Collins Comparison

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I’ve heard Chuckie Keaton and Marcus Mariota. Both obviously much better passers and overall QBs.

I was thinking about my Jets today and thought of Brad Smith, the QB from Missouri, wondering where he went.

Here are his numbers.

To me, very similar to Collins. Smith was once a pre-season Heisman candidate in the mid 2000s, which is what I and others have said about Collins — that if he can complete intermediate passes he’d probably be a Heisman candidate one day. That’s a Captain Obvious prediction considering how he runs. But as I have said many times at this point, I don’t think he’ll ever pass well enough [to even reach a Brad Smith level]. Smith was a better runner and decision maker than Collins as well.

But I think that’s the best compassion with any player I’ve ever seen, so I thought I’d through it out there as food for thought. Of course, Brad only threw 10 passes in the NFL and the Jets drafted him in the 4th round as a WR and KR. He was pretty dynamic and good as “playmaker” for the Jets.

I think GA has the perfect idea (mine) of letting Collins play QB and run (occasional pass) inside the 10 and outside the 10 he’s a WR/playmaker.

282 COMMENTS

        • What he was asked to do.

          A good Seth comparison was Taylor Martinez at Nebraska. Fastest guy on the field, but an absolutely shitty throwing motion. Looked like a batter with a very open stance…….that throws like a girl. They could not coach it out of him, which is why I agree with you Angry. He is what he is and that is how he throws. Use him as a specialty QB and WR. The use in the CW was perfect.

  1. Is it not possible for a “playmaker” to become better at a certain position?

    RE: Collins as QB
    With off season work and better mental focus could Collins become the QB we need? Or is he one of those folks who, no matter how much they try, can’t get over the hump at that position?

    • Anything is possible. Check out Brad Smith’s QB rating — it actually got worse from freshman year to senior year.

      As I said before, it’s really hard to (a) undo bad habits or just plain inability and then (b) reteach good habits or ability.

      You can practice a ton and reach your max potential, but that max might not be good enough.

  2. Chuckie Keeton in 2014 and 2015 is a great comparison, since his completion percentage plummeted to around 53%. There are few guys who can run as well as Seth Collins does and throw as poorly as he does.

    Comparing freshman seasons, Jake Locker was very similar, similar yards per carry, similar yards per pass attempt, similar completion percentage, similar TD:INT radio and also got some early hype. Denard Robinson was pretty similar although I’d say Collins was slightly better as a passer than Robinson was as a freshman, which is frightening.

    • It’s not frightening. Robinson is a RB. I could make an argument that he cost two coaches their jobs (minus everything external). He was the best athlete on the team, and he was used incorrectly. Relying on him to become THE next QB and not having viable contingencies directly caused losses.

      SC can make throws where he doesn’t need to read or adjust. If the offense relegates him to those throws, he makes them and looks good doing so. And to keep the D off balance, he can line up at several positions and make those throws or get the green light to run when that throw is shut down by the D… or even when he’s feeling jiggy.

      It’s a win/win.

  3. Personally I haven’t written Seth off as a QB all the way, but I am one of the people who from the beginning said he should switch to a hybrid RB/WR like DAT. I think it’s the best position for his future (NFL) if that’s his goal. Then again we’re trying to win in college, so if he can win as QB 1 then my opinion doesn’t really matter on that.

    Regarding this last season though, I think what it really boils down to is STG was way too inexperienced to be handed the keys to a PAC 12 offense, and by doing so the coaches set him up for failure. You have to remember, Seth was really only a high school qb for 1 year. I could be completely off-base but reading between the lines it seemed like Seth is one of those kids who’s fathers moved around from high school to high school, probably because he butt heads with the coaches. My best friend was a High School bball head coach, and I got to see plenty of situations like this. Dad is over-bearing, always riding coaches, thinks his kid is an all-star, over-inflates kids ego, dad is a cancer in the stands and turns kind into cancer in the locker room, kid bounces around 4 years with no continuity. Finally sticks somewhere SR season because he’s so athletically gifted.

    Most of the kids who come in as true freshmen QB’s and have some success have lived and breathed football at the QB position since grade school, going to all of the camps, all the 7 on 7’s, all the combines, have private QB coaches for offseason (former college qb’s) and are starting as their high school Qb as a Soph or Jr’s.

    Seth doesn’t see the game quick enough right now to be a QB, and being honest he would have to be a savant to do so. He really needed a redshirt season to prepare. This isn’t the WAC, it”s the Pac 12. Both Nick and Marcus were starting high school QB’s for 2 years, and had 1 year of college practice and scout team work. They saw the game quicker, but talent is a problem. I still think Marcus could be solid, but it seems he’ll never get the chance.

    Instead it was a season full of lumps, and a bunch of us are now soured on Seth because of it. Is it fair? Maybe not. His awkward interviews and tantrums didn’t help, but I think the coaches might have done him a disservice throwing him the the wolves. I guess they didn’t have any other options? Maybe Seth looked so great against our shitty D that it skewed the coaches opinions? It was their first year with a completely new team. IMO: things would have been better if they gave the rock to LDR or Vanderveen for a season as a transition. Then fully integrate the system in 2016. But what do I know, I’m just an arm chair QB. My 2 cents.

    • I’m not soured on Seth. I think he’s found a position at which he can excel or be the star of the team if he so chooses. I’m also not soured on him as QB1. He just can’t do it. That’s fine. He got a chance. He doesn’t display the simple management abilities required at that position despite his athletic abilities. You can’t spend time developing the intrinsic necessities for that position. You need to be able to strengthen and refine what already exists. Coaches have found a position (or many) where his talents can shine.

      • You can’t have a QB who only looks at 1 receiver and then runs, and if option 1 IS open he can’t hit him 50% of the time. Just can’t have that. Period. Doesn’t matter how athletic he is. If that is “souring” then I am sour on him.

        Bullish on him as a “playmaker”, though, especially a running QB in the redzone.

        • I’m totally on board with this. Have more of a prototypically passing spread qb with Collins in the backfield at the same time as an RB/Qb. D would always be on their toes. With almost everyone going to an option/spread style of offense it seems like the next logical innovation in the game. It has to be the direction the coaches are heading right?

        • Ahhh… but you can have a QB1 on the field at the same time as a QB2 who does just that, especially if he’s very good at just doing that. And you can line him up at any skill position on the field, including QB1, according to whatever situation or play you want to run.

          I can imagine a lot of DCs mouthing several epithets followed by time-outs.

    • I think that’s a good comment.

      I think better play around Collins and experience would make him look better, but ultimately his flaws would/will be exposed at the most inopportune times. i.e. at some point during a magic season the QB has to win games with his arm and put a team on his back (cliche city!).

      Even Brad Smith, who was an NFL talent, had crappy years where he and the team severely underperformed pre-season expectations. It’s what happens when you’re one step forward/two back type of QB. Smith was a fantastic runner, probably better than Collins…

      I bring up Smith because I think that’s about what the Beavs can expect if they keep Collins at QB. 7 win seasons with some magical looking QB play at times but at the end of the day a 7 or 8 win team. This type of QB can win a few games but will never win big. I think the coaches know this and will make the change and just let Seth run it in here and there. Smart. If they stick with Collins at QB Beavs suddenly have a win cap of 7 or 8, just like under Riley. The reason we ditched Riley was to get to the next level, so that’s not cutting it for me.

  4. I finally figured out why the receivers dropped so many balls last year. They’re just taking over for Riley since he left to drop the ball in Lincoln.

  5. I think Denard Robinson is a good comparison. Electric runner but couldn’t throw to save his life. He’s now a RB in the NFL for the Jaguars

  6. Based on what was said on Talking Beavers it sounds like poppa Collins wants him at QB, and Seth is willing to play where he can best contribute. Spring ball should be interesting.

    • Yeah, that father bugged me from the moment I heard him speak (i.e. quoted). The guy seems overly involved and trying to live vicariously.

        • The overbearing dad can be a major problem. If you guys remember Kris Humphreys, aka Mr. Skank Kartrashian. He was a huge HS star here. Top ten recruit and signed with Duke. His dad was such a pain in the ass trying to tell Coach K how he was going to use and play his son that he told them to get fucked and the kid never played a second there. Released during the summer before his freshman season at Duke, he ball hogged his way into being a first round pick and helped get Dan Monson fired at Minnesota.

    • Collins growth as a QB was stunted because he was thrown in there and was overwhelmed. Had there been a decent QB, he would have sat for at least two years giving him time to grow. But now with a need for him to play a hybrid role, I can’t see him being a QB anymore. Maybe his senior year he could be back at QB.

  7. looks like Ducks will go the Vernon Adams route again


    Montana State’s Dakota Prukop — a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder who is expected to graduate this month and will be eligible to transfer and play immediately in 2016 — is primed to become a hot commodity. MSU is going through a coaching transition with new coach Jeff Choate taking over, and Tim Cramsey, the Bobcats’ OC — and a guy Prukop has a great relationship with — did not get retained.

    Prukop told FOX Sports on Tuesday that he’s gotten releases to transfer to Oregon, Texas and TCU. He will take an official visit to Oregon this weekend. “Oregon is my number one school right now because of the shotgun-style of offense they run,” Prukop said.

    http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/dakota-prukop-montana-state-bobcats-oregon-texas-tcu-jeff-choate-tim-cramsey-120815

    • Short term, this will probably keep the Ducks competitive.

      Long term however, it can’t be good for quarterback development, and it can’t be good for high school quarterbacks out there right now to see the Ducks continually rely on transfers instead of going through the growing pains of putting a new quarterback through the system (which usually yields better long term results). It also reeks of Helfrich trying to cover up that he isn’t as good as quarterback development as many might think.

      • Seriously, why bother going to Quacker U as a QB recruit out of high school? You’ll just ride the pine behind whatever FCS transfer-du-jour Helfy brings in for the year.

  8. As I consider this, I don’t see how Sitake turns down ~$2 million+ to coach his alma mater, unless their is some weird Mormon blood ritual involved…..

    • Weren’t they in meetings with the selection committee, trying to work around not having a big 12 championship? They were doing everything they could not to add 2 schools to the league and actually make it a Big “12”.

    • What immediately makes me laugh is when anyone brings up an SEC/ACC/B1G championship game as “an extra win.” In fact it’s just finally a ninth conference game… for only two teams. Make everyone in your conference play nine games against each other instead of middle-somewhere high school university, and I won’t laugh my ass off when you want to talk SOS.

      I think it should be nine conference games and two non-con. I hear the argument against a playoff (where every other NCAA sport on every other level has one) as something involving study or something or something. And yet we’ve found time enough to add a 12th game to our season..

      Uh huh.

      I have no clue what motivates these decisions.

  9. OT… kinda… there is/was a RB for BYU who was out for this year because he is an adolescent male… Jamaal Williams… Simmons? He was sitting out a year because… well… because. Anyone know what he’s thinking/doing? Is he going back to BYU or enrolling somewhere else?

    • Correction: Williams was arrested for being passed out in the back seat of a car that was pulled over. He had stuff to drink, and he trusted someone less drunk than he to get him home. That did not happen.

      He signed on to what BYU is about. Unless he was RUFIed (which I can totally see happening in Utah), then he must accept what he already accepted. But does he take that pause and think to himself, “Self? What the fuck am I doing with these really dense people? Is it about money? They have that and would not likely give me any. So what am I doing?

  10. I honestly can’t imagine anyone comparing Seth Collins to Mariota… Link?

    What always stood out to me with Mariota was his accuracy.

    • Ha! Yes. Deadly accurate! Superbly accurate!

      His accuracy was and is a factor of system. Mariota gets a play-action slant. Yay for him. He can make some other throws sometimes. He can not fit it in a tight window when the chips are down… or on a routine play. But man, he has wheels. Those will last two, three years max. We’ll see what he learns in that time.

      Note: Mariota is extremely intelligent or intuitive in the system in which he plays. It will take him years of development to make him a viable NFL QB. But he could do very well and win as one given time. But his accuracy and arm strength are not what anyone says they are… just like drafting JaMarcus Russell in any round, forget the first, was just bonkers as a bald foot at a hair convention but everyone said it was what must happen.

      Yay for everyone. He’s my favorite person.

      • I think Mariota has a good chance because he seems to have humility and a willingness to work. Contrast him with RGIII, who had a quick start, but then couldn’t admit he needed to work harder and improve when mobility alone (or primarily) wouldn’t get it done in the NFL.

        You say Mariota’s arm strength and accuracy aren’t what people said they are; but I thought he threw a better deep ball than, say, Mannion (too often WRs had to slow down to wait for his passes); flatter trajectory, better in-stride placement for WRs. Were the WRs wide open in a simple offense? Yes, but he still hit them. Mannion routinely underthrew a wide open Cooks. And I know you are not saying “Mannion threw a better deep ball than Mariota,” but my point is it didn’t seem like a problem in the few games I saw.

        Mariota also seems to avoid INTs pretty well, even for a rookie in the NFL. Maybe like other mobile qb’s the league catches up with him (or he can’t keep up with the league), but I think he’ll put in the work to be viable NFL QB. This is a guy who was a 3* coming out of HS and that didn’t seem to let the Heismann go to his head.

        I agree that UO’s system does not require challenging throws for its QBs, but I don’t agree that Mariota lacks sufficient arm strength or accuracy. He won’t have the strongest arm in the league, but is it really a deficiency? His work ethic and decision-making will likely offset his top end arm strength. Plus, have a WR and RB emerge, or get them, and see what that does for his game.

        I enjoy your player assessments and insights on the games (both football and basketball) and will be (mildly) interested to see how Mariota’s NFL career pans out.

        • No no no. Mariota has smarts that can overcome everything. What he’s being asked to do combined with what he’s been asked to do gives nobody any indication as to what he will be able to do in the future NFL.

          I think that was a football-worthy sentence. It almost borders on brilliance.

          edit: We are talking about a program that traded Levitre away for a sixth round and a conditional. So maybe I have some grudge-worthy complaints for a fellow alum.

          • What is meant by that first paragraph, in case you don’t understand it, is that Mariota is being given band-aids for an offensive strategy. He came out of college being able to do one thing, and that one thing has to be hidden in an offensive strategy that gives him some chance to succeed. It’s not hidden well and will disappear as his crutch after this year. So what is he being asked to do that will have a lasting effect on his career? What is he doing that gives any of us any indication of growth and experience?

            He’s got wheels. I’ll give him that.

        • I agree with both of you for the most part. Mariota seems like an intelligent player and great guy who wants to work hard and also has a so so arm/can’t get the ball into tight spaces. It’ll be interesting to see how intangibles like intelligence, humility, and decision making offset the physical weaknesses. I think he’ll succeed on some degree…maybe stick around as a backup for 10 years worst case, but I can see him being like a Chad Pennington with wheels, too.

          • Pennington with wheels is fair. I think Mariota’s arm is slightly better. But Chad was a smart QB who played above his ability for an extended period. He was also trained in a pro set and had a super stellar WR at Marshall. So he made up with timing what he lacked in ability. Mariota gets the same treatment in the play action slant system they have set up for him now. He knows how to make decisions off that play, and all else feeds off it. But unless there is a world of a game outside that base play, there is now tape on him and a whole off-season for D coaches to look at it.

          • Note: Pennington stopped being viable once his already poor arm strength lessened to the point he was injuring his receivers, most notably Chrebet. He ended that career, and his own career ended soon after that.

            But it’s not a thing.

          • That’s correct, he hospital-balled Chrebet one too many times. Laveranues Coles also suffered several concussions while with the Jets…one I remember on a bad pass. I forget how he got the others. Angry@angry is an idiot. I wouldn’t eve bother responding if I were you.

            I always found Pennington intriguing because he had such a weak arm, yet was really good in his prime. Probably had the weakest arm I ever saw, and agree, Mariota has a better arm.

          • I respond because what he writes is just giggle-city. I ask for and get fallacies I never would have imagined. He’s not talking points dumb. He’s actually imaginitively dumb. It’s somewhat refreshing.

            Even reading Laveranues makes me want to look at a dictionary. When I read that name, I feel like I’m listening to Yaz trying to pronounce Pagliarulo.

        • To me arm strength isn’t as important as a willingness to throw the ball downfield. If a QB refuses to test his limits and strive for a full repertoire, he can never be great. This happened with Pennington and Alex Smith and you can see it happening with Bridgewater in Minnesota. Guys like Tom Brady and Kurt Warner didn’t have great arm strength when they entered the league but they had the willingness to push their potential instead of playing within the limitations they began with. To me that’s what it takes to become a great QB (or great at anything, really) among all the intangibles. Mariota is already smart, humble and unflappable enough to be a serviceable NFL QB but time will tell if he’s confident enough to step outside his comfort zone and be a guy that wins championships. Surrounding personnel and coaches will also play a pivotal role as they always do. It’s no coincidence that Brady’s best seasons came while throwing to one of the best ever receivers (Moss) and tight ends (Gronk)

          • Yeah… Brady just threw for more TDs. His best seasons ever were ones where he won a championship. Moss never got one.

            Brady and Warner had/have fine arm strength. spokesmodel Manning lost his arm about a year ago. Mariota has never had huge success throwing downfield. In fact, that’s where the claims of his accuracy are diminished. If the receiver has five or so yards clear where he can adjust or wait for the ball, all is good. If he’s covered, it’s a miss. It’s another tight window not hit.

            Same with sideline outs that float. I can almost hear the grunt on each of those efforts.

            And then there’s Jameis going off and playing pro football like he was born for it. How does that work?

            edit: And arm strength does matter when going down field. It gives you the comfort of knowing you can put it in the right place at the right time in a league which does not forgive weak arms. The NFL is watered down enough that a weak arm can still win 30% of the time. And that’s an NFL problem only if people stop playing fantasy long enough to actually watch the games. The sad fact is sub-standard talents play on that level. So there is always a path for smart players to succeed. The NB is the same… as is MLB. All of them could lose eight teams and be a much better product. I prefer a relegation system, but I doubt the American public would get over their own pride enough to start one.

            edit2: Mariota won’t win a championship as a starter. I doubt he gets close. A part of that is that the Titans are just a horrific organization. Well, that should be enough. Maybe he pulls a Plunkett and revives a career after this debacle. But I don’t see Carr as a Stabler type.

          • Montana threw to one of the best WRs ever and one of the best receiving RBs ever. Taylor was no slouch, either. Manning threw to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne and then great WRs/TE in Denver. Aaron Rodgers had/has Cobb and Nelson. Notice he’s not as good this year with Nelson out? You can go through every QB and find that pattern. It’s a symbiosis.

            A lot of greatness is circumstance. Tough to max your own talent if the people around you are awful. Mannion was a good example with and without Cooks. Before his senior season began I said we’d find out that Cooks made Mannion not the other way around. Mannion would toss it as far as he could and Cooks would make the play. Once Cooks was gone, nobody else on the roster was capable of making that type of play. Mannion had to actually play QB and make decisions, and he was exposed.

          • That’s what I’m saying bout professional sports being watered down. Optimally, every roster would have stars at every position going against like rosters. That would be true parity. The parity that exists now is one of mediocracy. If it seems ugly, it’s because there are people playing who don’t deserve to be playing.

            I have zero idea what the motive might be to water down any league in favor of having more teams. No idea. None.

            edit: And Montana got it there no matter the receivers. He was one of the few who were pushed out while he still had it, as he proved. They just had someone who was doing it better at that time.

          • Not proving a fallacy is not learning.

            Just saying.

            edit: Let’s make this short and sweet. You give your unifying principle of football which explains the world, life and everything. I promise to read it if its length is worthy of the topic. I knwo you won’t do that because you are only a contention. You provide nothing but “Nuh-uh” or “Nuh-huh” or some ridiculous fallacy equivalent to those. But I’ll give you the chance right now to step out of yourself and say something intelligent for once.

          • You and angry say I’m such an idiot. Chrebet played 11 years, roughly 3.5 with Pennington, and now it’s Pennington’s fault he suffered concussions? Read what Chrebet says himself. “It’s my fault, I could’ve gone out of bounds”. Yes, there are dangerous passes. But Jack said yesterday “if your QB throws these passes, your QB sucks.” Yet a simple google video search you can find many good to great QB’s who unintentionally get their WR’s hit

          • See? This is why it’s fun. I know which stats he refers to (even if he doesn’t source them… hint) because I watched them accrue. I find clarity in these fallacies.

            Chrebet was fun to watch. He was just fun. Pennington ended his career.

            It’s a thing.

          • Jack you seem to have a large vocabulary. Sooo…. Why the obsession with “fallacy”? And what have I said that’s false? You said “stats I refer to”… I didn’t mention one stat. What is your deal with me? I haven’t said anything false but everything is a fallacy. Didn’t mention a stat, but you know which ones they are. You’re a walking mind fuck

          • Sooo is such a big word.

            I don’t disagree with your last. But everything else is bunk, and you know it.

            And go find a dictionary. Look up falsity. Then look up fallacy. It’s a 200 level course, so maybe you haven’t taken it yet?

          • For starters you said Marcus McMaryion would never start a game as a quarterback for Oregon St. And you not so mysteriously disappeared from here after it happened. So there is that

          • For starters you said Marcus McMaryion would never start a game as a quarterback for Oregon St. And you not so mysteriously disappeared from here after it happened. So there is that

            Lol

          • I said that before LDR left. I envisioned LDR starting and Collins getting a role on the offense at QB. And sure I was “wrong” that he did get a start. But maybe I was right in that he showed why he won’t get more, barring injuries

          • “I said that before LDR left”

            That’s a steaming pile of horseshit if I ever saw one. You wrote that WELL after LDR announced he was going to transfer which was news on April 9

            Nice try though

          • Angry@angry is OBSESSED with being right. And equally obsessed with me being wrong.

            It’s bizarre. Oh well, time always proves the issues.

        • No. I said four or five wins was likely. That’s still wrong, but it doesn’t support your outright lie.

          edit: I do have a friend who is a football god who predicted six or seven wins. And he has been ribbed quite a bit for that. So maybe your lie was based on that?

          • You lie!! And you are a notorious asshole!! Actually if you look back to August and September you sparred with someone who stated that UW would beat the Beavs and listed Stanford, Arizona, UCLA and UW as teams that we should beat. In hindsight, even you must admit that these predictions were poor. You also stated that a lower level bowl is probable. Please do not tell me that you expect the Basketball team to break the NCAA drought this year!

          • Jack doesn’t admit shit. He’s a child. Fallacy! Remedial! Neener-Neener! Jack, I found that dictionary you told me to look for. I looked up internet troll, and saw your stupid face.

          • Heh heh… the tag team of most righteous death is hurty hurty Jack with meanie words. Boo hoo.

            88 (and all seven of your other handles): You need to link that… source it. I went back and scanned August and September posts. All I could find was one in late August where I said the talent on hand could win three games, and if the coaching of said talent was good they could possibly double that win total.

            I’m sure there’s a post like that out there. Those are a lot of words, and I’m thinking you had to cut and paste most of them. So send a link along.

            A@A: You didn’t look up fallacy. And now you also need to look up hypocrite.

  11. OT but Jared Cunningham played 34 minutes tonight for the Cavs in a win over the Zers and drew praise from Lebron for turning the game around with his defense. He looks to have caught on in a role that suits him perfectly but we’ll see if he lasts once Kyrie and Shumpert return. Good news though is those 2 guys are made of glass so they’ll probably just get hurt again soon after returning. Either way, great to see our one NBA alum making a name for himself on a playoff contender

    • A couple of weeks ago when Cunningham was getting 20 minutes plus, he went 6 for 27 shooting over three games, that’s why he rides the bench when everyone is healthy. Looks like he did not shoot much last night, which may have been by design. Maybe his great defense overcomes the offensive woes, so he gets steady minutes, but it didn’t the first time.

        • You know who would make Lebron look really really good?

          GP2

          Can you imagine that effort and energy infused into a team with Lebron on it?

          They also need a viable big if LBJ refuses to take the all everything role a la Magic. The NBA is watered down enough that bigs don’t really count anymore. But one on that team would make them super scary. Perhaps Love provides that this year?

          But as good as the GSW are making the NBA look, there is still the issue of selective travels and fouls. It’s obvious and insulting to any fan of any sport.
          http://uproxx.com/dimemag/2015/12/dirk-nowitzki-traveling-nba-refs/2/

  12. Does anyone think the Beavs would have had a better offense this season if McMaryion had been the QB from the beginning? I guess I’m puzzled that McGiven (given his reputation) went with Mitchell after the Collins injury. Mitchell clearly was not a D1 QB and had mechanical issues that never appeared to be fixed.

    The coaching staff did not see this? What if Garettson gets injured next year? Does a line-up with McMaryion, Nall and Collins (as playmaker) produce more points next season? Enough to win a couple of P-12 games?

    • Here’s what I think happened:
      The offensive staff realized they needed someone that was more of a threat throwing the ball than Collins. They needed someone who would actually go through progressions and make smart decisions instead of trying to force bad passes and run around like a chicken.

      Every comment about Mitchell was that he always made the right decisions, even if he couldn’t make the throw. Consequently, the staff went with the guy who best compensated for the weakness of the current QB. Not unlike Nebraska hiring Riley to succeed Pelini.

      • That’s fair. But I think it was a matter of attitude and internal struggles. MM is clearly the best game manager of the three but only got one chance to show it. And it might not be MM’s attitude that was at issue. It could have been a coaching thing.

        SC got a chance. He showed that he can’t manage a game. But he can play football. NM was weak. You’re right. Why did he even see the field while MM was on the roster?

        edit: I doubt there were attitude issues concerning the coaches. They have been honest and open, and I don’t think they changed. I think MM’s constant grumpy face was an indicator of his constant victimhood. Once he got over that, he got his chance and did well.

      • That’s similar to what my take on the QBs was.

        Mitchell could make the right decisions most of the time, but couldn’t reliably make the throws. He was an erratic passer and a mediocre run threat. His poor mechanics led to a lot of poor passes.

        McMaryion was able to make better throws, but couldn’t make the right decision a lot of the time. His issue seemed to be more on the mental processing side.

        Collins was the more dynamic athlete who struggled to make the throw or the right decision most of the time. His athleticism bailed him about against the weaker competition we faced early, but he was not good enough to have it carry him against Pac-12 competition (or Michigan).

        Even top level college QBs generally take at least a red shirt year though. Just in recent years Mariota, Manziel, Winston all took red shirt years. They were all top of the top level college QBs, but still didn’t play as true freshman. Side note, that makes Josh Rosen all the more crazy.

        Other solid college QBs sit on the bench for two years pretty often as well. These guys were obviously forced to play very early, before they were ready. That doesn’t mean they will develop given more time, but there is still that chance.

    • I think they had a menagerie of under-qualified QBs, and went with the one with the most athletic ability and running ability, figuring the running ability might at least partially offset the other weaknesses.

      They all had pretty sever limitations, but without Collins, I think scoring – which was already low – dropped markedly. Something like 40-42 points total in the 4 games he didn’t play? He also avoided TOs for the most part. Too bad he didn’t hand off more often though. Again, I think he was Baldwin’s guy (recruited to CSU to play QB?), not Andersen’s or McGivens.

      I still marvel at the confused collection of QBs Riley left behind. A coach who prefers a pro-set, but always “threatened” to add some hurry up or read option and never did, signed Vanderveen, who “couldn’t throw a spiral when he got on campus,” McMarryion, Mitchell (loooong slow release), and Del Rio (who I think would have been his guy, and nobody else every would have received game reps as Del Rio threw about 16-18 INTs). That was some lazy, conviction-free recruiting and signing there….

      • I wonder if LDR will get a shot in Gainesville. They can’t do much worse than Harris and Grier (our QBs notwithstanding). But now he has two to play two. I hope he gets a chance… and figures out which side of the barn is broad.

          • I know. He has a great release and looks like he makes good decisions. Then the ball goes away from the receiver in some unworldly way. The ones that hit the receiver look awesome. If he could do that always, he’s a sure fire NFL talent. It just doesn’t happen.

            I hope for him that he figures it out. And then I hope he reverts to the norm when he plays us in the CFP.

      • Riley had no idea how to recruit to his strength. He produced some really good QB’s who were basically carbon copies of each other, but we seldom ended up with any recruits like that. Katz, Vaz, Mitchell and McMaryion are all like the experiments that didn’t pan out.

        On a related note, anyone remember the name Jake Gelakoska? He was like the QB version of Simi Kuli and Kyle Peko.

        Also, to be fair to Vanderveen, MM is our only QB that can throw a spiral. BV certainly wasn’t alone.

  13. @Jack. You live in Eugene. What is the story around there about Seth Green. A local kid from here who blew up at some summer camps and became a big time QB recruit. Eventually chose the ducks over Sparty. Moved to Texas for his senior year and now is apparently going to sign with the Goph’s.
    The story here is that Oregon told him that they were going to play him at TE and that if he wanted to play QB they would cut him loose. Any info?

  14. I thought part of the Green story was after he transferred to Texas, another QB took the starting job from him, which led Oregon to reconsider on him. For most of the previous year they and their fans were really high on him (for whatever that is worth….)

    • Yeah… Jonke won the starting gig. And I think he’s a junior, which is why we don’t hear anything about him for this class. I’m sure he’s capable. He just made a poor decision to go where he did… or his parents did.

      edit: I should say that his parents might be like most parents. They probably had to move for a job and just looked for what they thought was the best opportunity for a gifted child. The fault I find in that is that a public school would more likely prepare him in terms of sport. He would play and be in a localized culture. But the academic question would be the counter. If they focused on academics first then found the best opportunity, then I think they made a good decision.

      • The dad lost his job. However, the move to Texas seemed to be all about the kid.
        Intersestingly, the school he left got sanctioned for fudging transfer rules. They all of a sudden had a great program. Bama nabbed their center after he kicked ass in a camp in Chicago the summer before last. Saban poaching MN for O line prospects. That pissed me off.

    • That is part of it. The local kid and him split time at QB and Green never won the starting job outright.
      The unanswered question is how much local FB politics played in that. Green’s numbers where underwhelming, so maybe just the other kid is a better QB. Green is an intriguing athlete, but maybe not a good QB. That sounds familiar LOL. Seth part dos?
      When he was still considering the home town school he was pumped up as a program changing savior and when he chose the quacks, he suddenly became flawed.

  15. The only reason Collins played something other than QB in the civil war is because he hadn’t practiced in several weeks. McMaryion does not throw a better ball than Collins (where does this keep coming from?). Collins is the QB now and going forward.

  16. Angrybeavs in a nutshell:

    Mid-season: Collins is an asshole, pussy whom sucks at qb.

    Post-season: Collins could be NFL caliber he can definitely improve. Did I mention he’s a good guy and a team leader?

  17. If you predicted that a QB on the roster would start this year, you were right. If you predicted that a QB on the roster would be shitty this year, you were right. We’re all right about everything so congratulations everyone! Give yourselves a big pat on the back

      • Often you are correct but way to quick to claim credit. MM “throws the best ball”. To the opposition, to receivers or to ball boys? Throwing is often linked to catching in football. There was no best qb on Beaver roster…only least worst in the various categories. The thing that you fail to grasp is that leadership is the most important trait for a qb. No coach in his right mind would have given MM the keys to the car thru the first half of the season. The biggest error was not related to pretty throws. After spring practice, coaches should have recognized the problem and then brought in a transfer or jc guy with balls…much like Utah did several years back. Ever heard of Brett Ratliff? What was his record at Utah?

        • I’m not gonna spend time looking it up, but I believe it is incorrect to say that angry “fail(ed) to grasp is that leadership is the most important trait for a qb”.

          Sure, there was a lot of discussion of various physical skills, but very sure that leadership was always part of evaluating each of the QB’s. That’s one of the prime reasons for concern about StG’s attitude.

        • I never said anything like this.

          Leadership is like #1, which is why I always get a boner for guys like Kellen Moore who have the intangibles.

          MM doesn’t have that, nor did I say he does, but he does throw the ball best to the WRs out of the 3 stooges they put back there.

        • At QB. Threw a better deep ball and intermediate throws were a wash…if you actually watched any of our games this year.

          Collins had a significantly better completion % over the season (noise is loud with such small samples, but it’s all we have – I’m not going back to the HS tape, haha) and when comparing best PASSING games (forgetting how much better of a runner he was):

          Collins (against Stanford, a good D): 20-36, 275; 1-0

          McMaryion (against Oregon, a TERRIBLE pass D): 11-21, 154; 0-1

          Not saying Collins was any good, but if we had to start one guy next year (Garretson excepted), it’s obviously Collins as he’s the least worst. McMaryion was really good at handing off to Nall, tho.

          • That’s not really the point. The ways they were used were not optimal until the CW… in the second half. MM didn’t take the shots, SC did. MM did the dinking and dunking and occasionally stretched the D. He was the QB1. SC as the WR/QB2/RB/TE/whatever works best because he gets to be the star he wants to be while not having the responsibility of being QB1. He’s a potential trick play whenever he lines up… which no longer makes it a trick because it’s just a part of the game plan that you, the opposition just has to deal with.

            SC is good enough to be on the field as a starter. And the new position is perfect for him. It’s an exciting evolution to the sport when I watch it. And he’s the originator of that position. MM can get better or not. Garretson can come in as QB1, noticeably better and just another game manager. With QB2 on the field all the time, QB1 doesn’t have to make any home run throws. And QB2 doesn’t have to do that boring dink and dunk stuff. Every time he gets the ball in his hands, he can go for the home run with his arm or his feet.

            I had some hope after the Stanford game that SC the dynamic player could marry it with SC the game manager. But I don’t think both those personalities can exist in SC without diminishing one another. That was his best game manager effort. It’s a fine stat line. Since it’s the outlier to the high side, I think that’s about his ceiling. I’m fine with that if it’s what he wants. But now we need to go find someone else with his capabilities to go get a stat line that reads 6rec/100 yards 1 TD, 5run/68 yards 1 TD, 3/3pas/86 yards 2 TD.

            Let someone else go 20/30/275/1/0 every game, just like you let the RBs ground and pound before you step in and break one off.

            Hell, return K and P with the extra energy you find from not being the guy playing in traffic on every snap. And line as a gunner on P coverage too.

            If he could get serious about learning all of that and forming his body to play that way, he could be a superstar. He isn’t going to be one as a QB1.

            edit: Damn A@A, you really don’t know what a fallacy is. I was kidding because you are a constant stream of them. But you really just don’t know. That makes me feel bad. I’m sorry for picking on you not knowing your diminished mental capacity.

          • Don’t feel bad Jack. I’m very sure that my quality of life is better than yours. And we all have our priorities, but I’d put quality of life ahead of using “200 level” words on a blog.

          • I just assumed you knew what it meant. You could replace it with gargoyles in the last context you did use it, and the sentence would make just as much sense. So if your quality of life is based on that low an expectation, I suppose you are correct for once.

            Again, sorry.

          • No. You just throw out fallacy after fallacy and get called on it every time.

            It’s a thing.

            If I disagree with something you write with reason, I’ll say so and respond with reason. This conversation is right where you wanted to take it. I’m just an obliging kind of guy.

            edit: Here… why don’t you go out and pick any of your posts that you think are well-reasoned. Just give a date or post# and the quote you want to highlight. I’ll wait.

          • Instead, how about I ask Coach A to enroll you (free of charge) in that women’s football clinic this summer. You’ll learn a thing or two about football, and maybe be able to contribute to football conversations. You’ll also get to see what it’s like to throw the ball around with the guys.

          • I’ll give you anything opinion, thought, personal fact you want… If you tell all the AngryBeavers that read this how much football you’ve personally played.

          • And no, that isn’t “goading”, or any other word that you want to spin it into. It’s relevant to the cause. Or as my least favorite troll says, “it’s a thing”.

    • Re Sitake’s BYU interview:

      Perhaps this 12 hour old tweet from coach Brennan gives us a clue.

      brent brennan @coachbrennan

      Great week on the road with the man @CoachSitake on the plane headed to Texas now. Chasing the future, building the dam. #gobeavs

      —————
      It would appear he hasn’t had a face to face interview in the last week, that’s unless BYU flew out and met him somewhere on the road.

  18. Seems strange that a private school like BYU can legally require all candidates to be LDS members in good standing. I get why they would require it, but I’m surprised employment law allows for that type of discrimination.

        • Yes ‘n No.
          The country has allowed that ruthless bastard way too much power; and I doubt he’d let any rules or doctrines get in the way if he was at all interested in victories for BYU. OTOH, I cannot gauge his interest in FB.

          • I think you want to attack motives, not rules or doctrines. The US Constitution is what gives him all the power he has. That’s pretty much rules and doctrines right there. But because he’s just a monkey to his corporate organ grinders, what he does with that power is contentious and not for the public good. That can be said of anyone whose actions belie that kind of ownership.

          • “The US Constitution is what gives him all the power he has. “ Close, but not sure I completely agree.
            While the Constitution may allow that power through Senate rules, it is the organ grinders (primarily through the Dem Party) who gave it to him. And it is for their perceived benefit that he wields it, regardless of his stated religious affiliation.

            Nuff said, I’m out.

    • Educational institutions with religious focuses are allowed to give preference (or even require) to people based on religion, it’s an exception within the civil rights act.

    • If discrimination involves making decisions in life in associations based on opinions of moral values then I guess we all are guilty of that.

  19. Coach selection at BYU is much different from most universities. Instead of an interview a church elder disappears behind a curtain where he peers into a hat and reads the name off a super secret golden tablet and announces the new coach as a divine revelation. JB

  20. As has been mentioned in the twitter feed, two QB’s have been granted their release from other programs, and OS may want to target them.

    Kyle Allen, from Texas A&M, seems to be looking at Cal, which might be the best fit for him, schematically:

    “As a sophomore, Allen completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 2,210 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. However, the pro-style prospect split time with Murray before head coach Kevin Sumlin handed the reins to the dual-threat freshman.

    A former 5-star prospect, according to 247Sports, Allen should have no shortage of suitors on the open market.”

    I’m more intrigued by Travis Knight from Oklahoma, who may fit what GA is trying to do offensively:

    “He finished with 2,300 passing yards, 339 rushing yards, 20 total touchdowns and a disappointing 12 interceptions in 2014 and had to sit out the final three regular-season games with injury.

    Murdock pointed out that Knight “has spoken with several potential transfer destinations,” including Kansas State, Oregon, Georgia and Southern Methodist. Oregon in particular has experience with graduate-transfer quarterbacks, considering Vernon Adams Jr. led the Ducks this season after finishing school at Eastern Washington.”

    Thoughts? Are we putting all of our money on Garrettson, or hoping GA brings in another QB, at least for depth purposes?

    • Either of those transfers would speed up the rebuilding but they’ll be able to pick any school they want. OSU will probably be pretty low on the list.

      But yes, the team does have a need for another QB. They’ll have three (MMc, MM, and DG) next year. You want at least 4 for depth purposes.

    • Anyone remember QB David Moore from Georgia? Andersen was going after him hard back in Dec./January and then suddenly stopped. Moore was being a big baby about the coaches looking for QBs that weren’t even in Moore’s class year. Apparently other teams noticed something not right about him either and dropped their recruitment of him, or didn’t offer him as expected. Some were wondering why he was only the backup QB on his hs team. Moore ended up committing to SMU last spring.
      So now SMU is looking at Knight pretty heavily. Moore isn’t happy at all and has been contacting coaches from other programs. The kid is super sensitive and does not have a leadership quality or confidence about him. The Beavers dodged a major bullet.

      • Damn.

        Well one thing you can say that’s positive is he wants to be on the field. But GA and staff sensed something off early on and dropped him. Now it’s becoming obvious. Maybe he should play at D2 since he’d be on the field and the #1 QB there.

          • You know what they say about hymens. Break one and another just grows in its place.

            I’m not sure why you consider that story classic. But you seem to love it. So I do it for you.

          • Here’s one:

            A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night and have dinner with her parents.

            Since this is such a big event, the girl tells him that after dinner, she would like to have sex with him for the first time.

            The boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex before, so he takes a trip to the pharmacy to get some condoms.

            The pharmacist helps the boy for about half an hour. He tells the boy everything there is to know about condoms and sex. At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many condoms he’d like to buy a 3-pack, 10-pack or family pack. The boy insists on the family pack because he thinks he will be rather busy, it being his first time and all.

            That night, the boy shows up at the girls parents house and meets his girlfriend at the door.

            “Oh, I’m so excited for you to meet my parents! Come on in!”

            The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table where the girl’s parents are seated.

            The boy quickly offers to say grace and bows his head.

            A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer, with his head down 10 minutes pass, and still no movement from the boy.

            Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the girlfriend leans over and whispers to the boyfriend,

            “I had no idea you were this religious.”

            The boy turns, and whispers back,

            “I had no idea your father was a pharmacist!”

          • A man gets on a bus, and ends up sitting next to a very attractive nun. Enamored with her, he asks if he can have sex with her. Naturally, she says no, and gets off the bus. As the man is getting off the bus, the bus drivers stops him and says, “I know how you can have sex with the nun”

            “How so?” says the man

            “Well,” says the bus driver, “every night at 8 o’clock, she goes to the cemetery to pray. If you dress up as God, I’m sure you could convince her to have sex with you.”

            The man decides to try it, and dresses up in his best God costume. At eight, he sees the nun and appears before her.

            “Oh, God!” she exclaims. “Take me with you!” The man tells the nun that she must first have sex with him to prove her loyalty. The nun says yes, but tells him to remain pure and a virgin she will only have anal sex. Before you know it, they’re getting down to it, having nasty, grunty, loud anal sex. After it’s over, the man pulls off his God disguise.

            “Ha, ha! I’m the man from the bus!”

            “Ha, ha!” says the nun, removing her costume. “I’m the bus driver!”

          • Yes!

            Score!

            A lawyer and a blonde woman are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The lawyer leans over to her and asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde is tired and just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, saying that the game is really easy and a lot of fun.

            He explains how the game works: “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me, and vice versa.” Again, she politely declines and tries to get some sleep.

            The schmuck lawyer figures that since his opponent is a blonde he will easily win the match, so he makes another offer: “Okay, how about this, if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5, but if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $500.”

            This catches the blonde’s attention and, figuring that there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, she agrees to play the game.

            The lawyer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” The blonde doesn’t say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer. Now, it’s the blonde’s turn. She asks the lawyer, “What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?”

            The lawyer looks at her puzzled. He takes out his laptop and searches all his references. Frustrated, he sends emails to all his co-workers and friends, to no avail. After a while he finally gives up. He wakes the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde politely takes the $500 and turns away to get back to sleep. The lawyer, who is more than a little frustrated, wakes the blonde and asks, “Well… so WHAT IS THE ANSWER?”

            Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep.

    • This will be the game for the young guys to step up and shine. If they can make the game competitive throughout, I think it bodes well for the rest of the season.

      • Tinks was right. It’s all about LMW and Olaf, more so LMW. If Olaf can make the shots he usually takes, that would help. But it’s about him being engaged and hustling on the D end. His weakness is reacting. So he needs to be aware and anticipating. LMW is a great off ball defender who does this so well that it’s noticeable when he’s not doing so. And when he does so, he disrupts on D and starts the whole team moving downhill. When he starts getting late transition treys, the rest of the team picks up on his effort as the key for him getting them, and they pick up their game in response.

        It’s what little Tinks does right now and is learning to do better. If he’s that role with LMW being the lead, we make it a game. Those have also been the games where Drew gets space and moves and shoots much better from the floor.

        Oh… and make free throws.

        • FTs are always key to road victories. But what you say about LMW is so true, that when he plays well you don’t notice, but when he plays poorly you DEFINITELY notice. And his consistency isn’t high so we see the high and low. He’s the truest X-factor we have. If he gets hot and drops like 4 threes and gets a couple deflections with GPII, this is a game OSU can win. If not, KU rolls.

  21. The Annapolis Capital Gazette is up with a piece on Navy’s coach. As I read it, he seems the most likely choice for BYU because of: public church involvement, son attending BYU, he has spent enough time on his current job to have serious accomplishments (all time winningest coach at Navy). Also, his boss’s reaction to the news could be seen as a sign of friction.
    The Navy gig compensates him well, not sure that would keep him from moving though.
    He plans to be in Utah Monday, if his agent is on the flight I think it’s a done deal.

    http://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy_sports/ph-ac-cs-navy-niumataolo-meeting-1211-20151210-story.html

      • I would’ve just used the audio.

        Basically, BYU’s head coach must be a member of the LDS Church, so their candidate pool is decisively smaller than other colleges:

        The reporter feels that the pecking order is
        Ken Niumatalolo (Navy HC)
        Kalani Sitake
        Lance Andersen (Stanford DC)

        The reason BYU has not made a move yet is because Army plays Navy on Saturday and nobody messes with that. It also should be noted that Niumatalolo’s son plays for BYU. The reporter feels that the job is Niumatalolo’s if he wants it, and if not, Sitake will be offered the job just by virtue of being #2 in a very small pool.

        • I’m curious why pretty much everybody has Sitaki higher than Lance Anderson? Is it because he’s Poly and they think that would help with recruiting? Just looking at their track record, Anderson has run circles around Sitake when it comes to putting together good defenses and recruiting.

          • Has he? His defenses at Utah were pretty good. Keep in mind that how Stanford recruits is very different from how other schools in the Pac-12 recruit, as they have to start working with kids when they enter high school because of the strict academic standards. Oh, and there is something to be said for “Hi, we’ve won the Pac-12 3 out of the last 4 years, why don’t you come play for us.” Utah on the other hand has risen from Group of Five to Power 5 status and Sitake was a big part of that transition. Hope Navy’s coach takes the job and saves us a headache. Angry may not be big on the guy right now, but I really think you cannot form any dirt solid opinions from this year: our cupboard was essentially bare.

  22. Was going over football commitments. Anyone worried about lack of size in this class? Lots of 6’1″ 200-lb ish guys. Not many traditional linemen on either side.

    And are we completely done recruiting at QB? Anyone expect Garretson or Moron to perform better than Bootsy Collins?

    • I think there’s plenty of O lineman on the roster, which explains their paucity in this class.

      Regarding size, it is a little surprising to me given that Andersen was 1) very critical of the strength of the roster he inherited and 2) he needs talent that can play right away. It looks like they are starting to get some LBs that are maybe a little bigger. There’s one JC DT at 6’5″ 290 lb, which sounds good. There’s some existing 300 pounders on the DLine that should benefit from another year of Andersen’s strength training if they’re not part of the attrition.

      I think there are indications Andersen is recruiting a JC QB(s), whether or not he pulls one in, we’ll see.

  23. Comcast sucks, DISH swears they have Pac 12 Oregon channel but I can’t find a listing for it anywhere, and I have a hard time understanding their reps English. The only thing I can find on the internet for dish is the national Pac12 network channel. Can anyone out there tell me if dish actually has Pac12 Oregon?

    • I’ve had this same argument with them until I was blue in the face. The channels listed as “alternate” I believe are supposed to be the regional channels, but never actually show anything.

    • I got rid of dish last year, and It never had the Oregon channel only national. I only noticed the Pac12 Oregon tag when I got Comcast, at the time I thought it was a new thing that just happened to show up when I swiched.

    • Lately I can only get the P12 Oregon channel by streaming it.

      Even though Dish has 5 channels (409, 592, 593, 594, 595) to show P12 games on they normally only show games on 409, rarely showing anything on the others.

      I can’t get Comcast and DirectTV doesn’t have P12 Network so I’m stuck with Dish.

      Try to find a place to contact them about the scheduling on the P12 web site…Let us all know if you find one so we can contact them too.

      I called Dish about it and they said the only thing they do is broadcast the feeds. If they don’t get a feed (from P12) they can’t broadcast it.

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