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I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

Nov 9, 2022, 4:34 PM

I've been saying this over and over - if the QB plays at the level needed to be a great team, then all of our "concerns" are immediately reduced or outright eliminated. In a recent post where I restated this claim, @LCTiger97 actually made a great reply. I'd like to address it for further discussion.

Yes, DJ is part of the problem, But he was recruited by our coaches and should have been mentally and physically prepared and developed better by our coaches to lead this team and win. If he can’t do it, he should’ve been pulled and Cade should’ve been put in to play. Again, Cade should’ve been prepared to play. He hasn’t been. Who’s fault is that?

DJ was signed as the #1 PRO QB in the 2020 class, and during that season he played the part. After 2020, DJ faced some family struggles that obviously affected his physical and mental states. He got clobbered against UGA and never recovered his confidence. He was barely functional, yet somehow coaches adjusted the gameplan and won 10 games. Coaches have worked again on his mechanics and decision making, and have encouraged him to be more confident and active in giving receivers a chance to get the ball. He even has his own psychologist! Sometimes a player can be taught every nuance of the game, practice it, and receive mental health as well - DJ was doing better with all of it, but the Syracuse game got into his head, and obviously he's back to his old ways. He did lead us to 14 straight wins, a high in the country, before the ND loss. In, the ND loss, DJ looked like he did in 2021. No pocket awareness, standing like a statue as the rush is surrounding him, then holding the ball and getting sacked. He was locked on one receiver and wasn't surveying the field. There are open guys! When his primary guy was available, he often held the ball too long and didn't have confidence to try, or when he did throw he was inaccurate with anything over 10 yards, sometimes even less than 10. He actually did throw some called "50-50" balls, but unfortunately he was pinching the ball and not even getting it in the same zip code. So I ask, do you think the coaches and his psychologist have done everything humanly possible to help? Of course. As old adage goes, you can lead a horse t water, but you can't make him drink.

DJ won 14 straight games. At what point do you suggest we should have "pulled him"? I'm pretty sure we did in 2 games. Cade handed off nicely and we won against Syracuse by virtue of a strong running game (more on that later), then against ND Cade's decision with the INT was proof positive he's just not ready at this level. How do you suggest we should've prepared him otherwise? Just arbitrarily pull DJ and chuck Cade in there with games on the line? Obviously not. When we had an opportunity, we played him. Cade is as prepared as coaches can do right now. They watch and closely coach and develop players in practice everyday. He's not yet Trevor or Deshaun, ready made for this level and speed of the game. Short of throwing him in there against the wolves and losing some games we won (because DJ was playing well), what else could possibly e done? The coaches will not hesitate to put the best guy in - there's tons of historical reference to state that claim.

Our WRs have fallen off. In recruiting and development. Instead of Jalin Hyatt, we got EJ Williams and Ngata. Nobody goes out there and fights for that ball, other than Anthony Williams. No hunger. Who’s fault is that? Coaches.

We currently have (5) top 20 WRs on the roster and another top 50. You have to be able to buy time when your primary isn't wide open, and you have to be willing to give the guys a chance to fight for the ball when there's 1:1 coverage. Standing in the pocket like a statue, or your QB not seeing you when you're running free, or being inaccurate and giving receivers a chance to make plays - that's not "coaches". Again, he's been taught all the nuances and showed it for 7 wins, but he's recently gone backwards. Point here is, insert a good QB, good mental makeup, good decision making, surveys field, buys time when needed, and throws a confident, accurate ball.. VIOLA! Suddenly the WRs are given a chance to show their skills.

OL is better than last year, but that’s not saying much. They can only do so much with DJ in concrete shoes.

The OL has more highly rated players than 2016 and 2018. They had (7) different lineups last year, and after another new lineup this year, they are playing well. You said, "concrete shoes", agreed, but he's being given time to throw - he's not using that time well. Fix that, and the OL is doing just fine. We didn't have better OLs in 2016 and 2018, we had good QBs. The kid of QBs elite teams need to compete on an elite level. A QB with half the skill of Deshaun or Trevor, someone like Stetson Bennett for instance, and the offense and OL immediately look better.

TEs are more involved. Good, but should be more involved in plays. Who’s fault is that? Coaches.

If you can't see TEs are a directed part of the offense, then you aren't watching. TE's have 44 catches in 9 games.. almost 5 catches a game. That's not counting the numerous targets where the pass was inaccurate or intercepted. That's almost 25% of your receptions going to TEs (not including missed passes). Add in the RBs and we have 80 catches. That's almost half of all receptions. TEs and the amount of plays for them are NOT the offensive issue.

Thank God for Will Shipley. Mafah is decent. But you can’t rely on Shipley to win the game versus good to elite teams. See ND….

So you're now saying the OL IS giving holes, but we need a complimentary passing game? Agreed! By the way, Ship is averaging 5.9 yds a carry and Mafah is at 4.5. Neither of those figures are chopped liver, and together they're averaging 5.5 yds a carry! That's good enough to win every game.. with a consistent passing game. With better QB play, that further creates lanes and opportunities for the running game, and like noted above, DJ is getting plenty of time. The OL and RBs are just fine.

Defense. Very disappointing. There are flashes of hunger and physicality, KJ, Carter, but they haven’t been consistent. They get gassed because our offense sucks. And Goodwin is horrible at making adjustments.

The defense got gouged at ND, obviously primarily in the run game, but we're still 28th in total defense and 14th in rush defense. They did get gassed at ND, but is that coaching or poor QB play and having too much time on the field? That's an easy answer. And as far as adjustments, I'm not sure what season you've been watching? Nearly every game we've come out well adjusted after halftime, and other than garbage time have held teams in check. I don't believe Syracuse scored after halftime, and that's the primary reason we won. Adjustments. we had a bit of a passing defense debacle against Wake, but that was with freshman and inexperience being forced into the lineup, and then we had the ND debacle where the offense didn't pull ANY of their weight. Other than that, the defense has given us the opportunity to win every game. So again, with better QB plays we hold the ball more, give the defense a rest, and we score more and put pressure on the opposing team.

This coaching staff is responsible for the lack of development and preparedness of this entire team.

Yet somehow we won 14 games in a row? With no adjustments, development, or preparation... it must have just been sheer luck?

Goodwin looked like a deer in headlights Saturday night.

See above. The offense did NOTHING to help. The offense has to help the defense.

Streeter has no idea what he’s doing in play calling, mostly because Dabo has his hands in everything offensive wise.

Has Dabo always had his hands in the offense? For his entire time as the 2nd most accomplished coach of the CFP era? Okay.

Streeter was undefeated as OC, in spite of mediocre and now worse QB play. Streeter's offense has done everything possible with the limits we have at QB, and he's called plays just fine. Again, there are no magic playcalls or schemes you can run when the QB isn't capable to perform and execute them. Insert a Deshaun, or a Trevor, or heck even a Stetson Bennett or Sam Hartman... then the offense suddenly becomes way more explosive. Again, the root cause here is what? QB. And what kind of tinfoil hat are you wearing to say Dabo is stopping Street from calling good plays? Again, it comes down to execution at the most important position on the field. Fix that, and the playbook opens up.

When the coaches, including Dabo, are asked tough or semi-tough questions, they all get defensive and start harkening back to what they accomplished 4 years ago.

Really? They get "defensive" how? It appears to me Dabo put 100% of the blame for the ND loss on his shoulders. That's the only loss in the last 15 games. What "tough" questions?

They’re circling the wagons.

Not sure what that means, but if you mean like we did and have whenever adversity hits, then so what? We lost to Pitt in 2016 and won the natty. We lost to Syracuse in 2017 an made the playoffs. We were 4-3 last year and left for dead. In all cases, we circled the "wagons" and finished strong. Where's the problem?

Again, the main point is this, you can try and find all sorts of gripes about being 8-1 and ranked 10th in America, but every single one of those gripes would be reduced or outright eliminated with even a Stetson Bennett or Sam Hartman. Heck, throw Spencer Rattler in there, and our offense immediately gets more explosive.

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Facts are facts.....I spelled it out for you as if you were a 2nd grader and that wasn't enough for you to "get it"........if you can't count to 3 that's on you........can't help you........you lost

How many times must it be said, what you’re calling a “fact” is not a fact. The idea behind the goals does not include counting USuC as 2 goals. That’s an idiotic notion. Suggesting 2-10 and counting USuC 2x is meeting those team goals it not a “fact” and not “60%” of goals. So yeah, you’ve “lost” this same point about 5 times now. As if it’s relevant anyway... contrarily, it’s just you trying too hard... and failing miserably.

I never said heads "WILL" roll. I don't think ANYTHING can happen this year to make Dabo make any offensive heads roll.

Make up your mind pheebs! You’re either lying or have serious short-term memory issues. You said (paraphrasing), “regardless of how the season goes Dabo will need to make BIG changes (i.e. “HEADS WILL ROLL”). For the 5th time now, you have to be some kind of special dummy to suggest 13-1, a NY6 bowl win, and a top 8 finish would mean guys should be fired.

I never thought Streeter should've been hired as OC to begin with so when we were 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0.......my opinion has NEVER changed on Streeter. Dabo built this program to a peak in 2018 to where this IS NOT a "learn on the job" job anymore.

Streeter’s been closely tied to offensive coaching for 20 years. He’s been an OC previously, for 3 years, and he’s been on this staff through the entire CFP era, helping on play design and calling for a 6-time playoff team and 2-time national champion. He’s not “learning on the job”. Fail.

Regardless, he’s doing an excellent job of finding ways to move the ball, score, and win... until Saturday when the elephant was exposed again. Streeter is a known commodity on the offense and is doing a fine job, all things considered.

The offense is purposely scaled back because DJ hasn’t shown the capability to consistently handle increased complexity. Yet Street is still 9-1 in his career as OC, in spite of mediocre or less QB play. Who does that? Give him a QB to work with, and the playbook opens up and the offense becomes much more dynamic and explosive. The fact we’re winning with a major QB liability speaks volumes about Streeter’s ability to gameplan and work around flaws. You failed again.
By the way, Tony Elliot won national championships in his 2nd and 4th years as OC. Some HS coach named Chad Morris brought us out of the stone ages on offense, immediately. So much for your learn on the job BS.

You LIKE Streeter as our OC..........I don't like Streeter as our OC. You say 13-1 w/ NY6 doesn't warrant any "head rolls".........Again, you have to look at the game within the game.

Regardless of OC, he is limited by the QB driving the offense. Nobody can call magic plays when the QB can’t execute them. It’s not playcalling; it’s the guy running point and most important position on the field. And somehow we’ve still been successful. We’ve gotten everything out of DJ that’s humanly possible.

Again, only a knuckle-dragging monkey would suggest 13-1, a NY6 bowl, and a top 8 finish is “unsuccessful”. Seems like you might be a knuckle-dragging monkey?

Our offense has been on the downslide since we got exposed in 2019 vs LSU.

In 2019 we were 5th in total offense, and we had 400 yards against LSU, well over the season average they were giving up. It’s not like we were suddenly “exposed”. That’s utter BS. And too, we had the 10th ranked offense in 2020, we finished in the top 4 of the entire country, and we had the most productive passing offense in school history. I guess you’re going to try and say that was “atrocious” too, huh pheeble?

We didn’t get exposed. Not-dumb people realize LSU was one of the best teams in college football history that year. We lost to LSU in a similar manner as everyone else.

It was ATROCIOUS last year...........it IS ATROCIOUS this year.

So what position changed in 2021? Do you need another crayon sketch? Do you think if Trevor came back for 2021 that the offense would have changed from a record breaking 2020?

It was definitely tough to watch last year, OBVIOUSLY due to no other reason than a QB who was barely functional. But the fact we were 4-3 and came back to finish 10-3 and 14th, that speaks countless volumes about the staff’s ability to adjust and adapt an “atrocious offense” and still win 10 games.

DJ started out much better in 2021. The offense is not explosive or dynamic with him under center, obviously, but again, when you’re winning games in spite of the elephant in the room, that speaks volumes towards the OC’s ability to adapt, and WIN.

Back in 2011 we won our first ACC Championship in two decades, we had our FIRST 10 win season in however long it had been....................successful season at the time by most accounts (not mine btw).........guess what????????.............DABO FIRED KEVIN STEELE BECAUSE OUR DEFENSE WAS ATROCIOUS ..........Dabo did not (thankfully so) sit back and say, "ya know, we won the ACC and won 10 games....all's good".........HE MADE CHANGES IN WHAT MOST EVERYBODY CALLED A "SUCCESSFUL" SEASON........... fast forward to 2022 and we are on a COMPLETELY different level than 2011 (I'd hope you'd agree with that)........just because you or most or some say it's a "successful season" doesn't mean CHANGES CAN'T nor SHOULDN'T be made..

The big picture called. We were 71st in total defense in 2011.. 71st (!) despite having numerous NFL players on the defense. We gave up 27 pts to Wofford, 45 to Maryland (87th ranked scoring offense), 38 to UNC (56th ranked), 31 to GT, 28 pts to a 6-7 Wake team (68th ranked scoring offense), 34 points to USuC (42nd scoring offense), and of course 70 pts to WVU, who was getting 38 pts per game.
71st (!) despite having (3) defensive players getting drafted in the first two rounds and another in the sixth round. Gee, pheeble, do you think there’s a difference in your comical comparison?

So yeah, you’re still saying HEADS WILL ROLL even if we go 13-1, win a NY6 bowl, and finish in the top 8. That’s a riot!

They are carefully crafted goals. You can go 2-10 and accomplish 3 goals

No, for the 7th time, you can’t

........you can go 11-3 and accomplish 3 goals........that's ridiculous..............we could lose to Louisville and Miami and you'll be able to come on here and correctly claim that 100% of our goals are STILL on the table................that's why I don't base success against what "team goals" we accomplished.

Well yeah, first of all, yes, 11-3 would be a relatively good season with team goals met, but that doesn’t mean it would necessarily be deemed successful in light of expectations. Two different things. And hey, didn't you say you're more confident in the team than I am? Lost to UL and Miami? You're speaking out bith sides of your mouth.

Regardless, this all started when you said HEADS WILL ROLL if we go 13-1, win a NY6 bowl, and finish in the top 10.

So again, I’ll leave you to answer this question again – are you dumb?

I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

Re: I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

Re: I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

The talent dropoff merely highlighted the real issues

I've touched on all of that.

wow.***

That's it? That's your counterpoint? To quote you...

There is bo counterpoint to your asshattery. You do you my guy.***

So you have nothing? Noted.

Hey quick math.......

Can you get any weaker, pheeble?

Well. 3 things……..

I love watching you guys get Stanley’d

I’m beginning to think this is him.***

Let me help… I’d bet you 1,000 dollars right now

Lol. Not taking that bet the similarities are uncanny….

Yep,

I'll bet you 1,000 dollars right now, that I've only

So do want to bet me? Contact the mods and prove it?

Welp, I tried.

Do we have a bet or no, ma’am?***

Still waiting, Stan.

How long ya gonna ignore me, Stanley?

Like I said, are you dumb? Because you definitely seem dumb.

Re: Like I said, are you dumb? Because you definitely seem dumb.

Re: Like I said, are you dumb? Because you definitely seem dumb.

Game is only 27 outs, and you've struck out for all of them.

keep on Stanley......you're letting my FACTS blind you......

But, but, but he’s never met anyone named Stanley

Nah. Good coaching makes QBs look better

Re: The talent dropoff merely highlighted the real issues

Ask yourself why we are relegated to a short passing game.

yep,,,, never should have recruited dju

TL; DR***

Re: I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

I don't know the answer to that, but he's lost right now.

Re: I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

No. I'm rich and don't need to. Any other questions?***

Re: I think Vizzina has a chance to start..

Re: I think Vizzina has a chance to start..

Re: I think Vizzina has a chance to start..

Re: I think Vizzina has a chance to start..

Re: I think Vizzina has a chance to start..

Re: I think the QB issue is the biggest issue facing the program

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