Come on, Hatch cannot make SEC caliber throws. I know you must have at least come to that conclusion. The long pass to Toliver for a TD that was botched. The pass over the middle to a streaking Lafell that could have gone for big yardage and maybe another TD, so poorly thrown. He has the ability to run, and I do like that a lot. He is a great change of pace QB, in much the same way Perrilloux thrived last season. That's the extent of his abilities, however. He'll play. He just won't be the one leading this team. Lee is the answer. Let him make the mistakes. Get it out of his system, by the time he plays in the SEC CG, he will be playing like he is in his junior season. Have only 1 loss at that point and we're looking at the real possibility of back to back national championships.
Before I start this: I think Lee should get the nod this Saturday. That said... I hear this all the time. It's become the message board mantra. I'm not sure I'm buying it. He certainly doesn't have the zip and the distance that Lee does. But there have been successful QBs in the SEC without monster arms. Danny Wuerffel seems to fit the bill of a modest arm. Now, I'm not comparing Hatch to Weurffel. I'm saying arm strength is not the deciding factor. Weurffel was a game manager extraordinaire. Could Hatch as a senior be that guy? Don't know. Point is: he doesn't need arm strength to be that guy. Hatch clearly can make SEC caliber throws by the Danny Weurffel arm strength standard. I think the more correct statement may be that he's not the QB with the most upside on the team.
Weurffel threw the best fade route ever....period...end of discussion EVER. He also had great touch on deep balls that he learned to release early, whereas Hatch does not put air under his long throws. Better touch for Wuerfful made him a great college QB.
Like I said. Not comparing the QBs themselves. Just noting that Hatch has 2.69 more seasons to develop touch and fade routes and such. So infering since he can't throw a laser 55 yards he's not an SEC QB seems invalid to me. But some folks have invested in this idea that Hatch << SEC QB, so - much like political hyperbole - I realize I've wasted my time on this one.
Bandit, agree with that part 100%. You just got me thinking about Wuerfful and how he was rediculous with that fade. You could have great coverage yet he would drop it right over the receivers shoulder perfectly right on the sideline.....it was horrible yet amazing at the same time.
The main thing to grasp here is how defenses will play us based on what QB is in the game. Any defensive coordinator who watched that 2nd half is going to play us much differently with Lee in the game from here on out. They WILL respect us. It WILL open up the running game. Scott's tremendous success in that 2nd half had to do with LBs not chomping at the bit sticking their nose across the line before the play even began. What Hatch affords us is a QB that has the ability to run. The defense will not respect us to pass the ball, and the running game will suffer because of it. And Hatch can only run the ball up the middle so many times before something bad happens to him physically as it did in the Auburn game. Just watch the one pass he through to Lafell over the middle and how poor a pass it was and how shaky he looked even making the decision to throw it in that direction. NOT SEC CALIBER. He will be an asset to this offense as a change of pace QB. I will have no problem seeing him pop in the game 6-8 times.
