LOL....your reaching grasshopper!! He came in one series to hand the ball off three times!! Yes your right he is terrible! point proven. I guess the game through weed soaked eyeballs looks different in your perspective. It's ok man.....breathe eveything will be ok.
Les just stated that he wanted to play Harris but the opportunity didn't present itself Saturday Night and frankly I agree with him.
I never said he was terrible. I said at times Harris has looked better than Jennings and at times Jennings has looked better than Harris. Against stiff competition neither have played particularly well, but Saturday the game was close and Jennings protected the ball. Why take a gamble and then potentially further hurt Harris' confidence?
Harris' confidence is one of the issues I had in mind after he didn't touch the field at all Saturday. Of course this is all speculation - but it doesn't take a psychologist to suppose that being tied to the bench after having problems in your first start could negatively impact one's confidence. There really seem to be several issues to consider regarding Harris and Jennings: 1) Is LSU better off playing the seemingly lesser-talented QB who presumably knows the playbook better, or going with the more talented QB who presumably will take over once he has more experience? 2) If Harris is the future, is it wiser to let him sit and watch games more than he plays in them? Are QBs better off learning by watching/practicing or playing? 3) If the play-calling and offensive approach doesn't maximize the talent of these particular QBs, which QB should be playing more - the more experienced one or the more talented one? 4) If all the coaches want is the safest option, is Jennings really that much "safer" than Harris? If Harris was hurt, then it is understandable they didn't want to play him. Otherwise, I remain unconvinced that Jennings playing 100% of the snaps was a good idea.
Question NO ONE has answered...When would you have played Harris last week???? It is easy to put out an opinion and unsupported theory...but if you (and the others bitching because Harris wasn't played) cannot give an instance when it was a good time to play him...PLEASE SHUT UP!
Are you willing to call Harris "more talented" after the State game? I think he still has an awful lot to prove at this level. Both of them do. Both. Both quarterbacks need to see the field when we are this thin at the position. An injury to either could sink the season. And both quarterbacks need to pay keen attention on the sidelines. I noticed when Harris played in the Auburn game, that Jennings had on the headphones and was signaling in plays and talking to Harris between series. I was not at the Florida game to watch, but it has been reported that in the Florida game Harris never went near Jennings. Neither needs to cop an attitude at this point. Neither of these quarterbacks are particularly experienced or amazingly talented. They are young and capable with good potential and neither has separated himself from the other. Both should be playing and the one with the hot hand gets the start and the bulk of the PT. Right now that is Jennings. It could change again. Not much, but enough to rate the start after beating Florida on the road.
Question 1 answer: if you want a better chance of winning games now, then yes LSU RIGHT NOW is better off with Jennings. And we aren't talking Jennings is far advanced, it's Harris' job to take and Jennings job to lose at this point. I do know this, they both have had opportunities to stake their claim, and neither have done anything spectacular. 2: there is no real answer to that I think it's situational. I can tell you this, for a true freshman to play as much as he has at quarterback thus far, the coaching staff must think the world of him. It could help sitting him it could help playing him and it could hurt either way as well, luckily we aren't paid to make those decisions and get second guessed every time. 3: again I say experienced because I don't think either are equipped to run it. The most talented doesn't always make the better choice. 4: absolutely, what if Jennings is benched, and Harris gets hurt, now you have a banged up qb physically and one mentally. I think what Red said was dead on, use them both for the situation that is presented, and have them fight it out on the field together. I just don't think a situation presented itself Saturday for Brandon Harris, except maybe putting him in on the goal line to try and run it in on a play or 2. I also think the gameplan Saturday added to Harris being on the sideline. If you run every first down and put yourself in obvious passing situations everytime you throw you aren't doing anyone any favors. We were behind the chains all night and Harris hasn't proven he can pick up first downs against quality opponents behind those chains, even when we averaged 7 to 8 yards on first down. He will get a shot, expect to see him Saturday night, he will play.
Even as a fairly vocal critic of Les' management of QBs (Lee and JJ were totally mismanaged), I think playing Jennings was the right call vs Florida. I agree Harris should be in the rotation, but it can be argued there wasn't a good spot. Of course, we could have very easily lost the game against UF, but I don't think that was because Harris wasn't played. I'm concerned about our defense, I'm concerned about our QB progression (how long ago did we sign JUCO Mett and how long ago did we know he would be gone by last year, if not sooner), I'm even concerned about many aspects of our special teams. There are things to criticize, even following a loss, but I'm not sure Harris on the bench is one of them. Harris would have been handcuffed as much as Jennings and Jennings managed the game fairly well.
Many posts about how benching Harris could effect him and make him transfer. But no posts about Jennings & how his demotion could have effected him. And evidently it didn't from what I've seen. Hopefully Harris is just as mature & competitive. I bet when he was starting out his high school career he had a few set backs but hung in there. These guys aren't near a fragile a many people think they are, they're been competing most of their lives & will continue to do so. Just like the other 100+ football players on the team.
