I was thinking the same thing. Shepard - the guy we want most with the ball in his hands - is wildly inconsistent. Tolliver just can't seem to get open. That leaves Randle and the tight ends as reliable targets downfield. Otherwise, JJ is tucking and running, or dumping it off to the running backs. JJ still has lots of room for improvement, but I see progress.
Obviously, JJ was more accurate on the few throws he made and that was an improvement. He just seemed so afraid to make a mistake with a throw that the receivers had to be wide open before he threw most of the balls. 96 yards no TDs or INT is an odd line that shows how tentative either he or the coaches are. Not sure that anyone could consider this a great passing game by the QB but a nice win for the team. I worry that he won't be able to be so selective and passive against a good team.
He was a passing QB first. Helped out that no one could tackle him when he scrambled... He had 30 completions in the Rose Bowl against USC. That's like 3 games worth of completions for JJ...
Can we please take the training wheels off. Our play calling last night looked more like protecting Jefferson's numbers than trying to dominate an inferior team. This conservative play calling will get us killed when we come up against the big boys. I did see a little more confidence on Jefferson's part last night but we can't continue to coddle him much longer. Overall, I did see slight improvement, which is what we want. Oh yea, QUIT RUNNING THE FREAKIN OPTION!!!!!!!
This is an oversimplification and not an accurate picture. Your quote lays the blame for this solely at the QBs feet. JJ was being protected last night and that was obvious, but let's note why. He is not a great passer. Good perhaps, but not great. The Oline whiffed on several plays, pass and run. Down and distance is a huge determinate on passing plays. We again started around midfield most of the night. WRs were dropping passes. Two TDs thrown by JJ were dropped. All of these factored into our passing game last night, which indicates it is not all on the QB. JJ's problem vs Vandy was accuracy and hitting WRs in stride? Did he have that problem last night - no. He will have to play better, but he did play better last night. Saying differently is inaccurate.
The answers to a lot of questions as well as criticisms is boiled into one answer that has already been answered. Game plan. It's obvious the coaches saw what would work against Miss St and used it. Perfect execution and the game would have been more of a blow out but it was a great win. A WIN!!! Jordan IS NOT going to pass 30+ times a game when this is a run based offense. All he has to do is avoid mistakes, play within the game plan and pocket the win. Will the plan change with Bama or Florida? Of course it will. He may need to complete 15+ passes. But I'll tell you with nearly 100% confidence if Jefferson is passing 30+ times in a game we are losing. So ask yourself...do you really want to see Jefferson throwing the ball all over the field playing catch up or just enough to get the W? You decide.
Special teams looked awesome! Defense looked great! Offense...well...not so good. Regardless of who's to blame, I don't see much improvement from last year. How can you give good reviews for the play calling, the option, the passing game, dropped balls, the staring down of the primary WR, tucking and running the ball instead of looking for another WR, decision-making ability of QB, etc., etc.? So far the biggest improvement has been clock management. We've done well as the wasted timeouts, delay of game calls, and wasted opportunities haven't seemed to surface like last year. I believe we're only averaging just over one first down per drive and rarely have a long, time consuming drive. I think 3-0 is great and obviously doesn't get any better. Winning two SEC games...one on the road at a team that is always scary early in the season and against another that has some talent and seems to be getting better...is awesome! The team seems to be getting better and hopefully it will be in time for the big conference games. I still have no confidence in the offensive play calling and/or JJ. I hope they get it together.
After watching the video, I am ready to credit Jefferson more than from watching in the stands last night. Indeed, the lack of offensive yardage can be placed on the coaches who apparently decided to be one-dimensional in this game. I'm just a bit dismayed that Jefferson still needs such coddling at this point in his development. No, and this remains a big issue. He's not shown himself to be a great leader either and I think this is important for a quarterback. QB's can't be too humble. It takes a bit of an ego to lead effectively. But I did see improvement in a couple of areas that I liked. 1. He was a better game manager. He made some good checks at the line. He made the first rushing TD of his career on a well-done option play. He had some happy feet in the pocket, but did well with them. 2. I saw a glimmer of poise. Jefferson did not look as confused and he was checking alternate receivers. I know, but this is all part of the game and every QB must deal with it. I watched the OL carefully on the video and the blocking was pretty good, I thought. But receivers dropping passes cost Jefferson maybe 50 yards in passing stats. He did play better and I do not suggest that it is all on him, but this is the Jefferson thread and we're talking mostly about quarterback issues. Clearly the coaches wanted to run the football and are responsible for much of the conservative action. But the reasons that they are playing like this instead of full-blown Crowton/Gonzales ball goes back to confidence in the quarterback.
