Minnesota Football: QB Controversy? Everybody just calm down
by JDMill on Sep 6, 2011 10:36 AM CDT
in Gopher Football
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When Max Shortell entered the second half of last Saturday's game against the Gophers my first reaction was to send out a tweet to Marcus Fuller of the Pioneer Press: "Shortell getting a shot now... happy?"
Now I'll admit that I had had a couple of barley-pops by that point, but Fuller has been a bit of a proponent of keeping MarQueis Gray at WR and letting Shortell run the offense, so my tweet wasn't completely out of left field. I wasn't implying that Fuller would be happy with Gray going down, I was simply reacting to the fact that Shortell was now getting the shot to run the offense, a move that Fuller had theorized about a few times.
Turns out that everybody was jumping on the Shortell for QB1 bandwagon. My mom, who loves football but doesn't really watch the Gophers actually took some time to watch the USC game. When I asked her on Sunday if she watched and what she thought, she said, "I did watch, and you know, I thought the freshman looked better."
But yesterday Marcus had a tweet that really says it all when it comes to the QB situation for the Gophers.
@GophersNowPiPress Gophers NowNo matter how well Shortell played for true frosh QB, Gray can do things that no defense can prepare for. He is starter unless he's injured.
And Marcus is completely right. Sorry mom.
In the first half MarQueis Gray looked a bit confused, sometimes out of his element, inaccurate, and some might even go as far as to say over-matched. He began to settle in and make some plays before going down, but for the most part his performance was underwhelming.
By comparison Max Shortell looked poised, he had a strong arm, and he was mobile enough to make the defense think twice. Those are all important things in this offense and for a D1 QB. Based on such a small sample size alone, it would be easy to have a knee-jerk reaction that Shortell should be the leader.
But when Shortell came in he also had something that Gray didn't: a group of players around him that had settled into the game-plan and had left their jitters in the first half. It's an important distinction because Shortell didn't deal with the blocking scheme breakdowns that Gray had to deal with giving him more time to make decisions and more holes to scramble through when needed.
Now, having said that, and while I'm in the mode of praising Twin Cities media-types, (and this one really pains me) I also have to agree with Sid Hartman, who wrote:
Now in the right situations, Gray can go back to his 2010 receiving position with Shortell at quarterback, thus posing a problem for any defense.
Limegrover's NIU offense played two quarterbacks in 9 of 13 games last season. Translation: having a solid, mobile, strong-armed QB behind Gray is exactly the kind of option that Limegrover wants in this offense. Add to that what Sid so astutely pointed out, that that will allow Gray to be spread wide to create match-up problems for the defense, and suddenly you've added a wrinkle that other teams simply can't prepare for.
For a team that is still learning the offensive scheme, a player with MarQueis' athletic and running ability gives you so many options when you are facing adversity from the defense. That dimension is something that Max Shortell just cannot give the Gophers right now. But Shortell is the kind of QB that can provide a talented change of pace for the offense, and if Limegrover is able to use him in those situations throughout the season, Shortell will be incredibly dangerous when it's his turn to be QB1 in two years.
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Everyone says that Gray is the better runner...
…and maybe he is, but Shortell showed he is no slouch when it comes to tucking the ball and taking off. I’ll simply be content to know that they back each other up.
Still a big difference in their ability to rush the ball
Shortell definitely showed he’s mobile, but Gray isn’t just mobile; he’s big too. Gray is going to be able to wreck havoc in the 2nd and (especially) 3rd level of defenses by being able to break tackles and run guys over with his size.
I noticed that Saturday
He’d take a no gain run and just move the pile 2 or 3 yards.
noticed the “big” part that is. It may not be size so much, as Shortell is a big guy too, but strength.
Honestly...
he reminds me of Adam Weber. He was a pretty good runner his freshman year and similarly has the size to drag a few guys.
I shall be laying off the Barley Pops for a while...
Shortell looked great, and Q looked great once they got their rhythm down in the second half. If that second half team shows up every weekend, I won’t have a problem eating a few losses. If we didn’t have the interception, get the first down and nail the FG, this conversation wouldn’t even be happening
When we get the Pig, the Jug and the Axe, we'll have one hell of a picnic
are you saying
that Shortell would for sure be the starter?
"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."
Off Tackle Empire
The Daily Gopher
@jdmill
I too am wondering what you mean...
…because I think Kill sticks with Gray either way. The fanbase and media would be amping the QB question discussion all the way to 11, but I doubt that sways Kill.
I think we've got two great QBs
But there was a lot of BS to distill, including the above mentioned, to really say Q or X were better.
I’m still shaking out the cobwebs from the weekend, with a helping of jet lag and wildfire warnings to round out the holiday weekend
When we get the Pig, the Jug and the Axe, we'll have one hell of a picnic
My concern with Gray...
…is more his history of fumbles than anything related to throwing the ball or being fast enough with his new muscle and ability to read defenses. We can praise him as having all this potential to run the ball, but can some guy a lot smarter than me figure out how frequently he fumbles, per number of times he runs the ball? I would bet my life it is astronomically high. Luckily we got the ball back this time, but historically I recall him fumbling much more frequently than what I’d call “average”.
As I was telling my dad (the son of a bitch who was at the 1961 Rose Bowl!!) “I worry about Gray’s fumbles”…he was fumbling the football on his first run. So that concerns me. As does his ability to get pounded over and over. I’m happy he put on the muscle because he’ll need it to take the abuse he’ll take (both in dropping back to pass and in running the ball). Shortell better stay warm the entire game…which I’m sure he will. But without injury, I’m a Gray backer.
O-line needs to improve... fast
I didn’t notice it right away while watching the game live (and granted, I was taking part in a fantasy draft at the same time), but after Gray left the game with cramps, ABC rolled a compilation of all the hits he took. And it was ugly. Then, Shortell comes into the game, and almost immediately took a hit that could have easily resulted in bruised ribs. I know the O-line is young, but you can’t be allowing your QB(s) to take shots like that for an entire game. If the blocking doesn’t improve, the game plan will need to be adjusted. And that would be unfortunate.
Journalism. Enhanced.
Shortell got HAMMERED!
Right? And it didn’t even slow down the defensive end….he just literally blew right through Max…
This being said, and I agree 100% with you….USC’s front line is about as good as we’ll play, as far as pass rush and strength/speed. I am happy nobody died!
was gonna say the same thing
USC has a very good Defensive line and that’s a tough opponent for game 1. Guessing we’ll see drastic improvement these next 3 weeks with the O-Line and hopefully they get things dialed in for the B1G season.
Quick Question for Daily Gopher writers
Do you all have your own twitter accounts. After being on twitter this weekend it is a must for college football fans. It is like watching all the games with tons of your friends.
Twitter accounts to check out if you haven't done so already
JDMill – which is @JDMill
Of course – @thedailygopher
even though I am not a writer, you can follow me if you want – @greasyllama
-other gopher related twitter accounts -
@MVofDT
@frothygopher
@BenjaminJDawson
@downwithgoldy (he’s more of a Gopher basketball follow)
@B1Gfootballdude
@ClubDTL
@jonsie00
@BTNGlenMason (so far has talked a lot about gophs)
@GoldenGopherFB
Thanks
Had a few of these. Been using my business account to follow everyone, but it’s football season and time to switch to the personal so when the beers are flowing and games are crazy I don’t have to guard what I say. @CallMeCrowe
I am not trying to add fuel
to this media created “qb controversy” but Shortell reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger (sp?). Size, arm, release, feet, really everything.
Let's hold off on the Big Ben comparisons...
Until we find out how often Max gets into trouble with the ladies in da club.
"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."
Off Tackle Empire
The Daily Gopher
@jdmill
by JDMill on Sep 6, 2011 4:53 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Gnation, OK, maybe I wanted
to stoke the flames a bit!!! I couldn’t help it. Love the picture
One thing rubbed me wrong about Shortell...
…and that was him laughing on the sideline after he threw that pick. For a freshman, that should have been absolutely devastating…but he was smiling and laughing. Hell, I was throwing up in my shoes….and I’m just a fan.
Now I’ll wait for the “hey, that’s a great sign, that’s leadership, that’s calm and poise, I’d want it no other way!”….and maybe you are right, but I would have felt better knowing he hated life as much as I did immediately following his pick. Winners hate losing. They hate losing more than they hate the thought of death. It makes me question his inner drive and passion for the game. Sorry, it just does. I know, it’s one occurrence, I’ve got nothing to go off…but don’t fu&^ing smile and laugh on national TV 60 seconds after throwing a game-ending interception. Even if the coach is telling you an off-colored joke into the telephone.
But that’s all I’ve got! I haven’t felt this good about the future of Gopher football since….ever. Love Shortell. Love Q…..life is good. I expect a 25 point blowout this week.
by jimipig on Sep 6, 2011 4:57 PM CDT reply actions 2 recs
Maybe he’s one of those nervous laughers. I mean, he is a ginger after all… we just don’t know that much about them.
"We're talking about unchecked aggression here, Dude."
Off Tackle Empire
The Daily Gopher
@jdmill
For a true freshman, he looked spectacular.
He looked very poised for a kid that got thrown cold into a game on the road at The Coliseum before he ever attended a day of classes in college. I’m almost as excited to see what he can do going forward as I am about Coach Kill.
But it needs to be tempered. The staff is behind MarQueis, he’s as athletic as they come, and Max is still a true freshman (and we should all know the adage about losses and playing freshmen). I can’t wait to see him come in while we’re up big Saturday in the 3rd quarter.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Sep 6, 2011 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions
For what it's worth...
This was in the STrib earlier today, which might be what they’re talking about… I’m sure it’ll show up in the Nugs tomorrow too:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/129323638.html
When we get the Pig, the Jug and the Axe, we'll have one hell of a picnic
Kill handles it!
The Trib is reporting that Kill looked at the sideline antics and reported that the “boys” did a little extra running.
One good game from the back up
does not make a QB controversy…
Shortell could very well come out next week and play horribly against an opponent that is vastly inferior to the previous one…
Q is a better runner, and has more experience at this level…he just needs to get into a better passing rhythm is all…
Hmmm.....needz moar winz
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