Official 2023 QB Thread

[jrry32]

I gotta offer a mea culpa. I didn't take Stetson Bennett seriously as a prospect. But with the Rams taking him, I decided to go back and take a second look. I was wrong. I'm not sure Stetson is a great enough thrower to become a starter, but he does seem like he could be a high-quality backup. I knew that he had very underrated mobility (making him a pain in the butt to play against), but I didn't realize how good he was in the pocket. He stands tall, feels pressure well, manipulates the pocket effectively, and finds throwing lanes. He also has a quick release.

The other aspect of his game I definitely underestimated was his mental acuity. He has great anticipation, elite even for a college QB. He throws before guys break against man coverage and before they enter windows against zone. He looks very much like a NFL QB in that respect. And in terms of his reads, he makes full-field reads, goes through progressions quickly, will find his backside receiver when teams take away the other half of the field, and can hit his checkdown.

The weaknesses are obvious. He's short and slight. His arm strength is only adequate, and it shows up when he pushes the ball down the field. His decision making can be spotty. There are a handful of throws it seems every game that have you scratching your head. I think he has way too much confidence in his ability to fit balls into tight coverage. And his accuracy isn't elite. He'll make some "wow" throws. He does generally put it on target, but he misses the strike zone more often than he should and has some inexcusable misses.

Ultimately, he does seem like a legit backup. And I definitely wasn't giving him that credit before. I don't know if he has the arm talent to become a starter, but considering the guy's intangibles and what he has overcome, never say never. He kind of reminds me of Taylor Heinicke. He's a little smaller and a better athlete, but he has that same reckless abandon gamer mentality to him.

[Scoundrel]

7 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

I gotta offer a mea culpa. I didn't take Stetson Bennett seriously as a prospect. But with the Rams taking him, I decided to go back and take a second look. I was wrong. I'm not sure Stetson is a great enough thrower to become a starter, but he does seem like he could be a high-quality backup. I knew that he had very underrated mobility (making him a pain in the butt to play against), but I didn't realize how good he was in the pocket. He stands tall, feels pressure well, manipulates the pocket effectively, and finds throwing lanes. He also has a quick release.

The other aspect of his game I definitely underestimated was his mental acuity. He has great anticipation, elite even for a college QB. He throws before guys break against man coverage and before they enter windows against zone. He looks very much like a NFL QB in that respect. And in terms of his reads, he makes full-field reads, goes through progressions quickly, will find his backside receiver when teams take away the other half of the field, and can hit his checkdown.

The weaknesses are obvious. He's short and slight. His arm strength is only adequate, and it shows up when he pushes the ball down the field. His decision making can be spotty. There are a handful of throws it seems every game that have you scratching your head. I think he has way too much confidence in his ability to fit balls into tight coverage. And his accuracy isn't elite. He'll make some "wow" throws. He does generally put it on target, but he misses the strike zone more often than he should and has some inexcusable misses.

Ultimately, he does seem like a legit backup. And I definitely wasn't giving him that credit before. I don't know if he has the arm talent to become a starter, but considering the guy's intangibles and what he has overcome, never say never. He kind of reminds me of Taylor Heinicke. He's a little smaller and a better athlete, but he has that same reckless abandon gamer mentality to him.

[RedandPewterReturns]

I'm a bit confused how Sean Clifford got taken in round 5. Then also realized if Will Levis went round 2 who could never beat him out for the job - even when Clifford went down and Levis had those opportunities to shine. 

[tab]

I’m not a college football watcher but do any of y’all Ohio St fans know what are some good CJ Stroud games to watch? Georgia for sure but just curious what other good ones there are. Especially interested in any comebacks or games against really tough defenses (even if it’s a loss)

[HerbertGOAT]

17 hours ago, jrry32 said:

I gotta offer a mea culpa. I didn't take Stetson Bennett seriously as a prospect. But with the Rams taking him, I decided to go back and take a second look. I was wrong. I'm not sure Stetson is a great enough thrower to become a starter, but he does seem like he could be a high-quality backup. I knew that he had very underrated mobility (making him a pain in the butt to play against), but I didn't realize how good he was in the pocket. He stands tall, feels pressure well, manipulates the pocket effectively, and finds throwing lanes. He also has a quick release.

The other aspect of his game I definitely underestimated was his mental acuity. He has great anticipation, elite even for a college QB. He throws before guys break against man coverage and before they enter windows against zone. He looks very much like a NFL QB in that respect. And in terms of his reads, he makes full-field reads, goes through progressions quickly, will find his backside receiver when teams take away the other half of the field, and can hit his checkdown.

The weaknesses are obvious. He's short and slight. His arm strength is only adequate, and it shows up when he pushes the ball down the field. His decision making can be spotty. There are a handful of throws it seems every game that have you scratching your head. I think he has way too much confidence in his ability to fit balls into tight coverage. And his accuracy isn't elite. He'll make some "wow" throws. He does generally put it on target, but he misses the strike zone more often than he should and has some inexcusable misses.

Ultimately, he does seem like a legit backup. And I definitely wasn't giving him that credit before. I don't know if he has the arm talent to become a starter, but considering the guy's intangibles and what he has overcome, never say never. He kind of reminds me of Taylor Heinicke. He's a little smaller and a better athlete, but he has that same reckless abandon gamer mentality to him.

I never understood all the Bennett hate. Seemed like more of a meme and people assuming he was just the average generic, run of the mill "winner" QB who actually sucks, like Gino Torretta, Ken Dorsey, and Greg McIlroy. There's a reason why Georgia has been one of the most talented rosters in CFB and never sealed the deal before Bennett. He's got some juice and stepped up when they needed him. I think in the 4 playoff games he played, he threw 12 TDs to 1 INT or something crazy like that. Obviously not a franchise QB, but not just a placeholder. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the occasional random 3TD game when the starter gets hurt. He'll be a pretty nice backup, unlike... *sigh* Max Duggan...

[jrry32]

36 minutes ago, tab said:

I’m not a college football watcher but do any of y’all Ohio St fans know what are some good CJ Stroud games to watch? Georgia for sure but just curious what other good ones there are. Especially interested in any comebacks or games against really tough defenses (even if it’s a loss)

I'm not an OSU fan, but I'd recommend watching the Michigan game from this year. They lost, and Stroud received some criticism for it. But I thought he performed a lot better than the stats showed.

[Teen Girl Squad]

6 hours ago, HerbertGOAT said:

I never understood all the Bennett hate. Seemed like more of a meme and people assuming he was just the average generic, run of the mill "winner" QB who actually sucks, like Gino Torretta, Ken Dorsey, and Greg McIlroy. There's a reason why Georgia has been one of the most talented rosters in CFB and never sealed the deal before Bennett. He's got some juice and stepped up when they needed him. I think in the 4 playoff games he played, he threw 12 TDs to 1 INT or something crazy like that. Obviously not a franchise QB, but not just a placeholder. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the occasional random 3TD game when the starter gets hurt. He'll be a pretty nice backup, unlike... *sigh* Max Duggan...

Bennett and Richardson were this years litmus test of people who actually scouted vs. those slapping lazy, superficial stereotypes on players.

[jrry32]

8 minutes ago, Teen Girl Squad said:

Bennett and Richardson were this years litmus test of people who actually scouted vs. those slapping lazy, superficial stereotypes on players.

Eh, some of it depends on the games you watched. I didn't take Bennett seriously as a prospect because almost all of his games that I had watched closely were UF games. And by pure coincidence, he was dreadful against us the first two times he played us (2020 and 2021) and mediocre against us in 2022. So I came to certain conclusions that were wrong once I took a second, more expanded look. I imagine the same thing could happen with Richardson if you watched a couple of his bad games.

[Teen Girl Squad]

7 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

Eh, some of it depends on the games you watched. I didn't take Bennett seriously as a prospect because almost all of his games that I had watched closely were UF games. And by pure coincidence, he was dreadful against us the first two times he played us (2020 and 2021) and mediocre against us in 2022. So I came to certain conclusions that were wrong once I took a second, more expanded look. I imagine the same thing could happen with Richardson if you watched a couple of his bad games.

I meant more broadly like "Bennett is a noodle armed game manager" and "Richardson is just Malik 2.0, doesn't know how to play football." People can obviously come to different conclusions based on what they watched but some descriptions are straight up not based in reality.

[Daniel]

9 hours ago, jrry32 said:

Eh, some of it depends on the games you watched. I didn't take Bennett seriously as a prospect because almost all of his games that I had watched closely were UF games. And by pure coincidence, he was dreadful against us the first two times he played us (2020 and 2021) and mediocre against us in 2022. So I came to certain conclusions that were wrong once I took a second, more expanded look. I imagine the same thing could happen with Richardson if you watched a couple of his bad games.

This.  I think if we're honest, for most prospects, we only watch two or three games of theirs closely.  You watch Dylan Horton just against Michigan, you wonder why he's not in first round consideration.  Watch any CB against Marvin Harrison Jr. and you wonder why they're draftable.  Then those people argue vehemently because they saw such different things on tape.

[RedandPewterReturns]

On 4/30/2023 at 6:46 PM, jrry32 said:

I'm not an OSU fan, but I'd recommend watching the Michigan game from this year. They lost, and Stroud received some criticism for it. But I thought he performed a lot better than the stats showed.

I didnt get the criticsim either. Stroud was tearing up the defense for a good chunk of the game. The OSU defense blundered that one by blow coverage and slipping on the deep balls executed by Michigan where McCarthy had WIDE OPEN RECEIVERS by 15 yards down the field lol. 

[RedandPewterReturns]

On 5/1/2023 at 12:38 AM, jrry32 said:

Eh, some of it depends on the games you watched. I didn't take Bennett seriously as a prospect because almost all of his games that I had watched closely were UF games. And by pure coincidence, he was dreadful against us the first two times he played us (2020 and 2021) and mediocre against us in 2022. So I came to certain conclusions that were wrong once I took a second, more expanded look. I imagine the same thing could happen with Richardson if you watched a couple of his bad games.

Wasnt richardson basically a 50-50 player or worse this year? That powerful arm and fast legs though - elite athleticism - potentially either a huge boom or huge bust. History normally points to bust though. Inexperienced QBs who come out too early that struggle in college yet have huge "ceilings' due to elite athleticism and arm strength don't pan out too well. 

Don't give me the Josh Allen comp. 3 year starter.