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Dcr361. In comparison to Jake Heaps, Riley Nelson's supposedly weak arm is a moot point. I just went through a list of all of Heaps' completions. If our primary concern about Riley Nelson is that he is incapable of throwing a deep ball, then at least he won't be any worse than Heaps. Heaps has a remarkably low number of completions for over 20 yards. His game longs have been (in order): 26, 27, 37 (vs. Utah, so whatever), 19, and 23. (Not a single 20+ pass for Heaps vs. UCF. For comparison, Max Hall NEVER had a game without a 20+ yard pass.) While yards after completion have not been great under Heaps (balls are usually put in places that don't allow for extra yards), a lot of his longer passes have been the rare pass over center that lets JJ, a slot man, or a TE rumble for a few extra yards.
Fears about our offense becoming one-dimensional, to me, are mind-numbingly stupid. Jake's not stretching the defense. Would you rather have a quarterback who can't throw a deep ball AND can't scramble, or a QB who can't throw a deep ball (and that's a big assumption to make for a QB we've rarely seen healthy) and can at least create some plays with his feet?
Just for contrast: Using only the UW, AFA, and USU games, Nelson's longs are 40, 27, and 40. Who's the gunslinger again?
2. If our O-line is as porous as people say it is, Nelson's mobility could be a godsend. As far as pass protection is concerned, I don't think our O-line is as bad as people have made it out to be. But if it is, Nelson showed Roethlisberger -esque elusiveness and play-extending abilities last night. The Steelers have one of the worst o-lines in football, and have for a while, even during their recent Super Bowl years. The damage was minimized because of Ben's ability to scramble and keep plays alive until a receiver gets open. If you want to attribute last night to Riley's heart, that's fine, but I saw the same ability on display last night.
3. I don't get people who want to rip apart Riley Nelson. He's a BYU quarterback. He transferred to be here. Just by his sideline demeanor, it's clear he loves his teammates, and his teammates love him. He's a credit to our program.
I'm sick of this crap about him not being a BYU quarterback. What does BYU football mean to you people? To me, it's an offense and a quarterback that can produce thrills and touchdowns! Steve Young was one of the great mobile quarterbacks of all time! There was more excitement packed into Riley's 1 1/2 quarters than I've seen from the offense all season. I just wrote that sentence, and after thinking about it, I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating.
It's not like we have to completely retool our offense if we decide to make Riley a starter. It's not like Brandon Doman is going to magically turn into Rich Rodriguez just because we run a few QB draw plays. I'm tired of this fanbase-wide notion that we have to dogmatically limit ourselves to QBs that stay in the pocket, throw deep bombs, and don't get yards with their feet.
4. I don't get people who want to rip apart Jake Heaps. At this point, criticizing Heaps' play is fair game. He's regressed, to the point that at halftime against USU I had the same thought I had last year halfway through the season: "I hate watching other teams play. I see other QBs and all I can think is, 'Why can't we do that?'" Having said that, it's almost kind of creepy the way people want to rip apart a 20-year-old who's possibly experiencing failure for literally the first time in his life. I know the knock on him is that he's entitled, arrogant, a poor leader, etc. But I don't know him personally, and generally I try to assume the best about people I don't know. It's a pretty good maxim, actually.
Besides, football's been his life for who knows how many years now. I don't know if you, or anyone close to you, has ever discovered that the one attribute you've built your whole life and identity on may not be as strong as you believed, but it's a crappy feeling. I hope his wife's giving him some TLC. Let's not all dogpile on the kid. Let's hope his potential comes through someday, if not this season. Let's hope for the best from him as long as he's wearing the white and blue.
5. If Riley turns out to be the real deal, I still can't say I fault the coaches for starting Heaps for the first half of the year. He was the clear leader in camp. If Riley pulls this off, he enters the Tim Tebow pantheon of "guys who suck in practice or worthless situations, but play hard in games and find a way to win." It's a hard thing to identify.
6. The field rushing was lame. Although, I guess I forgive USU somewhat for doing it last year. Because it's the students who rush the field. Not the football fans who rant to radio shows or post online. I think most of us would be in agreement that field-rushing was not appropriate there. But how are you going to explain that to some 18-year-old kids after what they just witnessed?
7. LES has been, for the most part, a great venue this year. The crowd was electric last night. I was getting goosebumps when the student section starting chanting Riley's name. Even with the ball on the 96 yard line, I kept thinking, "he's gonna pull this off." Plus, the crowd's done a much better job all year of wearing the blue. I feel like the spectators know the players and the game better than in years past (or maybe I'm just not sitting next to any idiots this year).
Fears about our offense becoming one-dimensional, to me, are mind-numbingly stupid. Jake's not stretching the defense. Would you rather have a quarterback who can't throw a deep ball AND can't scramble, or a QB who can't throw a deep ball (and that's a big assumption to make for a QB we've rarely seen healthy) and can at least create some plays with his feet?
Just for contrast: Using only the UW, AFA, and USU games, Nelson's longs are 40, 27, and 40. Who's the gunslinger again?
2. If our O-line is as porous as people say it is, Nelson's mobility could be a godsend. As far as pass protection is concerned, I don't think our O-line is as bad as people have made it out to be. But if it is, Nelson showed Roethlisberger -esque elusiveness and play-extending abilities last night. The Steelers have one of the worst o-lines in football, and have for a while, even during their recent Super Bowl years. The damage was minimized because of Ben's ability to scramble and keep plays alive until a receiver gets open. If you want to attribute last night to Riley's heart, that's fine, but I saw the same ability on display last night.
3. I don't get people who want to rip apart Riley Nelson. He's a BYU quarterback. He transferred to be here. Just by his sideline demeanor, it's clear he loves his teammates, and his teammates love him. He's a credit to our program.
I'm sick of this crap about him not being a BYU quarterback. What does BYU football mean to you people? To me, it's an offense and a quarterback that can produce thrills and touchdowns! Steve Young was one of the great mobile quarterbacks of all time! There was more excitement packed into Riley's 1 1/2 quarters than I've seen from the offense all season. I just wrote that sentence, and after thinking about it, I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating.
It's not like we have to completely retool our offense if we decide to make Riley a starter. It's not like Brandon Doman is going to magically turn into Rich Rodriguez just because we run a few QB draw plays. I'm tired of this fanbase-wide notion that we have to dogmatically limit ourselves to QBs that stay in the pocket, throw deep bombs, and don't get yards with their feet.
4. I don't get people who want to rip apart Jake Heaps. At this point, criticizing Heaps' play is fair game. He's regressed, to the point that at halftime against USU I had the same thought I had last year halfway through the season: "I hate watching other teams play. I see other QBs and all I can think is, 'Why can't we do that?'" Having said that, it's almost kind of creepy the way people want to rip apart a 20-year-old who's possibly experiencing failure for literally the first time in his life. I know the knock on him is that he's entitled, arrogant, a poor leader, etc. But I don't know him personally, and generally I try to assume the best about people I don't know. It's a pretty good maxim, actually.
Besides, football's been his life for who knows how many years now. I don't know if you, or anyone close to you, has ever discovered that the one attribute you've built your whole life and identity on may not be as strong as you believed, but it's a crappy feeling. I hope his wife's giving him some TLC. Let's not all dogpile on the kid. Let's hope his potential comes through someday, if not this season. Let's hope for the best from him as long as he's wearing the white and blue.
5. If Riley turns out to be the real deal, I still can't say I fault the coaches for starting Heaps for the first half of the year. He was the clear leader in camp. If Riley pulls this off, he enters the Tim Tebow pantheon of "guys who suck in practice or worthless situations, but play hard in games and find a way to win." It's a hard thing to identify.
6. The field rushing was lame. Although, I guess I forgive USU somewhat for doing it last year. Because it's the students who rush the field. Not the football fans who rant to radio shows or post online. I think most of us would be in agreement that field-rushing was not appropriate there. But how are you going to explain that to some 18-year-old kids after what they just witnessed?
7. LES has been, for the most part, a great venue this year. The crowd was electric last night. I was getting goosebumps when the student section starting chanting Riley's name. Even with the ball on the 96 yard line, I kept thinking, "he's gonna pull this off." Plus, the crowd's done a much better job all year of wearing the blue. I feel like the spectators know the players and the game better than in years past (or maybe I'm just not sitting next to any idiots this year).