On Nelson, Standing Corrected

Friends, I stand corrected on Riley Nelson. What has transpired on the field speaks for itself.



He can make the needed throws. His arm and accuracy is better than I expected.



That being said, there are some plays that he just is not capable of doing at a high level...the pick six on the out is an example...but all in all, that doesn't really matter when the offense methodically moves down the field.



Is it lesser competition? Of course...but I am not sure that really matters. I still have my reservations, but those reservations have yet to manifest themselves in three games of play.



Thus far, bottling up Nelson is more than just a simple defensive adjustment because he is making great reads and delivering the ball well.



So I stand corrected.

Nelson deserves credit for winning the utah state game. He has also played better each game since.



I don't think i have seen anything that refutes the fact that his throwing ability is limited but it has been enough to make a lot of great passing plays, namely the receivers have had more time to get open given his ability to scramble. He has been passing than Jake was by the utah state game came around.



I still believe he is the most limited qb we have in the ranks though and am not convinced that he is he guy to lead us into next year ..... yet. I am going to wait and see some more before I come to that conclusion.



Either way I am grateful for his play. I wish we had some more quality games ahead of us to see what he is really made of. the TCU game will be a good game, but TCU is not the same TCU they ahve been the past three years or so.

pjmuli wrote:
That being said, there are some plays that he just is not capable of doing at a high level...the pick six on the out is an example...but all in all, that doesn't really matter when the offense methodically moves down the field.

Nelson was late on that throw. He threw it after Apo made the break. He should have thrown it before the break. But the problem with that throw, is that Nelson isn't strong enough to make that throw with enough velocity to overcome any lateness on the throw.



It's a poor play call for Nelson by Doman because the margin for error is smaller. But it's probably also a necessary risk as you have to attack all of the field. What they need to do now, is take that route and instead of throwing it on the out, make the corner bite on that throw trying to jump the route and then have Apo go up the sideline and hit him then.

The pick 6 wasn't a result of arm strength (though that is a tough throw for Nelson's arm) it was due to throwing late (as has been pointed out) and Nelson watched Apo the whole time on that route. He didn't look him off at all. Staring down a reciever an a long field out is a bad idea even if you have an arm like Heaps has.

The pick 6 was staring down a guy coupled with lack or arm strength for that throw. It was accurate, but slightly late. That is the only throw that Riley makes that scares me. And that is why Doman called many outs with Jake, but few with Riley. And fewer still after this.



Riley is way more polished this year than last. He has improved greatly in his tendencies. He is still not a drop back and throw on rhythm every play QB like BYU tried to be with Jake. Riley is more play maker, and he is getting it done. He looks way better than I ever thought he could as well.

Lawboy wrote:



He is still not a drop back and throw on rhythm every play QB like BYU tried to be with Jake. Riley is more play maker, and he is getting it done.

Dual threat QB's are it this day in age. It is exciting to finally be the team owning defenses when a play breaks down.

Lawboy wrote:
The pick 6 was staring down a guy coupled with lack or arm strength for that throw. It was accurate, but slightly late. That is the only throw that Riley makes that scares me. And that is why Doman called many outs with Jake, but few with Riley. And fewer still after this.

No. The pick was due to those things. The 6 was due to Apo getting absolutely smoked and giving up. Really hate to say it (and hated to see it even more), but it kinda reminded me of Jake.

Apo was on an out and was moving away from the ball while the DB had the jump on it and was moving towards it. The guy had 5 yards on Ross by the time he hit full speed. And he did not give up, just did not have the jets to catch the guy. Just showed me Ross is not a burner.

frdbtr wrote:
The pick 6 wasn't a result of arm strength (though that is a tough throw for Nelson's arm) it was due to throwing late (as has been pointed out) and Nelson watched Apo the whole time on that route. He didn't look him off at all. Staring down a reciever an a long field out is a bad idea even if you have an arm like Heaps has.

Too bad that wasn't an out-up with a pump fake. Would have gone for 6! That CB bit HARD...and guessed right.

Y 4 Ever wrote:

The pick 6 wasn't a result of arm strength (though that is a tough throw for Nelson's arm) it was due to throwing late (as has been pointed out) and Nelson watched Apo the whole time on that route. He didn't look him off at all. Staring down a reciever an a long field out is a bad idea even if you have an arm like Heaps has.

Too bad that wasn't an out-up with a pump fake. Would have gone for 6! That CB bit HARD...and guessed right.

And would have become a much easier throw.

Y 4 Ever wrote:

The pick 6 wasn't a result of arm strength (though that is a tough throw for Nelson's arm) it was due to throwing late (as has been pointed out) and Nelson watched Apo the whole time on that route. He didn't look him off at all. Staring down a reciever an a long field out is a bad idea even if you have an arm like Heaps has.

Too bad that wasn't an out-up with a pump fake. Would have gone for 6! That CB bit HARD...and guessed right.

An out-up with pump fake would have gone for a TD because there wouldn't have been a defender within 15 yards of Apo. At that point the score would have been 21 to 7 near the end of the half with BYU getting the ball first in the 2nd half.