Quarterbacks/Offense

[UNTLifer]

This is just my observation to date.

Ruder: Physically, he looks the part.  I don't think he was as fast as advertised, but that shouldn't really matter as I don't think it is a huge issue if this offense is being run as expected.  He did come in highly rated, a 4 star recruit coming out of high school, and was also a state champion sprinter and discus thrower.  I looked up Norton, KS and I would guess this is about a 3A school by Texas standards.  Not sure, but just a guess.  He has a strong arm, but his mechanics are a mess and he is nervous in the pocket.  

His first reaction at feeling pressure from the outside is to drop back and try to run around the end instead of stepping up into the pocket.  I noticed this a couple of times against UAB.  He needs to trust his OL as they were creating a pocket and giving him ample time to make the throw.  His reaction, to drop back or roll out, causes more pressure and the ability to throw on the run or off balance.

His mechanics are all over the place.  He floats the ball, throws off is back foot, sidearms throws, etc.  These are all the result of him relying on and getting by on athletic ability in the past. He is also holding on to the ball for too long.  His interception against UAB was on him.  If he had thrown the pass on the cut, it would have been a nice game.  Instead, he held the ball, rolled into the sideline thus compressing the field and then tried to force a throw.  I don't think I have seen him drop back, step into a throw and throw in rhythm once this year.

All of this can be corrected, and should be, by Coach Joseph.  He needs time, and with the proper coaching, should be just fine, but again, he needs to time with his receivers and in this offense.

Aune:  He just looked off.  I know our offense is predicated on reads and he and the WR's didn't appear to be on the same page Saturday night.  It was, by far, his worst performance at North Texas.  

This all leads back to preparation by the coaching staff.  There doesn't appear to be much difference in the two, but the coaches have to invest in one, prepare them properly each week and work with them throughout the game.  The talent is there, the coaches job is to put them in position to succeed.  Haven't seen that yet.

[edcollopy]

great analysis!

[Mean Green 93-98]

Very good post.  Regarding this point . . .

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

This all leads back to preparation by the coaching staff. 

I'm not sure if it's just preparation or qualification.  I have to wonder if Coach Bloesch is in above his head as OC.  Same for Coach Joseph as an FBS-level QB coach.

SL showed up on campus with a pretty solid coaching staff, but he has demonstrated multiple times an inability to replace departing members of his staff.

[UNTLifer]

I think the OC title was provided to Bloesch to keep him here.  Honestly, I have wondered the same thing, him being in over his head.  

[MeanGreenTexan]

5 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

I think the OC title was provided to Bloesch to keep him here.  Honestly, I have wondered the same thing, him being in over his head.  

Starting to agree here.  Not sure what's going on with playcalling, but there's little to no creativity, with the exception of a shuffle pass on a failed 2pt conversion.

 

EDIT:   And I dunno if his OC duties are taking away from his OL coaching, but his unit is definitely not performing up to last year's standard... at all.   Even Brammer was looking like RSFr Brammer, just constantly getting beat.  He showed last year he's so much better.

Edited September 20, 2021 by MeanGreenTexan

[El Paso Eagle]

9 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

I think the OC title was provided to Bloesch to keep him here.  Honestly, I have wondered the same thing, him being in over his head.  

I think you hit the nail on the head. He was promoted to keep him here. Probably too late, but go back to Seth calling the plays and let MB refocus on the line.

[Hookset]

1 hour ago, UNTLifer said:

This is just my observation to date.

Ruder: Physically, he looks the part.  I don't think he was as fast as advertised, but that shouldn't really matter as I don't think it is a huge issue if this offense is being run as expected.  He did come in highly rated, a 4 star recruit coming out of high school, and was also a state champion sprinter and discus thrower.  I looked up Norton, KS and I would guess this is about a 3A school by Texas standards.  Not sure, but just a guess.  He has a strong arm, but his mechanics are a mess and he is nervous in the pocket.  

His first reaction at feeling pressure from the outside is to drop back and try to run around the end instead of stepping up into the pocket.  I noticed this a couple of times against UAB.  He needs to trust his OL as they were creating a pocket and giving him ample time to make the throw.  His reaction, to drop back or roll out, causes more pressure and the ability to throw on the run or off balance.

His mechanics are all over the place.  He floats the ball, throws off is back foot, sidearms throws, etc.  These are all the result of him relying on and getting by on athletic ability in the past. He is also holding on to the ball for too long.  His interception against UAB was on him.  If he had thrown the pass on the cut, it would have been a nice game.  Instead, he held the ball, rolled into the sideline thus compressing the field and then tried to force a throw.  I don't think I have seen him drop back, step into a throw and throw in rhythm once this year.

All of this can be corrected, and should be, by Coach Joseph.  He needs time, and with the proper coaching, should be just fine, but again, he needs to time with his receivers and in this offense.

Aune:  He just looked off.  I know our offense is predicated on reads and he and the WR's didn't appear to be on the same page Saturday night.  It was, by far, his worst performance at North Texas.  

This all leads back to preparation by the coaching staff.  There doesn't appear to be much difference in the two, but the coaches have to invest in one, prepare them properly each week and work with them throughout the game.  The talent is there, the coaches job is to put them in position to succeed.  Haven't seen that yet.

I agree Ruder is waiting for receivers to get open. The touchdown he threw was almost too late. As the receiver ran across the back of the end zone, he almost threw it into a defender. The ball should have been thrown as he made his cut when he was wide open. 
Fine made a hell of a living here throwing quick slants to a spot and trusting the receivers to be there. 
Haven’t seen that so far with Ruder.

 I also believe a lot of that trust comes with developing chemistry with the receivers. That just takes some time. The way UAB’s defenders mugged all of our receivers on every vertical route. None of our receivers got any separation from a defender. 
Quick slants would have helped with that tight man to man coverage. Our QB and receivers just don’t seem to be clicking yet.

[NWKGREEN]

26 minutes ago, Hookset said:

I agree Ruder is waiting for receivers to get open. The touchdown he threw was almost too late. As the receiver ran across the back of the end zone, he almost threw it into a defender. The ball should have been thrown as he made his cut when he was wide open. 
Fine made a hell of a living here throwing quick slants to a spot and trusting the receivers to be there. 
Haven’t seen that so far with Ruder.

 I also believe a lot of that trust comes with developing chemistry with the receivers. That just takes some time. The way UAB’s defenders mugged all of our receivers on every vertical route. None of our receivers got any separation from a defender. 
Quick slants would have helped with that tight man to man coverage. Our QB and receivers just don’t seem to be clicking yet.

The touchdown was the third option, so it is gonna look late. They stopped the run game with 5 and dropped 7 into coverage all night. 3 of top receivers didn’t play in the game and one of them got injured on Wednesday. 

[PlummMeanGreen]

1 hour ago, NWKGREEN said:

The touchdown was the third option, so it is gonna look late. They stopped the run game with 5 and dropped 7 into coverage all night. 3 of top receivers didn’t play in the game and one of them got injured on Wednesday. 

So 2021 is going to be “the Year of the Injury To Key Skill Players” it’s looking like.  
Yeah, I know, everyone has injuries but for crissakes?🤢

[Green Crazy]

Offensive line was pathetic.  Haven't seen a OL get beat like Brammer since that one guy stepped in for Tyron Smith against Atlanta a few years back and gave up 5 sacks. I hope people will see that our line is and has been average at best.  I wish Littrell would recognize that and call plays accordingly. 

Not giving the QBs an excuse but the I didn't see Simpson or Shorter on the field after the first quarter, so that was part of the atrocity that happened. 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Green Crazy

[MAX KOCH]

Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! 

A deafening chant that needs to be loud and often enough to not be ignored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[keith]

7 minutes ago, MAX KOCH said:

Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! Kason Martin! 

A deafening chant that needs to be loud and often enough to not be ignored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think you need a clap-clap.....clap-clap-clap in there.

I would have liked to see him in the game on Saturday too.  But what happens if he came in and led one or two quick scoring drives (even if it was against UAB's 2nd team)...instant quarterback controversy, oh no, not that again.  

[MAX KOCH]

Exactly the cadence in my mind Sir!

 

 

[Cr1028]

14 hours ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

So 2021 is going to be “the Year of the Injury To Key Skill Players” it’s looking like.  
Yeah, I know, everyone has injuries but for crissakes?🤢

Still not quite to 2010 catastrophic injury levels but we are working our way there.

[Cr1028]

15 hours ago, NWKGREEN said:

The touchdown was the third option, so it is gonna look late.

You are right, I didn’t give him enough credit. Nice play Ruder, let’s build on that.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

35 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

Still not quite to 2010 catastrophic injury levels but we are working our way there.

I don’t know man, we only have 2 WRs from the 2 deep depth chart from week 1 meaning 4 are out. 
That room has been the most injured group of guys for a while now.

[Cr1028]

26 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I don’t know man, we only have 2 WRs from the 2 deep depth chart from week 1 meaning 4 are out. 
That room has been the most injured group of guys for a while now.

In 2010 we lost at least 11 starters to injuries including our top 2 centers and top 3 quarterbacks.

[Texas Stranger]

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

In 2010 we lost at least 11 starters to injuries including our top 2 centers and top 3 quarterbacks.

The Year of the Lisfranc Fracture.

[Hookset]

20 hours ago, NWKGREEN said:

The touchdown was the third option, so it is gonna look late. They stopped the run game with 5 and dropped 7 into coverage all night. 3 of top receivers didn’t play in the game and one of them got injured on Wednesday. 

The first two reads were mugged with absolutely no separation. Third read was wide open. Took too long with the first two reads. It was almost too late.

[Cr1028]

6 minutes ago, Hookset said:

The first two reads were mugged with absolutely no separation. Third read was wide open. Took too long with the first two reads. It was almost too late.

Trust me when I say I am NOT in Ruder’s corner but I believe you are wrong on this one. 4 seconds from snap to catch isn’t bad at this level on the 3rd option.

[UNTLifer]

You all can argue what option it was until you are blue in the face, the fact still remains that his mechanics are a mess and a good QB coach can fix those.

[El Paso Eagle]

55 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

You all can argue what option it was until you are blue in the face, the fact still remains that his mechanics are a mess and a good QB coach can fix those.

A good QB coach and an OC should also be able to adjust the game plan based on the strengths/weaknesses' of their QB's. We look like were trying to push square pegs through round holes. 

[Hookset]

4 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Trust me when I say I am NOT in Ruder’s corner but I believe you are wrong on this one. 4 seconds from snap to catch isn’t bad at this level on the 3rd option.

This right here is the problem. If the QB coach is teaching progression reads the QB tends to look too long at a receiver. At a higher level of play (college, pro), QB coaches  should be teaching coverage reads. 
If you start the play and see your outside receivers mugged up tight with inside help (all game long by the way) and you see your 3rd receiver with a defender off of him, he should be your 1st read. 
You should know the first 2 reads won’t be available. 
This is what I believe is part of the offensive problem. Our QB is inexperienced and not recognizing these coverages yet. He is making progression reads like a high school QB is taught. 
I am hopeful that this progresses and Ruder will show us what he is capable of playing like. Takes time(experience) to develop/see this. When this happens, he will play faster.

Hoping this happens sooner than later. Fingers crossed…

[Cr1028]

26 minutes ago, Hookset said:

This right here is the problem. If the QB coach is teaching progression reads the QB tends to look too long at a receiver. At a higher level of play (college, pro), QB coaches  should be teaching coverage reads. 
If you start the play and see your outside receivers mugged up tight with inside help (all game long by the way) and you see your 3rd receiver with a defender off of him, he should be your 1st read. 
You should know the first 2 reads won’t be available. 
This is what I believe is part of the offensive problem. Our QB is inexperienced and not recognizing these coverages yet. He is making progression reads like a high school QB is taught. 
I am hopeful that this progresses and Ruder will show us what he is capable of playing like. Takes time(experience) to develop/see this. When this happens, he will play faster.

Hoping this happens sooner than later. Fingers crossed…

Thank you for the insight. I truly had no idea.