Meager-Hall Comparison

[Norwester]

PLAYER_____________PC-PA-YDS__%___TD/INT_

2000 Scott Hall............60-137-937 43.7 6/6

2005 Daniel Meager*...103-213-984 48.3 4/8

*Stats projected through 11 games

Somthing to think about...

[meangreendork]

A lot of people don't see it this way-

But Hall didn't become one of our best QBs by accident. He had to get knocked around a lot and really earn his stripes. He came out of it a field commander, great pocket presence and good decision-making.

I think Meager- with time and effort will be a sharp QB. Yeah, I know that Drew Smith was a sharp QB his year as starter, but he was an exceptional case (hence the great loss) and the SBC was an entirely different conference back then.

Meager showed improvement in terms of percentage, but his interceptions and his passing form still have me scared. It still looks like he closes his eyes and throws the ball, but I'm not in his shoes, so I don't know. The thing is, he's got the ability to be a strong passer with great speed. Once he improves, he'll do alot for us by passing, running, and opening up our RB opportunities.

[THOR]

I know these are projected, at least for Meager, but 40 more completions and only 47 more yards isn't good. So he's completing a bunch of dumpoff passes. This doesn't show a good arm to me, maybe good decision making, but I don't believe he is a comparable passer to Hall. Hall was making the passes downfield, Meager is making the passes at the line of scrimmage. On a side note, are we really throwing the ball that much this year? Wow, it's shocking to me.

[Guest JohnDenver]

213 / 11 = 19 passes a game.

That sounds what I expect. Half of those are dump passes or behind the line of scrimmage.

Not to mention Hall was 1-1 on int/td ratio -- which is worth more than yardage. AND Hall was rotating with Bridges for this freshman year. Meager has had full reign -- though we were told it would be a rotation.

[FirefightnRick]

A lot of people don't see it this way-

That's because there was not "A lot" of people there with us to see Scott play in 2000.

I predicted we would see a different offense this past weekend and we did. Much improvement since the Troy game. And for now, improvement is all we have.

Danny is going to be very good for us these next three years. He faced a very tough LSU defense on October 29th and didn't once looked rattled or intimidated. He is one of our many bright spots to look forward to next year.

Rick

[06WideOutsRideOut]

Agreed, I think Daniel is an awesome dude, cool as hell. But yeah alot of the passes are very short yardage, very short. Any time its thrown up(seems like a prayer), its picked, thrown into 2x coverage, or not within 7 yards of the reciever.

-Byerly back next year could be nice, Ive seen and heard good things about him.

[monkeycage]

I agree that Meager is a bright spot. First, he has a competitive spirit as did both Hall and Smith. And from what I've seen, he has decent poise. He's capable of tucking the ball and running - we've seen him be very successful with this. Yet, in spite of that, he holds on to the ball making an effort to run the play as designed. This demonstrates patience and a willingness to learn the system. From this, he'll learn to read defensive schemes. He has arm strength and a good vision of the field. If he keeps working hard, he'll make a great QB.

Side note - as long as we are rebuilding ... RF's response was a poor example for our players to follow. Composure is everything on and off the field.

[emmitt01]

I just don't think you can say things like "Hall was completing passes downfield" and "Meager only throws the dump off pass" when they makeup of the team is totally different. Those of you who have this glowing memory of Scott Hall should color that nostalgia with glowing memories of a defense that was able to dominate Sunbelt competition and a running game that actually scared somebody. It has been said that the reason we don't have as good of a running game is because we're not a threat to throw...that's not on Danny. We're not a threat to throw because we don't stop the defensive surge into the backfield on running OR passing downs. Half of being successful with the play action fake is having the safeties bite on it AND stopping the defenders from being in your backfield when your quarterback turns around to throw. Hall was able to set his feet to throw his ducks, Meager hasn't been afforded that luxury near as much.

[H-towngreen]

Emmit is right. Hall didnt have 8-9 men in the box every down. Meager has performed admirably so far this season.

[tonyhuntoon]

If I had to compare Meager with anybody it would be Andrew Smith when he was a freshman. The guy couldn't hit a simple down and out.

[meangreendork]

Hall did get 8-9 guys in the box, but that was vs. Southern Miss.

The truth is, I think the team is undergoing a metamorphosis right now. Meager (possibly Byerly) offer our QB position something it didn't used to have- SPEED. A fast QB can open up so many different plays and formations that it didn't have before.

Our old offense did alright with the old Sunbelt, but as we can see, it won't fare as well with the new Sunbelt. Teams blitz harder and faster than they used to, so we HAVE to pass more or we'll never score. The Belt has gotten better (maybe not enough to win OOC), but it has become a more competitive conference.

A faster offense is what we need in order to win as well as a strong D.

Mark my words, NT fans-

Offensively, we'll see remarkable changes in the next year. Meager (barring injury) will be more composed and make better passing as well as get faster. He's still throwing some dead-duck passes, but he's getting better. Is it as fast as we'd like? No. But will it pay off? I'm almost certain of this.

Besides, it's been a dream of mine that UNT have a speedy QB, strong RB and catch-happy WR/TEs. It took me 3 years in NCAA 2006 to get a scrambling QB- it totally paid off.