As usual right now at this stage of a new football season, there are considerably more questions than answers and we honestly really don’t even know what to be asking about.
We always ask about the quarterback because somehow conventional wisdom makes many think that decision should always be made sooner rather than later.
Just like we’ve seen in the first 20 minutes of practices, there are good things … and bad. With every single one of the four quarterbacks. Well, five if you count some of the things Jack Lindsey was apparently doing Wednesday.
“Hey!” yelled offensive coordinator Joe Craddock after a Lindsey throw. “Peyton Manning decided to show up!”
It wasn’t a sarcastic remark. Craddock had praise for a couple of Lindsey’s passes.
There’s been plenty of praise at various times for every single one of the likely four leaders — Ben Hicks, Nick Starkel, John Stephen Jones and KJ Jefferson. There’s also been an equal amount of criticism at times.
“It depends on what period you’re really talking about,” Chad Morris said after practice Wednesday. “There’s different periods, situations, and one guy may have a little bit better period than the other.”
The whole situation is not about seeing some good things, but eliminating the bad things, it appears.
“All three, four, of them are showing great flashes,” Morris said. “It’s consistency that we’re looking for.”
Everybody has a play or two you can point to. Even Ty Storey and Cole Kelley had a couple of good plays last season, whether you want to admit it or not.
Quite honestly, nobody in the media has seen enough where any of us really know anything. Any projections by any of us is by guess and by golly. We’d simply be guessing.
Talking to the other players isn’t a lot of help, either. They aren’t going to say anything bad about any of them and will point out the big plays.
Morris admitted all of them have made a few of those.
But it was Craddock after last Saturday’s scrimmage that probably put it best when he pointed out the biggest thing was being able to get points on the board.
And Morris said the same thing Wednesday.
“I’d say whether you lead your drive or not, lead your team down the field, it’s can you get them in the end zone?” was how he pretty much summed up what is likely going to be the deciding factor.
It’s not about the big plays.
The key is going to be eliminating the bad ones.
Playing quarterback in this offense, Craddock told me back in the spring, is more about what happens above the shoulders. What that means is making decisions.
Oh sure, fans love to have a rocket-armed quarterback that will throw the ball between three defenders and hit a receiver in stride squarely between the numbers on the front of his jersey.
That usually won’t make it through the long haul of a season without a majority of the right decisions being made.
This offense requires a quarterback to make multiple decisions before the ball is snapped, a few after it’s snapped, then making an accurate throw or scampering down the field and either getting down or out of bounds.
With a scrimmage scheduled for Saturday and another next Wednesday, don’t expect a decision until at least Thursday.
“We’ll eventually announce it … just at the right time,” Morris said Wednesday.
That means when he decides it’s the right time.
Whether any of us agree or not.
