Kevin Simon's thoughts on ND offense

[Stealingshrimp]

Simon said he doesn’t think the Irish offense was the best Tennessee has faced.

But, “They have more playmakers than anyone we’ve played,” he said. “Samardzija is probably the best receiver we’ve played all year. They have more star power and a good coach to boot.” [AP]

I sort of agree with him. Our offensive line wasn't picking up the blitz's well(reminding me of michigan-- but obviously Tenn has a stellar def) at all, and Quinn once again failed to make easy dump off passes. Fasano and the Shark made several acrobatic catches(again), and I just have a feeling if Quinn ever has a miserable game we could get beat by a team like syracuse. I love quinn but he needs to start making these passes, bc they seem to keep being poorly placed at crucial junctions in the big games. Thoughts?

 

[bigdon]

Simon said he doesn’t think the Irish offense was the best Tennessee has faced.

But, “They have more playmakers than anyone we’ve played,” he said. “Samardzija is probably the best receiver we’ve played all year. They have more star power and a good coach to boot.” [AP]

I sort of agree with him. Our offensive line wasn't picking up the blitz's well(reminding me of michigan-- but obviously Tenn has a stellar def) at all, and Quinn once again failed to make easy dump off passes. Fasano and the Shark made several acrobatic catches(again), and I just have a feeling if Quinn ever has a miserable game we could get beat by a team like syracuse. I love quinn but he needs to start making these passes, bc they seem to keep being poorly placed at crucial junctions in the big games. Thoughts?

Did he say whose offense is better?

I agree with you on Quinn. It seems the easier the throw the worse he is.

 

[bmf175]

Well, from what I have seen of Quinn is that the key situation pressure really isn't a factor. The passes he messes up on are on certain types of routes, mainly Arrows, Drags, and the Fullback/Tailback in the flats. These are the pass routes that he needs to improve on. Most of the over thrown balls are on these routes (Schwapp in the flats against USC, Fassano Arrow against UT, Thomas flats UT)

Every man that has played QB knows that the hardest routes to throw are the quick outs or the deep outs. A lot of time Drags, Arrows, and the backs in the flats will become a problem as well, especially if you are stationary in the pocket and not rolling out. They are hard passes to be accurate on.

On one hand the intrended receiver is running away from you but he is not totally running vertical he is running half vertical half horizontal a lot of QBs have trouble with these throws. And it seems he either does not have his foot work ready for these throws, throwing off of the back foot is usually a clear sign of overthrowing, or he needs more practice with these specicfic throws.

Bottom line what seems like an easy 5 yard pass on TV is usually the pass route QBs have trouble throwing.

 

[irish9331]

These are the pass routes that he needs to improve on. Most of the over thrown balls are on these routes (Schwapp in the flats against USC, Fassano Arrow against UT, Thomas flats UT)

The ball to Schwapp against SC, Schwapp stopped dead in his tracks, he keeps running Quinn gets the ball to him.

 

[jiggafini19]

The ball to Schwapp against SC, Schwapp stopped dead in his tracks, he keeps running Quinn gets the ball to him.

That pass happened directly in front of me and I have to disagree with you 100%.

That ball was over Schwapp's head by about 5 feet. It wasn't even close.

 

[bmf175]

That pass happened directly in front of me and I have to disagree with you 100%.

That ball was over Schwapp's head by about 5 feet. It wasn't even close.

Agreed that ball was way over thrown.

 

[ND Lifer]

My, how we've all forgotten the QB situation over the last few years!!!! We should be praising the heavens that we have a QB who just happens to be breaking passing records left and right and has a 65% completion percentage. He is also leading us toward a 9-2 seaon that would be an undefeated season if our defense did it's job against MSU and USC on that 4th and 20 pass that cost us the USC game.

I sure don't want any more Holidays, Battles, etc. playing QB for ND. Be extremely happy with what we've got and realize that he is only going to get better the balance of this year and with another year under Weis next year we may hit a double dip...NC and Heisman.

 

[LuckoftheIrish86]

My, how we've all forgotten the QB situation over the last few years!!!! We should be praising the heavens that we have a QB who just happens to be breaking passing records left and right and has a 65% completion percentage. He is also leading us toward a 9-2 seaon that would be an undefeated season if our defense did it's job against MSU and USC on that 4th and 20 pass that cost us the USC game.

I sure don't want any more Holidays, Battles, etc. playing QB for ND. Be extremely happy with what we've got and realize that he is only going to get better the balance of this year and with another year under Weis next year we may hit a double dip...NC and Heisman.

agreed....Quinn is showing considerable improvement throughout his career. I agree on the areas he has to work on but by his Senior Season he will be a force.

 

[BGIF]

From CNNSI.com

The 41 points were the most allowed this season by Tennessee, which gave up 27 points at LSU and against Georgia. The three TD passes surrendered by the Volunteers also equaled the amount they gave up in their first seven games combined.

For those that missed it, The three TD passes surrendered by the Volunteers also equaled the amount they gave up in their first seven games combined.


Damn shame that Quinn only completed 61% of his passes. What a lousy day.

 

[jiggafini19]

Yeah, I'm not sure where the criticism of Quinn is coming from. Everyone is going to miss a throw here or there, but come on people.

This guy is great. He's proven he can make any throw in the system. Quinn is the most valuable player on the team, hands down.

 

[bigdon]

Agreed that ball was way over thrown.

Let's put this one to bed. The ball was way overthrown and you could argue it cost us the game. I will not make that argument but it was not the first time Quinn overthrew a open man.

Sam, with his circus catches, has bailed out Quinn a number of times.

 

[Stealingshrimp]

I would be interested to see what his comp% would be without the sharks hands/height and fasanos hands. I love the guy, but if he wins the heisman next year it is going to need to be a package deal -- or he either needs to get poorer receivers and learn to be even more accurate. =)

 

[BigIrish]

this is an age old question - does the qb make the receiver look good or vice versa. chances are, it's a combination of the two. brett favre is still a talented quarterback, but a lack of receivers isn't helping him this year.

the point is that it's a package deal - you can't judge one without the other. good quartbacks don't exist in the absence of talented receivers, and good receivers don't exist without a capable passer at the helm. i fail to find merit in speculation that a qb wouldn't be as good without the aid of his receivers. well, duh. quarterback + receiver = passing game. how good would quinn look throwing to a blind kid all day? or a converted lineman? passing and catching are a cycle that feed off each other, and the more talent you have on either end, the more spectacular the overall play looks.

i think fans most commonly overlook the chemistry that exists between a quarterback and a receiver. it's chemistry - knowing the abilities of a receiver and how he catches the ball - that causes a qb to put a pass in certain spots, that on the surface, look a little high, or flat, etc.

despite all the camera angles we get on tv, a qb's perspective in relation to his receiver is unique, and until you're standing in the pocket, you don't know what that looks like. it's easy to point to sam, stovall or fasano and say that they're making quinn look good with acrobatic catches, and i'd tend to agree if they occurred less frequently.

but spectacular catches are routine with this Irish offense. to me, that speaks to quinns chemistry and confidence in his receivers, and his ability to throw less than perfect passes based on where the defense seems to be reacting as the play develops, letting them go after a ball that only they can catch rather than something the defense can make a play on.

as an old football coach used to tell me, i'd rather be lucky than good. and when it comes to catching passes, the irish have been both this year.

 

[bmf175]

My, how we've all forgotten the QB situation over the last few years!!!! We should be praising the heavens that we have a QB who just happens to be breaking passing records left and right and has a 65% completion percentage. He is also leading us toward a 9-2 seaon that would be an undefeated season if our defense did it's job against MSU and USC on that 4th and 20 pass that cost us the USC game.

I sure don't want any more Holidays, Battles, etc. playing QB for ND. Be extremely happy with what we've got and realize that he is only going to get better the balance of this year and with another year under Weis next year we may hit a double dip...NC and Heisman.

Whats wrong with what we are saying? In no way did me or Jigga say we were not grateful to have Quinn. We simply made an observation as to some of his bad tendencies. Where in the crap did you get that we were not gratefull to have Quinn???

I think Quinn is one of the best college QBs.

But it is NO insult to say a dead man is dead. If Quinn has a tendency to over throw certain routes than it is no insult to say it.

 

[jiggafini19]

Quinn is the MVP of this team, bar none.

My reference was in response to a specific play that happened right in front of me.

Critique of Quinn at this point is really nitpicking. When they needed a play, he got the ball to Samardzija on 3rd and 10 for a big play. I have come to expect this of him. Any little kinks in his fundamentals will take care of themselves.

Otherwise, he is the one guy they can't live without.

 

[bmf175]

Great job on stating the obvious, because nobody has said any different in this thread or any other.

 

[jiggafini19]

Great job on stating the obvious, because nobody has said any different in this thread or any other.

Thanks. The way the initial thread reads, the receivers are making "acrobatic catches" to poorly thrown passes and an off day equals a loss to Syracuse. I think it needed to be said after reading that.

I heard Mark May praise Quinn on Saturday, so hell must be freezing over. If Mark May has good things to say about Quinn, we're in good shape.

Rest easy at night, folks. Things are going to be just fine.