The True FR QB Has Not Hurt Us This Year, But Now Is The Time...

GTCrew

GTCrew

Patrick Henry
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
49,807
Yea. If he doesn't move the ball crisply we need to pull him and put our backup in. That guy rocks.
 
I just looked up the statistics for Hamilton's first year and compared them to Reggies performance for the first 3 games.

Reggie's performance so far is just about dead even with Hamilton's averages for the year.

Hamilton threw only 7 TDs, but 13 INTs this year.
Reggie has 1 TD and 2 INTs.

Hamilton had 134 pass yds/game.
Reggie has 137.

Hamilton had 24.8 rush yards/game.
Reggie has 16 yards/game.

Hamilton had a 57.4 completion percantage.
Reggies has 50.7

Hamilton had 12.43 yards/completion
Reggie has 11.7

Given that Reggie has faced the two toughest defenses on the schedule already, I would expect Reggie's numbers to go up significantly.

I also would put forth the idea that Gailey has done a heck of a job coaching with a true freshman QB. Joe Hamilton actually had a red shirt year under his belt. I am having a hard time faulting Gailey for any play calling given what the numbers say, especially compared to Hamilton's first year under O'Leary.
 
Good piece of research BEESerk, that's how I remembered JoeHam's first year. If you look at tape you'll also see we ran a very vanilla offense, especially early on as well. The simple fact is that when you use a green QB you have to throttle back the offensive scheme. That's why most coaches don't do it. The idea is to have someone ready to step in who'se had a few years in the program. Kind of like Goose.
 
Add me to the kudos list Beeserk. The interesting next step will be to see if Ball's numbers do improve as the quality of defense declines.

But, I am still a little uncomfortable with the inference in SouthGA's post that it is now time for Ball to become a major or "the" driver of our offensive success. I will admit my gut tells me "yea Reggie you can do it now" while my head is saying "he is still just a freshman QB" who has 3 (three) games under his belt and will still have his ups and downs.

I do agree with your other point that we will need to score 24 points or so but I would be much happier if we looked to the offensive line and challenged them to give us 250 yards rushing with 3 touchdowns rather than looking at Reggie.

I guess I am just a bit worried about the pendulum effect for Reggie. The expectations for him are getting probably a bit too aggressive right now and if/when he has a "freshman" game with freshman mistakes I am afraid the pendulum will swing too much in the other direction. Maybe I am just a nervous nellie about this but I do believe we shouldn't yet put him in the central position.
 
Good points YJacket. I would love to see us pound out 250 ypg on the ground (I have an old roommate who calls me Vince - I say you rarely see 200+ yd rushing teams lose). If we can begin to be able to run whenever we want, then Reggie becomes that much more effective. Hopefully that starts on Saturday.
 
How come nobody is asking when Smith or Curry or Ace or Foschi or Dixon or Logan are going to step up?

These are the upperclassmen and should be carrying the team. I've seen some plays but not nearly enough. PJ stepped up Saturday. Who's going to join him? In '99 the reason Goose was so good was because people were making plays. All he had to do was run the play and it was easy execution with all the weapons.
 
Originally posted by BEESerk:
I just looked up the statistics for Hamilton's first year and compared them to Reggies performance for the first 3 games.

Reggie's performance so far is just about dead even with Hamilton's averages for the year.

Hamilton threw only 7 TDs, but 13 INTs this year.
Reggie has 1 TD and 2 INTs.

Hamilton had 134 pass yds/game.
Reggie has 137.

Hamilton had 24.8 rush yards/game.
Reggie has 16 yards/game.

Hamilton had a 57.4 completion percantage.
Reggies has 50.7

Hamilton had 12.43 yards/completion
Reggie has 11.7

Given that Reggie has faced the two toughest defenses on the schedule already, I would expect Reggie's numbers to go up significantly.

I also would put forth the idea that Gailey has done a heck of a job coaching with a true freshman QB. Joe Hamilton actually had a red shirt year under his belt. I am having a hard time faulting Gailey for any play calling given what the numbers say, especially compared to Hamilton's first year under O'Leary.
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">Those are good numbers to look at, but like Ball, Hamilton had a very conservative Off. Coordinator under Pat Watson. I think Ball quite frankly has bigger potential and upside than I remember thinking about Hamilton even after his first couple of games his sophomore year. The key for Gailey and Nix as well as Ball is to make a great athlete with superb instincts into a great QB. That is where Friedgen truly helped Joe (who already had the right mindset and attitude) and I see Ball with the same mindset and "head on his shoulders." He needs Gailey and Nix to help mold him and he could end up actually being better than Joe. I really see that much "potential" in him, yet we need a more diverse offense over this year and into next to bring out all the skills and pluses that Reggie can bring to the table. What was Joe like 8 out of 9 or something for 75 yards in his first game, but we won? I cant remember it all.
 
Originally posted by kirbee:
[QB]How come nobody is asking when Smith or Curry or Ace or Foschi or Dixon or Logan are going to step up?

Obviously, unless directly snapped to them, the receivers (Smith and Curry) rely on Ball to get them the ball, and Ball, while exceptional thus far for a freshman, has missed Smith probably a dozen times the first 3 games - many times when Smith could have scored. I'm sure it's the same way with Curry and Foschi.
I think, though, that you'll see Ball connect on those passes more and more as the season goes on.
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I agree with the post above that stated Ball will progress faster than Hamilton because of coaching. Hamilton did not have FRIDGE as a FR. Also, I think ball has more confidence as a FR than Hamilton and has more command of the game at this stage. I'm not expecting Ball to play like Hamilton did as a JR or SR but Ball is no ordinary FR. I look for Reggie to step up the performance this week, not by light years but turn it up a notch.

South Georgia Jacket
 
i feel very confident in the coaches who are
helping RBall improve

Nix - a nearly-undefeated D1 QB
Geiss - former NFL coach
Gailey - former NFL offensive coordinator at some of the most premier of all franchises: Miami, Pittsburgh, and Dallas

then, of course, is RBall himself. i see this guy going all out to learn as much each game to improve our CHANces of winning the next one (also)

he is motivated, and has that elusive quality we missed on the field all last year - LEADERSHIP
 
Originally posted by CuzzBuzz:
Originally posted by kirbee:
[QB]Obviously, unless directly snapped to them, the receivers (Smith and Curry) rely on Ball to get them the ball, and Ball, while exceptional thus far for a freshman, has missed Smith probably a dozen times the first 3 games - many times when Smith could have scored. I'm sure it's the same way with Curry and Foschi.
I think, though, that you'll see Ball connect on those passes more and more as the season goes on.
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<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Sans-Serif">I think we can all agree though that Hamilton definitely had receivers with an uncanny ability to get open (Middleton and Campbell)...or could also get physical and go up and take the ball away (Dez White).

He also had a stable of RB's to take force defense's to respect the run...and they could also catch the ball out of the backfield as good as anybody. (Wiley, P.Rogers, Wilder, Burns).

NOT TAKING AWAY ANYTHING FROM HAMILTON....he is the best QB to ever play for us. However, we all must admit there was a lot more talent around for opposing defenses to worry about than Ball has.
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for him to put up some stats and points on the board. Ball has definitely been a pleasant suprise and has not made fatal errors at the QB position. This week we need to score a minimum of 24 and hopefully 30+. Our "D" should give the offense some great field position to work with like the first half of the FSU game, but unlike the FSU game, we've got to take advantage of those opportunities and score. Clemson is a pretty good football team, you look at that UGA game and for three quarters UGA's offense struggled to put points on the board. It will be a battle and I predict the winner will need at least 24 points.
South Georgia Jacket
 
I agree. Ball needs to kick it into the next gear. You have to make strides from those first 3 games.
 
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