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Siemian Review

Not kind to the NU coaches and certainly not the receivers.
 
I don't disagree with the conclusion that Trevor has a real shot at a long NFL career but the analysis provides no real insights. Trevor's biggest area for improvement is accuracy and in my opinion a lot of that has to do with his footwork. A few years watching Manning should do the trick.
 
Sometimes, the truth hurts...........consider this an objective view without any purple colored glasses.

I am not sure if some guy watching film from his senior year and watching him throw in practice constitutes the "truth." We all know that Trevor has a really nice arm and was capable of playing really well in spurts. But you need to play well on a consistent basis. Almost every college quarterback has some great series or even great games. The articles I have had read generally praise him for his footwork and mechanics, which would seem to suggest some decent coaching. C.J., Kafka, Persa and even Colter put up better numbers than Trevor, which also suggest that Trevor was part of the problem. Like most on this board, I watched every game he played, many more than once, and while he certainly suffered from missed blocks and dropped passes, he also often failed to throw the ball away in the face of pressure and missed a fair amount of open receivers, especially down field. Hopefully, he can refine his game on the practice squad for a year and then get some game experience. I am sure he will be well coached. But I am hesitant to indict our coaching staff because Trevor got drafted in the 7th round and some guy from Denver has a favorable impression of him before he taken a single game snap. Let's see if he actually plays in the NFL before we start wondering how we weren't more successful with Trevor at quarterback.
 
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agreed. Nice clarification, cat

If you have like 10 of the 12 pre-Trevor seasons producing wildly successful quarterbacks, it is not 100% coaches (as much as I love bashing them)
 
I don't disagree with the conclusion that Trevor has a real shot at a long NFL career but the analysis provides no real insights. Trevor's biggest area for improvement is accuracy and in my opinion a lot of that has to do with his footwork. A few years watching Manning should do the trick.

Interesting enough, the 4 from the Broncos who were instrumental in deciding to draft Siemian, Elway, Kubiak, Dennison and Callahan (all of whom know the QB position well) have stated that one of Siemian's strength is his footwork.

Think his leg injury + being repeatedly hurried has something to do w/ his accuracy (along w/ receivers not being on the same page and/or running the wrong routes), along the lines of PSU's Hackenberg's accuracy suffering last season (sans the leg injury part).

While not showing much in the way of results, was actually impressed by Siemian in the 2nd half against NEB, where the NEB DBs were playing the receivers so tight that didn't give the QB any room for error.

In addition, a QB needs pretty good footwork in order to pass accurately on the run which Siemian has been able to show.

One thing that Siemian will need to work on his movement within the pocket (but again, some of that was probably affected by his ankle injury).

Siemian's NFL future will depend on his ability to read opposing defensive schemes and pick-up on mismatches.
 
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Interesting enough, the 4 from the Broncos who were instrumental in deciding to draft Siemian, Elway, Kubiak, Dennison and Callahan (all of whom know the QB position well) have stated that one of Siemian's strength is his footwork.

Some on this board seem to think our own staff understands the position better. Or at least better than Kubiak. They tend to be the crowd that thinks this staff and Fitz in particular can do no bad.

I do hope that we in the future don't sit NFL quality QB talent behind a kid that happens to be able to make some plays with his feet, but would help the team more by giving way to the more talented arm and playing WR or RB. We did this with Brewer playing in front of Bacher (and Kafka) and now with Siemian and Colter. I hope we do not doing it again, especially this fall.
 
Some on this board seem to think our own staff understands the position better. Or at least better than Kubiak. They tend to be the crowd that thinks this staff and Fitz in particular can do no bad.

I do hope that we in the future don't sit NFL quality QB talent behind a kid that happens to be able to make some plays with his feet, but would help the team more by giving way to the more talented arm and playing WR or RB. We did this with Brewer playing in front of Bacher (and Kafka) and now with Siemian and Colter. I hope we do not doing it again, especially this fall.

1) That running QB happened to lead the team to its most successful seasons in modern history. The offense moved just fine with him at the helm.

2) Are you going to keep pushing the Brewer thing so people can keep proving you wrong?
 
Some on this board seem to think our own staff understands the position better. Or at least better than Kubiak. They tend to be the crowd that thinks this staff and Fitz in particular can do no bad.

I do hope that we in the future don't sit NFL quality QB talent behind a kid that happens to be able to make some plays with his feet, but would help the team more by giving way to the more talented arm and playing WR or RB. We did this with Brewer playing in front of Bacher (and Kafka) and now with Siemian and Colter. I hope we do not doing it again, especially this fall.


I think you are not factoring in the OL talent. You need a running qb if the OL is porous. IMO when Denver drafted Trevor, it proved the point that many of us have been making over the last few years. The OL recruits have not been as advertised.
 
It has always seemed to me that Northwestern's "hurry up" no huddle offense, rather than keep the opposing defense off-balanced, actually helped telegraphed play calls, hamstringing Trevor. Go back to the Michigan game (e.g., the last play, of course, but also numerous instances where the linebackers appear to know blocking lanes and schemes, pass routes, etc.).

Also, where Siemien seemed world class with over the middle throws; it was those sideline out-patterns where we saw a lot of problems manifest themselves, especially the INTs. While that endzone INT during the Notre Dame game stands out, but I also recall a few pick sixes the last couple during the last two seasons. Again, these WR timing pattern routes, if the defense knew ahead of time what was amiss, were plays inviting disaster.
 
Some on this board seem to think our own staff understands the position better. Or at least better than Kubiak. They tend to be the crowd that thinks this staff and Fitz in particular can do no bad.

Well, they obviously taught him good footwork. Playcalling is different than position coaching.

Colter may not have been the greatest decision maker with the ball in terms of whether to run or look downfield, but had an unheard of 89% completion rate on all throws up to 15 yards. 89%!! Without Colter effectively running the read option, NU would not have had nearly the running game we had. We would have become much more one-dimensional and easy to attack.
 
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Well, they obviously taught him good footwork. Playcalling is different than position coaching.

Colter may not have been the greatest decision maker with the ball in terms of whether to run or look downfield, but had an unheard of 89% completion rate on all throws up to 15 yards. 89%!! Without Colter effectively running the read option, NU would not have had nearly the running game we had. We would have become much more one-dimensional and easy to attack.
Glades, how nice to read something here that makes sense! These brief lucid interludes keep me coming back.
 
Agreed. With injuries to Colter and Mark after the dOSU game in 2013, the very next game started a dark multi-game stretch when Wiscy figured out how to disrupt the one-dimensional offense by blitzing the hell out of Trevor and putting corners one-on-one with the receivers. With Trevor getting beat up, our offense sputtered and other opponents followed that template with great success. There's plenty of blame to go all around but wasting the talents of a future NFL 7th round pick was down the list of why we have had back-to-back losing seasons.
 
I am not sure if some guy watching film from his senior year and watching him throw in practice constitutes the "truth."

While it may or may not be "truth", it does have the advantage of being emotionally unbiased as regards NU football.
 
1) That running QB happened to lead the team to its most successful seasons in modern history. The offense moved just fine with him at the helm.

2011 (6-7), 2012 (10-3), and 2013 (5-7) were NU's most successful seasons in modern history? I don't agree with ECat about this either, but...
 
2011 (6-7), 2012 (10-3), and 2013 (5-7) were NU's most successful seasons in modern history? I don't agree with ECat about this either, but...
To give 2011 to KC is tough to argue as he was basically a placeholder as we tried to get Persa healthy. That leaves 2012 (10-3) and 2013 (four straight weeks in the top 25 - how long since we have seen that?). Of course, we cannot separate the first four games of 2013 from the last seven. But the statement that 2012 and 2013 were two OF the most successful seasons in modern history is defensible. Not THE most successful (1995-1996 stand out) but defensible as two of the better seasons certainly since 2000.
 
To give 2011 to KC is tough to argue as he was basically a placeholder as we tried to get Persa healthy. That leaves 2012 (10-3) and 2013 (four straight weeks in the top 25 - how long since we have seen that?). Of course, we cannot separate the first four games of 2013 from the last seven. But the statement that 2012 and 2013 were two OF the most successful seasons in modern history is defensible. Not THE most successful (1995-1996 stand out) but defensible as two of the better seasons certainly since 2000.

2012, absolutely. 2013? I think you're really, really stretching there. Unless you also think 2001 was one of our greatest seasons. But I'll leave it there because I don't want to drag the thread completely off topic.
 
2011 (6-7), 2012 (10-3), and 2013 (5-7) were NU's most successful seasons in modern history? I don't agree with ECat about this either, but...

Gosh, did anybody consider gocatsgo meant season (2012) rather than seasons?
 
2012, absolutely. 2013? I think you're really, really stretching there. Unless you also think 2001 was one of our greatest seasons. But I'll leave it there because I don't want to drag the thread completely off topic.
But wasn't KC injured for most of 2013? In and out of the lineup but basically never really himself after the OSU game.. Hard to include it
 
Gosh, did anybody consider gocatsgo meant season (2012) rather than seasons?

Sure, but unless "modern history" started in 2001, it's still not accurate. Best season since our Big Ten title seasons? Inarguably.

But wasn't KC injured for most of 2013? In and out of the lineup but basically never really himself after the OSU game.. Hard to include it

I agree.
 
"That running QB happened to lead the team to its most successful seasons in modern history."

Except without TS we lose to both Syracuse to start the season and Miss ST to end the season. The defense did most of the heavy lifting that year. But lets keep giving KC all the credit.
 
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"That running QB happened to lead the team to its most successful seasons in modern history."

Except without TS we lose to both Syracuse to start the season and Miss ST to end the season. The defense did most of the heavy lifting that year. But lets keep giving KC all the credit.

Amen. TS is the most underappreciated Cat I can recall.
 
The thing is, we might have won more than 10 games had we played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber WR. We will never know.
 
The thing is, we might have won more than 10 games had we played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber WR. We will never know.

But we would have lost games like the Minnesota game (TS ineffective), and perhaps the Vandy and BC games if we had played TS at QB and KC exclusively at WR. Give it (the KC and coach dissing) a rest.
 
The thing is, we might have won more than 10 games had we played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber WR. We will never know.

You never give up. Sometimes it's kind of endearing but mostly it's just annoying, like now. We actually do know that we would not have won more than 10 games if we had played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber wide receiver. We lost the Penn State game when our NFL caliber quarterback went 21 for 36 for a whopping 135 yards and the Nebraska game when he went 15 for 35 for 116 yards. I actually thought we could have won the Nebraska game if we had run the ball more in the 4th quarter. Our offense was not the problem against Michigan. Both quarterbacks played really well in that game. We lost that game because our punter was bad and our db didn't just pull down the receiver. We won all of the rest of the games. You do the math.

Trevor absolutely helped win several big games in 2012. I cannot recall a quarterback being more effective in limited play than Trevor in 2012. He was less effective as the full-time quarterback for a variety of reasons. That's a fact. In 2013, he went 21-36 for 135 yards against a very good Wisconsin (a hang-over game for sure for the whole team after Ohio State) and then followed it up with a 25-46 for 223 yards against a not so good Minnesota team in 20-17 loss. Those aren't good numbers. Lots of blame to go around for 2013 but not playing Trevor enough was not one of the reasons we struggled.
 
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You never give up. Sometimes it's kind of endearing but mostly it's just annoying, like now. We actually do know that we would not have won more than 10 games if we had played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber wide receiver. We lost the Penn State game when our NFL caliber quarterback went 21 for 36 for a whopping 135 yards and the Nebraska game when he went 15 for 35 for 116 yards. I actually thought we could have won the Nebraska game if we had run the ball more in the 4th quarter. Our offense was not the problem against Michigan. Both quarterbacks played really well in that game. We lost that game because our punter was bad and our db didn't just pull down the receiver. We won all of the rest of the games. You do the math.

Trevor absolutely helped win several big games in 2012. I cannot recall a quarterback being more effective in limited play than Trevor in 2012. He was less effective as the full-time quarterback for a variety of reasons. That's a fact. In 2013, he went 21-36 for 135 yards against a very good Wisconsin (a hang-over game for sure for the whole team after Ohio State) and then followed it up with a 25-46 for 223 yards against a not so good Minnesota team in 20-17 loss. Those aren't good numbers. Lots of blame to go around for 2013 but not playing Trevor enough was not one of the reasons we struggled.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

John Elway and Gary Kubiak seem to think he's capable of playing well in the NFL, but somehow you and others don't seem to think that he was good enough to play more at NU. In front of a QB that was asked to move to WR to play in the league. That's interesting.

I don't really think you nor our staff for that matter have the chops to stand up against their judgment of talent and capability at the position, but I do suppose you are entitled to your opinion.
 
Well, they obviously taught him good footwork. Playcalling is different than position coaching.

Colter may not have been the greatest decision maker with the ball in terms of whether to run or look downfield, but had an unheard of 89% completion rate on all throws up to 15 yards. 89%!! Without Colter effectively running the read option, NU would not have had nearly the running game we had. We would have become much more one-dimensional and easy to attack.

Careful Glades. That's bordering on 28 ypc material.
 
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

John Elway and Gary Kubiak seem to think he's capable of playing well in the NFL, but somehow you and others don't seem to think that he was good enough to play more at NU. In front of a QB that was asked to move to WR to play in the league. That's interesting.

I don't really think you nor our staff for that matter have the chops to stand up against their judgment of talent and capability at the position, but I do suppose you are entitled to your opinion.
We had the two QB system for a reason. TS did have a different skill set and we exploited it pretty well. But many times that year, TS showed questionable decision making and threw balls that should have been INTs. Injuries hampered both QBs performance in 2013 but he had his time at QB and the results were pretty mediocre. And in 2014, he had the reigns. His overall performance did not warrant him having full control till then.
 
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

John Elway and Gary Kubiak seem to think he's capable of playing well in the NFL, but somehow you and others don't seem to think that he was good enough to play more at NU. In front of a QB that was asked to move to WR to play in the league. That's interesting.

I don't really think you nor our staff for that matter have the chops to stand up against their judgment of talent and capability at the position, but I do suppose you are entitled to your opinion.

I am clearly not able to evaluate the NFL potential of a quarterback other than at a very basic level. I am able to read and think logically, though, and I am pretty sure that I refuted your statement that we would have won more games in 2012 if Trevor had played more, since he took the vast majority of the snaps in two of our three losses and our offense played more than well enough to win the third game when both quarterbacks took snaps. We also lost several games in 2013 in which Trevor took the vast majority of the snaps. In fact, I am pretty sure at some point during that stretch you had a mea culpa in which you acknowledged that perhaps Trevor was not quite as good as you thought. In the end, it's about winning games and consistency. I felt like Trevor really started to put it together in the last quarter of last season before the knee injury. He was good against Michigan, fantastic in the Notre Dame game and was playing really well against Purdue.

I sincerely hope that you have the opportunity to make this argument again when Trevor is a pro bowl quarterback.
 
The thing is, we might have won more than 10 games had we played our NFL caliber QB and NFL caliber WR. We will never know.
It's quite an overstatement to call Trevor Siemian "NFL caliber" before he's ever taken a snap. He was drafted in the Michael Sam spot. (Sam, you'll recall, didn't make the team.)

(By the same logic, it might also be an overstatement to call KC "NFL caliber" as a WR. I don't recall whether he played any snaps last season.)

I hope Trevor does well and becomes a Hall of Famer. But he was not a great or even good college quarterback.
 
It's quite an overstatement to call Trevor Siemian "NFL caliber" before he's ever taken a snap. He was drafted in the Michael Sam spot. (Sam, you'll recall, didn't make the team.)

(By the same logic, it might also be an overstatement to call KC "NFL caliber" as a WR. I don't recall whether he played any snaps last season.)

I hope Trevor does well and becomes a Hall of Famer. But he was not a great or even good college quarterback.
Your right that he wasn't a good college QB, he actually was a very good college QB. Did you happen to notice how NU's offense fared when Siemian went down.
 
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

John Elway and Gary Kubiak seem to think he's capable of playing well in the NFL, but somehow you and others don't seem to think that he was good enough to play more at NU. In front of a QB that was asked to move to WR to play in the league. That's interesting.

I don't really think you nor our staff for that matter have the chops to stand up against their judgment of talent and capability at the position, but I do suppose you are entitled to your opinion.


There are too many QBs to name that were extremely successful in college to not even get a shot at that position in the NFL, as are the QBs that were mediocre in college to go on to have success in the pros. This fact has been mentioned more than once in this thread, so why can't you grasp it?
 
I understand why we were having KC versus TS debates two years ago. But now? Really?

The off-season is tough on football message boards.
 
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