Hats off to Thorson

[xxjfgxx]

I've been a big critic of Thorson's because he hasn't played well in the majority of his games at NU. He has been largely inaccurate, inconsistent and has displayed poor decision making. Up until now you couldn't count on him to go out and win a game for you.

Well apparently that has changed. No one can dispute that Thorson has played very well the last few games. Clearly his best games since coming to NU. While he still doesn't throw a very "pretty" ball, his accuracy has improved immensely. He is reading defenses better and making throws before the break, sure signs of development as a QB. It also doesn't hurt that he's throwing to at least two WR that have sticky fingers. If he keeps this up he may turn out to be the QB that everyone had hoped for when he came to Northwestern.

Hats off to Thorson.

 

[Gladeskat]

He's played well enough to win the majority of his games at NU, sometimes with his feet. All I saw yesterday and against Iowa were accurate passes with nice, tight spirals. His TD's to Carr and Nagle yesterday were beautiful passes.

 

[techtim72]

Thorson has a cannon for an arm. He can make sideline throws that very few can make. The media keeps talking up other QBs in the B10 but I don't believe any of them has Thorson's arm. HIs running is not great, but good enough and timely.

 

[WoodersonCat]

I have to disagree with you. He's progressed from good enough to see real talent to quite good to real good to darn good and yesterday, damn good. He's a keeper. The only thing he's not good at is the option, but that's on McCall for jamming that square peg into a round hole over and over and over again and expecting a different result. That play is not there yet, clearly.

But aside from that (which is not his doing), he's been great.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I have to disagree with you. He's progressed from good enough to see real talent to quite good to real good to darn good and yesterday, damn good. He's a keeper. The only thing he's not good at is the option, but that's on McCall for jamming that square peg into a round hole over and over and over again and expecting a different result. That play is not there yet, clearly.

But aside from that (which is not his doing), he's been great.

Thorson did as good a job with the option yesterday as we have seen.

 

[SmellyCat]

I feel like his TD run was years in the making. All those times we saw him pitch to a trailing back to get creamed and yesterday he finally kept it and walked into the end zone.

 

[rmndcat]

How much is attributable to improved line protection?

 

[hdhntr1]

How much is attributable to improved line protection?

A whole lot. But one game gives us hope, it does not make a good OL (other than for that game). Need to see a lot more.

 

[Katatonic]

Thorson did as good a job with the option yesterday as we have seen.

Did a good job on the keeper for the TD and did alright on a couple of others; still looked a bit awkward on a couple.

 

[Dugan15]

Guys, I am not a football expert, but since Game 1 last year, I thought Clayton was awfully good. Were there mistakes? Of course! He was a RS Frosh QB. Does he still make mistakes? Sure, he is 20-21 years old. But, he makes some throws that simply aren't usually available for a Sophomore QB. Now that the line is giving him a bit of time, and god bless Austin Carr, we are seeing what he can do. He is a really good one. (And, so is Justin Jackson!!)

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

He's played well enough to win the majority of his games at NU...

Yep. He hasn't been the most consistent at times, but it seems like some posters forget that Thorson is only a redshirt sophomore. For nearly all of Fitz's tenure it has been upperclassmen manning the quarterback position. Clayton hasn't even used 50% of his eligibility yet. Assuming he stays healthy, we are looking at having him under center for an additionally 30+ games!

The future looks pretty bright for the young man.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Did a good job on the keeper for the TD and did alright on a couple of others; still looked a bit awkward on a couple.

I think that had as much to do with trying to option off of McDowell as anything else.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

I think that had as much to do with trying to option off of McDowell as anything else.

Regularly reading McDowell was a really smart move by the 'Cats. He still made an impact on the game yesterday, but it could have been much more damaging.

 

[Hungry Jack]

The game is featured on BTN in 60. Watching Thorson again, all I can say is that his throws were outstanding in this game. Even the few that he missed were good. Before his keeper TD, he just missed connecting with Skowronek on a ball that was just about perfect. Skowronek's right hand was caught behind him on the jersey of the defender who was inside, but CTs pass was just ahead of Skowronek's left hand. If Skowronek doesn't get caught up and slowed down a tad, he reaches that ball with both hands and its 6.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Regularly reading McDowell was a really smart move by the 'Cats. He still made an impact on the game yesterday, but it could have been much more damaging.

Right. Mitigated a lot of what he can do, but he also made a handful of "whoa" plays.

 

[CommodoresAndCats]

The kid is incredibly physically gifted for the position. When he gets his feet set he can make all the throws, chuck it down field, has a very quick release and can do enough with his feet to extend plays. The issue with Thorson has always been in his head, making reads, quick decisions and staying calm. He still has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket, and can be indecisive at times. I think what we have seen in the past two games though is that he has really cut down on the mental errors and played with confidence. It just comes from experience and he will only get better through the rest of his career, I can only imagine how good he will be over the next couple seasons.

 

[DaCat]

The cliche "The game is slowing down" for him seems to be appropriate. He's getting better protection, knows the playbook better, and has confidence in/chemistry with his receivers. I think McCall is taking off some of the restrictions, too, letting him take higher risk/reward type of throws.