Sullivan gets one drive, and NU scores. Does that mean he starts next week? I don't blame Bryant for this debacle. But he didn't seem to do anything to justify the starting role. I have a hard time imagining he could be that much better than Sullivan based on the performance today. Maybe Braun chose the wrong guy.
Sullivan starts next week?
- Thread starter Medill '03
- Start date
I think you have to start Sullivan. What you saw today is what you will get from Bryant given the talent he has around him. Sullivan should have been the starter from game 1 last year in my opinion.
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Bryant throws a better ball but you have to have a QB who can run on any play with how much pressure QBs are under. They’re going to be feeling heat all year and can’t run the ball, gotta have a guy back there who’s an additional threat to do that.
Doubt it. It was backups against backups.
Truth is, nobody’s safe behind that line, again.
Truth is, nobody’s safe behind that line, again.
Bryant is the better QB. It’s on Bajakian to scheme to his players’ strengths. Instead he called a bunch of deep drop back passes that were doomed to fail with this line.
Sullivan got a short field against the second-string. He will wilt against B1G starters when a spy is assigned to him.
Bryant throws a better looking spiral but I am not sure he is a better passer than Sullivan. The jury is still out on that in my opinion. Bryant was late and inaccurate on several key throws in this game.
This is no condemnation of Bryant. The team is awful and having a traditional drop back passer looks like it is asking too much of an overmatched line. Sullivan isn't necessarily "better" but we probably have to do it.
Right now, they have to figure out how to beat UTEP and Howard.
Right now, they have to figure out how to beat UTEP and Howard.
I wonder if Sullivan will be available next week. The play before his TD pass he was thrown down hard on his right shoulder. On the replay from the end zone of his TD pass, he immediately drops his right arm after the release...hopefully from just a residual stinger, but perhaps something worse. I don't know if he could have throw that ball 5 yards deeper if it had been required. But he toughed it out.
I like Sullivan but if we have to shift to plan B after 1 week then it is a huge failure of both Bajakian as OC/QB coach and Anderson as OL coach. Sullivan got hurst twice last year in limited action and as @KATankerous said he could be banged up.
This game wasn't Bryant's fault. He was constantly under pressure, had no run support, and was playing from behind the whole time.
BUT. He also did not look that good. For a guy who's not going to run, he missed some key throws that he just has to make. He can definitely throw a nice ball but the consistency is a concern.
BUT. He also did not look that good. For a guy who's not going to run, he missed some key throws that he just has to make. He can definitely throw a nice ball but the consistency is a concern.
With the Dline I saw today, UTEP is going to run it down our throats. UTEP has a big Oline, a stable of 3 good RBs who give different looks, and a QB who is very effective in play action.
NU's best chance against UTEP is to shut down their running game and force UTEP to throw more than they run. But seeing the way Rutgers pushed NU's Dline around, I think it's going to be a long day.
They have their top receiver back too. Transferred to ATM and Transferred back
Was it Rutgers 2nd string? They were fighting for their first ever Big Ten shutout. I'll bet some were starters.
The stats don't really bear that out. They averaged under 3 yards per carry. I mean, Rutgers only had 285 yards of total offense. The real damage was done on turnovers, short fields, in the passing game and their ability to convert 3rd and 4th down at a high rate. The difference in turnover margin and third down conversion rates has generally been the difference between good and bad Wildcat teams.
There weren't any explosion plays by Rutgers on offense because NU's defensive players knew their reponsibilities and played fast, assignment sound football. That's an improvement over the confusion and constant blown assignments from the O'Neil era. Having said that, the defense for the most part was not able to make big plays to get off the field even they were in the position to do so. It starts up front with almost no penetration at the line of scrimmage from our down 4. Then you add missed TFLs by the linebackers, too much cushion by the DBs and a few dropped interceptions and you get a lot of long drives, 4th down conversions and a big time of possession advantage by Rutgers. You can't win many football games playing like that.
How specifically were we outcoached? The game I saw was lost, decisively, on the field, not the sidelines. I can't think of a single position or player where NU was superior to RU.
He will get killed and will never make it through a full season, so they better find a way to protect.
We only stopped them after they switched to predominantly going to the run. The first three drives they were mixing it up. Our spacing in the secondary seemed to have some big gaps, and our secondary was covering the long passes with their backs to the ball again. What is up with that???
Right, he should have played better-blocking OL and RBs who could stand up vs the blitz.
I'm the last person to defend Bajakian, who has shown he's no more competent than JON. But I doubt there's an OC around who could get traction out of this roster.
I think you have to give Bryant another game. He won the QB competition and has proven he can play at this level.
If they're blitzing, then you should set up some screens to punish them.
Going for it on 4th downs against,our terrible attempt at a fake punt, the zone d calls resulting in our db’s giving them first downs, the offensive play calling. Is that enough?
There were/are some who share your sentiments. Sullivan is universally liked by everyone in the locker room. He has a unique ability to relate with all cultures and both sides of the ball. Special kid in that regard.
On the defensive side (and there were some bright moments, particularly the downfield coverage) the glaring deficiency/Rutgers advantage was that Rutgers could get a two yard push on the interior any time they tried. The gap discipline was good, and RU was not able to get many slashing runs going, but third or fourth and short was automatic. Most of their passing success was on the inexplicable soft zones on 3rd and long, which is fixable.
If a tree falls in the forest…
There will be plenty of opportunities for each QB to come in and get mauled and carried off the field this year.
I'd say the real damage was done by the first 2 Rutgers drives which added up to literally an entire quarter of game time. That was all they needed to put the game out of reach because no post-2018 NU offense can come back from a double digit deficit.
Northwestern was down 17-0 to Iowa after the first quarter in 2020 and won.
