Thorson...
- Thread starter Wildcatfootball12
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He is a work in progress. He will be good but he is making some Frosh mistakes
Some may have been frosh mistakes...others were just plain mistakes...I doubt the coaches like all this talk of freshman-ness...
He isn't playing very well, and unfortunately his backups, both of whom are older than he is, do not seem to have the trust of their coaaches even to try to give the D a different look when Thorson struggles.
Too bad, because it seems this team has some legit talent in multiple areas....with average or better QB play a division title run would be a real possibility.
You guys have got to be kidding. The kid is the starting QB on a 3-0 team. That is the most important statistic for any QB. Clearly Thorson is a work in progress but anyone who knows anything about football can see the incredible talent he has. The kid is making some mistakes but he is building every game and is by far our best QB.
^ Corbi - this whole W-L record in evaluating a QB is just silly.
This is the best and healthiest team in years; if it had a healthy Persa or Siemian, would be the fave to win the West.
9 of 23 for 70 yds and 2 INTs - and Thorson wasn't getting pressured as badly as other NU QBs have been in the past and also had support from the ground game (200 yds, even if it was a tough 200 yds).
If not for the D and special teams - would have been a loss (thank goodness it was Duke having to play from behind).
This is the best and healthiest team in years; if it had a healthy Persa or Siemian, would be the fave to win the West.
9 of 23 for 70 yds and 2 INTs - and Thorson wasn't getting pressured as badly as other NU QBs have been in the past and also had support from the ground game (200 yds, even if it was a tough 200 yds).
If not for the D and special teams - would have been a loss (thank goodness it was Duke having to play from behind).
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Seems like he has great straight ahead speed and maybe some power (probably don't want him using that). Perhaps he needs to commit and go rather than try to make any moves.
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What is your point? I can think of a lot of other QBs where your statement wouldn't hold. The kid is a big, mobile, intelligent, ascending QB who has done a very good job of managing the game. That's all he is being asked to do at this point.
What is your point? I can think of a lot of other QBs where your statement wouldn't hold. The kid is a big, mobile, intelligent, ascending QB who has done a very good job of managing the game. That's all he is being asked to do at this point.
Ok I'm just going to abandon my attempt at not being negative
This was his worst game, he missed lots of wide open targets and made several mistakes on the option play, not to mention the interceptions actually came to fruition this game (he could easily have 6-7 interceptions by now).
He can throw a football really far, but accuracy is not there. Does experience increase accuracy (this is a genuine question, not trying to be an ass)?
He has good straight line speed, but really doesn't have the shiftiness to be a true dual threat QB. Aaron Rodgers is a marginally mobile qb, this reminds me somewhat of that.
The fact that he leads a team that is 3-0 is a coincidence. We have a chance to be special this year, if that means giving him another season to polish things up and going with ZO (who, many forget, did play quite well in the second half of the ILL game) I would be willing to entertain that option, and I'm 100% sure the coaches will give it consideration this week.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT. The WR and the OL are not helping anyones case
Coincidence? Zach Oliver? You really have a lot to learn about football.
No one is disputing that the kid has potential, but he nearly cost the 'Cats this game (Thorson didn't even manage the game).
If it were you know who had passed for 70 yds and 2 INTs, you'd be killing him.
I'm totally OK w/ Thorson not being used like a RB (want to keep him healthy) - using his legs on rollouts and bootlegs every now and then to keep Ds honest (or when there is open space on a pass play) is enough.
But the pass game really has to come along if the 'Cats want to seriously challenge for the West this season.
No way am I going to start trashing a quarterback that is 3-0 as a starter against quality competition. He has made mistakes and probably has a few more in him as he develops. Please note that when he made the mistakes he did not come unglued. He kept his head on straight and maintained his composure.
The pieces are there for this offense to come together and have a solid year. With our defense, that could be enough to win the West. But the focus has to be on improvement in the O Line. Thorson will develop just fine.
The pieces are there for this offense to come together and have a solid year. With our defense, that could be enough to win the West. But the focus has to be on improvement in the O Line. Thorson will develop just fine.
Thorson just isn't playing very well. The play at the end, where Shuler was wide open and we just missed. Wow. Just wow.
You really don't get it. This offense requires a dual threat. Our running game and OL look better all of a sudden because we have a mobile QB who defenses need to account for in the running game. Take that away and you really wouldn't like our offense then.
Regarding Siemian, you are mischaracterizing my opinion of him. If you could search my posts back far enough, you would see that I said as far back as his sophomore year that Siemian would play on Sundays. I also said that his talent was not suited for our offense and that he would not be my choice for our starting QB spot given a dual threat alternative. I stick by that view and I think the facts bear that out.
Rough outing for the kid...underthrows, overthrows, and bad throws. However, film study and repeated experience should help. Flush this one and let's get on to Ball State.
a decent amount of drops hurt things. hopefully another week against a lesser team and he can continue to develop. We knew he'd be a project, but he didnt lose us games against 2 quality teams yet. can this team with thorson win >3 Big ten games? I think so
Let's give Duke some credit. They have a couple of legit NFL potential players on D.
I think Thorson will be a lot better when the game slows down for him.
Who knows what our record would be if we used another QB.
Our D is special and hopefully can carry us until our O improves, which I am certain it will.
I think Thorson will be a lot better when the game slows down for him.
Who knows what our record would be if we used another QB.
Our D is special and hopefully can carry us until our O improves, which I am certain it will.
Legit talent? Not
Perhaps his receivers simply don't get open? TV is a lousy way to figure out who is open, but I saw 2 home games where no receivers got open so it's not a big stretch to guess they weren't open today either. Two words: Dennis Springer. Our receivers have sucked since the day he took over.
I expect Thorson's stats will be better against Testicle Tech next week. Duke had an excellent defense and I suspect that had something to do with it. I also wonder if the heat had something to do with both teams' offensive performance.
You seem to complete miss what a DUAL-threat QB is - a QB who is threat in running and PASSING the ball (right now, Thorson is not a threat in the latter, and isn't really that big of a threat in the former - not that I want him to be used like a RB).
And no, this O does not need a true DT QB, all it needs is a mobile QB who can pass on the run.
If it had been Duke with the lead late, would not have liked the 'Cats chances in moving down the field for the score.
OK, I see the predictable we won, but we suck thread has started right on schedule.
Yep and it's always the same clueless characters. You just have to laugh it off.
What's laughable is the notion that we can't celebrate a win, but still be objective about the team's flaws. Anyone who think Thorson had a decent game must have been watching a different game. We won in spite of poor QB play. He's gonna get better. Fine. And everyone is happy we won. But, let's not sugarcoat things. Thorson doesn't need to be a gunslinger. But, we need him to make the easy throws to open WR's (Shuler on that last drive before the muffed return) and not make INT's. He didn't do that today.
This all said. WHAT A DEFENSE! And the RB unit is deep, thank goodness. It's a good combination for the D.
I agree, this isnt baseball. Thorson had little to do with the win, in fact he was most likely responsible for the pts agaist.. Obviously alviti and oliver have nothing to give because thorson is a long way from mediocre. He is a freshman that is really struggling.
Hi Corbi,
We seem to be generating a lot of enthusiasm and media attention. Any possibility of new recruit commitment soon? Thank you.
Perhaps Stanford and
Perhaps Stanford and Eastern will have good games tonight to give more credence to those wins.
This must be a level right? Would you have preferred we lost and he threw for 200 yards? Hint: the Duke punter had an NFL-like game on paper, but his play was terrible and certainly contributed to Duke's loss but not pinning us deep at all (except when it didn't matter) by just booming kicks into the end zone. Pinning us deep would have given their D, (who played extremely well, btw) the opportunity to create turnovers, but the punter didn't get the memo. But hey, if you only look at stats....
Thorson had a typical redshirt freshman game, and there is no need to try to make him do too much at this point given our running game and our defense. This was the first road game against a quality opponent with an experienced defense (the best defensive effort we've seen against us thus far, imo) under less-than-ideal conditions. He will be fine.
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He regressed this game but he is young. He will turn it around with a little more experience. He had some great throws in other games that we should not forget about and neither should he. He can make the throws but didn't have a good game today. It happens. Don't lose faith.
Nothing imminent. We may see some action at next week's game with DL Jovan Swann and possibly RB/ATH Kene Nwangwu visiting. Landing both of those guys would be huge. I could see the rest of the class being filled up by another LB (keep an eye on Alfonzo Lambert), a specialist and another OL (someone like Will Fries possibly reconsidering their commitment). I think a lot of energy is already being focused on the class of 2017. I would not be surprised if we get our first commitment for that class sometime this fall.
Since I live in Tucson, I could not watch today's game . However in light of the comments about Thorson, if next week the Cats have a comfortable lead at halftime would it make sense to give Alviti or Oliver some playing time(in case Thorson needs "relief" in Big Ten games) or would that unnecessarily shake the freshman quarterback's confidence ?
I wonder if he struggled with the heat? Some guys can't take the heat, it can make it hard to concentrate. I didn't think his throws had the same zip he showed in the Stanford game.
I would say that is always a good idea, especially when you have the lead, but we don't do that much.
I would say that we need to stop characterizing Thorson as a dual threat, at least as we've conceived it in the past. While he had success today on two QB leads (Vitale off left tackle), he has limited escapability on passes (he didn't escape at all today, I don't think), and it would be kind to call him a work in progress on the option.
It's very clear that the defense doesn't consider him a threat on the option - he pitches too soon, gets no angle towards the line of scrimmage, and simply hangs his tailback out to dry. Loss after loss. It needs to get better or get gone.
Thorson appears to have great straight line speed, when it gets going. But I think he'll be much closer to Bacher or Siemian as a rusher than he is to Kafka or Kustok.
The thing that occurs to me is; if he has some success and is pulled on a high note, he then becomes a coach on the sidelines visualizing what should be happening and thinking through the plays he has been practicing without the pressure or failure of the game play. So in a way he is still mentally getting the reps in a sort of out of body experience. He would get to think through all the options W.O the pressure.
He's a young dude in his first road game playing against a pretty decent secondary. It's logical.
If Duke didn't consider Thorson a threat with his legs, why would they have their AA safety/linebacker hybrid playing a spy throughout the game?
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