[CardinalSagehen]

Costello impressed me on two plays in particular where I suspect (hypothetically) that Chryst would have failed. 

In the first case, the Utah LB blitzed up the middle, perfectly timed, and was in Costello’s face right after the snap.  Costello bought just enough time by sprinting a couple steps to his right, and then he delivered a catchable ball to the receiver, who dropped it.  The other case was when he hit Stewart running a crossing pattern from left to right, just a split-second before getting blasted from the blind side.  Stewart ran for a nice gain after the catch. Some may remember that JJ was running open on the same pattern at SDSU when Chryst tried to deliver the ball a bit too late and was strip-sacked from the blind side.  It might be an unfair comparison - I didn’t measure how much time each of them had before the rush was on them - but the situation sure seemed similar in real-time.  Costello produced a nice gain, while Chryst produced a fumble.  In both of these cases, Costello’s quick decision-making was the key to the play.

I trust the coaching staff’s decision either way, but I continue to see one QB that seems to react more quickly and instinctively when things don’t go perfectly as planned. The tougher the opponent, the more that ability could matter. 

[CardinalSagehen]

Costello impressed me on two plays in particular where I suspect (hypothetically) that Chryst would have failed. 

In the first case, the Utah LB blitzed up the middle, perfectly timed, and was in Costello’s face right after the snap.  Costello bought just enough time by sprinting a couple steps to his right, and then he delivered a catchable ball to the receiver, who dropped it.  The other case was when he hit Stewart running a crossing pattern from left to right, just a split-second before getting blasted from the blind side.  Stewart ran for a nice gain after the catch. Some may remember that JJ was running open on the same pattern at SDSU when Chryst tried to deliver the ball a bit too late and was strip-sacked from the blind side.  It might be an unfair comparison - I didn’t measure how much time each of them had before the rush was on them - but the situation sure seemed similar in real-time.  Costello produced a nice gain, while Chryst produced a fumble.  In both of these cases, Costello’s quick decision-making was the key to the play.

I trust the coaching staff’s decision either way, but I continue to see one QB that seems to react more quickly and instinctively when things don’t go perfectly as planned. The tougher the opponent, the more that ability could matter.