[washingtonismoney]

... Hogan has been a little more nervous this year in the pocket and that has limited our ability in critical situations.

I'm not sure I would use the word nervous. But Hogan last year was definitely happier -- and more decisive -- in using short and mid-range routes. That was by necessity -- there were zero effective deep options by the time Hogan took control. Now that he's got deep options he seems to want to use them at every available opportunity.

I thought the UCLA game was an advance in that regard. For most of the season Hogan's accuracy has hovered between high fifties and mid sixties in completion percentage, but with a high YPA, reflecting very good explosiveness, but with a step back in efficiency.

Against UCLA, Hogan completed 72% of his passes, a season high. Unlike last year, however, the passing offense still delivered big plays -- 4 20+ plays (5 if you lump in a 19 yard completion to Cajuste.) 16% of our passing attempts were explosive plays (20% if you count the 19 yard Cajuste completion), as compared to 15% over the entire season.

(Interestingly, the stats reflect the new offensive emphasis. Stanford ranks 42nd in 20+ passing plays, but 89th in 10+ passing plays. I wouldn't take the exact rankings too literally, though: because Stanford plays at a slow pace and doesn't pass the ball terribly much at that, it will have fewer total explosive plays in any case. Still, I think it's descriptive about how the offense works.) 

[washingtonismoney]

... Hogan has been a little more nervous this year in the pocket and that has limited our ability in critical situations.

I'm not sure I would use the word nervous. But Hogan last year was definitely happier -- and more decisive -- in using short and mid-range routes. That was by necessity -- there were zero effective deep options by the time Hogan took control. Now that he's got deep options he seems to want to use them at every available opportunity.

I thought the UCLA game was an advance in that regard. For most of the season Hogan's accuracy has hovered between high fifties and mid sixties in completion percentage, but with a high YPA, reflecting very good explosiveness, but with a step back in efficiency.

Against UCLA, Hogan completed 72% of his passes, a season high. Unlike last year, however, the passing offense still delivered big plays -- 4 20+ plays (5 if you lump in a 19 yard completion to Cajuste.) 16% of our passing attempts were explosive plays (20% if you count the 19 yard Cajuste completion), as compared to 15% over the entire season.

(Interestingly, the stats reflect the new offensive emphasis. Stanford ranks 42nd in 20+ passing plays, but 89th in 10+ passing plays. I wouldn't take the exact rankings too literally, though: because Stanford plays at a slow pace and doesn't pass the ball terribly much at that, it will have fewer total explosive plays in any case. Still, I think it's descriptive about how the offense works.)