[76lsjumb]

Now I know what it's like to be a k.al fan and watch Zach Maynard...except they at least get to see Keenan Allen catch the ball on long routes a few times.

At least Nunes is making me feel young again...it's as if I'm back in school watching Cor-divot perfectly execute the 9-foot screen pass to a back who is 12 feet away.

Ouch...that hurt.

[76lsjumb]

Now I know what it's like to be a k.al fan and watch Zach Maynard...except they at least get to see Keenan Allen catch the ball on long routes a few times.

At least Nunes is making me feel young again...it's as if I'm back in school watching Cor-divot perfectly execute the 9-foot screen pass to a back who is 12 feet away.

Ouch...that hurt.

[Redrum]

Nunes, sitting alone.    Even after his few disastrous plays,  Luck was with his players,  talking about what happened and what they had to do next.  Nunes was just there...alone with his thoughts.  No encouragement from teammates.  No discussing with coaches or offensive teammates about what was going on.  Wide space on either side.  Just...alone.  Says a lot. 

[Redrum]

Nunes, sitting alone.    Even after his few disastrous plays,  Luck was with his players,  talking about what happened and what they had to do next.  Nunes was just there...alone with his thoughts.  No encouragement from teammates.  No discussing with coaches or offensive teammates about what was going on.  Wide space on either side.  Just...alone.  Says a lot. 

[76lsjumb]

Nunes, sitting alone.    Even after his few disastrous plays,  Luck was with his players,  talking about what happened and what they had to do next.  Nunes was just there...alone with his thoughts.  No encouragement from teammates.  No discussing with coaches or offensive teammates about what was going on.  Wide space on either side.  Just...alone.  Says a lot.

Noticed the same thing, and thought it was very strange.  Especially when juxtaposed with the couple of shots of Nottingham with his helmet on and grasping a football.  Of course, it may have been "media orchestration," that is, we don't know what he was doing when the camera wasn't on him, and I got a sense that ESPN wanted to push the QB controversy a little.  Still, it did seem, right at the end of the first half, that Nunes was almost surprised that we got the ball back after the defense held UW to 3 and out, and he looked like he was being rushed to get off the bench and back out on the field. 

Of course, I'm also scratching my head as to why we called a time-out to fair catch a punt and then do a kneel-down when we could have run at least one play.  We hadn't managed to return any punts to that point, so the odds of being able to break a return seemed pretty small [and, indeed, likely smaller than the odds of flubbing the return and giving UW the ball back in FG range...]

Strange play-calling, but, I suppose, what else is new? 

On our last offensive play of the game, when we saw that Toilolo was splitting out, my son yelled "Oh no, don't run that play!" several seconds before...they ran that play.  I'd be interested in seeing the success rate for the Toilolo sideline [or back corner of the endzone, which is essentially the same thing] fade.  From my recollections, it's not very high.  Running it when you ABSOLUTELY need a completion seems...not well-advised.  And, the unfortunate thing is --  we all knew they were going to run it.

It seems to me that Shaw does have a plausible storyline if he wants to make a change at QB.  His choice of Nunes was stated to be based upon Nunes' alleged better ability to "get us into the right play."  Tonight -- other than all of the passes dropped by Montgomery -- it just didn't seem like Nunes "got us into the right play" very many times.  If he's not doing that, his strength isn't a strength any more, so we might as well go with the guy who is supposedly the better passer.  And, with an extra few days to prepare AND a home [-coming] game in which to debut, this would seem to be a favorable time to make the change.  I guess we'll see...

[76lsjumb]

Nunes, sitting alone.    Even after his few disastrous plays,  Luck was with his players,  talking about what happened and what they had to do next.  Nunes was just there...alone with his thoughts.  No encouragement from teammates.  No discussing with coaches or offensive teammates about what was going on.  Wide space on either side.  Just...alone.  Says a lot.

Noticed the same thing, and thought it was very strange.  Especially when juxtaposed with the couple of shots of Nottingham with his helmet on and grasping a football.  Of course, it may have been "media orchestration," that is, we don't know what he was doing when the camera wasn't on him, and I got a sense that ESPN wanted to push the QB controversy a little.  Still, it did seem, right at the end of the first half, that Nunes was almost surprised that we got the ball back after the defense held UW to 3 and out, and he looked like he was being rushed to get off the bench and back out on the field. 

Of course, I'm also scratching my head as to why we called a time-out to fair catch a punt and then do a kneel-down when we could have run at least one play.  We hadn't managed to return any punts to that point, so the odds of being able to break a return seemed pretty small [and, indeed, likely smaller than the odds of flubbing the return and giving UW the ball back in FG range...]

Strange play-calling, but, I suppose, what else is new? 

On our last offensive play of the game, when we saw that Toilolo was splitting out, my son yelled "Oh no, don't run that play!" several seconds before...they ran that play.  I'd be interested in seeing the success rate for the Toilolo sideline [or back corner of the endzone, which is essentially the same thing] fade.  From my recollections, it's not very high.  Running it when you ABSOLUTELY need a completion seems...not well-advised.  And, the unfortunate thing is --  we all knew they were going to run it.

It seems to me that Shaw does have a plausible storyline if he wants to make a change at QB.  His choice of Nunes was stated to be based upon Nunes' alleged better ability to "get us into the right play."  Tonight -- other than all of the passes dropped by Montgomery -- it just didn't seem like Nunes "got us into the right play" very many times.  If he's not doing that, his strength isn't a strength any more, so we might as well go with the guy who is supposedly the better passer.  And, with an extra few days to prepare AND a home [-coming] game in which to debut, this would seem to be a favorable time to make the change.  I guess we'll see...

[81alum]

Agreed on all counts.  I hope Shaw takes advantage of the couple of extra days we have to install Nottingham.  Considering how close the competition was, he at least deserves an opportunity to show he is the better quarterback in-game.

Nunes's lack of accuracy was plain for all to see.  It also seemed that he may have done a poor job checking out of bad plays and into good ones.  Either that or Shaw was just way too stubborn.  Running the ball up the middle against a stacked box when the other side is expecting it does not produce reliable results--even Gerhardt would often get just one or two yards under those circumstances.  Instead, we should be overjoyed when the other team overcommits to stop the run--so we can check into the perfect pass to exploit it.  But we didn't.  And if we did, Nunes threw the ball low or behind his receiver.

It seems odd to say, but a power running game really demands a very accurate and efficient quarterback who can complete the 7 yard pass on third downs, who manages the clock well, and converts when you have to so you can keep running.  Otherwise you can't sustain those drives early in the game that are needed to wear down the run defense for later in the game. 

The three drops by Montgomery were just as bad as Nunes' performance.  Not only did we lose at least one touchdown and probably more, but until he starts making those plays the defense has little incentive to get out of the box.  Dropping those passes hurt the running game.

While the defense was generally excellent, the defensive playcalling had some lapses--corners playing deep off the Washington wideouts when their QB never got more than a couple of seconds to throw?  The TV announcers called that one out.

Poor playcalling and poor execution.  Poor results.

[81alum]

Agreed on all counts.  I hope Shaw takes advantage of the couple of extra days we have to install Nottingham.  Considering how close the competition was, he at least deserves an opportunity to show he is the better quarterback in-game.

Nunes's lack of accuracy was plain for all to see.  It also seemed that he may have done a poor job checking out of bad plays and into good ones.  Either that or Shaw was just way too stubborn.  Running the ball up the middle against a stacked box when the other side is expecting it does not produce reliable results--even Gerhardt would often get just one or two yards under those circumstances.  Instead, we should be overjoyed when the other team overcommits to stop the run--so we can check into the perfect pass to exploit it.  But we didn't.  And if we did, Nunes threw the ball low or behind his receiver.

It seems odd to say, but a power running game really demands a very accurate and efficient quarterback who can complete the 7 yard pass on third downs, who manages the clock well, and converts when you have to so you can keep running.  Otherwise you can't sustain those drives early in the game that are needed to wear down the run defense for later in the game. 

The three drops by Montgomery were just as bad as Nunes' performance.  Not only did we lose at least one touchdown and probably more, but until he starts making those plays the defense has little incentive to get out of the box.  Dropping those passes hurt the running game.

While the defense was generally excellent, the defensive playcalling had some lapses--corners playing deep off the Washington wideouts when their QB never got more than a couple of seconds to throw?  The TV announcers called that one out.

Poor playcalling and poor execution.  Poor results.

[estephan500]

questions of culture on the team with regards to the QB -- whether his team has confidence in him, whether they feel he has charisma or power, are giant.  And this game will influence that vote.  I bet shaw could do a switch halfway through arizona if it proceeds badly.  Someone said in the press conf Shaw said no changes -- he meant PRIOR to the next game, right? 

[estephan500]

questions of culture on the team with regards to the QB -- whether his team has confidence in him, whether they feel he has charisma or power, are giant.  And this game will influence that vote.  I bet shaw could do a switch halfway through arizona if it proceeds badly.  Someone said in the press conf Shaw said no changes -- he meant PRIOR to the next game, right? 

[doug]

I hate to be the pessimist, but no way is Shaw looking for a plausible storyline for a QB change. No way does he make a QB change. I'll be surprised to see any changes at all.

He plays not to lose -- with the inevitable result -- and he will continue to do so -- with the inevitable results.

[doug]

I hate to be the pessimist, but no way is Shaw looking for a plausible storyline for a QB change. No way does he make a QB change. I'll be surprised to see any changes at all.

He plays not to lose -- with the inevitable result -- and he will continue to do so -- with the inevitable results.