[CTcard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

Yes, West managed to look terrified during that UCLA game. And he wasn't effective.
However, he certainly was much better in the Oregon game a year later. He still wasn't good enough, but the improvement was remarkable.
Thus, I was imagining that continued improvement at the same rate might make him a decent QB this year. Probably didn't really believe it, but could see the possibility.

What we had seen of McKee was different. In his few throws in that Oregon game, you could see he had a great arm, a good frame, lots of talent. However, he also wasn't long back from his two-year football-free mission, and at the time he wasn't actually a good QB. I heard reports from spring that McKee was still missing a lot of open targets.

So, from the information available to me, it was hard to form an opinion on who should start. However, the information available to the coaching staff was far different. It is hard for me to believe, given what we have seen in games, that McKee and West really looked the same in practice this fall. Thus I tend towards the Shaw didn't trust his own eyes interpretation.
But of course I don't know.

[CTcard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

Yes, West managed to look terrified during that UCLA game. And he wasn't effective.
However, he certainly was much better in the Oregon game a year later. He still wasn't good enough, but the improvement was remarkable.
Thus, I was imagining that continued improvement at the same rate might make him a decent QB this year. Probably didn't really believe it, but could see the possibility.

What we had seen of McKee was different. In his few throws in that Oregon game, you could see he had a great arm, a good frame, lots of talent. However, he also wasn't long back from his two-year football-free mission, and at the time he wasn't actually a good QB. I heard reports from spring that McKee was still missing a lot of open targets.

So, from the information available to me, it was hard to form an opinion on who should start. However, the information available to the coaching staff was far different. It is hard for me to believe, given what we have seen in games, that McKee and West really looked the same in practice this fall. Thus I tend towards the Shaw didn't trust his own eyes interpretation.
But of course I don't know.