[AlbanyCardinal]

My only beef is that McKee wasn't designated the starter for fall camp (let alone the start of the season). It was obvious to everyone that one QB didn't have a high ceiling and the other did. It was inevitable, in the minds of anyone who cares about Stanford football, that McKee would eventually become the starter; so give him as many reps as possible with the first team, to give this team the best chance to hit the ground running against KSU. Season doesn't start second week of the season, and Shaw and staff had a year's worth of data to make this decision. It's why he's the highest-paid employee at Stanford, to make that kind of decision. Every time Stanford has to replace a graduated starting QB, I grit my teeth. 

I'm really impressed with Shaw as a coach. His coaching and teams continue to surprise me. But I hate, absolutely loathe, QB rotation during the season to pick your starter.

And I don't blame Shaw for West not throwing ball out of bounds, instead of falling down in bounds to keep clock rolling.  

Why not?

While I don't know that I blame Shaw in particular, I do blame the coaching and preparation of West. A QB in that situation has to know that unless there is a very clear path towards the sideline and a decent gain, one can simply not hold onto the ball and scramble. And its the coaching staff's job that their QBs know that.

I doubt any amount of preparation can help a player who instantly goes wide-eyed and forgets how to play QB as soon as he's under the lights. (That said, there can definitely be blame for recruiting and signing said player way too early.)

[AlbanyCardinal]

My only beef is that McKee wasn't designated the starter for fall camp (let alone the start of the season). It was obvious to everyone that one QB didn't have a high ceiling and the other did. It was inevitable, in the minds of anyone who cares about Stanford football, that McKee would eventually become the starter; so give him as many reps as possible with the first team, to give this team the best chance to hit the ground running against KSU. Season doesn't start second week of the season, and Shaw and staff had a year's worth of data to make this decision. It's why he's the highest-paid employee at Stanford, to make that kind of decision. Every time Stanford has to replace a graduated starting QB, I grit my teeth. 

I'm really impressed with Shaw as a coach. His coaching and teams continue to surprise me. But I hate, absolutely loathe, QB rotation during the season to pick your starter.

And I don't blame Shaw for West not throwing ball out of bounds, instead of falling down in bounds to keep clock rolling.  

Why not?

While I don't know that I blame Shaw in particular, I do blame the coaching and preparation of West. A QB in that situation has to know that unless there is a very clear path towards the sideline and a decent gain, one can simply not hold onto the ball and scramble. And its the coaching staff's job that their QBs know that.

I doubt any amount of preparation can help a player who instantly goes wide-eyed and forgets how to play QB as soon as he's under the lights. (That said, there can definitely be blame for recruiting and signing said player way too early.)