[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.