I know most people were not all that impressed with JR this season but I did a little analysis this morning since it is so darn cold here in Georgia and ice is everywhere. While JR was inconsistent and was prone to either going down or throwing an ill advised pass when he was pressured heavily, I thought he did pretty good when he had time to throw. I also think that this season was probably an eye opening experience for him and may have proved that he needs to work real hard on everything, especially the mental part of the game and his mechanics. Lord knows he has the ability to be one of the best passers we've ever seen in Tiger Stadium. Here's a little comparison from JR's and Leak's first seasons in the SEC: --------Games-ATT--Comp--Comp-TDS--INTS--Effec---Yds ------------------------------%-------------Rating--Attmpt Chris Leak-13--320---190----59.4--16----11---132.92---7.61 JaMarcus--11--144----73----50.7---9-----4---127.19---7.31 Russell was a first year player and I think many of us fans forget that. To look at Leak's first year helps me keep it in perspective. We also tend to only see the highlights of the other QB's like Leak many times except for our game and miss some of their pitfalls. I also believe that it had to help Leak when Zook handed him the starting job and he didn't have to worry about making a mistake and being pulled. Add the pressure of being the defending national and I think we can say that JR performed better than we give him credit for. I wish we had enough stats on Flynn to iclude him in this as I believe he is very talented as well. Now, I still want RP. I want the best player we can get at every position every year and have them compete for the job and to gives us good depth. But I do feel comfortable with the 2 guys we have.
I was in Orlando and I really liked what I saw out of JaMarcus Russell...... Remember how bad RO was his first couple starts? The AU game his soph year.... I think JR will improve just loke RO did. Both have great arms. I believe JaMarcus will tear it up in 2005. Miles will run a wide open offense which will help. I also look for Justin Vincent to rebound this season.
I agree with Crawfish about JV... Not to change the subject of the thread, but JV is one of the most talented backs in the nation if he stays and shape and wants it bad enough...We haven't seen the last of Justin Vincent...
cajdav, Thanks for the research, great stuff man! JR played great at times (Oregon State, Capital One Bowl) and he played poorly at times. You can't play great without having potential. When he played poorly, it appeared to be a lack of familiarity with the offense, and poor decision making, which are correctable errors with coaching and experience. I bet the SEC was a bit more competitive than anything he faced in high school. I don't know any QB's that peaked as freshmen and then got worse. For JR, all is UPSIDE, providing he realizes he has to WORK and STUDY to get to the upside. His improvement will be a function of the CHARACTER he brings to the task, and his willingness to work, and the ability of the coaches to teach him what he needs to know and build his confidence. I believe JR will be a better QB next year than he was last year, and I believe his will be better still in 2 years. Seems to work that way, look at Jason Cambell at Auburn, blossomed his Sr. year (I hope JR doesn't wait that long, we need him NOW). I am also hopefull for Matt Flynn, I think we will NEED Matt this year also.
Just my opinion...but if Russell improves like I think he will, we need Perilloux or an SEC level QB in this class...Because Flynn's a gone pecan...
JR will do great. Just as much because of the O-line and WR improvement as because of his own improvement.
Has their ever been a team to develop 3 tremendous QBs at the same time? Just like Flynn didn't get the snaps this past year, someone won't get the snaps next year. I think it seems reasonable for Flynn to transfer, but where could he go? He's got potential but still needs development.
USC Carson Palmer, Leinart, John David Booty, Rocky Hinds, Mrak Sanchez. Of course the jury is out on Booty, Hinds and Sanchez but they have already had 2 Heisman winners out of the bunch.
