A couple of weeks ago, Kent State was sitting on a lead late in the game and decided to throw the ball a couple of times. Subsequently, at the end of the game, they were on the losing side. I was very happy with the decision to attack and try to make first downs and win the game.
My point is, I am jacked up about the fact that we kept pushing on the gas so to speak. I loved to see us throwing the ball late in the game when Ohio was bringing down that extra guy towards the box to stop the running game. Ohio thought they knew that we had to run the ball to run some time off.
There were some great calls, great blocking, great catching, and great throwing. I loved to see the confidence in the young offense and I am glad it paid off. Playing to win will help you win more in the long run IMHO.
Congratulations to the Kent State players and fans.
Posted on 10/24 8:28 PM | IP: Logged
coachesplays:
You are a scholar and a gentleman and I thank you for your astute perspective. Your support of the program and input to this forum is greatly appreciated.
Posted on 10/24 8:42 PM | IP: Logged
coachesplays...you know Spencer better than anyone. Can you touch on his development, at least what you've seen from afar?
How much progress do you think he's made from his first start until his career day at Ohio today?
Posted on 10/24 9:06 PM | IP: Logged
nashvi...nflash, thank you. I appreciate it.
Steve, One think that stands out to me is his body language on the field. I can see him becoming more and more confident with the offense, the starting role, the speed of the game, etc. Confidence, as much as possibly anything, will help him continue to improve rapidly. QBs with confidence make decisions faster as their trust their reads, trust their receivers in one on one situations, trust their ability to change the play, etc. That faster decision making can mean the difference between a completion and an interception. He looks to be more and more comfortable as well since Coach Martin is trusting him more which may go back to confidence again. I know that he is also really beginning to trust his receivers more and more. I like the fact that he is using his feet in the pocket and also pulling it down and picking up yards on the ground. (I didn't allow him to run the ball much until we reached the playoffs in high school because he was so valuable.) But he is very athletic and can do that and that will cause the LBers to not drop quite as short which will open up the middle of the field more, which he is absoluteley the best at using when he does have confidence.
I am probably most impressed with his learning of the offense. It is truly like learning a new language. The terminology is all different, the reads are different, the concepts of the offense are completely different. He seems to understand what he is meant to do on each play.
Spencer seems to be lessening his mistakes and as a freshman, we all know those will happen. Heck, as a QB we all know those will happen. But, he will learn faster than anyone and he will really start to know when and where to throw the ball when he is in trouble and when he is in certain situations more and more.
If he can continue to do these little things and at the same time, stay away from any physical mechanical errors that QBs go through (much like batters in baseball that develop things that are not even aware of), by the end of the year, I see him as being a QB that when someone sees him play for the first time will think he is a JR. or SR.
I know that was a lot and maybe more than you asked for but I like talking football and I love watching Spencer mature as a QB and basically just watching him play for Kent State. Hopefully we have a little nice story developing. (Remember the remarks by Coach Martin about guaranteeing a bowl game after a certain loss.)
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