Beat writers think Laviano will be named starter

[Knight Shift]

In my opinion this s a very good post (for whatever my opinion is worth ... which is exactly nothing).

There is no doubt that Rettig showed well. He read progressions, he move in the pocket, he made 9 excellent throws (the near interception and a too long sideline pass targeting Agudosi were the 2 exceptions), he showed reasonable mobility on 2 scrambles.

But Laviano also did well. He did not get a chance to run through progressions because Caroo made an amazing catch and run for 55 yards on his 1st (and under-thrown) pass, and then Caroo was so wide open anyone on this board might have been able to complete the pass to him (no defender within 15 yards of him, seemingly) - and then ran it in for 56 yards. His other 2 passes (and completions) were designed screens - 1 to James and the bubble screen to Caroo ... the last of which also went for a TD. But he DID complete all 4 of those passes. And there is also no doubt the staff had Laviano play at a totally different tempo than they had Rettig play at: several no huddle situations, for one. And I agree the offense looked a little crisper with Laviano in ... though he DID have the benefit of playing against a surely more worn down NSU defense, and having Caroo in the game. Do not underestimate the difference just having Caroo in the game makes.

It did look to me, by feel only, that Laviano maybe had a slightly better command of the playbook and offense than did Rettig. But that Rettig uses more of the field and spreads the ball around better ... maybe. A push and pull.

Always love the analysis and thoughts you provide, Jellyman. Thank you.

 

[RU#1fan]

I liked Rettig but it was a small sample size for Laviano. Tough to draw too many conclusions from 4 passes. I hope they both play vs. WSU.

This.
Laviano does seem to bring some uptempo into the game. Notice he jumps up after handing the ball off ....giving momentum to the play. Wonder if Laviano had thrown an interception on the badly underthrown ball to Caroo ; which many B1G cornerbacks would have picked off; would people still have Laviano as the leading QB candidate. Rettig seems to have the better Arm and more long term upside at this point.

 

[IL Lusciato]

This.
Laviano does seem to bring some uptempo into the game. Notice he jumps up after handing the ball off ....giving momentum to the play. Wonder if Laviano had thrown an interception on the badly underthrown ball to Caroo ; which many B1G cornerbacks would have picked off; would people still have Laviano as the leading QB candidate. Rettig seems to have the better Arm and more long term upside at this point.

Rettig threw a ball right into the hands of a defender. Would a "B1G player" have picked that off? I'm not trashing Rettig but with that throw as empircal fact, I cannot fathom the constant harping on a ball that was underthrow but was into 1 on 1 coverage to a super star and went for a TD...that throw is not going to win you the argument when Rettig had at least one worse one. (And many good ones) this is my point. When you need to use a darn TD pass as your lone example of a "bad throw" you know you are grasping at straws.

See, I was excited when Rettig played well. But many people, when it comes to Laviano, were annoyed be was in the game, and then even more annoyed when he played well. That is why they had to pick apart his TD pass and start posting angrily about him playing w Carroo. It's not wanting Rettig to win, its wanting Laviano to go away so Rettig can win by default. It's twisted.

 

[IL Lusciato]

In my opinion this s a very good post (for whatever my opinion is worth ... which is exactly nothing).

There is no doubt that Rettig showed well. He read progressions, he move in the pocket, he made 9 excellent throws (the near interception and a too long sideline pass targeting Agudosi were the 2 exceptions), he showed reasonable mobility on 2 scrambles.

But Laviano also did well. He did not get a chance to run through progressions because Caroo made an amazing catch and run for 55 yards on his 1st (and under-thrown) pass, and then Caroo was so wide open anyone on this board might have been able to complete the pass to him (no defender within 15 yards of him, seemingly) - and then ran it in for 56 yards. His other 2 passes (and completions) were designed screens - 1 to James and the bubble screen to Caroo ... the last of which also went for a TD. But he DID complete all 4 of those passes. And there is also no doubt the staff had Laviano play at a totally different tempo than they had Rettig play at: several no huddle situations, for one. And I agree the offense looked a little crisper with Laviano in ... though he DID have the benefit of playing against a surely more worn down NSU defense, and having Caroo in the game. Do not underestimate the difference just having Caroo in the game makes.

It did look to me, by feel only, that Laviano maybe had a slightly better command of the playbook and offense than did Rettig. But that Rettig uses more of the field and spreads the ball around better ... maybe. A push and pull.

Great post. Agree with you.

 

[ag67]

This.
Laviano does seem to bring some uptempo into the game. Notice he jumps up after handing the ball off ....giving momentum to the play. Wonder if Laviano had thrown an interception on the badly underthrown ball to Caroo ; which many B1G cornerbacks would have picked off; would people still have Laviano as the leading QB candidate. Rettig seems to have the better Arm and more long term upside at this point.

So you are telling us many B1G corner-backs would have intercepted that pass, going one-on-one against one of the best wide receivers in the conference - not that they would have defended it properly, but intercepted it. How many times have we seen under-thrown passes give an advantage to the wide receiver, since he is able to pick up the ball better and faster?

To me this just sounds like spin for one quarterback, but that is just my opinion. I don't claim to have any idea who the coaches will pick. Even with all the evidence they have, they seem to be having lots of trouble deciding. Because of that, I will be happy with either choice and hope the one they picked is indeed the best one when the pressure is on.

 

[WhoRU?]

It seems to me that if the QB competition was truly too close to call coming out of camp, then Rettig played well enough during the first half to earn the second half start. The fact that Rettig didn't get the second half start might indicate that Laviano would have been named starter if not for the suspension. As others have said, it is good to know that we have two capable QBs--with our schedule, we will probably need both.

 

[bdc9475]

If the main differences are:
Command of the offense--- Laviano
Arm strength/ability to stretch the field--- Rettig

Wouldn't the command of the offense be easier to get better at through reps and experience?

If these are the primary differences between the two, I would take my chance with Rettig improving his command of the offense through repetitions.