QB Battle is Still Undecided
In the aftermath of Michigan's 25-23 loss to Utah on Saturday, a lot of armchair quarterbacks blasted Nick Sheridan. A redshirt sophomore quarterback, Sheridan beat out most people's favorite, Steven Threet, to start the first game of the Rich Rodriguez era. Sheridan is a former walk-on who earned a scholarship during summer practices.
The complaints were numerous. Sheridan made poor decisions by throwing into coverage. He messed up a read option play by trying to take the ball back from running back Sam McGuffie after he had already handed it to him. He had poor arm strength. Etc.
Every single one of us Michigan fans would love to have a Vince Young or a Pat White or, yes, even a Troy Smith at our disposal. But that guy doesn't attend Michigan right now. Maybe next year. But until then Michigan followers have to do the best with what we have.
Steven Threet didn't exactly light the world on fire when he came on in relief during the third quarter. Threet made several poor decisions, including taking a couple sacks and a monstrous hit when he could have thrown the ball away or run out of bounds. He did make a nice throw on a 33-yard TD pass to Junior Hemingway, but other than that, many of his throws were off target. Even his second-best play - a short pass to Carson Butler near the sideline - was a throw that required every iota of Butler's 6'5" frame and freak athleticism to catch.
Threet deserves to start next Saturday against Miami (OH). He led two touchdown drives (as opposed to Sheridan's one) and had a little more success at moving the football than Sheridan did. Overall, Michigan played better in the second half than they did in the first. Whether that's because Threet brought new life to the team or it's because the defense made halftime adjustments and regained the momentum, it's hard to say. Regardless, the offense played better when he was in, so he deserves another shot.
Still, Sheridan played okay for being a former walk-on in his first significant minutes ever. He was 11-for-13 early and looked sharp on short to intermediate throws. His last six passes were incomplete, but he was obviously pressing, which is understandable for the underdog in front of 106,000 people and national TV. Toward the end of the game, when Threet badly overthrew a leaping Darryl Stonum on a 4th-and-5, I thought to myself, "Sheridan could have made that throw." Each player has his positives and negatives.
But I wonder: If fortunes were reversed and Threet was the walk-on while Sheridan was the former four-star recruit, would we be so quick to throw Sheridan under the bus? Sheridan didn't play poorly enough to be torched for his performance, and Threet didn't play well enough to be anointed the full-time starter. To me, this quarterback battle is still far from over.
September 1st, 2008 at 1:47 PM ^
September 1st, 2008 at 2:07 PM ^
September 1st, 2008 at 2:25 PM ^
...is not as poor as people are making it out to be. Threet's arm is stronger, but Sheridan launched a pretty impressive throw early in the game where he overthrew a receiver (I don't remember who) far down the field.
You can be successful in college without having a rocket arm. See Jason White, Colt Brennan, Pat White, etc. for examples. To say "Sheridan was embarrassing" is an overreaction to a large degree, especially when you simply label Threet "inaccurate."
All other things being equal, I'd rather have an accurate short-to-intermediate thrower than a scattershot Howitzer any day, especially in the spread offense. The old Michigan offense required a good arm because there was more max protection and the first receiver was usually running a vertical. That is not the case with this offense.
September 1st, 2008 at 3:13 PM ^
Sheridan lucked out on one deep throw and you use it as an indicator of his ability? You saw what the guy did in that game. Half his completions were 2-yard gains, and when he was pressured in the pocked he'd scramble and make horrifying throws across his body.
Don't bother equating Sheridan's shortcomings with the aforementioned. It'd be a tired, worthless exercise. Sheridan was embarrassing. Threet is woefully inaccurate. Embarrassing is difficult to fix, because it speaks of his general inability to recognize his level of competition. Threet just needs to be coached up to calm down out there. He was throwing way too high.
I'm sure we'd all love an accurate passer. The fact is, Sheridan isn't that guy. Just because his arm isn't as strong as Threet's doesn't mean we can just conclude the weaker guy is the more accurate passer. It's circular logic.
September 1st, 2008 at 3:21 PM ^
...okay...let's not use Sheridan's arm strength as a gauge of his accuracy. I agree.
Let's use completion percentage. I mean, that's a pretty good indicator of accuracy, right? Wait a minute...Sheridan's is still better!
Go back and watch the film. Sheridan was very accurate on slants, hitches, etc. Threet wasn't. Odoms caught 7 passes for 9 yards or something ridiculous like that. Some of that is probably Sheridan's fault, but it's not his fault that Odoms couldn't break tackles or make anyone miss.
Again, I'm not saying Sheridan was better. But the difference between the two quarterbacks was not as big as you're making it out to be.
September 1st, 2008 at 3:35 PM ^
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September 2nd, 2008 at 2:34 PM ^
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