JJ is not regressing
I have it repeatedly said on this board that JJ is regressing. I think it is worth remembering we really saw very little of JJ last year and most of it was him running. So what has he regressed from? Throwing short dump offs early in the year? This is JJ, we haven’t seen a better version, we just had one in our minds. That is not JJ regressing, it is him being worse than we hoped. It is worth going back and watching those early games, I think you might be surprised by how many short passes we threw and how we almost never throw down field.
Further, for those that are frustrated by the play calling, it may be the coaches know what their team can and cannot do and are calling the plays accordingly.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:41 PM ^
I can see the future. This is going to go well.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:43 PM ^
The problem is he isn't progressing.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:33 PM ^
He did miss a couple of wide open receivers, but also a couple of drops happened by receivers that would have been TD’s or close to a TD.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:55 PM ^
Yep .... at least 3 passes right where they should of been were dropped. So it was not all JJ's fault and I also thought we could of ran a bit more at times. I just felt the offense as a whole played a bit flat and once Blake got hurt (and without Edwards) it became even more blah.
The Moody kick at the end was like .... "oh man thank you"!
November 19th, 2022 at 8:52 PM ^
Nah, J.J. was really bad today. No two ways about it
November 20th, 2022 at 5:40 PM ^
If JJ was “really bad “ Michigan would not have won this game - point blank. Not going to say he was good, but there are stages in between good and “really bad”. The team had no running game to speak of for most of the second half, yet still managed to get in field goal range enough times to win; against what is probably the 2nd or 3rd best secondary in the conference.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:34 PM ^
When the receivers catch all the catchable balls we can evaluate that. JJ would have had a deep shot if Anthony didn't let it go through his hands. Everyone has said that is where he really needs to improve. The throw looked better to me, I'd call that improvement.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:44 PM ^
That throw was a dime between two guys. An NFL level throw. Don’t understate that pass. Anthony let him down big.
November 20th, 2022 at 1:42 AM ^
The Illinois DB could have hawked that ball.
That’s a pick in the league. Don’t kid yourself, it was a fluttering arm punt.
November 20th, 2022 at 8:42 AM ^
Fluttering? You must be joking.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:36 PM ^
Not regressing and not progressing equals neutral. JJ is more stuck in neutral. Some of his passes are off target. Some are on but there are drops from the receivers. Couple that with not having Cade as backup, JJ doesn't need to use his legs as much, especially when there's Corum and or Edwards in the backfield. Take them away and the running option does become necessary.
We'll need to see a better JJ for The Game. He could end up making or breaking this season's hopes and goals.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:59 PM ^
He misses seeing wide open receivers quite often.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:58 PM ^
I don’t look at such posts as measures of intelligence. I think that posting is more a matter of balancing discretion against self importance. This kind of post is clearly a poster who is greatly overvaluing their insight and the captivation their post will provide the rest of us.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:44 PM ^
Honestly I agree. There is a lot of doom and gloom about JJ regressing, but aside from a high completion percentage, we haven't seen much of his college game. That said, the drops are AWFUL.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:03 PM ^
It's a combination of his completion rate dropping but also not hitting those deep passes that he made vs Hawaii and others early on.
Even some of those passes were a bit "off", but at least they were getting caught. He has had a number of guys just as open and he is missing them badly now.
I am wondering if he's still working through an arm/shoulder issue and wouldn't be surprised if we learn about it after the season.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:22 PM ^
I didn't see it so much the last two games. Thought it was more on the receivers.
Today his receivers failed him again, plus a big hold call, but he had four bad misses, a couple batted balls and one terrible scramble. This was absolutely not a good performance from JJ. He missed a number of throws that were auto for him in October.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:40 PM ^
Looks like he lost his confidence and has had a mid season slump
November 19th, 2022 at 5:44 PM ^
JJ has never lost a game as a starting QB - such a disappointment…
Go blue!!
November 19th, 2022 at 6:05 PM ^
And has what, 2 interceptions in 11 games?
November 19th, 2022 at 6:34 PM ^
He’s not throwing the ball consistently where anyone can catch it.
November 19th, 2022 at 7:21 PM ^
Yeah hitting them in the hands is apparently a bad spot.
November 19th, 2022 at 7:39 PM ^
He hit several pairs of Michigan hands today.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:44 PM ^
It would help if our receivers made some catches.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
Agreed. I thought that was more true today then ever. Past games you wanted them to help him out on some bad throws. Today they were dropping great throws.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:11 PM ^
Also true of our game at Rutger.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
He can't regress when there isn't enough data to regress from.
He completed 34 passes last year.
Joe Milton threw more than twice as many passes in a COVID shortened season.
Saying he regressed is like saying Donovan Edwards has regressed (and being serious about it) if he throws a pass in the B1G Championship Game this year and misses.
JJ missed the entire spring and was locked in a QB battle. People act like he was going to be a billion times better than Cade and Harbaugh was just intentionally screwing the team over. No, it was close...and now that you have a larger sample size, you see why.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
Thank god. Been waiting forever for such a learned and sage hawt take.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:47 PM ^
Needs a little help. Gotta make catches. Missing the TE on consecutive plays was brutal though. Yet he led a game winning drive.
Honestly though we need to use him how the Bears are using Fields right now. He needs to tuck and run up the middle at times. It will open things up. Get first downs.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:49 PM ^
What seems different is the number of open receivers that he could not throw accurately to today. Some were short or intermediate throws that he has been accurately throwing this year.
Today was a vicious cycle for the pass offense: when the throws were on target, too many were dropped. When the receivers were open, too many passes missed the mark.
One positive from today was that he was forced to throw more than normal. Hopefully he learns a little more from the tape.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:50 PM ^
This is the absolute definition of a snowflake.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:50 PM ^
He perplexes for sure. Missing Loveland in the end zone at the end today was egregious.
But that fourth down throw to Anthony was perfect.
He's such a fluid runner, but he sometimes chooses odd times to run. He's got a very strong arm but sometimes blows away his short and intermediate targets.
It's never dull nor predictable with JJ. I honestly feel like he could win or lose the game next week all by himself, and yet I wouldn't be surprised by either outcome.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:53 PM ^
It is his first year starting, none of this should be a surprise.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:30 PM ^
Drake Maye would like a word. Stop with the excuses. The elite Qbs are gone to NFL by year 3.
With that said the WR corp ex Bell have been atrocious and I am sick of hearing we need to air it out to them. They dont deliver.
November 19th, 2022 at 10:28 PM ^
This is exactly the point. Your expectation is an elite QB. He has done nothing to indicate he is an elite college QB. He is not regressing, we just set the bar of expectations way too high.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:54 PM ^
There were a few bad decisions, but he made enough plays when he had to today. It’s fine and fair to criticize him for the overthrows to Loveland, and the WRs for their 3+ drops at the worst time, but we should also give them props for making the 4th down plays that we woulda lost without.
Id feel a lot better if the 4th down gut checks weren’t necessary, but I’d feel a shit ton worse if we’d failed at those.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:52 PM ^
It's everything. Receivers dropping catchable balls, JJ missing throws, and a reluctancy to commit to a passing game until it's absolutely needed to win. Everyone needs improvement -- QB, WRs, and coaches. JJ isn't failing more than the others involved.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:53 PM ^
I’ve said it to people before and it hasn’t been popular, but the problem is he isn’t progressing. Maybe not regressing, but not progressing.
on another note, he was supposed to be an improvement upon cade and bring the team to another level. I don’t think he has shown that. At least not yet. I personally think cade was better at this point last year than JJ is right now. Give me cade of last year over JJ of this year. Hopefully he changes my mind next week.
beat osu!
November 19th, 2022 at 5:57 PM ^
I agree with the Cade v. JJ analysis because the coaches are not using him in the run game enough. When JJ is used in the run game, the combination of his running ability and his throwing puts him ahead of Cade. No more saving him now that it is all on the line.
November 19th, 2022 at 5:58 PM ^
Cade is unavailable, assmunch
November 19th, 2022 at 6:07 PM ^
No shit. Did I say anywhere that cade should be starting? I was just making a comparison between this years QB play and last.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:07 PM ^
But Cade of last year was also better than Cade of early this year. So, it's uncertain as to how illuminating your comparison is, re. Cade of last year and JJ of this year. (Also, JJ still makes plays that Cade couldn't, such as dodging Iowa's DE and then throwing to Edwards for a TD in the back of the end zone, so there's that.)
November 20th, 2022 at 4:14 AM ^
That is a good point. Cade had just as much trouble making good reads and hitting receivers in the few series that he ran early in the season as JJ is having now. Cade also seemed to have blitzes in his face every time he took a snap in those games and receivers that failed to get separation against objectively bad defenses. So he had that going against him. But Cade looked worse in 2022 than he did in 2021. I wanted him to do better. I wanted him to come out and throw fire missiles into the arms of waiting receivers, thereby quashing any notion of a competition between the two QBs. But he wasn't getting the job done, and JJ clearly looked better not only in the ground game, but also throwing the ball. I
November 19th, 2022 at 5:58 PM ^
The play calling on his passes has not changed at all except he no longer throws multiple deep passes a game.
His intermediate stuff he has done all year except now he's over throwing guys multiple times a drive
November 19th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^
I'm calling BS on the last part of this post where you say "it may be the coaches know what their team can and cannot do and are calling the plays accordingly".
That's the same excuse we hear EVERY year. This is the structure of the offense. It has been for pretty much the entirely of Harbaugh's time here. It is what it is at this point.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:01 PM ^
I thought the threads would be better by this time of the year. They aren’t. OPs are just not executing.
November 19th, 2022 at 10:31 PM ^
We are clearly regressing.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:13 PM ^
JJ played lights out against Hawaii, and earlier in the year he provided roughly what Cade provided: an accurate game manager, plus he added the component of a credible running threat.
This was real bad, bad enough I really hope it was an anamoly.
November 19th, 2022 at 6:14 PM ^
Honestly other than McCaffrey's first run (which was called back), I haven't seen a better plus runner at QB since Denard. And before that... not sure but he might be #2 in the last 30 years.
Needs to get better at the option reads though.