UM Alum Jane Coaston on the new style of QB; does it apply to JJ?

It's MGoJane, out she respect on her name.

I don’t think we can answer this question fully until this upcoming year. JJ now has all kinds of weapons, a ridiculously deep oline, a complete grasp of the playbook and now has the requisite game experience (good and bad) for Harbaugh to trust him, but time will tell whether he’s let loose more or is he still held to be conservative and ball control oriented. 

It seems pretty clear that JJ fits this new school of QB play given the impact he's had so far as both a passer and runner. Hopefully he'll be more consistent this year, but it's not really fair to measure a true sophomore and first-year starter against one of the best ever on the one hand and a former Heisman finalist and current MVP candidate on the other.

BTW, the "throw to tight ends style" bit is funny because Mahomes loves throwing to his tight end.

I honestly can't remember and I don't care enough to look it up in depth, but if someone knows off the top of their head/knows football more in depth, how different is what Harbaugh is doing now versus with her with Kaepernick? I get Kaepernick was probably more of a true run threat - especially in college just glancing at his stats - than JJ probably is/will be, but it's not like Harbaugh isn't accustomed to playing with that style of QB. Hell, Alex Smith wasn't exactly a statute either. He played under Urban Meyer. 

JJ has the speed to be a dual threat NFL QB but his forte is his passing ability..Dual threat QB's Hurts,Mahomes,Fields,Trey Lance and Lamar were all injured this season,Mahomes the only 1 who didn't miss a game. 

My thought is injury risk.  UM has won 2 straight v OSU with a healthy QB.  Lost several without - always remember O’Korn game. Would like to see JJ run 6-8X / game, especially when it matters.  Remember Super Bowl QB’s suffered late season injuries. In summary, mobility has become imperative at QB, but has to be managed given injury risk.

I thought it was a really interesting article but I don't get this argument that McCarthy last year was being "held back" by the offensive gameplan.  It felt just as much that the gameplan was in place to take the pressure off McCarthy and not ask him to do too much because he was, as is expected for a first-year starter, inconsistent.  

For example, everyone remembers the first half of the OSU game where McCarthy threw for 200 yards on 2 TDs on 2 huge chunk throws; less well-remembered was the second half where he threw a TD (and ran one in) but also completed 40% of his passes for 58 yards, none in the 4th quarter.  McCarthy was much more dangerous on the ground in that second half than in the air and that was seemingly the gameplan.

The second half against TCU was points-y but that was largely because McCarthy played really poorly in the first half, throwing the pick-six, running into some sacks, and generally looking a bit overwhelmed.  He settled down a bit and played better but still threw another pick-six on a bad read and some of his biggest throws were as much due to TCU defensive breakdowns than steely-eyed offensive exeuction.

I absolutely believe McCarthy will take a step forward this coming year and will be on NFL radars, but he's still got to develop as a downfield passer (he absolutely struggled for long stretches at that this year) and in making quicker decisions against better defenses.  Those two picks against TCU were lazy throws that he telegraphed from the snap, and against Illinois he repeatedly struggled to hit guys who were open because he didn't pull the trigger on open throws or waited too long for guys to break open instead of leading them.  that isn't an indictment of him as a player or a future pro but just to push back against the idea he'd be a Mahommes or Hurts if only Harbaugh would "let" him.  

Did she work at the Daily?  I thought it was the Review

Running QBs aren’t new.

I don't really watch the NFL much, so a question: to what degree do either Mahomes or Hurts really put themselves at risk?  Do they risk their body for that extra yard, or do they get what they can and then either run out of bounds or slide?

I will never forget that game where Dylan McCaffrey took off on a run, got a good chunk of yards, then decided he wanted to go for even more.  Trouble is, there was a safety in his way.  So he lowered his shoulder, popped the safety ... and broke his collar bone.

Hence my question about balancing the risk/reward of QB runs.  How do Mahomes and Hurts manage that?

Jane is an offensive genius, who else could have invented the all PI offence.

> I think we'd all like to see a fully weaponized QB run threat

Not me. McCarthy averages like 5 yards a carry and 8 yards per attempt.  Yes the running threat is a great change up that opens up the offense but how much more do you want him to run when passing is so much more efficient for him?  And, every run you call for McCarthy is one taken away from Corum and Edwards who are both excellent running backs.  I think it's pretty perfectly balanced as it was against ohio for example, though clearly early in the season playcalling was extra conservative since there was no need to make things complicated against wholly overmatched opponents.

I’m fine with using JJ in the regular season like we did in 2022.  Save his legs for the big games.  Having a healthy QB against OSU has been a nice change.

Just don’t be afraid to run him in the first half of the Playoff.

There's some conflation going on here. 

Mahomes and Hurts are not the same guy, and it's kind of unfair to suggest that they are. Mahomes is mobile and does damage with his legs, but very little of what he does with his legs is designed. He's an elite improviser. Hurts, in contrast, is much more integrated into the running game, much like Lamar Jackson. 

I am delighted that guys like Hurts and Jackson in offenses that fully utilize the full breadth of their talent. It's great for the sport. Finally, after decades of running types getting shunted into bad offensive fits or dismissed for not fitting into one-size-fits-all styles, there are different offenses available for guys with different tools. This contrasts with someone like Michael Vick, who was wedged into a West Coast offense that was completely wrong for what he is as a QB (West Coast is built on short throws, timing, and accuracy, all from the pocket; Vick was electric with his feet, great at improvisation, and equipped with a Howitzer for an arm--West Coast could not have been more wrong) and for whom there really was no offense that was designed to utilize what he was. 

Now there are such offenses, and Hurts QBs one of them. The QB run threat is integral to how they build their running game. It's good.

It's also different than KC; the QB run option is *not* integral to how they build their run game. It doesn't mean they don't use it, but the offense is just fine without that. Rather, Mahomes does damage with his legs by working beyond the designed action of the play. He's great at it. Both he and Hurts change how the offense functions, but they do it in different ways.

JJ can do damage with his legs, and the offense is designed to use him as a run threat a bit. But he's not a guy that's going to be a Hurts/Jackson type. And Michigan would be unwise to try to use him that way. Give him a few keeps to keep the defense honest, but use his passing to do most of the damage. I'd like to see him get better at the improvisational stuff, but he's not actually that great at it yet; some of that may have to do with the receivers, too, it's hard to tell. But there's a whole offseason to work on that stuff, something he didn't even have last year. 

Michigan could stand to use JJ as a run threat just a bit more in certain spots, but they will never turn him into a Hurts/Jackson type. They would have already, frankly; no staff is better equipped to replicate what Baltimore does with Jackson than Michigan. They haven't, because they're gunshy about him getting hurt. And with how recent years have gone, I don't blame them. 

I don't really think I consider Mahomes as a "mobile run threat" QB. Can he pick up some yards if they're there? Sure, but he's not a Hurts, Murray, or Jackson level runner and it's not really a defining facet of his game. QBs these days are just better athletes

If I’ve learned anything about NFL scouts it’s that they will bend over backwards to look at a QB in the juuuuuuuuust the right light so that he’s draftable. I think JJ will be fine

Not saying that she doesn't raise a good point, but I feel like I've spent my entire football watching life with NFL quarterbacks who could also run, including superbowl winning Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Steve Young, just to name a few. 

Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert exist.

Also this isn’t a new style. Up until  the 80’s or 90’s statues were the norm in the league.

Staubach, Tarkenton, Young, Elway, Graham, Layne, Montana…all guys who could move and weren’t stationary like Bradshaw or Brady.

Running quarterbacks are great until they run and get crushed. The greatest qb of all time may have been one of the worst runners ever but he knew how to keep his body healthy. Do you really want the bulk of your franchises salary allotment putting himself at risk time and time again.

I think that JJ will be fine at the next level. He’s a faster and more mobile Joe Burrow.  Both are about 6’3”. JJ has a ~top 10 NFL arm. Burrow runs a 4.9 and I think JJ runs about a hair under 4.6

How do NFL scouts/organizations look at any QB?  What is the definition of the new style of mobile as in how do you measure it and how do we know it is new or even exists?  

If a somewhat sturdier JJ shows up in September (~10lbs heavier) and there's more on field evidence of a solid backup behind him by early October, maybe the coaching staff will utilize JJ's legs a bit more.