MnB: Every Speight Pass against Cincinnati, analyzed

Submitted by Eye of the Tiger on

Basically, he made some great throws but the misses were terrible, and a couple might have been interceptions against a better opponent. 

[SORRY GUYS...I had a copy/paste fail. I've put the correct link in now. I've got a baby at home and am working on very little sleep.]

LINK.

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lilpenny1316

September 11th, 2017 at 9:30 AM ^

And I've been disappointed with every one of his performances since Iowa last year.  JT is purely a system quarterback and I think we would've beaten them by at least 2 TDs last year if Speight was 100%.  I think we'll beat them by 2 TDs this year if JT is their quarterback and our QB play is above average.

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 61836

Squash34

September 11th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^

I must have stopped reading the bucknuts meltdown threads too early because I did not see those theories. The interesting thing to me is, when I read the threads, they were saying the problem urban will not let Wilson run his own offense and insist on the read option. Which I actually think is right because that was vintage urban offensive philosophy, and far from what Wilson runs. So, there must be a subset of the fan base that does not want to blame Meyers, who is clearly running the offense, (or at the very least, restricting the offense to the power spread) and are not only blaming Wilson, but are saying he is running Urban's offensive schemes badly on purpose in an attempt to get Meyers fired so he can take over. That is a crazy theory. Do they think Wilson is dumb enough to think is will promote the oc if Meyers gets fired because of a shit offense? Makes no sense.

Joined: 09/13/2016

MGoPoints: 3062

umichjenks

September 11th, 2017 at 8:54 AM ^

in the last 5 games. This includes 3 pick sixes, 3 lost fumbles, 55% passing. Harbaugh won't change QB unless Speight is hurt just like in San Fran. He wouldn't have changed qbs unless Smith had a concussion.

Joined: 03/16/2009

MGoPoints: -98809

Der Alte

September 11th, 2017 at 8:56 AM ^

 As has been noted here numerous times, Wilton Speight is the best available QB. If he weren't, he wouldn't be playing, somebody else would. I think we all know Coach Jim well enough to know that. So let's work with what we have and trust the coaches to do what's necessary to help Wilton improve. 

The one thing I hope does not happen is the fanbase going all John Navarre on Wilton. For those of you who remember that era, it was ugly. You da Man, Wilton, and we're looking forward to your next game being your best yet.

Joined: 07/30/2010

MGoPoints: 1925

Maize and Blue…

September 11th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^

That is the first time in my lifetime watching a QB fumble the ball going back to hand off.  Totally inexcuseable and a RB would get benched for it.  Speight should have been sat down and given some time to think about it just like in the Florida game.  Love Harbaugh, but I see a QB regessing not progressing and that is very concerning.  Wilton had two very good passes in this game the bomb to Crawford and the 4th down pass to Crawford.

Joined: 03/15/2009

MGoPoints: 6750

ScooterTooter

September 11th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^

If I'm reading this right (and I could be wrong, maybe the author wasn't really accounting for it), the pocket only broke down on 4 of 29 throws. This would match what I felt watching the game. 

When I watched the game for the first time on Sunday, I was expecting a terrible O-line performance, because I assumed that was behind most of the actual Speight complaints. I was pleasantly surprised that they seemed to hold up well (I guess we will see what the UFR says). 

Unfortunately, this also makes me think that Speight is what he is and that's all we are going to get. Unless a the OL improves enough on the ground to give the RBs a chance to carry the offense, I'm not sure Speight is enough to win the division with Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State looming. 

Joined: 06/01/2017

MGoPoints: 5841

UMForLife

September 11th, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^

I am no expert but I have an opinion. :) So here it goes... only four breakdowns mean little if the QB is thinking there is going to be pressure. It is possible he is thinking pressure when it is not there. If he gains confidence in his OL may be he won't panic internally. At least I hope that is the case and it gets better in the future.

Joined: 11/04/2013

MGoPoints: 63393

Hail-Storm

September 11th, 2017 at 9:16 AM ^

I'm no expert, bu it seems that Speight throws much better passes to Perry than his other recievers. He has a lot of right reads to the other recievers (besides some of those short tosses on long 3rd dowsn), but doesn't seem to hit them with the confidance that he does when throwing to Perry. 

I may be way off, but has anyone else noticed this? Perry has amazing hands, and seems to run great routes. He has been playing with Wilton for a few years now, so it mught be just a trust thing between them similar to Gallon and Gardner. Hoping he and the young recievers get that trust. 

Joined: 06/07/2010

MGoPoints: 9776

Hail-Storm

September 11th, 2017 at 5:07 PM ^

I'm making an observation that he seems confident in his throws to Perry and I don't see the same confidence/ exectution to his other recievers.

I don't see how this is an excuse by me. I agree that recievers enrolled early and that he should be throwing the same confident throws to them that he does to Perry.

I'm saying that he has shown he can make the correct reads, he can make the throws, but is not executing under certain situations.  

Joined: 06/07/2010

MGoPoints: 9776

Michology 101

September 11th, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^

Many QBs are very tall, but Speight's 6'6 height could also be playing a role in some of his high sailing throws, especially when his footwork is off. I mean, 6'6 is usually the maximum height for most QBs. You might see some taller guys every now and then. A 6'6 QB probably has to maintain good mechanics to avoid a bunch of high throws more than most shorter QBs would.

Joined: 06/02/2014

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cletus318

September 11th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^

The ideal max height is probably closer to 6'5" according to that theory. There is a bit of confirmation bias to the thought of QBs being too tall since there haven't been a ton of QBs that height to begin with. Still, when the best QB 6'6" and taller has been Joe Flacco, who's been decidedly average on the whole, it is difficult to dismiss the notion offhand.

Joined: 04/01/2016

MGoPoints: 3107

Fezzik

September 11th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

Shorter QBs have a much more difficult time getting passes off accurately. Their vision of the field is worse when they have to look over 5 guys taller than him and they also have to throw at different arm angles to fit the ball between passing lanes when they can't zip it above the linemen. Tall dudes can keep their arm coming over the top with the extra height and extra reach and should rarely have batted balls because of it.

Joined: 09/11/2015

MGoPoints: 5552

cletus318

September 11th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^

It's not an argument of tall versus short. The belief, which as I stated before is far from proven due to the lack of high numbers of really tall quarterbacks, is that being too tall messes with your mechanics. Specifically, the argument is that as you get too tall, you can't maintain proper foot spacing or consistently keep a compact throwing motion.

Joined: 04/01/2016

MGoPoints: 3107

babarblue99

September 11th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^

The frustration the fan base has, I believe, is less about statistics and more about timing/cause of the mistakes. His numbers always end up fine. The Cincy game was emblematic of the mistakes coming about 2-3 drives before an imminent devestation of Cincinnati's spirit. We thumped Florida so badly in 2015 exactly for this reason - Florida had zero plays gifted to them in the first half.

If we get up 24-0 or 28-3 against Cincy, the crowd is cheering, guys are high-fiving on the sidelines, and you shift confidence to people like DPJ and Will Hart, instead of Cincinnati. Do that, and this game looks more like Rutgers last year than Illinois or Colorado (and QB mistakes are less impactful). 

Frustration is that Speight is in his third year in the system, second as a starter, and he touches the ball each offensive down. Expectation is someone who is maintaining or improving momentum more often than not. 

Joined: 11/10/2011

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