2013 QB Stats
Big ten stats
QB A: 2,159 passing yards. 20 total TDs. 3 interceptions.
QB B: 1,551 passing yards. 27 total TDs. 4 interceptions.
QB C: 1,709 passing yards. 13 total TDs. 4 interceptions.
I think Braxton Miller and Devin Gardner are 1a and 1b for best QB in the big ten. I can't wait for Gardner to show his true talent the whole year and lead the offense, scoring a lot of points as well as being much more consistent.
As someone else said winning is how QBs tend to be judged. Also numbers don't tell the whole story - Devin went from gunslinging risk taker to ultra conservative almost the entire back half of the year. It is pretty clear he was told to protect the ball and he did that to extremes - sometimes at the expense of offense. His decision making, accuracy, and presnap read all need to improve.
With ALL THAT SAID - 2 of those 3 QBs played behind their program's best OLs in half a decade (if not longer). 1 played behind the worst OL in the country. 2 of those 3 QBs had a viable run game; if not an excellent one in Columbus. One had ... welp. If you put Cook or Braxton behind this line it would have been much the same story. And Devin would have looked a lot better behind MSU and OSU's 2013 lines.
Counterpoint - Northwestern probably dropped 5 INTs.
Devin had 3 very rocky games in conf last year - MSU, NW, and Iowa. And those were 3 of our last 5 regular season games, so the trend also matters in perception. Cook was skyrocketing up late in the year, Braxton was steady all year.... and aside from OSU and a decent performance v Nebraska Devin was not on the right path late in the year.
August 8th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
He was pretty excellent in Big Ten play. Yes, he may be judged by wins and losses, but no QB was going to look great behind that O-line.
People saying Devin needs to "step up" are delusional and are letting wins and losses cloud how good Devin was later in the year
|
Bridgewater Year |
School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *2012 | Louisville | Big East | JR | QB | 13 | 287 | 419 | 68.5 | 3718 | 8.9 | 9.3 | 27 | 8 | 160.5 |
| *2013 | Louisville | American | SR | QB | 13 | 303 | 427 | 71.0 | 3970 | 9.3 | 10.3 | 31 | 4 | 171.1 |
Gardner:
| 2013 | Michigan | Big Ten | JR | QB | 12 | 208 | 345 | 60.3 | 2960 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 21 | 11 | 146.1 |
I like to think that Gardner's stats were similar to Teddy Bridgewater's stats as a junior (except for the completion percentage). Bridgewater played one more game since DG was injured for the bowl game. DG also had 11 rush TDs, so I think that accounts for some of the difference between Bridgewater's 27 and Gardner's 21 TD passes. Overall, I'd be thrilled if Gardner can make a similar transition between Jr and Sr years and cut down the Ints while maintaining TDs. .
annihilated probably more frequently than any quarterback in the country. Hopefully we can see what happens with even adequate protection.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 11:01 AM ^
Anyone who played Indiana had inflated numbers.
@Nikj
Don't think they are that similar myself. I see Bridgewater more like Russell Wilson. Devin is more like Terrelle Pryor or Braxton.
Devin ran A LOT last year - he had 5 games in a row he ran between 15 and 24 times. I think the injuries and hits took a toll late as he "only" ran 10x v Iowa and 9x v OSU. For comparison Bridgewater highest amount was 10 (once) and other than that it's 4-5x most games - and most were negative yards so essentially scrambles out of passing plays it looks like.
And that completion % has to improve - high end NCAA QBs not named Vince Young are usually in the high 60%s... Devin was 60% (just about the same the prior year). If he can get even to 65% this year he should look like a whole different QB. Devin was very hit or miss - great games or bad games - not much in the middle. Consistency within a game and from game to game is the expectation as a senior.
Russ Wilson behind a poor Oline at NC State never crack 60% fwiw. I can also name plenty of elite college QB's who have don't have really high 60-70% completion percentages, has a lot to do with the offense. Matt Ryan, Chad Henne, Tom Brady...of the top of my head
I dont think Tom Brady was considered an elite college QB. Obviously that didnt mean a thing in the NFL but he was benched at times for his teammate and was a 6th round draft choice in a league that grabs guys like Christian Ponder in the 1st. I am ok with your greater point using other examples.
But interesting stats on Ryan, I would have thunk he would have had a much higher passing %. He was a 60-62% guy. Surprised.
August 8th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
Tom Brady might not have been elite, but he was close, even if he wasn't considered it at the time. He led the Big Ten in effeciency and completion percentage his senior year. That was before the spread 'n shred took off. The spread really inflated completion percentages and I don't think Borges took advantage of some of the easy stuff that would've helped Devin's numbers.
Devin did lead the B1G in YPA the last couple of years which is a better stat than completion percentage. It's just his highs were so high and the lows so low that it was hard to tell who the real Devin is. He seems to struggle more than others with a good pass rush that doesn't give him time to let routes develop and can't step into his throws. Will see how much of that was scheme this year, we may not see how much of that was the fault of a really bad oline as this one may be worse at protecting him.
We have a battle tested fifth year senior at QB.
QB is the least of my concerns...
I'm sorry but I never want to see him in a game again except in mop up duty. For Borges and Hoke to have actually thought he could be the primary backup and to leave him in against Nebraska after what they saw still ticks me off. I don't care if Devin hadn't taken a snap in practice he had to be better than Bellomy even if he just ran the damn ball.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
A lot of people felt Bellomy performed just as good as Gardner in the spring of 2012 and the 2012 'spring game'.
Hackenberg
Season
GP Comp–Att Pct. Yards TD INT
12 231–392 58.9 2,955 20 10
Gardner
GP Comp-Att. Pct. Yards TD INT
12 208 345 60.3 2960 21 11
Agreed but while we know both were in their first year starting so they are more similar than not, one was in a college football program for 3 years and the other was a true freshman. I'd expect both to improve a lot this year actually. The game is going to slow down for Hackenberg and I am hoping the same for Devin.
I'm expecting a big year from Devin.
He now has a little over a year starting.
A decent seaon from the Oline & RB's last year and he would have been much better.
It might be just me, but I also like to look at passer efficiency ratings as a fairly decent measure of how a QB is in fact doing, as TD and yardage and a few other stats tend to be beholden to things like scheme or various in-game decisions / adjustments. That being said, at least with overall season stats, Braxton Miller and Devin Gardner are #1 and #2 respectively with ratings of 158.1 and 146.1, both of which are good for the upper third in Division I, I believe. Connor Cook is actually #6 in the conference at 135.5. Someone mentioned Hackenburg - he's right behind Cook for 2013 stats at 134.0
7-6
12-2
13-1
This is how you judge quarterbacks.
Sincerely,
Multi-Gazillionaire Joe Flacco.
I don't think Braxton Miller is a good QB. He can scramble. He is decent in a Urban Meyer offense. Media loves him and he is a recognizable name that plays for a media darling head coach. So I guess we'll hear how good he is all season long. I've never seen anything in his passing game that I was impressed with although we hear at the beginning of each season how that aspect is improving.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:01 AM ^
He's an excellent QB who was severely hampered by an awful O-line in front of him. The running game was functionally non-existant and he still managed 20 TDs to 3 INTs in Big Ten play. A QB who can do that behind that line is truly elite.
If the O-line improves even incrementally, Devin finishes in the top 10 for Heisman voting. Raback it.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^