Who Do YOU Play at Garbage Time? Austin Novosad or Ty Thompson?

[Charles Fischer]

I should be more torn than I am, and I am curious as to what this great community thinks.  The Christian in me wants to "give Ty another chance since he did his best yet at the end of the spring game."  "Charles...people, players, improve and grow.  Perhaps Will Stein has connected with him unlike prior coaches?"

 

The rational analyst in me says, "you have seen enough of Thompson over two years, as greatness did not emerge early.  Give Novosad tons of reps and see if the upside is there.  If not, then go back to trying Thompson."

 

The first game against Portland State is a perfect opportunity, and there will be others through the season.  Of course it is also a risk of burning a year playing beyond four games for Novosad, but since so few college QBs play four years, and considering the QB recruiting coming in behind him--I would ignore that component and play him as much as possible to prepare him in case Bo gets injured, or for the 2024 campaign.

 

I have the highlight video below geared to start at the play I want you to see--a wonderful long pass by Novosad that fits into Stein's "Bird-Bomb" offense.  But note how he throws a very accurate, and yet catchable pass on shorter routes as well.  Remember, he was offered by Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, TCU, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

 

 

What do YOU think?  Am I being too harsh?

[1Funduck]

I believe you have too much emotion in your assessment. Ty hasn't left the program and more importantly, Oregon hasn't asked him to leave.. You know, 'son you will never play here because you can't cut it. We are putting you in at 4th string regardless. We suggest you hit the Portal.' WS seems to be using the pieces in front of him and TT is one of those pieces.

 

However, experience at Oregon only goes so far. Is he the next superstar? Probably not. Can he service the team to a winning season? Remains to be seen.

 

But, you don't leave Novostad on the sideline without seeing if he fishes or not either. I'm in the camp of putting them in this sequence as back up. 

 

1)   Ty Thompson

1a) Austin Novostad

[Charles Fischer]

On 5/22/2023 at 8:46 AM, 1Funduck said:

I'm in the camp of putting them in this sequence as back up. 

 

1)   Ty Thompson

1a) Austin Novostad

Your take is reasonable, but I do not think it is realistic as there is not enough garbage time in the games to do that, IMHO.

[Drake]

We all know that our season is based upon how far Bo can take this team. The problem is that the more snaps that Bo takes, the more opportunities there are for an injury.
 

We should definitely rest Bo when games are no longer in doubt. At that point the backup QBs should be treated fairly, if Ty demonstrates to the coaches that he is still the #2 QB option, then he should play. 
 

We all have seen Ty make simple plays look very difficult. However, I have to trust the coaches judgement on who plays, and when. 
 

Btw…most plays show Novosad throwing to the first receiver he locks on to at the start of the play. That is not always an option at our level, but would also like to see him play.

Edited May 22, 2023 by Drake

[DUCKED]

I think Thompson should be the first option as backup. His loyalty to the program has to grant him that. 
 

But if the game dictates I would like to seem both of them play. 
 

And Lanning, obviously, has not “encouraged” Thompson to enter the portal, so he must see something in the kid.

[kirklandduck]

I give TT 2 games of garbage time this season.  If he doesn't show us anything like last season it's time to move on.  He's honestly had all the time in the world to show some kind of improvement.

[mikethehiker]

I think Ty is likely a great talent and hope he excels at whatever and wherever he chooses.  It has to be 80-90% mental for Ty and only he knows where his headspace is.  The coaches have to discern and decide.  Many times, it's extremely difficult to overcome those mental hurdles and bounce back from previous experiences without a drastic change of scenery.

[JDuck]

Novasad will need a year to fill out, maybe 2 to peak (think Mariota...) but with that arm, Portland State sees Bo for a half, TT for the 3rd, Austin for the 4th.  Week 3 could be a chance to get them both a couple drives.  Let's see what he has early, in games, after fall camp.  Same for TT for that matter.  Whoever shines, skinny or not, give them those reps.  Bo is gone next year, one of these guys has to step up.

[HappyToBeADuck]

As long as the #2 QB spot is an open competition then play whoever has earned rhe playing time.

 

Both TT and AN should have ample playing time in 4 of the first 5 games. The Texas Tech game will be a shoot out and Bo will most likely take all the snaps. The other 4 games should be blowouts with the 2's and 3's dominating playing time.

 

Once we play the huskies and each week after, the 1's and rotation players will be in control. The closer the Ducks get to earning a spot in the PAC Title game the less we will see TT and AN.

 

Whoever plays, give them quality opportunities to grow.

[David Marsh]

They both should get plenty of opportunities against PSU. But whoever has more control of the offense should get more against Hawaii. 

 

I do think it's worth trying to preserve Novosad's redshirt if possible. 

[spartan2785]

It will be an open competition, I suspect the coaches will play whoever they see as giving the ducks the best opportunity to win if Nix goes down, if Novosad is the better QB in practice I suspect he'll play, if Thompson is the better one he'll play. 

 

I don't think you can play one over the other if there's a clear difference, if neither QB separates themselves from the other, then I think you give both an opportunity to do so in garbage time, hopefully there's enough to do this.  The key to this is we can't just be super vanilla so that we can allow the QBs to show what they have. 

[Jon Sousa]

On 5/22/2023 at 10:04 AM, Drake said:

If Ty demonstrates to the coaches that he is still the #2 QB option, then he should play. 
 

We all have seen Ty make simple plays look very difficult. However, I have to trust the coaches judgement on who plays, and when. 

The coaches know more than I do... I choose to defer to them.

[OhioDuck]

Who are you going to count on if Bo is hurt? Ty is probably the best at least until Novosad learns the offense and adjusts to the college game better. I still have a feeling Ty is going to surprise a lot of people if Bo is out for a few games and Ty is given the reigns even for a few games.

 

Then he gets the #1 reps in practice and the game plan is built around him and his abilities.

 

I don't think we've even come close to seeing his ceiling at this point.

 

In mop up time, give them both some run, but I'd focus on Ty at least early on.

[David Marsh]

On 5/22/2023 at 8:27 PM, OhioDuck said:

Then he gets the #1 reps in practice and the game plan is built around him and his abilities.

This basically happened for two weeks last year. In the week leading up to the Utah game Nix didn't practice at all. He mentally practiced but not physically. 

 

Then the week leading up to the Oregon state game Nix practiced a bit more but Thompson still got a bulk of the reps with the ones.

 

My concern about Thompson isn't how he practices. It sounds like he practices well and is very coachable in practice. My concern is how that doesn't translate to a game. 

 

He has all the physical tools to make it big. He used those tools in high school where he was far more physically gifted than his competition. He doesn't have that buffer anymore so he must be more confident, know the system better and execute at a higher rate than he needed to in high school. 

 

He hasn't shown he can make that leap yet. 

 

He did look better in the spring game... But he needs to carry his practice into the game from what it sounds like. 

[Haywarduck]

Herbert came on campus late, and probably should have started the season. I think there is still time for Novosad to develop, but right now Ty seems to be the next up. Come fall we may be having this discussion in earnest, with more information. 

[Smith72]

Thank you Spartan 2785, you make a great point when you said, "The key to this is we can't just be super vanilla so that we can allow the QBs to show what they have."

 

I know it's the ethical coach who tries not to run up the score or embarrass another team.  However, when the backup QB is put in to run out the clock it is unfair to handcuff the offense.

 

Last year it didn't take an Einstein to know that Thompson wasn't going to pass the ball further than 5 yards.  Quick 3 and outs do not run out the clock.  More possessions for the opponent stresses our defense.

 

Having to put our starter back in increases the danger to our #1 QB.  Cheap shots from a sore loser does happen.  Letting a defense stack 8 or 9 in the box is asking for trouble.

 

My preference is to keep the whole offense available to all the team backups.  Let them shine.  Keep possession of the ball.  Then take a knee and run out the game clock.

[Jon Joseph]

I don't know but I do know that I hope this 'problem' arises often in 2023. 

[Haywarduck]

Another note is I hope the Stein offense doesn't look at this period of the game as garbage time. I think each of these young men need to look at this time as a critical moment to compete, and show they can lead the program if, and when needed.

 

Too often in the past OC's, and head coaches have looked at this time as garbage time, nothing important happens other than burning time. Ty has definitely come across as way too casual. I want to see a qb come in at the end of the game and look like they are competing for the starting job.

 

I want to see both play, and both guys look like they want the job this season and next. They should know it is a competition, and an extremely important time to show what they have got. It could be critical time to how our season comes out.

 

An important and evolving question to be answered, but equally important how the OC and Head coach handle it. Somebody may be leading in practice, but how they play against real competition is all important.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Haywarduck

[Just Ducky]

 Unless the defense improves dramatically there probably won’t be a lot of garbage time this season. 

 

 I think TTs problem is not his physical attributes and weather the mental part can be fixed remains to be seen. MC did more to stop his emotional game than we all think. That all seems so long ago. Let’s face it Ty is not a rookie.

 

 IMHO its time to look forward. This staff will probably give Ty the nod and he probably deserves it but is it the best coarse for the future? Probably not. 

 

 It would be nice to be wrong however.

[DUCKED]

Both Thompson and, if ready, Novosad need to see the field early this season, and not necessarily just in garbage time. We need to see them to play with the ones….against the ones.

 

Nix has proved to be a great pickup for Oregon, but his style of play is both an asset for the Ducks and a potential liability. Every time he scrambles, his chances of being injured increase, but it’s his mobility and elusiveness that makes him such a threat. That’s what makes Bo the million dollar man.

 

But if Nix goes down, Oregon needs a QB that’s ready to step in. That means to QB2 battle needs to be decided, and the earlier better.

[Santa Rosa Duck]

I trust the coaches with this decision as I do with every other decision. My guess is that TT will get his chance to prove himself in games 1 & 2 and he knows that. The pressure is on. 

[Haywarduck]

Dennis Dixon went from 14 INT's and 12 TD's in 2006, not great, to 2 INT's and 20 TD's in 2007. I get greatness shows up early, but I have seen many qb's struggle early on, and Ty is still struggling. 

 

I wasn't sure I wanted to see Dixon come back in 2007, but what a mistake that would have been. We could all be saying the same thing with Ty, but it is going to take a big step forward, and we need one of them to do it.

 

Next season is wide open and I don't want to see another transfer.

[Charles Fischer]

On 5/23/2023 at 1:15 PM, Haywarduck said:

I get greatness shows up early, but I have seen many qb's struggle early on, and Ty is still struggling. 

That is a great example, the exception to my axiom.  I never said it was 100%, but a good indicator for me.  It works the majority of the time with players, coaches, writers, editors, etc.

 

Another exception are Oregon Baseball pitchers; Jace Stoffal was awful in the beginning last year, but improved to where this year he did something NO Oregon pitcher as ever done and won the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times.

[chrisjenn99]

On 5/23/2023 at 1:37 PM, cartm25 said:

**Caveat: The Ducks HAVE to run a normal offense with him in . . . not just hand the ball off the rest of the game.

If I see another backward pass to a WR, I'm gonna need a new TV!