Is “Win Now” Culture a Problem For QBs?

[FishDuck Article]

Transfer quarterbacks have become all too common. In the Pac-12 alone, 6 of the 12 starting quarterbacks are transfers and the situation isn’t unique compared the rest of the college football world. In my second article with FishDuck, I explored this issue in Graduate Transfer Quarterbacks: Saviors or Usurpers, and looked at the cases of Vernon Adams and Dakota Prukop. ...

 

Is "Win Now" Culture a Problem For QBs?

FISHDUCK.COM

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Transfer quarterbacks have become all too common. In the Pac-12 alone, 6 of the 12 starting quarterbacks are transfers and the situation isn'

[DazeNconfused]

Thanks for the article, Marsh, it's a good one. I'm starting to really question if the Cristobal era only did good at developing the OL guys? 

 

The good news is Ty looked better from the Spring game to last week. Ty has also said how he has learned lots, so he is coming along with the mental part of the pre-snap read game. 

[Babyjesus615]

BYU has always been my measuring stick for what happens at QB going forward for the season. I wanted to see the starter take care of the ball and not make huge mistakes against a Georgia team I expected we'd lose to. And then against BYU I want to see a QB who built off of Georgia and takes the next step in efficiency, accuracy, and all around performance.

 

I think if we see Bo do bad Bo things in this game then it is time to make a change. I have seen the comments about how Ty looked robotic and lacking leadership qualities last week. Those can be developed. That'll come with comfortability in playing with the starters. Lanning needs to be ready to roll the dice.

[DazeNconfused]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:43 AM, Pac10again said:

 

I think it adds pressure to both the QB and the coach.  Lanning will have a very important choice to make if we lose to BYU. 

 

With 2 losses before conference play we will be out of the big 6 bowl hunt most likely.    So do you sit your transfer who you made promises too? 

 

Do you risk losing games with a rookie QB to enhance your chances next season?    I say yes if we lose at home to BYU. 

 

 I think there is  a lot of pressure on our transfer QB to perform.  If Bo's play is why we lose, and Lanning still refuses to sit him, I will begin wondering just how long he plans on being here.  Just a thought.

 

 

I've said Bo don't need to be elite.

I'll take around 65% completions, over 8 yards per pass, a three-t- one TD to INT ratio and a ballpark 155 pass rating. That's close to Herbs last year.

 

We can win the Pac with that QB play

Edited September 14, 2022 by DazeNconfused

[DazeNconfused]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:09 AM, Babyjesus615 said:

BYU has always been my measuring stick for what happens at QB going forward for the season. I wanted to see the starter take care of the ball and not make huge mistakes against a Georgia team I expected we'd lose to. And then against BYU I want to see a QB who built off of Georgia and takes the next step in efficiency, accuracy, and all around performance.

 

I think if we see Bo do bad Bo things in this game then it is time to make a change. I have seen the comments about how Ty looked robotic and lacking leadership qualities last week. Those can be developed. That'll come with comfortability in playing with the starters. Lanning needs to be ready to roll the dice.

I'm a Bo critic, but if Bo throws two picks and we beat BYU... well I have a hard time taking QB1 from him..

 

All QBs do bad things, do they do more good things than bad is the question. 

 

[Pac10again]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:11 AM, DazeNconfused said:

I've said Bo don't need to be elite.

I'll take around 65% completions, over 8 yards per pass, a three-t- one TD to INT ratio and a ballpark 155 pass rating. That's close to Herbs last year.

 

We can win the Pac with that QB play

Agreed, if our Defense  plays up to its potential.

[Haywarduck]

Dakota was and is a pretty good qb, still in CFL. He won the first two games then lost the next three, and was replaced. I think there is also pressure to win, and if a qb starts losing there is also pressure to bring in the young qb, as we did with Justin.

 

I think there is a tendency to go with the known quantity. If a qb had success at another program then, unfortunately, many coaches will go by that history, a much safer choice. If he fails the coach can always fall back on the excuse, he was good at x school and deserved to start. I was 'developing' the young guys and 'now' they are ready.

 

If a coach goes with a young qb and fails then the coach wasn't prepared, and didn't develop the qb well enough. 

 

We also see this in many job job descriptions, experience required. No boss wants to go out on a limb for the young hotshot. They go with the candidate who has experience, even though they may have been fired, quit, or let go at the last position. 

 

Nix is the perfect experienced candidate. Dilly knows him first hand, and Lanning has seen him play. The question is how long will this familiarity allow Nix to struggle? 

 

I tend to think Nix is pretty safe until the Stanford game. I hope he gets in a groove and keeps allowing our young guys some time on the field. If not, and he loses a couple, a 1-3 team will come back to Autzen with a new starter against Stanford.

 

I hope that doesn't occur, but a new coach needs to win too. The 'Win Now' culture may just cut both ways.  Nix was brought in to win now, 1-3 won't cut it with talent nipping at his heals. The young Ducks are talented and, who knows, may just be ready to lead us if needed.

 

 

[Jester]

Technological and societal advancements have forced the “me, me, me…now, now, now” mantra into high gear.  Almost everything is available at our fingertips – NOW.  So, why should procuring the plug-and-play QB be any different?

 

The reality is, if a QB (or any player) is a legit pro prospect, you’re not going to have him that long.  Couple that with the ease of entering the portal for reasons ranging from wanting to follow a head coach, to nothing more than sprouting a wild hair in your derriere and thinking that a change would do you good.      

  

Head coaches are not immune to modern-day philosophies and for them “me, me, me…now, now, now” is accompanied with a heavy dose of “What have you done for me lately?”  This job (coaching) has more that ever become a high-wire balancing act between player procurement and player development.  How do they find the time to excel at both endeavors?

 

Dipping a toe into the transfer portal world to nab the “missing piece” is a proposition not to taken lightly.  Guys like Adams and Prukop were certainly rolls of the dice given the difference in the level of athlete the new recruits were going to face.  Nix, more of a known quantity, is still no guarantee to be the answer for the Ducks this season.

 

Riding the carousel of starting transfer quarterbacks certainly puts more pressure on coaches and teams to succeed than it does the transferring player.  A wrong decision can not only negatively affect your record but can plant a seed of distrust in a locker room (potential long-term affect), hinder player development (long-term affect), and if things go completely off the rails, can be viewed nationally as, “These guys have no idea what they’re doing”. 

 

There aren’t that many “get ‘em next year” cards in the deck anymore, and coaches are under pressure to win now.  I just hope that future decisions on transfers to UO are viewed with care, and thus far DL & Co. really haven’t given me reason to think they won’t be. 

 

Go Ducks!

[DazeNconfused]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:19 AM, Pac10again said:

Agreed, if our Defense  plays up to its potential.

Correct on the defense part and that needs to start this Saturday.

[DazeNconfused]

Nix last year was 61% completions for 7.1 yards per pass with a 130-pass rating. 

 

65% for over 8 yards with a 155-pass rating isn't that big of jump. 

 

The biggest thing that will bump up his pass rating is more TD's. With our OL and skill guys he should be able to throw more TDs.

[David Marsh]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:19 AM, Haywarduck said:

Dakota was and is a pretty good qb, still in CFL. He won the first two games then lost the next three, and was replaced. I think there is also pressure to win, and if a qb starts losing there is also pressure to bring in the young qb, as we did with Justin.

The pressure to play Herbert was magnified by the coaches burning his redshirt at the end of the firs game of the year. I think with the new redshirt rules (well newish) where players can four games and still redshirt has given coaches more flexibility. We saw more of Thompson last year than we would have with the old rule, the coaches would have had him redshirt. 

 

We just need to see those quarterbacks develop. I would love to see Thompson take over as starter but I also know as a fan I don't know if I am patient enough to wait a year for him to figure it out. 

[PittDuck]

David, you bring up a very good (and valid) point.  I have long felt Oregon was doing a disservice to the young QBs who chose UO, and that it would at some point start to discourage promising young QBs from choosing Oregon.

 

IMHO, the win now attitude has become prevalent in every sport, to the detriment of all.  It is not limited to the fans, but includes boosters, ADs, even players.

[Steven A]

"do we want coaches to take the time for the young talent to develop, or do we want coaches to ensure we have a winning season now?"

 

YES to both.  I am hoping they are not mutually exclusive.

[Drake]

I think coaches need to pay attention to the transfer portal and the players that are available. We had two unproven QBs when DL and his staff took over. Dillingham, and Lanning were familiar with Nix. Therefore,  Nix was brought in to provide “stability” at QB. 
 

I suppose any QB that wins becomes popular. Vernon Adams was exciting to watch for the short time he played for the Ducks. 
 

However, developing younger QB  talent takes patience, and when the coaching staffs job security is based on wins over losses, transfer QBs become more and more popular. 
 

Pesonally, it was hard to root for Nix to win the starting job. Both TT and JB chose to come to Oregon and want to play for the Ducks. Nix is not a true Duck…unless he wins.  ; )

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Drake

[JDuck]

And Haywardduck has started a Ty thread...Cristbal's offensive "offense" and his assistant coaches see the players perform daily where we don't, and get paid millions to figure it out, as bad as MC was on offense they saw Brown as the better chance to win, the current staff see's Nix as the better chance to win.  Recruiting rankings don't always mean as much as we would like to think, and reading defenses at the D1 level does not seem to be a strength for Ty, not yet at least.  

 

So...transfers to "win now" is that good?  No, the portal and NIL are ruining college sports.  Not developing your recruits is bad too, but what if the 5 star doesn't pan out?

[Babyjesus615]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:14 AM, DazeNconfused said:

if Bo throws two picks and we beat BYU

If Bo does THAT and we win then our defense is clearly taking us to a Rose Bowl! 

[David Marsh]

On 9/14/2022 at 10:32 AM, Drake said:

Vernon Adams was exciting to watch for the short time he played for the Ducks. 

Adams is certainly the poster child in many ways for a successful transfer quarterback. It is a shame he was injured because if he played the full season healthy I do believe Oregon would have made the playoff that year and he would have gotten an invite to the Heisman ceremony, winning it is a different story but he would have gotten an invite. 

 

None of the other transfer quarterbacks Oregon has brought in have been anywhere near as electrifying and good. Adams was really something special and I am sad we only had in for part of a season. 

[nw777b]

I may have missed this in previous comments.

 

A few backup QBs transferred which all but forced the use of 5th year Sr transfers in the past.

 

The fallout isn't necessarily caused by the win now ideology. The play me or I'm taking my marbles and going elsewhere trend is a factor, as well.

 

Kids don't seem to know or care about the Steve Young story these days.