I know i started this thread with a film breakdown and I had planned to do a few more for each game of Minshew to track his progression, unfortunately my job/career had other ideas haha. That said I'll leave you all with some quick hits through 5 weeks and some things to watch for going forward:

Observations:
-Fumbles are NOT a concern (yes you heard that right; this could be its own topic, but i'm going to give it a little more attention seperately here at the top than the other points) I went back and watched the tape of each of the fumbles he's had this season. He always has 2 hands on the ball, on each of the fumbles he was in his throwing motion and only had ONE hand on the ball... that's very key; halfway through his throwing motion on the stripsack-score by Brian Burns against Carolina, on the fumble against houston pressure by: #57 Brennen Scarlett & #94 Charles Omenihu coming from both ends and he's in motion (one hand obvy) trying to get the ball away as he gets hit from the front & the blindside; on bradley chubbs stripsack he had just started his throwing motion as he was stepping up (the 2nd hand had just come off the ball as chubb came in to get him) The fumbles came an equal amount from blindside & frontside pressure which was sort of surprising to me as I just assumed it would all be on blindside plays. Minshew NEVER fumbled in college, he always seems to have 2 hands on the ball in the pocket, personally I think his whole "you only get one shot, gotta make the most of it" is leading to him playing hero ball and trying to do too much to make a play, as a rookie he'll learn it's ok to take a sack and just keep 2 hands on the ball and live to see another down ... What's interesting is on each of the fumbles .. he's not caught unaware so to speak, he seems to feel the pressure coming and is trying to get rid of the ball. It seems like this is going to be very easily coached away

tl;dr: ALL of his fumbles this year have resulted from being hit/pressured with only one hand on the ball while he's in the act of throwing or just starting his motion


-He always sets his feet when he throws and it's KEY to his superb accuracy (best example: That magic in the pocket play in Denver, and the 1st TD throw to Chark against Carolina)
-Pad level in his drops is always even, him not needing to take a gather step to get back to balance helps him get the ball out quicker and helps throwing windows stay open
-Unbelievable touch on his throws!! (all due to good footwork, setting his feet, and clean mechanics on his throws .. something we haven't seen since Garrard!!)
-Unreal Pocket Presence .. his feel for pressure and shifting to get in throwing lanes reminds me of Brees & Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville (before the injury Teddy had great pocket presence!)
-Fearless!! (not afraid to take shots down the field, throw in a tight window, give his receiver a chance to make the play on the ball)

Things to watch for going forward:
1) His pad level being parallel to the ground as he drops, & efficient footwork with few extra steps (besides setting his feet)
2) With O'Shaughnessy out, which TE steps up and becomes his go to over the middle of the field (I suspect Marqise Lee may get more play as a Y or small H-Back as he can BLOCK and is very reliable on 3rd downs and over the middle as a security blanket)
3) Will they continue to use the "Trips Open" formation which has become this offense's bread and butter?
4) Do they roll him out of the pocket a bit more to give the Defense different looks on film
5) Will he throw his first "real" interception (I don't count the one that bounced off Fournette's facemask)
6) Does he keep 2 hands on the ball a bit longer, or try and step up before he starts to throw (basically the results of whatever coaching they try and give him during the week)

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