Quote:He can put zip on the ball. I saw no arc in his 20 to 30 yard throws. Great touch on the bootleg throws too. Nice showing.


Do it again next week it's hard to deny him the start week 3.

 

He can put zip on the ball when his mechanics are set. The guy we watched last night was the guy we saw at the pro day throwing lasers. This is why I don't want him to start right away. Let him get more comfortable with his mechanics. Aside from maybe one or two throws where he didn't step into it (the out to Brown that everyone's blaming for the "drop", for instance), he was near flawless. Only thing that I can criticize him on was that out, and that dump when he pretty much Garrard'd unto Storm...which was tipped and nearly picked off by Bowers. He also missed one throw forcing the ball deeper when a shorter crossing route was open and would have led for a first down.

 

But that's being nit picky. 

 

I think, regardless of how we can critique his play, there was a significant difference the moment he stepped on the field after Chad. In fairness, Chad got not favors from our starting OL play against the Bucs pretty good starting DL (not to mention the WR vs. CB matchup), but in the two "games" that's been played (scrimmage + preseason 1), Blake clearly outplayed Chad.

 

At some point, if both continue their respective trends, it will be tough for Gus to keep Blake on the bench regardless of how they want him to be "red-shirted".

 

I think, by game 4 or 5, if our defense is holding up like we think it can and shutting teams down, there's a good chance that Blake could see the field providing he continues to progress. With a sturdy defense (and hopefully an improving OL) + return of Ace Sanders, there's a possibility of being able to "protect" Blake by not having him down by 20 points as soon as he steps on the field.

---