Thoughts on QB situation...

[JasonB]

Bennet is rightfully angry about the lack of production of offense and the kicking game, and rightfully so. Granted, we have a lot of young players at key positions, but a TD a game isn't going to cut it.

We need to turn things around on offense and play to win rather than not to lose. I understand there is a concern about turnovers, especially after the navy game. And we want to give the kids confidence before the conference schedule kicks in so that the season isn't lost. But we are going to HAVE to score some points in order to beat Fresno, L Tech, and Hawaii.

Here are some key points about the two QBs:
- Tate Wallis: more agile than Bartel, good scrambling ability. Not a great arm and very poor mechanics. Poor mechanics contribute to poor passes on the move (see both interceptions against Tech). Basically limit him to being a pocket passer and a scrambler when forced to move. Good decision maker though, so will cut down passing turnovers. Unfortunately, his mechanics don't allow us to call rollouts in order to use his mobility. In order to be more aggressive offensively with Tate at the helm, the Ponies need to run the option more. Seems agile enough, but lack of use may indicate either: 1) he is not used to running it or 2) they have problems with the pitch in practice and want to avoid fumbles.

- Bartel: Great arm, more solid mechanics. True pocket passer, not as much mobility as Wallis. He can get the ball downfield for us, but 1) does not make as solid or conservative decisions as Wallis does and 2) is not mobile, so can be pressured into making bad decisions. Putting him in could open up the capabilities of the offense, but we would suffer more negative plays. IMHO the weakness of the O-line is pass blocking, and he would get sacked more than Wallis and would throw more errant passes.

Tough to figure out what to do. My personal opinion would be to start running the option with Tate quite a bit more. Put the team in a double tight end set with Ford and Hampton on the line and Cardwell as the lone reciever. If you aren't going to run the option to spread the defense out, you need to get a QB in the game who can throw the ball.

[JustAFriend]

But if Bennett and Edmonson wanna win games they will ask the qb to throw, and Wallis obviously is not the man. I agree on the running thing though.