Quarterback Envy
While I was watching the Cal @ Oregon game, I got a really good look at Dennis Dixon and how he forced defenses to account for him, and I developed what one might call ‘quarterback envy’. I’d watch the Bears secondary shut down the Ducks’ receivers, and Oregon’s pocket start to collapse, and I thought, ‘he’s gotta throw it away or take the sack’. Several times I thought Cal had Dixon, but then he would elude them, turning a 5 yard loss into a 7 yard gain. It’s incredibly frustrating to try and defend such a dynamic quarterback; just as you think you’ve got the play defended, Dixon finds a way to keep moving the ball.
Look at him run! I am green with envy.
Then, I’d watch our own offense, run by Nate ‘Slowest Man On Earth’ Longshore, and I’d really get envious. Whereas Dixon might find a way to turn a broken play into a big gain, Longshore, finding no one open, would be forced to throw it away. Even quarterback sneaks don’t always work because it takes him so long to get moving forward. And on one particular play, Tedford decided to mix things up and call a designed quarterback run. It worked, but oh god, it was painful to watch Longshore oh-so-slowly head downfield. Dixon might have had 3 or 4 more yards on the same play. After 3 quarters of play, I coveted a mobile quarterback; you know, like Ayoob, but less awful.
The 4th quarter, however, changed my tune. Dixon, while he continued to move the ball, threw a couple costly interceptions to kill drives. Meanwhile, Longshore continued to move the ball steadily downfield. Nothing spectacular, but no mistakes. He made the short and medium throws. He handed it off efficiently. He threw the ball away when he had to. He not only threw no interceptions, he didn’t throw a single ball that was in danger of being intercepted. One advantage of being 6′ 5" is that your passes are hardly ever tipped at the line of scrimmage. On this team full of offensive playmakers, Longshore just has to spread the ball around and avoid costly mistakes, and in the hostile environment that is Autzen Stadium, he did just that.
Stand tall in the pocket, young man.
Just for kicks, I looked up some statistics on Pac-10 quarterbacks on ESPN.com. Longshore isn’t among the conference leaders in most of the sexy QB statistics. 5th in QB rating. 7th in passing yards. 5th in completion percentage. Tied for 6th in TDs. Just based on these stats, he sure looks like nothing special.
However, he leads Pac-10 starting QBs in two important categories. First, he’s tied with Dennis Dixon with only 2 interceptions. OSU’s Sean Canfield has 13 on the year. 13! J.D. Booty has 8, while Willie Tuitama and Jake Locker have 7. Heck, UCLA’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson and OSU’s Lyle Moevao, neither of whom have more than 50 pass attempts on the year, each have 4 interceptions. Second, he leads the conference’s starting quarterbacks in sacks taken with only 3. ASU’s Rudy Carpenter has taken 22. T.C. Ostrander already has 15, while his replacement Tavita Pritchard, already has 4. Tuitama has been taken down 14 times, while Ben Olson, just as statuesque as Longshore, has taken 12. Even the elusive Dennis Dixon has taken 8 sacks on the year. Much of the credit for this has to go to the offensive line, but Longshore still has to release the ball quickly and know when to throw it away (and also, he has to not force the ball in a tight space and cause an interception). Oh yeah, and no fumbles on the year either.
Simply put, better than anyone else in the conference, Longshore minimizes mistakes and lets his playmakers make plays. I’ll bet there are quite a few other Pac-10 teams that wish they had a quarterback like that.
Agreed, the beauty of Longshore is not his speed, his ability to carry the ball, or his mobility. Yet, he has pretty good vision. When he misses a pass the tend 9 out of 10 times to be overthrown rather than under, making interceptions much less likely. He gets rid of the ball. He has good arm strength. He runs the offense efficiently and doesn’t make mistakes on calls or audibles. And from everything I’ve read, he is also a great leader. All of these things may not make him an exciting player, but he is a good, efficient quarterback and I’d take him over a more dynamic player in an offense like the one we have.
Comment by Kappy — October 11, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Oh and I forgot to mention, most important of all, he is extremely relaxed, he never looks hurried, nervous, or pressured… never.
Comment by Kappy — October 11, 2007 @ 10:53 am
I do wish he would get the “long ball” accuracy back. That is the last piece of the puzzle that could make the bears pretty much unbeatable on offense.
Comment by hrlinconbearfan — October 11, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
If you release the ball quickly, it’s far more difficult to air out the ball (any QB can tell you, they need to slow the mechanism in order to get more air). It’s far more suited to the quick throw in the 6-15 yard range. Might not be as exciting to watch, and might not lead to as many scores, but hey, it’s been winning games so far.
Comment by Avinash — October 11, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
not sure if it was credited to him but Longshore fumbled on the goal line against Tenn. It coulda been HALF A HUNDRED!
Comment by bowlbasaur — October 11, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Big Duck fan here. You can still have QB envy while we suffer from coach envy. I love Bellotti, but Tedford was and remains the man. As long as he is there, I have a hard time hating you guys. Then again, I have no reason to in the first place. How’s this: Thank God neither of us has Canfield. Here’s to you winning out, us catching some breaks and winning out and meeting in N’Awlins sound? I would love that man. And by the way, your fans were great after the game, despite what some pansy Duck fans say. Good luck in your future games.
Comment by Joe — October 11, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
“He not only threw no interceptions, he didn’t throw a single ball that was in danger of being intercepted.”
Dang, I don’t know about that. There were at least two plays in that game where longshore almost got picked. I pretty much coulda died from a heart attack on both of those plays.
The one that comes to mind right away was the pass to desean over the slot receiver rojo i think.
Again, I could be wrong and it might have been not as close as it seemed during the game, but we escaped with some breaks.
Comment by nickle — October 11, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
Oregon Joe, the feeling is mutual. My dream conclusion to this season–and it’s just that, a dream, not in any way a prediction–is to have Cal in the Sugar Bowl (against LeSmilesU would be great, with the Ducks playing for the Roses. San Diego, El Paso, Las Vegas–any of those would work just fine by me for the Trojans. Let the ‘SC implosion begin.
Comment by California Pete — October 11, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
the rose bowl is more sacred than any neo-BCS-bowl. Cal vs. OSU anyone? if you’re a LIFE-LONG cal fan, you want the rose bowl. against a big 10er. and blinders on to the NC
Comment by The KRZa — October 12, 2007 @ 3:02 am