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Syracuse Spring Football: Report Card - Quarterbacks

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Rest assured Syracuse fans.  Should we ever find our consciousness traveling uncontrollably through time, we have our constant: Ryan Nassib.  For better or worse (read: better), Nassib is going to be our starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, solidifying the spot with a great spring practice.

The Grades:

Ryan Nassib: (A) - Pinstripe Bowl Ryan Nassib stuck around for spring ball, and really looked good almost every day in practice.  He has the arm to make almost every throw, and is reaping the benefits of a full stable of talented, healthy receivers.  He's almost completely rid himself of some of his worst habits, like the 'happy feet' he got in the pocket last year. His command of the pocket, and awareness of the pass rush is very good as well.  It's remarkable how much he's improved in that regard.  We're in good hands for the next two seasons with Ryan at the helm.

Charley Loeb: (B) - Charley's spring was pretty rough in the beginning.  He struggled with putting any touch on his throws, and looked to be behind John Kinder for the back-up quarterback spot.  However, the second half of the spring featured a much more poised, ever-improving Loeb.  While a Nassib injury would be a pretty damaging blow to this team, I think that Loeb could come in and at least manage the team to a win, depending on what the defense throws at him.

John Kinder: (C+) - Almost opposite of what we saw from Loeb, Kinder opened up the spring very hot, and then as the defense began to improve and install more blitzes and packages, he struggled down the stretch.  Kinder's a great athlete, but still has a lot to improve on before he's ready to start for a Division I program.

Jonny Miller: (D) - This grade is not all Jonny's fault, and I highly encourage him to retake the course.  To be frank, Miller's throwing motion needs a ton of work.  He was a star in high school back in Denver, and was one of the players in his class that I was most excited for.  However, it does not appear that his arm has ever full recovered from the surgery he had, and as a result, his throwing motion has a really elaborate hitch.  I hope that Jonny keeps on working and gets that arm back to 100%, because he proved in high school that he is immensely talented when healthy.  He is also, by all accounts, a great kid, and an easy one to root for.

Overall Grade: (B+) - If Nassib stays healthy, there are very few concerns here.  If injury does happen (knock on wood), I think Loeb could be serviceable, but that is not something that I want to have tested.

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Nassib is a perfect steady game manager. He’ll be good in 2011.

by Mengus22 on Apr 28, 2011 2:03 PM EDT reply actions  

Kinder and Miller

Are either athletic enough to switch positions, say WR or S, if they continue to lag far behind? One or both of them are unlikely to ever play QB for us, so it might be in their best interest to consider a change…

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Apr 28, 2011 2:19 PM EDT via mobile reply actions  

I know Kinder’s HS coach pretty well (he and my Dad are good friends), and apparently they’re defense was struggling his senior year, so they put him at safety and he turned the whole unit around, so I could see him there.

Miller is a bit small for another position, H-back maybe?

by Dan Lyons on Apr 28, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions  

feels great not to have a QB controversey

though it really sounds like we need a lot more from our back-ups. Based upon your analysis I think Loeb has definitely improved, maybe just needs more in-game experience to truly turn the corner. With any luck, he’ll get some via extra mop-up duty this season.

by bloodyyank44 on Apr 28, 2011 2:23 PM EDT reply actions  

Agreed

Nassib is solid, so now if we can just groom the other guys, we should be okay.

Man, it’s nice to have confidence in the coaching staff, isn’t it? GERG really scarred me.

"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998

by kotite4ever on Apr 28, 2011 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions  

So excited for this season

Especially since the league title is up for grabs! I think it will be us, UofL and WVU fighting it out for it…. who would have expected that 2 years ago?

Come on Nassib!

RGL should be our 4th string QB – cant risk anything happening to that mug of his ;)

by ryanwk628 on Apr 28, 2011 3:03 PM EDT reply actions  

Eligibility left...

OK, because the “redshirting” makes things confusing sometimes…

Nassib will be a redshirt junior, (academically a senior) this coming year right?

Loeb will be a Junior this coming year
Kinder and Miller sophomores…

Hrmmm…so baring injury at least two more years of Nassib….Loeb will probably never start…so unless Kinder or Miller move positions, the first time they would be eligible to start would be as seniors….

Be curious to see how it shakes out…

by Pinker on Apr 28, 2011 4:24 PM EDT reply actions  

Yeah, Nassib is a RS Junior for all football purposes.

by Dan Lyons on Apr 28, 2011 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions  

Didnt

Kinder and Miller both RS last season? They could start as Jrs (pending nothing happens to Ryan) and play 2 solid years.

by ryanwk628 on Apr 28, 2011 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions  

Nassib had two issues last year

1. Lack of quality receivers

This seems to be fixed with injuries clearing up, Sales starting to look like the recruit we all thought he would be and Lemondrops being pushed down the depth chart. So, we should see instant better numbers from Nassib even if he doesn’t, himself improve..

2. “Happy feet”

Nassib had happy feet due to the OL (see: Paulus, Greg)

If the OL doesn’t fold in the second half of the year (like it has the previous two years), then Nassib won’t get happy feet. And again, instant improvement without Nassib growing as a player.

If both of these factors are indeed cleaned up (as being suggested by Spring Ball), coupled with Nassib actually maturing as a QB, then we might see a nice, solid year for the lad, and the offense in general. However, as much as I think he will mature and the WRs will be better, I think Happy Feet will return unless the depth at OL gets sorted out. Which I do not believe it has.

Go Orange(men)!

by SUmonkey on Apr 28, 2011 4:44 PM EDT reply actions  

Lemon hasn’t gone anywhere on the depth chart

by Dan Lyons on Apr 28, 2011 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions  

I dont think he is that bad

Nassib used to get scared last year and throw at a guys feet because he didnt want people stepping in front of the WR and picking it. I understand its better to miss low than to miss high, but a lot of those were uncatchable. Most of the balls Lemon dropped were bad balls. I think he is cursed with an unfortunate last name as a WR and its giving him a stigma.

by ryanwk628 on Apr 28, 2011 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions  

Lemon def. isn't a bad receiver

But I disagree that most of the balls he dropped were bad throws – Lemon flat out dropped the balls that Nassib put right into his hands as much as the bad throws. That sure TD drop vs. UL was momentum-crushing. He also had some injuries plaguing him last season too, but I could’ve made some of those catches with one hand. I think it’s something mental – maybe putting too much pressure on himself. Young players tend to make mistakes that way.

Lemon also does a lot of good things on the field besides occassionally having to catch a pass, which is also a big reason why he made it on the field as a true freshman in 2009. I like him a lot. I think he’ll be more consistent this 2011, mainly because he’s a year older and there will be more than 2 capable WRs on the depth chart.

by bloodyyank44 on Apr 28, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions  

Wasn't he injured last year, too?

I think Dan said Lemon actually had the best hands at spring practice in the beginning of April this year.

Other people look, Andy Rautins can SEE.

by FatK44 on Apr 28, 2011 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

yup

Lemon injured his hand during the UL game. He acknowledged the injury came after his dropped TD pass (which also shows a helluva lot of character to own up to something like that). He was pretty ineffective for the rest of the season.

Lemon has always been a player to show up in practice, from what I’ve read. But he had a lot of drops in ‘09 too. It’s gotta be a mental thing. He’s young. He’ll pull through.

by bloodyyank44 on Apr 29, 2011 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

Yeah

He dropped passes in 09 when he wasn’t injured, he dropped passes in 10 before he was injured. It is a mental thing. His drops were obviously causing confidence problems with Nassib.

Go Orange(men)!

by SUmonkey on May 1, 2011 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions  

I'm very optimistic about our OL this year

The improvement since Marrone came has been dramatic, and we improved noticably from ‘08 to ’09 and ’09 to ’10. I expect that trend to continue, esp. since we get 4/5 of our line back. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are the best OL unit in the conference if they stay healthy.

Macky’s size might be a question, but keeping in mind Nassib also didn’t throw out of the shotgun (ever?) last season, we might be better off with him at center anyway. He seems like a very bright and confident kid.

My main concern is with the RBs. All due respect to Bailey, the rest of the unit is too young an unproven to really be confident that they will be able to replicate the Bailey & Carter show put on last year. Then again, if the OL is as good as I think they could be, we might just be pleasantly surprised.

by bloodyyank44 on Apr 28, 2011 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

OL improved until they tired

And they got tired in both 09 and 10, it’s a depth issue, not a coaching/talent issue.

Go Orange(men)!

by SUmonkey on May 1, 2011 12:45 AM EDT up reply actions  

you have to add

The laser beams he would throw at receivers feet for some reason. It really seemed that at least every game he would rock a bullet out toward someone at a speed nobody could deal with and with limited accuracy… It never really seemed like he was rushed with the pass he woud just step back and huck it at someone. Never understood what was happening there.

by Pingl000 on Apr 29, 2011 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions  

better to miss low

than to miss high, but its a confidence thing. Shows he was more worried about someone reading his pass, stepping in front and picking it than making the completion.

by ryanwk628 on Apr 29, 2011 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions  

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