T
taj_war
Guest
Throw out the two man race I was talking to only a few days ago. Today’s mock game at the Coliseum blew open the gap between JT Daniels and his competitors. Both of the returning quarterbacks had a shaky day, while the freshman dominated from the second he took the first snap. Things could change- if Daniels somehow falls off a mental cliff and Sears is possessed by the spirit of 2005 Matt Leinart this might become a real competition again. Barring that unlikely possibility, everyone who saw today’s mock game after the last week of practice knows that Daniels is head and shoulders above his competition at this point.
JT Daniels: A
10-12. 4 touchdowns. 0 Interceptions. Daniels was every bit the freak of a quarterback we saw at Mater Dei today, threading needles left and right and launching bombs for deep touchdowns through the entirety of his reps. He let his arm talent ooze all over the place, hitting Keyshawn Young on a 15 yard out between two defenders, and again on two incredibly well thrown fly routes to Amon-Ra St. Brown. His connection with St. Brown looked unstoppable, hooking up with the receiver on a number of ridiculous throws and catches. He hit St. Brown on what was probably the best play of camp so far on a post route where the ball went straight to the receiver in the back of the endzone, between and over two defenders, all from 40 yards out. He tossed two more touchdowns on the day, on a 15 yard stop-and-go to St. Brown and a 40 yard post to Velus Jones. There’s almost nothing to knock about his day- the two throws he missed were admittedly badly placed balls that he should’ve completed, but that’s a minor gripe in light of what he did throughout the session. The only thing I can really find that makes me a bit uncomfortable is the willingness he had to launch some of those insane needle-threading throws like the ones to St. Brown in the endzone or Keyshawn Young on the out route. Those are throws that can very easily become turnovers if the quarterback isn’t 100% perfect. However, he was pretty much perfect today, so I can’t hold that against him. Honestly a spectacular performance that probably won him the job.
Jack Sears: B-
Jack Sears keeps teasing us with the potential for great things before inevitably finding a new issue to get stuck on. Following his impressive performances the last few days, on the day when a strong performance could’ve helped him most, he seemed to forget how to respond to a pass rush. He kept bailing the pocket early, taking plenty of sacks he could’ve avoided, and failed to move well inside the pocket to find guys open downfield. At times it was frustrating to watch, as Sears would run around the backfield till inevitably getting run into instead of sliding up in the pocket and making a throw. It wasn’t all bad though; when Sears did manage to get the ball out of his hands today he actually did a pretty good job of getting things done. He completed almost all of his balls, his only incompletions coming on throw aways. He didn’t turn the ball over, and added two touchdowns, the second of which was a beauty of a deep ball 40 yards downfield for Josh Imatorbhebhe which the receiver then took to the endzone. Sears isn’t playing badly by any stretch of the imagination- he’s improved vastly since the Spring and has shown flashes of brilliance throughout camp. Unfortunately, today was the wrong day to slip up and Sears definitely lost his footing. It’ll be really hard for him to make up the difference between him and Daniels at this point.
Matt Fink: C+
At this point in the competition, after watching the quarterbacks throw for a week, we can safely conclude that Matt Fink is what he is- a pedestrian passer with great wheels. He isn’t anything more or less- he’s not going to take the top off a defense or thread a ball to a receiver by the sideline twenty yards downfield between two defenders. He’ll take open throws and hit them, he won’t turn the ball over a lot, and he’ll make you some plays with his feet but you’re not going to get much more from him. Today cemented that profile for me. He made some okay throws intermediate, took a lot of checkdowns, and completed most of his balls. There wasn’t a wow play like we saw with the other guys, and he came the closest to turning it over, throwing a screen pass straight into the hands of Olaijah Griffin who couldn’t hang on to it. Fink is a fine player, but it’s really not fair to say he’s competing at the level of the other two quarterbacks fighting for the job.
JT Daniels: A
10-12. 4 touchdowns. 0 Interceptions. Daniels was every bit the freak of a quarterback we saw at Mater Dei today, threading needles left and right and launching bombs for deep touchdowns through the entirety of his reps. He let his arm talent ooze all over the place, hitting Keyshawn Young on a 15 yard out between two defenders, and again on two incredibly well thrown fly routes to Amon-Ra St. Brown. His connection with St. Brown looked unstoppable, hooking up with the receiver on a number of ridiculous throws and catches. He hit St. Brown on what was probably the best play of camp so far on a post route where the ball went straight to the receiver in the back of the endzone, between and over two defenders, all from 40 yards out. He tossed two more touchdowns on the day, on a 15 yard stop-and-go to St. Brown and a 40 yard post to Velus Jones. There’s almost nothing to knock about his day- the two throws he missed were admittedly badly placed balls that he should’ve completed, but that’s a minor gripe in light of what he did throughout the session. The only thing I can really find that makes me a bit uncomfortable is the willingness he had to launch some of those insane needle-threading throws like the ones to St. Brown in the endzone or Keyshawn Young on the out route. Those are throws that can very easily become turnovers if the quarterback isn’t 100% perfect. However, he was pretty much perfect today, so I can’t hold that against him. Honestly a spectacular performance that probably won him the job.
Jack Sears: B-
Jack Sears keeps teasing us with the potential for great things before inevitably finding a new issue to get stuck on. Following his impressive performances the last few days, on the day when a strong performance could’ve helped him most, he seemed to forget how to respond to a pass rush. He kept bailing the pocket early, taking plenty of sacks he could’ve avoided, and failed to move well inside the pocket to find guys open downfield. At times it was frustrating to watch, as Sears would run around the backfield till inevitably getting run into instead of sliding up in the pocket and making a throw. It wasn’t all bad though; when Sears did manage to get the ball out of his hands today he actually did a pretty good job of getting things done. He completed almost all of his balls, his only incompletions coming on throw aways. He didn’t turn the ball over, and added two touchdowns, the second of which was a beauty of a deep ball 40 yards downfield for Josh Imatorbhebhe which the receiver then took to the endzone. Sears isn’t playing badly by any stretch of the imagination- he’s improved vastly since the Spring and has shown flashes of brilliance throughout camp. Unfortunately, today was the wrong day to slip up and Sears definitely lost his footing. It’ll be really hard for him to make up the difference between him and Daniels at this point.
Matt Fink: C+
At this point in the competition, after watching the quarterbacks throw for a week, we can safely conclude that Matt Fink is what he is- a pedestrian passer with great wheels. He isn’t anything more or less- he’s not going to take the top off a defense or thread a ball to a receiver by the sideline twenty yards downfield between two defenders. He’ll take open throws and hit them, he won’t turn the ball over a lot, and he’ll make you some plays with his feet but you’re not going to get much more from him. Today cemented that profile for me. He made some okay throws intermediate, took a lot of checkdowns, and completed most of his balls. There wasn’t a wow play like we saw with the other guys, and he came the closest to turning it over, throwing a screen pass straight into the hands of Olaijah Griffin who couldn’t hang on to it. Fink is a fine player, but it’s really not fair to say he’s competing at the level of the other two quarterbacks fighting for the job.
