Showed a lot of poise, especially on that 4th down scramble to his left then throwing back over the middle for a completion and first down.
He can and will get better. Great start.
He can and will get better. Great start.
Credit to Gavin
- Thread starter BillyC80
- Start date
Was very pleasantly surprised at his growth from last year. Had poise, made good decisions & plays. A couple of throws if made a bit sooner would have led to score, but not many throws into bad places. Threw it away when needed & didn't seem like he tried to force anything.
Hoping to see him progress as our level of competition rises. We R going to need him to play to his ability.
Hoping to see him progress as our level of competition rises. We R going to need him to play to his ability.
That's what we liked. He very calmly hit the sidelines with the ball twice, then came back and made first downs later in the series in Q! and Q2.
It also looks like he didn't show us everything he has. Hope springs eternal.
Not to be Mr. Negative but there's always room for improvement. I've never quarterbacked a game but I've seen enough to know there's a time to lob it and a time to rifle it. Hopefully still a win but it would have been a closer game if the NW Dbacks had more stickum on their gloves.
He actually has a very good OC for once. Part of Gavin’s maturing is he believes in the direction of this program. Going to be some whoopsies along the way but we like it so far.
Really? Then you’re lacking actual ability to assess anything related to what we saw last season or or spring
Seemed like his being a threat to run kept the D on their heels a bit. Remains to be seen whether he’ll make good decisions to tuck and run for big gains when the D is more aggressive.
The pass he made on the run on 4th down was beautiful. We haven't had a QB who could make that throw in a really long time. Gavin was extremely cool and collective. Very impressed by him. Is he Mahomes? No but he has that playmaking ability that we haven't really had at QB.
All too soon to tell. It was a good outing, certainly better than if he struggled. But very weak competition helps. He'll be tested more very soon. I'd like to see more running from him.
We also need receivers to get open. I think they're really missing Brantley based on Greg's response. Surprised Jackson wasn't featured more.
It ‘s typical of the clown show AKA as the NCAA to make a decision several months after Brantley accepted the portal spot at Rutgers. The kid from NC is stuck n limbo as well and I’m sure there are more . Don’t expect him back and the issue resolved quickly if ever.
Gavin was the bright spot imo.
He made some nice throws with no INTs
He has a tendency to loft balls and that can hurt vs better defenses
Northwestern has had 4 DCs in 4 years.
The last DC - Braun - was hired before Holidays last year.
Now he's elevated to head coach as well as DC
Not sure the Cat's defense is a fine tuned machine.
The AD was mad at players and coaches for wearing Fitzgerald's #51 on their practice gear.
Northwestern is a "hot mess" as they say
He made some nice throws with no INTs
He has a tendency to loft balls and that can hurt vs better defenses
Northwestern has had 4 DCs in 4 years.
The last DC - Braun - was hired before Holidays last year.
Now he's elevated to head coach as well as DC
Not sure the Cat's defense is a fine tuned machine.
The AD was mad at players and coaches for wearing Fitzgerald's #51 on their practice gear.
Northwestern is a "hot mess" as they say
Hey Bob, I'm old, too--class or '74. Just not an *******.
You didn't think "there was certainly some improvement"?
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I was happiest at the hiring of Ciarrocca primarily because of his rep as a “QB Whisperer” that Joe Flacco raved about from his UDel days. I’m hoping we are seeing the same early transformative steps we saw for Nova under Friedgen.
Loft balls? Didn’t see too many lofted throws yesterday from Wimsatt.Only those he purposely tossed out of bounds . Did not force throws for the most part which is a B1G change.
******* for pointing something out to you, I have done nothing but give Gavin credit here. I believe it was your opinion that he was given more overhyped credit by our fans. You should go back and re read what you posted earlier. Now you seem to have changed your tone.. After you do my friend Let me know the negative posts you think I made.. . By your post to me you also might see who is the “ *******”.
He looks a lot more poised and seems to know where to go with the ball most of the time. I think he is processing the defenses more quickly but still has a way to go to be really good. He has all the tools. If he can keep improving each week, we may really have something by year end.
Hey, “my friend” (said in my best John Wayne voice)—
I think I saw some improvement by Gavin yesterday (excellent work by OL), and I absolutely think fans have been very generous to him in regards to their assessments, especially so considering the way other athletes are quickly tossed under the bus.
You wrote that earlier you had been pointing something out to me. Sounds like you were being kind, even paternal. You also mentioned tone. Your “pointing out” consisted of this “you’re lacking actual ability to assess anything related to what we saw last season or or spring.” Tone, right? I think I’ve gotten things correct, friend.
Stop being a wuss. It was an opinion of what I felt was a slight towards Gavin. Wimsatt is much improved with plenty of room to grow under Kirk C . The O line is coming along…. People are entitled to their opinions both you and I . Nothing personal … I’m not judging your post either way… you are too sensitive . Chill out kid.
Of course he has shown improvement since last year. Nobody can deny it. But....................after watching the game again on tv, I saw several cases where when he rolled out and tried to sneak one in against the sideline while receivers crossing 10-15 yds. down field were wide open. I'm sure that will be discussed in the film room.
But this isn’t the time to be Mr Negative.
Last year and over the offseason, Gavin has had a lot of criticism. A lot.
Now, for one freakin week, is the time to either praise his dedication and improvement, or be quiet. One or the other.
Easy to judge the QB sitting in front of the boob tube on a Labor Day afternoon . Had you actually been on the 105 degree turf it may have been a different take. All things considered many here had already pre game decided he was not the answer. Could he not be ? …sure but this player is looking pretty good after game one. Let’s see him take another step . Temple QB is pretty good . If all our RB’s are ready and our TE’s and WRers step up … we may win our 2nd game. Our D is legit.
Yeah yesterday his passes were short (longest was one 20 yard pass and I dont even know how far it was in the air). Its his longer passes that get lofty. That might be why they don't have him throw any. Teel and Britt uses to stretch defenses a lot with long balls between the 20s. At some people you need the long passes to opem up the defense
He threw very few more than 20 yards . The TD to Strong was a great catch and throw. What you saidwas his throws were too lofty. Problem is he didn’t throw what would be termed a lofty throw. His throws were more than not on a line and with velocity. Maybe we have a differing opinion of what constitutes lofty .
I ‘ve seen every RU QB since 1967. Teel and Britt were together 3-4 years. Wait until Strong and Wimsatt play a few more games together.
What miss are you talking about… many QB’s miss throws. He’ll miss many more perhaps but doesn’t mean he won’t actually be a great QB here.
Watched the CBS broadcast today. First thing- Devin and the other RU guy were total pros- not homers, and provided even analysis.
At half time, Rick Neuheisel and the other analysts were gushing over how great Gavin played in the first half. They must not have read these boards or the game thread.
At half time, Rick Neuheisel and the other analysts were gushing over how great Gavin played in the first half. They must not have read these boards or the game thread.
The TD to the corner was nice - and safe
Sunday was not the first time I saw Wimsat throw.
On his long throws he has been lofty in the past and thats not a trivial issues when against B1G secondaries.
Sunday's offense was pretty moderated - probably for some good reasons as well as Schiano's constant pearl clutching over potential mistakes.
That offense wont go far when the boss teams show-up
"Ball control is as B1G as it gets. Rutgers, though, would like to flash more quick-strike capability. Rutgers’s longest pass play was for 20 yards, with the longest run going for just 15 yards."
This is where you really messed up. It should have been: "Listen pilgrim."
(My favorite Western)
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What I really liked about this play was that there were 4 RU guys within 8 yards of each other and he picked the right one to throw to.
One thing I noticed was that, not counting the designed runs for him, he almost always gave it to the RB. Then, when he did keep it he took it up the middle. Anyone have any insight on whether this was planned or just Gavin's read of the edge defender? Looked to me like he could have taken it outside himself for a big gain a few times.
Why not admit it as much as some here try to find positive results others take a more negative path. Immediately those anti Schiano “ clutching Pearls” comment tells all. The coach did a great job in prepping and directing the team. Even post game scene where he talks to his team shows he actually thinks this team can surprise people. Time will tell. Early yes but progress is being made.Setbacks will occur and success is difficult. We do have talent and more will follow. On a side note: Hoping Marquis Watson is able to come back sooner than later.
Several of us talked about that in another thread - on the RPO, it was absolutely there, several times, for Gavin to pull the ball out when the ends crashed inside on the inside RB run, and the outside was wide open for some possible big gains. Could be we didn't need those plays and Kirk is not showing the whole playbook.
On another note, Gavin's poise, reads and throws were much better than any previous game, IMO, although NW didn't get much pressure on him, so we still don't know if he'll be significantly improved vs. better D's. But you play who you play and he played very well against NW.
One other thing. I think some people complaining about Wimsatt's early throw to Long, which was almost intercepted might not have noticed that Long stumbled out of his cut to the left, just after Gavin released the ball - the ball was in the right spot, but Long wasn't, so that's not on Gavin.
And several of his throws were just gorgeous: the TD to Strong was perfectly placed where only Strong could catch it, the 4th down throw to Dremel while moving left was an NFL throw, and several of his long out throws were also NFL ropes. Not every pass was perfect, of course, but if one didn't see significant improvement, one wasn't watching very closely.
Gavin looked like a different player then he did last year. And once he gets even more experience and sees the full field better- he could be THAT guy.
I did think during the game that there were a few passes that he lofted that just seemed like he should have thrown. And there was one play- forget when it was but it was a pass he rolled right and lofted the ball out of the corner of the endzone- but he did not see the WR wide open at about the 10 yard line.
But overall- looked like a solid B1G QB who has the potential to really be very good.
I was also very happy with the OL. Not perfect but they passed the bare eye test as being much much better.
I did think during the game that there were a few passes that he lofted that just seemed like he should have thrown. And there was one play- forget when it was but it was a pass he rolled right and lofted the ball out of the corner of the endzone- but he did not see the WR wide open at about the 10 yard line.
But overall- looked like a solid B1G QB who has the potential to really be very good.
I was also very happy with the OL. Not perfect but they passed the bare eye test as being much much better.