I mean, if we zoom back a few years, Blazejowski went through the same growing pains.fufanatic wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:43 amI agree with all that. I will argue though that we need a bit more than a "game manager" at QB for this team to be truly successful. With PJ and Roberts, the QBs made plays in critical situations that helped lead to success and wins. When that wasn't on the table last year when Harris was out, we saw some of the results, minus The Citadel game, and that QB is gone. I do think that Grainger has that potential to be a play maker, so I'm not as concerned about that. I'm sure Sisson could be as well with how much he's apparently grown in a short time.The Jackal wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 6:15 amBottom line, we will need both Grainger and Sisson to take steps forward in the "game management" category, which I always see as taking care of the ball, making good decisions, and keeping possession.
I've seen Grainger play more than Sisson, and there's a lot to like. I'm not sure we've had a QB with his skill set in a long time. He has the talent, he just needs to take the next step in maturation.
The Samford game was a good example. He played virtually all of that contest. Hit Thomas Gordon on a 77 yard TD pass to put Furman up two scores in the third quarter. Furman then forces a turnover and we have the ball about midfield with a chance to just about put the game away with a touchdown (putting us up 26-10). Instead, Grainger fumbles, Samford scores, and then picks off a pass on the ensuing drive.
I think those are the sort of catastrophic plays that sometimes happen in the feast/famine world of playing a talented freshman QB. My hope is that in 2019, things slow down a bit for him and ball security becomes a high priority. Ideally, you want the worst result on that drive to be Furman punting and still being up 9.
If I recall, we lost a tight contest against the Citadel in Charleston where Blazejowski threw a couple of really bad interceptions after forcing throws late into tight coverage. We dodged a bullet, but beat Samford in Birmingham around the same time where he chunked a ball into double coverage that a Furman receiver happened to pull down.
He was a talented QB, but sometimes those guys rely too much on their athleticism to make plays. As Blazejowski got older, he became a lot better at managing the offense, knowing when to run, knowing when to throw, and knowing when to get rid of the ball into the stands. He turned into one of the most efficient QBs in the country and lead an offense that was a really impressive unit.
