Can someone explain to me why Merklinger or MacIntyre can't be QB1?

#177
#177
NCFisher said:
Ok, but that presumes Nico would have been better. His 2024 season doesn't reflect that, even though he looked ready to play in the Iowa game, but then so did Joe in the Clemson game. Actually Nico fares slightly worse statistically - they're nearly identical - and didn't improve meaningfully over the season. Nico hasn't proven he'll ever be good enough.

Anyway, back to the point; it's unsubstantiated meme-weaving to assert Heupel wouldn't have sat Joe during 2022 if not for Milton's injury. Or that there's a larger, blind loyalty-to-the-starter problem there.

Yet.
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Upon seeing Nico now, I don’t think he would have been much, if any, better than Joe in 2023, but it’s possible that he would have been better in 2024 with a year of SEC play under his belt.
 
#178
#178
VolArmy74 said:
When the season starts, Merklinger will have been in the system for 18+ months. If he's not ready to play, or doesn't have a grasp on the offense, he was vastly overrated out of high school and he never will get it no matter how long he's here.

I've seen nothing as yet to make me believe that's the case. Basing anything, good or ill, off a spring game, is silly.

I don't believe we'd have told him to kick rocks if we didn't feel we had a capable QB between him and GMAC.

We are the king of starting true freshman. Manning, Clausen, Ainge, and Bray all did it.

Jalen Hurts did it, Matthew Stafford, Fromm did it a few years ago and finished something like 5th in the nation in QBR and took Georgia to the championship game.

18 months is plenty of time for Merklinger to be the man.
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Yes if you want to win 6 games , maybe 7.
 
#182
#182
If one can manage the game well, run the offense smoothly, and hit some wide open guys deep we are going to do really well! We’ve been missing that deep ball since Hooker left. If one of them can hit those wide open guys consistently we are going to be good!!
 
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#184
#184
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
Upon seeing Nico now, I don’t think he would have been much, if any, better than Joe in 2023, but it’s possible that he would have been better in 2024 with a year of SEC play under his belt.
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It is possible, and who is in better position to make that decision than coaches? You can make a ride or die either way; the guy who doesn't let the program gains slip too far, or the guy who may put you at .500 this year but MAY ball-out next year.

It's easy when all we see are on the field results but have not the faintest idea of that guy's progression or ability prior. It's easy to say "See! See! - we should have been playing X all along!" when the damn light for X may have just switched on two weeks ago.
 
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#185
#185
SayUWantAreVOLution said:
Opinions on VN are that Nico was "mid" yet Merk last year and through Spring practices couldn't separate himself and surpass Nico.

G-Mac in Spring practice seemed no better than Merk and has zero snaps in a college game as of yet.

There's a whole contingent saying Nico was the 9th best QB in the SEC last year yet neither Merk nor G-Mac could blow him away in practice.

Ask yourself, why couldn't Merk, at least, distinguish himself above Nico if Nico is the 9th best QB in the SEC?
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And do you want to go into this season with, at best, the 10th best QB in the league?
Or would you try to find someone better?
 
#190
#190
miket4god said:
And do you want to go into this season with, at best, the 10th best QB in the league?
Or would you try to find someone better?
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I've been on the side of recruiting a one year starter since Nico left.

Rolling the dice with Merk at Syracuse and ETSU is one thing but GA's defense is tough and tricky. GA might break the kid if he were to fumble a time or two and throw a bad INT or two.

If we're rolling with no more than an "emergency QB" and Merk wilts after GA, we're stuck with either freshman G-Mac or a guy we brought in just to have a safety valve for injuries.

I know, I know, QBs have done it but most SEC QBs didn't. Believing you'll beat the odds is what makes suckers of a lot of people.
 
#192
#192
VolArmy74 said:
When the season starts, Merklinger will have been in the system for 18+ months. If he's not ready to play, or doesn't have a grasp on the offense, he was vastly overrated out of high school and he never will get it no matter how long he's here.

I've seen nothing as yet to make me believe that's the case. Basing anything, good or ill, off a spring game, is silly.

I don't believe we'd have told him to kick rocks if we didn't feel we had a capable QB between him and GMAC.

We are the king of starting true freshman. Manning, Clausen, Ainge, and Bray all did it.

Jalen Hurts did it, Matthew Stafford, Fromm did it a few years ago and finished something like 5th in the nation in QBR and took Georgia to the championship game.

18 months is plenty of time for Merklinger to be the man.
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Eason a freshman at UGA almost had us beat until the Dobbsnail Boot play.
 
#193
#193
NCFisher said:
It is possible, and who is in better position to make that decision than coaches? You can make a ride or die either way; the guy who doesn't let the program gains slip too far, or the guy who may put you at .500 this year but MAY ball-out next year.

It's easy when all we see are on the field results but have not the faintest idea of that guy's progression or ability prior. It's easy to say "See! See! - we should have been playing X all along!" when the damn light for X may have just switched on two weeks ago.
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Milton didn’t win us any games in 2023, you could maybe say Kentucky would have been a loss with Nico. Which, obviously that would have been a bad loss, but it wouldn’t have necessarily been a loss. I only cite it because it’s the only example of Milton playing well in a close win in 2024 or even playing well in a game our defense didn’t dominate. Seeing how Nico played against Iowa, I believe he was at least passable enough to beat Kentucky that year. Gaston Moore would have gone 7-5 that year, and so would Nico at a minimum. So at most, you would have lost one win by going to Nico in 2023, more likely you have the same record.

Now if he goes into that Arkansas game in 2024 with 8 SEC starts and 10 starts against P4 competition instead of 1 and 3 respectively, would that have made a difference? I think it could have. He would have played at Alabama, at Kentucky in a close game, and at OU when he went to Arkansas. Might have given him enough experience to stay composed enough at Arkansas to pull out a win, and then we would have gone to Atlanta. Texas lost to Gunnar Stockton throwing less than 100 yards, so we might have had a chance there, but either way, going to Atlanta would be a real accomplishment on par or better than going to the playoff and losing in round 1.

Playing Nico might have lost the Kentucky game in 2023, but it might have won the SEC Championship in 2024. I believe Nico isn’t good, but sticking it out with Joe was the wrong decision, because Nico is basically a skinny, younger Joe Milton.
 
#194
#194
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
Milton didn’t win us any games in 2023, you could maybe say Kentucky would have been a loss with Nico. Which, obviously that would have been a bad loss, but it wouldn’t have necessarily been a loss. I only cite it because it’s the only example of Milton playing well in a close win in 2024 or even playing well in a game our defense didn’t dominate. Seeing how Nico played against Iowa, I believe he was at least passable enough to beat Kentucky that year. Gaston Moore would have gone 7-5 that year, and so would Nico at a minimum. So at most, you would have lost one win by going to Nico in 2023, more likely you have the same record.

Now if he goes into that Arkansas game in 2024 with 8 SEC starts and 10 starts against P4 competition instead of 1 and 3 respectively, would that have made a difference? I think it could have. He would have played at Alabama, at Kentucky in a close game, and at OU when he went to Arkansas. Might have given him enough experience to stay composed enough at Arkansas to pull out a win, and then we would have gone to Atlanta. Texas lost to Gunnar Stockton throwing less than 100 yards, so we might have had a chance there, but either way, going to Atlanta would be a real accomplishment on par or better than going to the playoff and losing in round 1.

Playing Nico might have lost the Kentucky game in 2023, but it might have won the SEC Championship in 2024. I believe Nico isn’t good, but sticking it out with Joe was the wrong decision, because Nico is basically a skinny, younger Joe Milton.
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I don't know what to tell you except to repeat "It is possible"; the rest is speculation. Joe had a worse defense yielding less time of possession, more opponent points, and a worse offensive line giving up 12 more sacks. Even having better pass blocking, higher TOP, and a better running game wasn't enough for Nico to statistically separate himself. It's as possible to speculate Nico comes out of 2023 worse off, and UT having to deal with this last year instead of now.
 
#196
#196
The bigger question in all of this is what is our run game going to look like without Sampson. Nico handing the ball to him 30 times a game is how we got to the playoffs anyhow. When we got to conference play, Sampson and our running game carried this team. It definitely wasn't the 9th rated QB in the SEC that got us there.
 
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#197
#197
Depends on how big of a step backward you want to take after last year. Those guys are going to be a very sizable one.
 
#199
#199
Because we are VN QB experts. We've seen enough last year when Merk played a few minutes in blowouts wins to determine he's not the guy
 
#200
#200
Mac and Merk both have talent and are going to get better. Let them go at it and compete. That goes for any other quarterback that comes on board. May the best man win and may the other be ready to come in and play. We may need both of them this year at different times. Keep pushing and making each other better. The 2nd team QB is 1 play from being out there. Be ready for your chance when it comes. GBO
 
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