Chattownsfinest
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whats the deal everybody?
Here is the scenario I see happening:
Clausen comes into the game banged up as hell, gets sacked a couple times and produces a couple short drives. Our D keeps us in the game and we trail GA by 7-14 going in to the half. With Rick hurting and the offense failing to produce again PF decides to throw caution to the wind and let Ainge start the second half. With the crowd behind him Ainge finally regains his confidence, has a great half and leads the offense to victory.
A couple of my thoughts about the two QB's heading into the game:
Clausen- He has some excellent qualities that make him a good qb in certain situations: he makes quick decisions, has control of the huddle and the confidence of the players around him, makes accurate throws and good reads and checks at the line of scrimmage, protects the football, and seems to performs well under pressure. All of these qualities lead to the type of game he had at LSU. But the problem is he wont be at LSU Sat, he will be at the friendly confines of Neyland Stadium. Rick shined and did what few players could have done in that situation because of the qualities I just mentioned but truthfully he just did what any qb should have done. He completed passes. He threw quick short outs and intermediary routs to the recievers to take advantage of a very weak LSU secondary(dead last in the SEC in passing defense) that was pressed at the line of scrimmage focusing all their attention on Riggs and completely disregarding what was at the time a non-existent passing game. Combine this with the fact that LSU was worn down and cramping, with players and fans alike emotionally exhausted after dominating us in the first half, while our players were better conditioned and the season was on the line and you get the result. His heart and determination are things that can not be measured and that was what won that game.
Now for the negatives: He simply does not look for the deep ball for whatever reason(arm strength,ability,confidence), and on the rare occasion he does actually throw it 20-25+ yards he loses his accuracy and generally overthrows the reciever.
He has no mobility and it shows in the pocket (he has been sacked 5 times after 4 games, the total Ainge was sacked last year all season)
He sometimes gets too comfortable with the protection of a stellar offensive line and takes too long to get the ball out.
Ainge: When I look at Ainge I see a player who has lost his confidence.
There are a couple reasons why I think he is playing so poorly.
First are expectations. After coming in as a freshman and setting a record for TD passes he was hailed by pretty much everyone as the second coming of Peyton Manning before he gets injured. Afterward he battles with a former 4th string qb and is not guaranteed a starting position. He plays poorly in the UAB game and is pulled to see Clausen do what he couldnt (run the offense) and he is dissapointed. Even though he had a horrible performance Rick is pulled after only 5 pass attempts at Florida and Ainge comes in to a hostile swamp to drive down the field and score only to play poorly the rest of the game. Despite completing less than 50% of his throws he is then named the starter for LSU only to have the worst outing of his career and watch as the other qb pulls off one of the biggest comebacks in Tenn history which was necessary due to his poor play. The other big thing I see is a player who is afraid of being hit. This is evident when he makes quick decisions despite having good protection (sailing balls over recievers' heads throwing interceptions, fumbling the ball at LSU when all he had to do was protect it, and throwing the ball away in the end zone instead of taking the safety are good examples),and he just looks scared of injuring himself again in my opinion. I think his injury has healed but I really believe that it did damage to his psyche, add everything else and you can see why he is playing so bad. I think the GA game might be a perfect opportunity to regain his hungriness after being on the sidelines for an entire game, and Neyland Stadium is the perfect place for him to get back the confidence he has lost.
The truth is we do need big plays for our team to win this game and to have any shot at the SEC title, and Clausen simply cant provide this.
Yes we have a defense that can keep us in every game and sometimes even win them for us, but imagine what it would be like if we actually had the ability to go deep. Safeties will no longer play only 15 yards off the ball and cornerbacks will no longer either play 5 yards off the reciever and let them make the short catch or press at the line of scrimmage with no concern of being beat downfield. Gerald Rigss is a great running back now, with Ainge at 100% Riggs would be a heisman contender.
There is a reason that Fulmer went with Ainge at the beggining of the season and stuck with him despite him struggling. It's because the one drive he had at Florida was the best offensive drive all year and gave him hope that he would become his old self.
If Ainge doesnt play Sat. I hope Clausen can prove me wrong and pull off a win.
Here is the scenario I see happening:
Clausen comes into the game banged up as hell, gets sacked a couple times and produces a couple short drives. Our D keeps us in the game and we trail GA by 7-14 going in to the half. With Rick hurting and the offense failing to produce again PF decides to throw caution to the wind and let Ainge start the second half. With the crowd behind him Ainge finally regains his confidence, has a great half and leads the offense to victory.
A couple of my thoughts about the two QB's heading into the game:
Clausen- He has some excellent qualities that make him a good qb in certain situations: he makes quick decisions, has control of the huddle and the confidence of the players around him, makes accurate throws and good reads and checks at the line of scrimmage, protects the football, and seems to performs well under pressure. All of these qualities lead to the type of game he had at LSU. But the problem is he wont be at LSU Sat, he will be at the friendly confines of Neyland Stadium. Rick shined and did what few players could have done in that situation because of the qualities I just mentioned but truthfully he just did what any qb should have done. He completed passes. He threw quick short outs and intermediary routs to the recievers to take advantage of a very weak LSU secondary(dead last in the SEC in passing defense) that was pressed at the line of scrimmage focusing all their attention on Riggs and completely disregarding what was at the time a non-existent passing game. Combine this with the fact that LSU was worn down and cramping, with players and fans alike emotionally exhausted after dominating us in the first half, while our players were better conditioned and the season was on the line and you get the result. His heart and determination are things that can not be measured and that was what won that game.
Now for the negatives: He simply does not look for the deep ball for whatever reason(arm strength,ability,confidence), and on the rare occasion he does actually throw it 20-25+ yards he loses his accuracy and generally overthrows the reciever.
He has no mobility and it shows in the pocket (he has been sacked 5 times after 4 games, the total Ainge was sacked last year all season)
He sometimes gets too comfortable with the protection of a stellar offensive line and takes too long to get the ball out.
Ainge: When I look at Ainge I see a player who has lost his confidence.
There are a couple reasons why I think he is playing so poorly.
First are expectations. After coming in as a freshman and setting a record for TD passes he was hailed by pretty much everyone as the second coming of Peyton Manning before he gets injured. Afterward he battles with a former 4th string qb and is not guaranteed a starting position. He plays poorly in the UAB game and is pulled to see Clausen do what he couldnt (run the offense) and he is dissapointed. Even though he had a horrible performance Rick is pulled after only 5 pass attempts at Florida and Ainge comes in to a hostile swamp to drive down the field and score only to play poorly the rest of the game. Despite completing less than 50% of his throws he is then named the starter for LSU only to have the worst outing of his career and watch as the other qb pulls off one of the biggest comebacks in Tenn history which was necessary due to his poor play. The other big thing I see is a player who is afraid of being hit. This is evident when he makes quick decisions despite having good protection (sailing balls over recievers' heads throwing interceptions, fumbling the ball at LSU when all he had to do was protect it, and throwing the ball away in the end zone instead of taking the safety are good examples),and he just looks scared of injuring himself again in my opinion. I think his injury has healed but I really believe that it did damage to his psyche, add everything else and you can see why he is playing so bad. I think the GA game might be a perfect opportunity to regain his hungriness after being on the sidelines for an entire game, and Neyland Stadium is the perfect place for him to get back the confidence he has lost.
The truth is we do need big plays for our team to win this game and to have any shot at the SEC title, and Clausen simply cant provide this.
Yes we have a defense that can keep us in every game and sometimes even win them for us, but imagine what it would be like if we actually had the ability to go deep. Safeties will no longer play only 15 yards off the ball and cornerbacks will no longer either play 5 yards off the reciever and let them make the short catch or press at the line of scrimmage with no concern of being beat downfield. Gerald Rigss is a great running back now, with Ainge at 100% Riggs would be a heisman contender.
There is a reason that Fulmer went with Ainge at the beggining of the season and stuck with him despite him struggling. It's because the one drive he had at Florida was the best offensive drive all year and gave him hope that he would become his old self.
If Ainge doesnt play Sat. I hope Clausen can prove me wrong and pull off a win.
