Why is it that Rudock can't throw the ball very well downfield?

[St. Joe Blue 3]

He's been a QB for a very long time ... is it: arm strength, skill, lack of coaching, or what? Couldn't most if not all these deficiencies be corrected with work and good coaching?

I'm sure he's been getting the best of the best of coaching since he's come to Michigan ... I just don't get why he hasn't improved at all in this aspect of his game.

 

[JP2Blue]

Actually he can throw a wounded duck with the best of them...

I guess another question would be how does one become a QB and get a scholarship to a D1 school and throw such an ugly ball.

At any rate, let's hope he overachieves the rest of the way...

 

[detroitjohn]

He's been a QB for a very long time ... is it: arm strength, skill, lack of coaching, or what? Couldn't most if not all these deficiencies be corrected with work and good coaching?

I'm sure he's been getting the best of the best of coaching since he's come to Michigan ... I just don't get why he hasn't improved at all in this aspect of his game.

I think it's partially adjusting to new receivers, he just hasn't had many reps with UM's WRs to get down timing issues. It also makes me wonder, given how poorly he's thrown at times, if there might be an injury issue.

 

[St. Joe Blue 3]

I think it's partially adjusting to new receivers, he just hasn't had many reps with UM's WRs to get down timing issues. It also makes me wonder, given how poorly he's thrown at times, if there might be an injury issue.

That injury aspect is interesting. Hope he's put in the work over the two week bye break to work on the timing
Issues with the WRs. He's missed too many wide open opportunities.

 

[CaliforniaGreen1]

He's been a QB for a very long time ... is it: arm strength, skill, lack of coaching, or what? Couldn't most if not all these deficiencies be corrected with work and good coaching?

I'm sure he's been getting the best of the best of coaching since he's come to Michigan ... I just don't get why he hasn't improved at all in this aspect of his game.

Looks to me like it's related to arm strength - it's not that he can't throw the long ball, it's that it takes him maximum effort in throwing, which in turn messes with his mechanics, and therefore accuracy. It's like a pitcher trying to get extra on his fastball loses his control.

 

[goblue31602]

He's been a QB for a very long time ... is it: arm strength, skill, lack of coaching, or what? Couldn't most if not all these deficiencies be corrected with work and good coaching?

I'm sure he's been getting the best of the best of coaching since he's come to Michigan ... I just don't get why he hasn't improved at all in this aspect of his game.

A successful downfield throw requires a lot of precision between QB and WR. At this point there are small issues with both right now. A few of them have been on Chesson, and a few have been on Rudock. In the Utah game, Chesson slowed down on one he would have had if he would have maintained his speed. On another, Darboh could have gotten it with a little more effort. A few have been over Chesson's head though, or just a bad throw.

The thing is, it is highlighted because we throw downfield so infrequently. Every QB is going to miss some of those throws, but since we try 1-2 times a game and haven't hit them, it seems a whole lot worse. If you took a QB who threw downfield on a regular basis, he would easily have more downfield incompletions than Rudock, he would just have a ton more attempts.

The weird thing is, Rudock was actually pretty successful at these throws at Iowa. Arm strength is part of it though, a few have been too linear. A bit more air under it and they are touchdowns. If you ask me though, I think a little more chemistry and a little more technique drilled into the WR's heads and I think we can hit some. One thing Chesson has shown is he's not very good at adjusting to the ball in the air.

 

[St. Joe Blue 3]

A successful downfield throw requires a lot of precision between QB and WR. At this point there are small issues with both right now. A few of them have been on Chesson, and a few have been on Rudock. In the Utah game, Chesson slowed down on one he would have had if he would have maintained his speed. On another, Darboh could have gotten it with a little more effort. A few have been over Chesson's head though, or just a bad throw.

The thing is, it is highlighted because we throw downfield so infrequently. Every QB is going to miss some of those throws, but since we try 1-2 times a game and haven't hit them, it seems a whole lot worse. If you took a QB who threw downfield on a regular basis, he would easily have more downfield incompletions than Rudock, he would just have a ton more attempts.

The weird thing is, Rudock was actually pretty successful at these throws at Iowa. Arm strength is part of it though, a few have been too linear. A bit more air under it and they are touchdowns. If you ask me though, I think a little more chemistry and a little more technique drilled into the WR's heads and I think we can hit some. One thing Chesson has shown is he's not very good at adjusting to the ball in the air.

Good points. Do we only throw downfield 1 or 2 times per game because the coaches know he can't make the throw? Again, I'm hoping they worked on the timing issues a lot over the bye break. Guessing with this coaching staff they did ... hoping to see some nice improvement tomorrow night and in the remaining games.

 

[goblue31602]

Good points. Do we only throw downfield 1 or 2 times per game because the coaches know he can't make the throw? Again, I'm hoping they worked on the timing issues a lot over the bye break. Guessing with this coaching staff they did ... hoping to see some nice improvement tomorrow night and in the remaining games.

I think we don't throw downfield for a few reasons. One, regardless of if they get it worked out, it's pretty clear that the strength of this team is not our offense or quarterback. Harbaugh has determined that the best way to win with this team is to pick his spots but play conservative and limit turnovers while relying on great defense.

Second, other than two games in which we tried and failed, we haven't really needed to throw the long ball to score.

Third, which is kind of stating the obvious here, we're not very good at it so why risk turnovers?

That being said, we will need some semblance of a downfield game to beat OSU, IMO.

 

[wolverines74]

He's been a QB for a very long time ... is it: arm strength, skill, lack of coaching, or what? Couldn't most if not all these deficiencies be corrected with work and good coaching?

I'm sure he's been getting the best of the best of coaching since he's come to Michigan ... I just don't get why he hasn't improved at all in this aspect of his game.

Need to deflate the football . I heard that it helps a lot . "74