This is the sixth part of my position by position breakdown of the 2007 roster.
QUARTERBACKS
It is not too hard to write a QB position preview when your QB is the preseason ACC Offensive Player of the Year. Matt Ryan is the best QB BC since Glenn Foley. He’s got the numbers, the wins, the throws and enough memorable plays to have cemented his legacy. Can he take it to a new level this year?
Overview
I referenced Ryan being the best BC QB since Foley. If he stays healthy, Ryan has the chance to put his name alongside Flutie and Foley in the BC record book. Here are some the relevant stats and where Ryan stands coming into the season.
Passing Yards Career
1. Doug Flutie – 10,579
2. Glenn Foley – 10,039
5. Matt Ryan – 4,806
Brian St. Pierre is currently 3rd on the all-time yardage list with 5,837. With even a partial year, Ryan should be able to pass him. Getting to the 10,000 mark seems highly unlikely. (If Matt does get there he’ll destroy a lot of other BC records.) Ryan should also pass St. Pierre and move into 3rd on attempts and completions.
The one area where Flutie and Foley are not on the top of the list is completion percentage. These are three most accurate passers heading into the season.
1. Mike Kruzcek – 66.8%
2. Paul Peterson – 60.8%
3. Matt Ryan – 60.3%
This is one category where style of play might drop Ryan down the list. Bible’s offense put a premium on short accurate throws. Supposedly Logan will use the less accurate deep ball more. But seeing his name on this list shows how special Ryan is as no other BC QB has combined his productivity with his accuracy.
The Players
QB -- Matt Ryan, SR, 6’5, 218lbs
QB -- Chris Crane, JR, 6’4, 232lbs
QB/P/WR -- Billy Flutie, FR, 6’2, 177lbs
QB -- Dominique Davis, FR, 6’4, 185lbs
QB -- Chris Johnson, FR, 6’2, 200lbs
Ryan is the No. 1 guy and can really do it all. He is very accurate, throws a nice deep ball, can hit the intermediate routes and reads defenses well. His toughness is unquestioned. If you had to find an Achilles Heel it would be that he is not the most mobile guy (but he moves well enough) and it sometimes takes him a few throws early in the game to get his touch. Crane is backup and seems straight from the Bible prototype. He’s played well when given a chance. He’s more athletic than Ryan but doesn’t have Ryan’s arm. The third-string, emergency QB is still unknown at this point. Billy Flutie has been moved to WR. If something happens to both Ryan and Crane, I would expect Flutie to move back since Davis and Johnson are both very raw and likely redshirts. If we get to the point where Flutie, Davis or Johnson are playing the season will have taken an entirely different tone.
Outlook
I expect Ryan to have a huge year. Last season he carried us through a rough start and then performed heroically with a broken foot in the second half. If he can live up to the hype, we’re all in for a treat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
By dumb luck Crane seems to be much more of a typical Logan QB than the usual Bible ones like Ryan, The Saint, Porter, El Nicoli and Applegate. Peterson and Crane standout to me from the rest of Bible's QBs because they could run at anytime and don't just use it as a last option for the most part. They seem to be very similiar to the two QBs that BC recruited in the 2007 class, mobile QBs with good arms.
By dumb luck Crane seems to be much more of a typical Logan QB than the usual Bible ones like Ryan, The Saint, Porter, El Nicoli and Applegate. Peterson and Crane standout to me from the rest of Bible's QBs because they could run at anytime and don't just use it as a last option for the most part. They seem to be very similiar to the two QBs that BC recruited in the 2007 class, mobile QBs with good arms.
Post a Comment