Sunday, October 25, 2009

Freshman mistakes

First let me say that Dave Shinskie has been a great addition to this team. I don't know if we'd be 5-3 without him. However, he still has a long way to go to be a great QB. I think his biggest problem is patience. It doesn't seem like he is working his progressions. The reason I say that is that the ball is not getting distributed. Obviously we want Gunnell to get the ball but I think it would serve him and the offense to spread the ball around a bit. Right now, even many of Shinskie's misses are headed towards Larmond and Gunnell. Take a look at Shinskie's first INT in the fourth quarter.


Situation: 2nd and 8. BC is down 4. Ball on the Notre Dame 42.


The running game has been stopped most of the day, so it makes sense to throw. Notre Dame is in base defense. Gunnell is in the slot. He's killed ND from there all day, so Shinskie's first inclination is to go to him. But ND is adjusting at this point too.


ND is sending pressure. They move one safety up. BC picks up the blitz. Pantale stays to block but Harris is able to release after chipping.

Jarvis is sitting in a short outlet. Gunnell is cutting towards the sideline and is bracketed.



Shinskie's better plays are to the right side of the field but he never looks off the left where Jarvis and Gunnell are well covered. If he wants to force something he could have gone to Larmond over the safety for a deep aggressive pass. If he wanted to be safe (it was second down), he could have dumped it off to Harris (who is next to the ref).

But before anyone can do anything Shinskie has already sent it towards Gunnell.


Shinskie forces it to Gunnell into double coverage. Easy INT for the Irish.




Shinskie has great potential and is learning more everyday. But now that BC has something to play for, we need him to make better decisions, look for his check downs and get others involved. The INT in this play wasn't the end but it was an example of what Shinskie needs to work on. Now just keep your fingers crossed for progress in his progressions.

15 comments:

Xman said...

Bill, great job illustrating this. How about one for the cushion?

Anonymous said...

Great point on the lack of patience in the pocket. Having said that, the replay on the pass you illustrate clearly shows that a better pass to Gunnell's outside shoulder would have been a catch.

His biggest problem that I can see is accuracy. He gets the yips with wide open receivers (read: 2 overthrows to WIDE open Colin Larmond in the 1st and 4th quarters).

I think a lot of that is attributed to his freshman-ness and lack of reps in the last decade. As he matures, and with an off-season in the weight and film room, he'll be a stud next year.

eagle1331 said...

Plain and simple - he has no "touch" on his passes and zero accuracy.

Half the catches in the game were the WR jumping up and pulling it down or making a highlight reel catch. It is a completely different game if we had a QB who could put the ball in the WR hands as opposed to making them turn around, jump, or reach back for a pass.

It looked, even on the passes that he read progressions, he had predetermined who he was going to. Even in those cases, he sailed the pass 80% of the time.

The Spaz cushion defense was despicable as well.

BCNorCal07 said...

The INT on this play was just terrible and I don't if a more "accurate" throw would have helped. Not only was the safety there over the top, but Gunnell rounded off the route (not Dave's fault) enabling the corner to get position underneath route. Unfortunately, Dave failed to account for either defender. He needs to learn to read the safeties more than the corners and be willing to do what Claussen did all day: check down to short receivers..

Unknown said...

"At 3:40 PM, Mark said...
Here's another fact: ND scored more points on USC (top 5 defense in the country) last week than in the last 3 meetings combined. They had not scored an offensive touchdown since 2006. Putting up 27 on Taylor Mays et al is pretty impressive.

If BC wins it's not going to be because of ND's offense. It's because Harrison Smith can't tackle his shoes in the morning. The secondary for ND is a joke. If Schinske can play smart, not turn the ball over, and not take sacks, BC can win.

Notre Dame does not turn the ball over so BC will have to be equally smart with the football.

With the rain, it may be smart to just try to pound it on the ground. Though, eventually, they will have to put it up in the air and the QB has to make plays to keep Clausen off the field. Sustaining drives, smart with the football. In an equally talented game special teams and turnovers will always decide the outcome."

Posted that earlier this week. Did the BC coaches not preach exactly what I was warning against?
I hate to say I told you so, but...

Joe said...

Agree about the distribution of his targets. I am dissapointed that Megwa, who is senior, & returning healthy from leg being broken,is not used more. And what's the deal with McMichael, who finally is healthy, & made that fantastic grab early on ? If BC wants to have more depth (& morale) in their recruiting, they should be more diverse. I feel sorry for Flutie who does not seem to be used at all except during garbage time. Why not use a few more trick plays to pull guys like him & Smith in ? Also, I thought Harris was going to be used to throw the ball on one the Wildcat plays...which was not utilized until the 3rd quarter, strangely. Why no "keeping their defense guessing" strategies ?

Andrew said...

Reason for not using the bazooka (wildcat) is that Haden was hurt, Smith too, he didn't even make the trip. And apparently Finch has the flu. SO we weren't about to run the wildcat too often with McCluskey as our only option, aka, not an option, which is why after the first use of it, it didn't work again

Joe said...

Good points Andrew. I was actually aware of the absentees. My point was e generic, re: Jeff Smith, due to his speed. They used him "one time" for a sideline TD pass early on & not used that play since. Instead they have used him on KO's, where he, with minimal lateral ability, runs right into a stone wall (thus his neck problem). Why not use him on an option short pass when he has nothing but air in from, with his break away speed.

Why could they not have used Tuggle (another pass option) in the Wildcat/Bazooka, realizing the main focus is on Harris running, not Haden or McCluskey anyway?

eagleboston said...

I agree with many of the above posts. The problem with this team is the offense. They try to force way too many passes deep down the field when there are options underneath. Take what the defense gives you. They hardly ever use the tight ends and where is Flutie? The guy can be a very good possession receiver who can get to the sticks and keep drives alive, but they never utilize him. BC is a decent QB away from being a great, ACC championship caliber team.

I don't dislike Shinskie at all and I think he has helped us surprise the pundits. Give him a good off-season and a little more experience and I think he can be a decent QB. Next season will be the first since Ryan that BC will have a QB returning with experience.

I also wish the corners would get a little closer to the line of scrimmage, but Iowa uses the same philosophy and they are undefeated so what do I know?

Mr. Tambourine MAn said...

Joe,

McMichael hurt his hip again shortly after that great catch. I think he's been "Out" for several games, and at FSU he was in pads, didn't play, and he was noticeably hobbling on his way off the field.

This is great analysis ATL as always. This loss was really frustrating as you really felt like BC lost it, rather than ND winning it, but we have a young QB who's just working his way back into football. Two years from now, he'll throw away that final pick, (or Rettig will take over).

mod34b said...

Wow -- Haden, Smith, McMichael and Finch were all out of action. (and too think that I had happily thought Smith was benched b/c of his lackluster kick returns)

We were really banged up on offense.

What's the prognosis for these 4 guys.

two more points.

Why was Larmond such a non-factor? he seemed invisible. Was it bad decisions by Shinskie? bad routes by Larmond. I thought his speed would really show up against ND, and it did not.

And, what about the o-line? I was very surpirsed they were so ineffective on the run against the 104th-ranked ND defense. The o-line did provide decent (not great) pass protection, however.

Joe said...

I knew McMichael was hurt & out. I assumed he was back in when the Herald last week stated he was back at practise(but maybe not quite ready for actual game conditions perhaps).

Does anyone else find it ironic/strange/coincidentalor whatever, that the 2 guys that possess the most acknowledged all-star pedigree, Flutie & Tuggle...are probably the most multi-dimensinal players,& yet in an offense that cries out for options & surprises, they are not utilized. Unless Doug or Jesse were a pain in the ass with advise to the coaches (certainly not), or something, why not use these 2 players more. At the very least, their experiences, good & bad, would be analyzed & discussed, with them, more than likely, in a positive way, by their uniquely qualified father & uncle...to the betterment of the team as they mature with experience. Are they considered too slow? Was' up?

PS. I just realized that another "Joe" than me started this comment thread. I hope I have not written anything that has embarassed you "Joe". Ha!Actually Joe is part of my middle name, but I cannot remember using it as my ID. I only remember (only recently) putting in my e-mail address & a password. I don't know if it can even be changed. Maybe Bill can chip in here. It's fine either way with me.

Matt said...

i was behind the bc bench....and watched ND throw outs to our sideline over and over all game, and that is the play they got their last TD on. Is it just me (and the tailgating all day), or did they really use that play over and over to school us? It seemed like our LBs were very close to knocking a couple down/picking that route a few times, but they kept completing it.

mod10aeagle said...

I think that what Shinskie is doing, even with the freshman mistakes, is already remarkable for someone who has not played football for more than six years. Yes, he struggles to get to his tertiary target. And he occasionally throws the kind of desparation pass that only works in high school where you know your receiver is a better athlete than the guy covering him. But, he is better than he has a right to be, and he's improving rapidly.

Shinskie has me excited about this team even more than Dominique Davis had me depressed.

CT said...

it wasn't the tailgating...

shinkskie cause for optimism...yes...

gotta get the boys off the nd game and up for cmu...