UNI GDT (Spring 2021)

[jakejc795]

The important thing about Gronowski is that he didn't make bad decisions. There are some correctable things that will happen with more experience. I think he needs to get some touch on the short passes - he threw a few of the 5 or 10 yarders so hard that they were difficult to catch. And ball security needs to be a priority when he gets out of the pocket.. But he was very impressive for a true freshman in his first action.

There were a couple short passes he tossed into a crowd that were probably good he "torched" because they might have been INTs otherwise.

I'll say this, I'll take the Jacks QBs over any options in conference, and I'd suggest any are more accurate than McElvain has shown as a "veteran" starter.

[Mr_Tibbs]

Ii think Groanowski played great, overall. Not perfect, and not necessarily flashy, but smart. The talent is there and it will develop. I want them to stick with Gronowski so that he can develop timing with the receivers. If his timing and accuracy improve (and they will with more reps), we will be in good shape with him at the helm. The way this team is built, we need a QB that limits mistakes and keep the chains moving. I think both Gibbs and Gronowski have given us that. I feel so bad for Gibbs because he (and we) got robbed of seeing his full potential last year. He wasn't perfect in his 6 games, but he showed flashes and had pretty good athleticism. But to be fair, we never saw him play against the defenses in the back half of our schedule to know how he would perform. Gronowski is young, but seemed to make good decisions and not force anything, which was a very mature approach to a monumental game to start your career off.

Also, has anyone seen the press conference for the game? UNI uploaded their coaches and players interviews, but not ours.

[witness]

For the record, this is an atrocious take.

His play in the second half nearly costed SDSU the game before the last drive

[jakejc795]

His correctable mistake in the second half nearly cost SDSU the game before the game-winning drive, in which he and Heins connected for a beautiful 43yd completion

FIFY

[WestSideRabbit]

His play in the second half nearly costed SDSU the game before the last drive

Interesting. I didn’t know he was responsible for playing QB and blocking Jared Brinkman. Also, the play calling and abandoning the run at times didn’t help his situation.

You don’t switch quarterbacks after a bad quarter after he had a pretty good first half. It’s not like subbing in point guards.

[jakejc795]

Interesting. I didn’t know he was responsible for playing QB and blocking Jared Brinkman. Also, the play calling and abandoning the run at times didn’t help his situation.

You don’t switch quarterbacks after a bad quarter after he had a pretty good first half. It’s not like subbing in point guards.

I concur with your perspective on Gronowski, but I'm having trouble finding examples of playcalling I found questionable (other than lack of attempted runs outside).

I think one legitimate criticism was that there were open receivers missed (either due to errant throws or missed reads), which suggests that playcalling wasn't an issue, and Jacks had gained 243 yards in offense during first half. I also don't find missed throws damning because of Gronowski's inexperience and otherwise impressive play.

Do you think the incompletions/errant throws were examples of poor playcalling because they put Gronowski in situations where he was unlikely to succeed?

[WestSideRabbit]

I concur with your perspective on Gronowski, but I'm having trouble finding examples of playcalling I found questionable (other than lack of attempted runs outside).

I think one legitimate criticism was that there were open receivers missed (either due to errant throws or missed reads), which suggests that playcalling wasn't an issue, and Jacks had gained 243 yards in offense during first half. I also don't find missed throws damning because of Gronowski's inexperience and otherwise impressive play.

Do you think the incompletions/errant throws were examples of poor playcalling because they put Gronowski in situations where he was unlikely to succeed?

Great question. Maybe a little of both. I think on one of the three and outs we threw three straight passes. I think we are a team that needs to be run first. But you are right, if Mark connects on a few of the plays where he needed some more touch, I likely feel differently.

[jakejc795]

Great question. Maybe a little of both. I think on one of the three and outs we threw three straight passes. I think we are a team that needs to be run first. But you are right, if Mark connects on a few of the plays where he needed some more touch, I likely feel differently.

I was again having difficulty recalling such a series, so I looked on play-by-play summary. Couldn't find example of such a three and out (a couple drives commenced with a pass but had run on 2nd down), but one thing that struck me was the number of times Jacks passed on 1st down (I counted eight).

[WestSideRabbit]

I was again having difficulty recalling such a series, so I looked on play-by-play summary. Couldn't find example of such a three and out (a couple drives commenced with a pass but had run on 2nd down), but one thing that struck me was the number of times Jacks passed on 1st down (I counted eight).

Fascinating. I stand corrected! Maybe playcalling wasn’t as weird as I thought watching live. Thanks!

[Mr_Tibbs]

I felt like we didn't commit to running between the tackles in the second half and what runs were called were stretch or sweep plays that had too much penetration to be effective. Eck likes to run through a bunch of different stuff in the first half and return to it later, but I would have preferred a little more commitment to what was working early in the game, and again late when we needed to move the ball in the 3rd

[jakejc795]

I felt like we didn't commit to running between the tackles in the second half and what runs were called were stretch or sweep plays that had too much penetration to be effective. Eck likes to run through a bunch of different stuff in the first half and return to it later, but I would have preferred a little more commitment to what was working early in the game, and again late when we needed to move the ball in the 3rd

If you compare the play-by-play between first and second half, you'll notice they were limiting Jacks' success on runs up the middle in 2nd half. Brinkman tried to say in his postgame interview that they didn't change anything at halftime, but it seems they focused more on stacking the middle against the run.

[jakejc795]

Fascinating. I stand corrected! Maybe playcalling wasn’t as weird as I thought watching live. Thanks!

I was surprised Jacks had that many passes on first down (it didn't strike me that they were passing on 1st down that often watching live), but I suppose it makes some sense in that UNI was committed to stopping run.

Plus, completions helps build Gronowski's confidence.

[goon]

In his first college game it would hsve been nice to see him find the open receiver. But he was looking for the 1st option. Not reading the whole field. I am sure with more game experience and film time to see his mistakes will get better. We have had veteran qbs with good teams before and couldn't win at uni. So a road win, at uni. Cant complain that much.

[witness]

Interesting. I didn’t know he was responsible for playing QB and blocking Jared Brinkman. Also, the play calling and abandoning the run at times didn’t help his situation.

You don’t switch quarterbacks after a bad quarter after he had a pretty good first half. It’s not like subbing in point guards.

I posted that after he missed on every single throw in the second half and missed a wide open TE on 3rd down and fumbled it and should have costed SDSU the game. Idk why you think Gronowski is above criticism. He played amazing in the first half but I would have sat him for a series in the 2nd half to calm him down

[Jacks]

• Gronowski played great for his first start, on the road against a Top 5 team. He can make plays with his feet and it appears he has the best arm talent in the QB room (that out to Janke near the side line in the 2nd half was proof). I am excited to see his next game, I think he only gets better. (ps. he played 10x better than the 5th yr QB from the school up north against a significantly better defense on. the. road. We are lucky we have him.
• Play calling near the endzone needs to get better. Need to get in the endzone.
• The WR's inability to get open is concerning. Hopefully Bauer can be the deep threat we need.
• Very impressed with our run D. Front 7 looks great even after having to replace significant pieces.
• CB's need to be better on 1v1 balls. I am guessing they will be working on that all week.
• Still unsure how they called a fumble on Heins catch in the 1st half.
• Overall, great win! On to the Hawks.