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Looks Like The Spread Is Up to 3.5
With the O/U of 61.5 so ASU is projected to win 32-29 or so.
It's not showing up on my site but I'm still licking my wounds.
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Comments
FYFMFE
Also liking the under
1) I haven't watched Williams much, but what I have seen of him is that he displays the ability to make quick decisions and play with the conviction necessary of the position. I did not, and still have not, seen those traits out of both Lindquist and Miles.
2) Williams is a year in experience behind both Miles and Lindquist. It does not surprise me that there were elements in the decision making process where he still needed to learn that discretion is the better part of valor in his growth/development
3) He's passed Lindquist on the depth chart, that right there tells me that he's continuing to grow as a QB.
4) Miles has proven exactly what he is so far. He's won the games that he should win and lost the games (brutally) in the games that we probably shouldn't win. We're now entering the part of the season where quality play in the QB position could be the difference between us winning and losing games. I've seen enough from Miles at this point to convince me that he's not a QB that can win games for you.
5) Look at the ASU defensive gameplan last year. Blitz. Blitz. Blitz. Miles is not strong at reading defenses and making quick decisions. From what I've seen from Williams, he'll make the tight throw and not shy away from giving his players a chance to make a play. I expect ASU to continue to all out blitz us this year until we prove either that the OL can handle it or that our QB can make plays in the face of it. Which QB on the roster do you actually have any kind of confidence in to respond in the fact of that pressure?
I re-watched the game and Williams had some nice scrambles, but almost all of his completed passes, but one were check downs against a cover 2 defense. He looked pretty good. I just don't care about garbage time and the sample size was way too small to reach any conclusions about his game.
There has been too much focus on Miles about an Oregon game where we couldn't run the ball and the defense got shredded. His INT ended the game, but up to that point, he had played well. I don't care who plays QB for us, if we can't run the ball, the offense will suck. If we give up 3 straight 80+ yard TD drives, we won't win. The defense and missed opportunities (the Mickens and Ross plays, not getting a 4th down stop) were the main reasons the game got out of hand, not Miles.
To your 5th point, this isn't the same ASU defense. Last year's defense was legit. This year's defense has been horrible except last week against Stanford. A slip screen for a big gain to Ross and the blitzing will stop. Williams is a young QB himself. A lot of young QB's struggle against the blitz. That's why defenses do it. Oregon wasn't bringing much pressure when Williams played, so again, there is nothing there other than you wanting to believe, that Williams can handle it.
Your points on blitzes are fair. But in some ways, they are easy for a QB in that it forces him to make no more than 1-2 reads and then just throws the ball.
If you watch any of what TCU is doing on offense right now, they have a QB that is terrible at going through progressions and having field awareness. What they've basically done is simplify the offense so that he's throwing the ball to more or less 1/2 of the field and if the first 2 reads aren't there, he's gone. There's ways to work around it if you have a QB that can make the throws in place.
Miles doesn't do either of things. He probably keeps us somewhat in the game, but probably isn't good enough to win it. Williams might not keep us in the game...but then he might have what it takes to win it going away*. He's the high variance option. And IMO, the right option.
EWIWBI
Agree with you on Williams vs. Miles ...
The one thing that I'd add is that the sooner that you get Williams some experience, IF he's the guy that has the 350/60 capability in him, you're also going to be that much closer to smoothing out his volatility.
I'm thinking (hoping?) that 4 turnovers is the low end of the curve.
Just saying his ceiling is higher and floor is lower than Miles'. But I think you have to roll the dice with him.
95% he doesn't turn it over four times either.
Just saying he has a wider range in his outcomes on both ends than Miles.
We know it