QB Controversy Part 4: Knock 'Em Dead, Smelley!
by Gamecock Man on Nov 22, 2008 4:44 PM EST
in South Carolina Gamecocks Football
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PrintThis is the final installment of a series on our QB controversy. This time around, at the risk of angering most of Gamecock Nation, Gamecock Man tells the Garcia Evangelicals to put a lid on it and support Chris Smelley.
Let me preface this by saying that I believe Stephen Garcia is our QB of the future. With a dazzling array of physical skills, Garcia has a higher ceiling than Smelley. If he spends his time in the film room and away from Five Points over the off-season, he could become a great QB, perhaps one of the best ever to don a Gamecocks uniform.
That said, based on what we've seen over the past few weeks, Spurrier is right when he says that Garcia is not ready. Chris Smelley, on the other hand and despite his shortcomings, has played with a certain degree of poise over the past few weeks. He may not have Garcia's physical tools, but he more than makes up for that with his mental edge on the freshman.
Is Smelley perfect? No. Does he throw too many interceptions? Yes. Is he less accurate and mobile than Garcia? Yes.
However, other than one or two drives against Tennessee, Garcia has done very little since the second quarter against LSU. For those of you who think Garcia is such a great player, tell me: has Garcia really done anything special other than in the fourth quarter against Kentucky and the second quarter against LSU? And no, UAB does not count. His lack of understanding of Spurrier's offense has been very obvious. Moreover, and contrary to popular belief, he's been sacked quite a few times; his mobility hasn't helped us all that much.
Smelley, on the other hand, has had a handful of periods of good play. He was great against NC State. He threw some bad passes against Vandy, but generally moved the ball fairly well in that game. He was good against UGA. He was a monster against Ole Miss. And since he's begun sharing snaps with Garcia over the past two weeks, he has clearly outperformed his young teammate.
This isn't to say that I'm sure I'm right about this. There are lots of good reasons to go with Garcia. This also isn't to say that I don't want Spurrier to keep Smelley on a short lease against Clemson. Spurrier's decision to pull Chris against Kentucky was a wise one, and if Smelley comes out and struggles against the Tigers, I hope SOS pulls him again. However, Smelley is the right choice to start this game and lead us to a second straight victory in Death Valley.
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Many thanks for the analysis.
For my part, I’d still like to see Garcia play as our starter. I’ve seen Smelley for almost two years now and I’m just not confident that the Gamecocks can get anything going with him as the starter. Really, Smelley’s only good game has come against the Ole Miss. And it is worth noting that that game came out of nowhere. We haven’t seen Ole Miss Smelley before or since. He has been far from consistent even with his superior knowledge of Spurrier’s system.
Of course I have to concede that Garcia hasn’t been a model of consistency either. Still it seems to me that Smelley’s miscues are of a type that are inexcusable for a player that has had as long to learn as he has. Garcia’s mistakes, on the other hand, appear to be more of the sort that every talented young quarterback in the SEC makes before realizing he’s playing on a different level than high school (see his INT where he threw across his body against Arkansas). Even though both QBs have similar TD to INT ratios when taking into account their playing time, it feels to me like Garcia takes better care of the ball than Smelley. Smelley’s INTs generally seem to come when the outcome of the game is still in question. Garcia’s seem to come when the game has been all but decided (Smelley vs. FL&KY and Garcia vs. UAB&LSU). So it appears, at least to me, that Garcia’s INTs are generally the result of riskier play on his part when the game isn’t as much on the line. Not excusable, but still better than Smelley’s
I realize all my "evidence" is merely anecdotal and thus highly suspect, but I still think it has some merit. Another point in Garcia’s favor is his superior arm strength gives him an edge when he throws a bad pass. It is harder for a DB to locate, get to, and make a play on one of Garcia’s errant throws than one of Smelley’s floaters. If it seems like I’m hung up interceptions, it’s because…well… I am. I still believe that our defense is good enough to win games for us if only the offense could get out of the way. And if there’s one person who knows how to get out of the way, it’s a scrambling quarterback.
by The Feathered Warrior on Nov 23, 2008 5:40 PM EST reply actions
Good points...
Before the last two weeks, I was def. under the impression that Garcia protects the ball better. Even after seeing him struggle lately, I still don’t think I’ve seen him throw picks that are as inexplicable as the ones Smelley throws occasionally. Sometimes it’s like he doesn’t see certain defenders. The first pick against Florida was one of these. He even threw one during an otherwise solid performance against Ole Miss.
To tell you the truth, I may say that I think Smelley should start, but really I’m on the fence. Spurrier is right when he says neither has distinguished himself. Smelley lacks the physical skills of a viable SEC QB, while Garcia looks lost half the time and only looks good when he saves the day with his scrambling and ability to make something out of nothing.
Whatever happens, I just hope we can go into Clemson and protect the ball. Like you say, we’re probably good enough on defense to win this game without a great offensive performance, but we can’t give the Tigers points like we did against Florida. Hopefully we’ll be able to run the ball well. While we haven’t done that most of the year, Clemson has had trouble defending the run all season, so there’s reason to hope that Eric Baker can do some things and that Mike Davis can reprise the performance he had up there two years ago.
Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com
by Gamecock Man on Nov 23, 2008 5:57 PM EST up reply actions
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