10-22-2016, 06:03 PM
I agree that Burns doesn't seem to be the answer but I think the problems at that position and the offense in general are much deeper than that.
The list of highly-regarded QBs coming out of high school who just don't seem to develop in our "system" is getting pretty long: Nunes, Nottingham, Burns, Chryst. Even Hogan had a lot of questions about technique and lack of improvement throughout his career here (at least to my untrained eye, Hogan seemed like a great example of QB instincts that can't be taught rather than the product of great coaching). This goes beyond a specific player or the normal "hit rate" in recruiting. Yes, I realize it's still a very small sample size but none of these guys other than Hogan were even serviceable, much less average, D1 QBs. We aren't talking about a high bar here. And I'm willing to bet it's not because the players aren't trying hard enough. No way that many athletes who can get into Stanford aren't putting in what it takes to succeed.
This team is also uncharacteristically undisciplined. That's not on the QB either. That's on the coaches. We've had more injuries this year than in any other recent season, so perhaps the mental mistakes are due to all of the personnel changes. And it hasn't been a multi-year issue, so I'm hoping that one will get ironed out.
But the QB development issue seems to be systemic. Maybe it's the complexity of the system or maybe it's the coaching. Maybe it's an issue with identifying the right fit for the system in recruiting. Maybe it's a combination or something else altogether. Whatever it is, that needs attention beyond just trying a different QB (although that seems needed for the near term as well).
The list of highly-regarded QBs coming out of high school who just don't seem to develop in our "system" is getting pretty long: Nunes, Nottingham, Burns, Chryst. Even Hogan had a lot of questions about technique and lack of improvement throughout his career here (at least to my untrained eye, Hogan seemed like a great example of QB instincts that can't be taught rather than the product of great coaching). This goes beyond a specific player or the normal "hit rate" in recruiting. Yes, I realize it's still a very small sample size but none of these guys other than Hogan were even serviceable, much less average, D1 QBs. We aren't talking about a high bar here. And I'm willing to bet it's not because the players aren't trying hard enough. No way that many athletes who can get into Stanford aren't putting in what it takes to succeed.
This team is also uncharacteristically undisciplined. That's not on the QB either. That's on the coaches. We've had more injuries this year than in any other recent season, so perhaps the mental mistakes are due to all of the personnel changes. And it hasn't been a multi-year issue, so I'm hoping that one will get ironed out.
But the QB development issue seems to be systemic. Maybe it's the complexity of the system or maybe it's the coaching. Maybe it's an issue with identifying the right fit for the system in recruiting. Maybe it's a combination or something else altogether. Whatever it is, that needs attention beyond just trying a different QB (although that seems needed for the near term as well).