[BostonCard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

BC

[BostonCard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

BC

[murky]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

BC

I totally agree.  On demeanor, West does not inspire confidence.  I try to look past it, assuming its prejudice on my part, but his body language reminds me of the teenage son, Ben Henrickson, on "Big Love".

[murky]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

BC

I totally agree.  On demeanor, West does not inspire confidence.  I try to look past it, assuming its prejudice on my part, but his body language reminds me of the teenage son, Ben Henrickson, on "Big Love".

[CTcard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

Yes, West managed to look terrified during that UCLA game. And he wasn't effective.
However, he certainly was much better in the Oregon game a year later. He still wasn't good enough, but the improvement was remarkable.
Thus, I was imagining that continued improvement at the same rate might make him a decent QB this year. Probably didn't really believe it, but could see the possibility.

What we had seen of McKee was different. In his few throws in that Oregon game, you could see he had a great arm, a good frame, lots of talent. However, he also wasn't long back from his two-year football-free mission, and at the time he wasn't actually a good QB. I heard reports from spring that McKee was still missing a lot of open targets.

So, from the information available to me, it was hard to form an opinion on who should start. However, the information available to the coaching staff was far different. It is hard for me to believe, given what we have seen in games, that McKee and West really looked the same in practice this fall. Thus I tend towards the Shaw didn't trust his own eyes interpretation.
But of course I don't know.

[CTcard]

Some guys have "it" and you can see it a mile away.  The first throw I saw Andrew Luck make (on the sidelines before the spring game), I thought "Holy crap, he's going to be amazing".  Others seem to have it, but then melt down in games.  Others are pretty unassuming in practices, but you put them into a game, and you realize that something clicks in a game.  Hogan was kind of like that.  Didn't give much of a vibe until he was under center.

That being said, one look at West under center at the UCLA game two years ago, and he looked like a dear in the headlights.  Sure, even a really good QB like Trent Edwards was ineffective without an offensive line that could block for him, but at least Edwards didn't look hopeless and helpless.

Yes, West managed to look terrified during that UCLA game. And he wasn't effective.
However, he certainly was much better in the Oregon game a year later. He still wasn't good enough, but the improvement was remarkable.
Thus, I was imagining that continued improvement at the same rate might make him a decent QB this year. Probably didn't really believe it, but could see the possibility.

What we had seen of McKee was different. In his few throws in that Oregon game, you could see he had a great arm, a good frame, lots of talent. However, he also wasn't long back from his two-year football-free mission, and at the time he wasn't actually a good QB. I heard reports from spring that McKee was still missing a lot of open targets.

So, from the information available to me, it was hard to form an opinion on who should start. However, the information available to the coaching staff was far different. It is hard for me to believe, given what we have seen in games, that McKee and West really looked the same in practice this fall. Thus I tend towards the Shaw didn't trust his own eyes interpretation.
But of course I don't know.

[BostonCard]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

[BostonCard]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

[CTcard]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

Yes on the eye test. Particularly for fans.

On the other hand, head coaches are paid millions of dollars to actually have expertise on eye-tests, or employ and listen to those who do, at least as far as choosing the right players to put on the field.

[CTcard]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

Yes on the eye test. Particularly for fans.

On the other hand, head coaches are paid millions of dollars to actually have expertise on eye-tests, or employ and listen to those who do, at least as far as choosing the right players to put on the field.

[Goose]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

Yes on the eye test. Particularly for fans.

On the other hand, head coaches are paid millions of dollars to actually have expertise on eye-tests, or employ and listen to those who do, at least as far as choosing the right players to put on the field.

We don't know what Shaw et al saw in practice that led them to decide as they did. From the spring game and summer reports it seems to me that McKee was having accuracy issues. He certainly didn't have them against U$C. It may be that he just needed the time to gain his current level of accuracy. I can't believe Shaw would have considered using West unless there was an issue big enough that it couldn't be ignored. West is a known quantity, and while he has improved a lot, he still has known limitations. Unless there was something McKee just couldn't seem to do reliably, West had no shot.

[Goose]

Yeah, that's fair, CT.  The danger with the "eye test" is that it tells you what you want it to.  In this particular case, it is supported by the statistics.

BC

Yes on the eye test. Particularly for fans.

On the other hand, head coaches are paid millions of dollars to actually have expertise on eye-tests, or employ and listen to those who do, at least as far as choosing the right players to put on the field.

We don't know what Shaw et al saw in practice that led them to decide as they did. From the spring game and summer reports it seems to me that McKee was having accuracy issues. He certainly didn't have them against U$C. It may be that he just needed the time to gain his current level of accuracy. I can't believe Shaw would have considered using West unless there was an issue big enough that it couldn't be ignored. West is a known quantity, and while he has improved a lot, he still has known limitations. Unless there was something McKee just couldn't seem to do reliably, West had no shot.