[StannyBoy]

I was at the game. Nunes was atrocious in the first half. Over throwing Toilolo once or twice. Then under throwing him. But in the second half he was great. I hope he can keep it up now. And yes his running is just ridiculous. SMH

[StannyBoy]

I was at the game. Nunes was atrocious in the first half. Over throwing Toilolo once or twice. Then under throwing him. But in the second half he was great. I hope he can keep it up now. And yes his running is just ridiculous. SMH

[doubledub]

He wasn't slowing down...those were cut back moves.

[doubledub]

He wasn't slowing down...those were cut back moves.

[fullmetal]

Nunes was asked to make some pretty long throws in the first half, and I don't think he's ready to jump into that role yet.  There were a lot of short/intermediate passes in the second half that steadied his ship, and I think the screen passes to Taylor really were the right call in light of what the $C defense was bringing.  Taylor was the leading receiver, followed by both tight ends--this is what happens when you pass out of the running formations, and when you have $C's athletic secondary, it's not a bad thing.

[fullmetal]

Nunes was asked to make some pretty long throws in the first half, and I don't think he's ready to jump into that role yet.  There were a lot of short/intermediate passes in the second half that steadied his ship, and I think the screen passes to Taylor really were the right call in light of what the $C defense was bringing.  Taylor was the leading receiver, followed by both tight ends--this is what happens when you pass out of the running formations, and when you have $C's athletic secondary, it's not a bad thing.

[needle]

I was ready to bench him after half one, but decided you should never bench a player because of one lousy half, no matter how lousy.

By the same logic, I'm not ready to say Nunes has clearly settled all doubts as the starter.

His strengths seem clear to me: Willing and able to pick the right time/situation to scramble; Good pocket presence and ability to sense the rush (this is almost a natural ability that's hard to teach); Above-average arm strength; Not easily rattled by own miscues; Outstanding toughness.

There are a lot of 5-star recruits who lack one or more of these things, so I see why Nunes won the job. Here's to hoping he plays well enough to keep it.

[needle]

I was ready to bench him after half one, but decided you should never bench a player because of one lousy half, no matter how lousy.

By the same logic, I'm not ready to say Nunes has clearly settled all doubts as the starter.

His strengths seem clear to me: Willing and able to pick the right time/situation to scramble; Good pocket presence and ability to sense the rush (this is almost a natural ability that's hard to teach); Above-average arm strength; Not easily rattled by own miscues; Outstanding toughness.

There are a lot of 5-star recruits who lack one or more of these things, so I see why Nunes won the job. Here's to hoping he plays well enough to keep it.

[washingtonismoney]

I haven't rewatched it at all, but I think both of Nunes' picks come with mitigating circumstances. The first one looked like a force into double coverage, but his facemask was actually being yanked--another favorable (non)call for SC. The second one was a tipped pass (though IIRC the safety who ended up getting the pick might've been well-positioned for a non-tipped pass).

[washingtonismoney]

I haven't rewatched it at all, but I think both of Nunes' picks come with mitigating circumstances. The first one looked like a force into double coverage, but his facemask was actually being yanked--another favorable (non)call for SC. The second one was a tipped pass (though IIRC the safety who ended up getting the pick might've been well-positioned for a non-tipped pass).

[fullmetal]

Ertz tipped that ball.

[fullmetal]

Ertz tipped that ball.

[Spiny_Norman]

Ertz Toilolo tipped that ball.

On the 2nd INT, Nunes overthrew Toilolo. 

[Spiny_Norman]

Ertz Toilolo tipped that ball.

On the 2nd INT, Nunes overthrew Toilolo. 

[fullmetal]

Dang it.  All those tall TEs start looking the same after a while.  Shoot, they even jump high like each other.

[fullmetal]

Dang it.  All those tall TEs start looking the same after a while.  Shoot, they even jump high like each other.

[fullmetal]

Did Hewitt play any snaps at TE last night?  Or rather, is Stanford running any three-TE plays yet, and if so, who's the third TE?  (You know, in 3 TE sets, not the jumbo-nine-men-road-grading package where you might have four OL masquerading as TEs.)

[fullmetal]

Did Hewitt play any snaps at TE last night?  Or rather, is Stanford running any three-TE plays yet, and if so, who's the third TE?  (You know, in 3 TE sets, not the jumbo-nine-men-road-grading package where you might have four OL masquerading as TEs.)

[Spiny_Norman]

FM, on the winning TD pass, Kaumatule was downfield blocking for Ertz.  Did not notice if Toilolo was on the field on that play, but if Stanford is using 3 TE sets, it appears that Kaumatule would join Ertz and Toilolo.

[Spiny_Norman]

FM, on the winning TD pass, Kaumatule was downfield blocking for Ertz.  Did not notice if Toilolo was on the field on that play, but if Stanford is using 3 TE sets, it appears that Kaumatule would join Ertz and Toilolo.

[fullmetal]

My guess is that Shaw won't break out the firepower of this fully operational battlestation offensive formation until Oregon...at least, that's what I would do with a hidden schematic advantage I wouldn't need until later...

[fullmetal]

My guess is that Shaw won't break out the firepower of this fully operational battlestation offensive formation until Oregon...at least, that's what I would do with a hidden schematic advantage I wouldn't need until later...

[StannyBoy]

Do we need Nottingham? Not after last weekend. But is Nunes going to continue that second half performance? Not guaranteed. Let's see how he does against UW.

[StannyBoy]

Do we need Nottingham? Not after last weekend. But is Nunes going to continue that second half performance? Not guaranteed. Let's see how he does against UW.

[Cardinal96]

In the afterglow of that USC victory, it is easy to forget that Nunes had what I consider to be a poor game.  The news reports would simply refer to the fact that he is not Luck and then go on to praise how our defense shut down Barkley and his receivers and how Stepfan Taylor had a dominating performance.  There were multiple throws where he was well off the intended target.  A couple throws where the ball skipped a couple times on the ground before reaching the target.  With a more accurate passer, that game would have been nowhere near as close.  I was following the USC message board during the game and they were thankful that our QB was keeping them in this game.  Now, I will give praise where praise is due.  Nunes had some clutch throws in the 4th quarter, particularly the TD to Ertz.  He also had a few runs that were critical.  He is way, way, way better than Tavita Pritchard ever was.

I don't get the sense from watching Nunes that he will ever develop into an elite QB.  I hope I am wrong.  How much of that is impacted by the fact that our wide receivers aren't great at getting separation?  After the 1st half, I didn't see much downside to giving Nottingham a go.  Now, it would be tougher to start Nottingham against UW.  We are coming off a big USC win and I am not sure the message that would send to the team. 

[Cardinal96]

In the afterglow of that USC victory, it is easy to forget that Nunes had what I consider to be a poor game.  The news reports would simply refer to the fact that he is not Luck and then go on to praise how our defense shut down Barkley and his receivers and how Stepfan Taylor had a dominating performance.  There were multiple throws where he was well off the intended target.  A couple throws where the ball skipped a couple times on the ground before reaching the target.  With a more accurate passer, that game would have been nowhere near as close.  I was following the USC message board during the game and they were thankful that our QB was keeping them in this game.  Now, I will give praise where praise is due.  Nunes had some clutch throws in the 4th quarter, particularly the TD to Ertz.  He also had a few runs that were critical.  He is way, way, way better than Tavita Pritchard ever was.

I don't get the sense from watching Nunes that he will ever develop into an elite QB.  I hope I am wrong.  How much of that is impacted by the fact that our wide receivers aren't great at getting separation?  After the 1st half, I didn't see much downside to giving Nottingham a go.  Now, it would be tougher to start Nottingham against UW.  We are coming off a big USC win and I am not sure the message that would send to the team. 

[Griffins78]

FM, on the winning TD pass, Kaumatule was downfield blocking for Ertz.  Did not notice if Toilolo was on the field on that play, but if Stanford is using 3 TE sets, it appears that Kaumatule would join Ertz and Toilolo.

Toilolo was split out wide right. Ertz wide left and Kaumatule was at TE on the left side. 3 TEs all going deep and partying in the end zone. Nunes said that they have been setting that play up and looking to use it for awhile. Kaumatule's block took out two players and might have been the difference in allowing Ertz to score. Their size makes for tough matchups even if they aren't as fast as Woods/Lee so the defense often has to put 2 players on each or it is an easy basketball-like toss and catch.

[Griffins78]

FM, on the winning TD pass, Kaumatule was downfield blocking for Ertz.  Did not notice if Toilolo was on the field on that play, but if Stanford is using 3 TE sets, it appears that Kaumatule would join Ertz and Toilolo.

Toilolo was split out wide right. Ertz wide left and Kaumatule was at TE on the left side. 3 TEs all going deep and partying in the end zone. Nunes said that they have been setting that play up and looking to use it for awhile. Kaumatule's block took out two players and might have been the difference in allowing Ertz to score. Their size makes for tough matchups even if they aren't as fast as Woods/Lee so the defense often has to put 2 players on each or it is an easy basketball-like toss and catch.

[Cardinal96]

[quote author=Roberton3 link=topic=6444.msg47601#msg47601 date=1347760152]
If Nunes plays the second half the way he played the first half, the University of South Central is going to win.  I'd go with Nottingham.  But I'm really hoping Shaw knows something I don't.

Apparently, Shaw did know something you didn't.

Excellent 4th quarter play by the whole team.
[/quote]

Bump.  What is it Shaw knows that I (or any other oberserver of college football with half a brain) don't know?  We beat USC in spite of Nunes, not because of him.  And we lost to UW because we have a QB that can't make a pass with any degree of accuracy and a defense that knows that and stacked the box to stop the run.

We all agree that Nunes is terrible so far, at least most of us do.  What is worse for me is he doesn't seem to be improving or picking up the game at all.  He looked as lost out there tonight as he did in the previous games.  With such mediocre current play and little evidence of significant upside, why don't we start Nottingham and see what he can do?  Other than Shaw not wanting to do this, I am not seeing the downside.

[Cardinal96]

[quote author=Roberton3 link=topic=6444.msg47601#msg47601 date=1347760152]
If Nunes plays the second half the way he played the first half, the University of South Central is going to win.  I'd go with Nottingham.  But I'm really hoping Shaw knows something I don't.

Apparently, Shaw did know something you didn't.

Excellent 4th quarter play by the whole team.
[/quote]

Bump.  What is it Shaw knows that I (or any other oberserver of college football with half a brain) don't know?  We beat USC in spite of Nunes, not because of him.  And we lost to UW because we have a QB that can't make a pass with any degree of accuracy and a defense that knows that and stacked the box to stop the run.

We all agree that Nunes is terrible so far, at least most of us do.  What is worse for me is he doesn't seem to be improving or picking up the game at all.  He looked as lost out there tonight as he did in the previous games.  With such mediocre current play and little evidence of significant upside, why don't we start Nottingham and see what he can do?  Other than Shaw not wanting to do this, I am not seeing the downside.