Heupels biggest gamble yet paid off

[Other_Guy]

And I'm left eating tons of crow.

He threw a LOT from the beginning IMO when I was yelling to run the ball and Nico was missing badly.

He stuck to his guns and those plays eventually hit. It's like he wasn't going to waste a chance when his tackles were playing well (hats off to them).

Loved seeing Nico get his confidence back and make crucial plays to help the team win.

I keep repeating the fact Heupel has won 2 of the last 3 against programs that were on 16-1 and 15-0 runs. That can't be understated.

 

[CornDontGrow]

All those missed passes over the last few games weren’t off by much. Either the receiver couldn’t haul it or or Nico was just a little off. The margins were small, so they just needed to keep hammering away and eventually something was going to fall our way. D wasn’t ever the problem and our run game/ST has been good enough to keep us in any game we’ve played.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

And I'm left eating tons of crow.

He threw a LOT from the beginning IMO when I was yelling to run the ball and Nico was missing badly.

He stuck to his guns and those plays eventually hit. It's like he wasn't going to waste a chance when his tackles were playing well (hats off to them).

Loved seeing Nico get his confidence back and make crucial plays to help the team win.

I keep repeating the fact Heupel has won 2 of the last 3 against programs that were on 16-1 and 15-0 runs. That can't be understated.

Or overstated for that matter.

 

[Daniel_Lincolns_Foot]

If Nico could keep his poise in the pocket for just an additional .5 seconds (despite the fact the O Line is struggling) it would allow the receivers to get down the field some extra yards and those deep balls will hit more frequently.

 

[VolFanatic27]

He knows better than anyone what this offense is capable of doing. He kept giving them chances to play to that potential and it paid off big in the second half. I’d sure like to see us connect on these earlier in the game though.

 

[VAVol85]

I think a couple of home games against mid to low tier SEC teams that can definitely beat us but probably won’t will be just the prescription for our offense. Turns out running up and down the field against UTC and Kent St. was not very good preparation for our conference schedule.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Those passes even when the miss, keep the defense from stacking up against the run.

 

[The_Big_Orange]

I’m just glad he did a little better looking off the defenders. He was still in stare down mode a lot, but at times it felt almost like Heupel was willing him to look off so much that his head would rip to the side unnaturally.

Whatever it was, I’ll take it. And yes also happy Heup stuck to throwing. Wish he wouldn’t have gone into protect mode there at the end. It’s already cost him once and has almost cost us dearly a couple of times. Once everyone gets into gear don’t slam on the breaks.

 

[volfeeva]

If Nico could keep his poise in the pocket for just an additional .5 seconds (despite the fact the O Line is struggling) it would allow the receivers to get down the field some extra yards and those deep balls will hit more frequently.

Someone posted on X yesterday a video of Hooker hitting Hyatt in stride for a TD against Bama in 2022. By my count Hooker threw the ball 3 seconds after the ball was snapped which leads me to believe you can still be effective scoring even if the O-line is not protecting that great. You need a speedy receiver and a QB who's on the same page. They should be doing this in practice over and over till they get it down.

 

[Redleg68]

If Nico could keep his poise in the pocket for just an additional .5 seconds (despite the fact the O Line is struggling) it would allow the receivers to get down the field some extra yards and those deep balls will hit more frequently.

If the receiver runs a 4.5 forty and the pass is three feet too long, equates to .12 seconds, just to give you an idea of the margins of incomplete/complete.

 

[volfeeva]

I’m just glad he did a little better looking off the defenders. He was still in stare down mode a lot, but at times it felt almost like Huepel was willing him to look off so much that his head would rip to the side unnaturally.

Whatever it was, I’ll take it. And yes also happy Huep stuck to throwing. Wish he wouldn’t have gone into protect mode there at the end. It’s already cost him once and has almost cost us dearly a couple of times. Once everyone gets into gear don’t slam on the breaks.

I admit I've been one of the critics of JH play calling this season. I was please that he let Nico air the ball out and didn't give up on him when balls were missed

 

[Volle]

Actually the ball to Brasille was slightly overthrown, but he extended to make a great reception.
Nico's best throw was the one to Thorton, 50 yard strike on a full run.
His worst throw was the INT on the sideline-- when is he going to learn to throw it OOB on a bad play? Still hasn't learned to do that at midseason!
I'm cautiously optimistic on Nico, still a lot of learning needed, but he can hit any spot on the field when he sets up.

 

[EZE]

Actually the ball to Brasille was slightly overthrown, but he extended to make a great reception.
Nico's best throw was the one to Thorton, 50 yard strike on a full run.
His worst throw was the INT on the sideline-- when is he going to learn to throw it OOB on a bad play? Still hasn't learned to do that at midseason!
I'm cautiously optimistic on Nico, still a lot of learning needed, but he can hit any spot on the field when he sets up.

It was a bad pick. But…

We need Nico to be more aggressive and less tentative. The flip side of that is that he’s still young and we’re going to have to live with a few bad picks while he continues to mature.

The second half yesterday was huge. He started to simply “play the game” and made plays. And we’ll take 24 points in a half against any SEC defense.

I’m cautiously optimistic that the offense is starting to find some footing.