I think Milton relied too much on his physical gifts in HS and college which is why he didn’t succeed.
With that being said, I believe he has the support system around him in CJH & QB talent to mold him into a quarterback that can be successful. I think he is doing the intelligent thing by taking the back seat and soaking it all in. I think CJH knows he can have a beast at QB next year and is going to try and do everything he can to cultivate it.
Honestly, I wish our fan base would stop sh*****g on him because he hasn’t complained about his poor performance and actually has been a huge positive locker room presence that has given his all for UT.
DCM, I hope you don't think I was hating on Joe in post #14. That was more along the lines of me trying to understand him, including how he might improve. I don't dislike the young man, I respect him for wearing orange and representing us, and I appreciate his clear talent and team attitude.
Having said that, the next thing I say is probably going to make you think I'm hating on Joe again. Because I've been pondering the possible roots of his adrenaline problem, and it seems to me he may share an element of background with JG. Yep, see, now you think I'm hating. I'm not. I appreciate JG in much the same way I do Joe.
And they both seemed to suffer aspects of the same affliction. In live games, both tend to throw darts, even when backing off the velocity and giving a little more touch might be better. Both tend to over-throw their targets, esp. downfield on the longer passes.
So far, it could be that JG and Joe have the same over-stimulated adrenaline problem, right?
But JG is a bruiser. He isn't afraid to hit or get hit. He took a pounding, sometimes several weeks in a row, and just kept coming back for more. Which is a clear difference between the two. JG's fight-or-flight trigger tends toward "fight;" Joe's leans in the direction of "flight."
So they're not the same person. They're not identical. But they do seem to have similarities.
So what causes young men to have this problem?
No telling. But here's one possible source I've been thinking about: lack of adversity earlier in life.
What if you never got beat up by other kids growing up? What if you never suffered real hardship at home, whether that means a parent quick with the belt, or an older sibling with a mean streak, or the loss of a loved one?
What if being hit hard on the football field IS the most negative thing that ever happens in your young life?
See, and I'm just thinking out loud, no way of knowing if any of this is anything other than BS, but if you've had a series of Real Problems in life, if you're biggest adrenaline spikes have tended to be much more serious than a fellow football playing crashing into you, then maybe you become better at dealing with and thinking through and being calm during adrenaline spikes of the football variety.
Maybe JG and Joe simply have had too good of a life so far, a bit too protected?
If that theory is accurate, chances are good we'll see more lads with similar challenges in the future, because children are protected today (from everything except discussions of sex and gender) far better than ever before in history.
Anyway, could be 100% wrong. Just something I've been thinking about the last few years while pondering JG and now Joe Mixon.
Go Vols!
