Over the Summer I had a discussion with an aspiring NFL draft talent evaluator. His breakdown of Easton Stick was as good as anything that I've seen on our quarterback but I disagreed with a few of the points that he made. The one that I am planning to address the most specifically this season is to pay close attention to the running of our quarterback. As a prospect, being able to run can be an asset. But being a running quarterback in the NFL can lead to many injuries that "pocket passers" may not experience. I can count on one hand the number of running quarterbacks that have succeeded for many years without serious injury over the last 20 years in the NFL. Sure Stick could be the exception but I'm not ready to count on that and don't think you should count on that either. Think as you wish, but that's my recommendation.
The challenge I'm going to give myself is to go game by game, watching whether his runs seem to be a part of the designed offense or because it's still a basic instinct & primary facet of his game. At the end of the season maybe it will help shed some more light on our quarterback as a pro prospect.
A week ago #12 only pulled the ball down one time and I couldn't have been more happy about it. Today was more of a return to the norm for the all conference quarterback. Five carries is not an egregious number but within the five there were a couple things to be bothered by.
The first was a microcosm of what concerns me about quarterbacks who run. Not that it resulted in a sack because because the Bison were up against a very good defense so pressure and sacks were going to happen. Stick trying to use his mobility to get away from guys so that he could make the throw down field is great when he's able to complete the pass or even just throw it away. When it happens like it did this afternoon, it's potentially disastrous for a drive. Dallas Freeman bailed out his quarterback on the very next play. If the same play happened in the pros, and I do think it's the sort of thing that happens at that level, then the bail out may not come and it has a lot to do with an over trust in mobility.
The second bad decision with him running is just due to the fact that he didn't gain much ground & took a nasty looking hit.
In the grand scheme of the game I'm nitpicking but in this particular spotlight those little things matter.
I'll get to the rest in the Pick Six, so check back a little later!