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.
Easton Stick was a revelation on the ground for the second game in a row. Even with a more healthy running back stable, him keeping it on the ground was the right play more often than not today. The only bad bad play that he made with the ball in his hands and on the run was when he tried to use his mobility to extend the play in the third quarter but only managed to lose more yards in the eventual sack.
As I've said repeatedly this season about such plays, they're the kind that give me pause about him as a pro. Or more accurately, gave me pause about him last Summer. I still don't like the most important player on the Football field taking unnecessary hits & running leads to those sorts of collisions but he showed me too much this year as a passer to cling to those concerns just because I had them before.
Over the last two games he was much more a weapon when running. That the timing synced up with his team being in the two biggest games of the year does not seem like a coincidence. He was great against the Bunnies and I think he was even better as a runner against EW.
Eastern Washington knew he was going to pull it & take off but they couldn't do anything to stop him. Occasionally they slowed him down but 121 yards & 3 touchdowns cannot and should not be considered a stopping by their defense. And maybe he could do that sort of thing against the Raiders or Green Bay, I wouldn't wager on that but he did it against a couple of the best teams in college Football so I'm not going to say it couldn't be done at the highest level, against below average defenses.
That's it for now though. I'll put my thoughts together in a more comprehensive and season long way next week but as far as him running the ball, I have very little concerns about it being a detriment to him as a prospect.
Enough talk though, let's enjoy the glow of the seventh trophy and appreciate the excellent work that Stick did to bring it home!!