THAT IS THE QUESTION…
Note: This is a follow up article to the one posted here on March 17th talking about the four QBs on the roster…
We love our Quarterbacks in Western Pennsylvania. We love them in high school ball, we love them on the Steelers and we love them at PITT. We also love to throw them aside the second they make mistakes or when a contender is on the horizon. The battle cry for PITT fans is “Bring on the Backup!” We hear it every single year and while it is frustrating to some – it is what football is all about to others.
This year is no different than any of the last few years when we had heated arguments about Stull and Bostick in 2008, Stull and Sunseri in 2009, Bostick, Myers and Sunseri last season, etc. From the last snap of the 2010 bowl game PITT fans started speculating on just how well our starting QB Sunseri did and started discussing how Bostick and/or Myers could do much better in 2011.
Pat Bostick simplified this question for us a bit by removing himself to the greener pastures of Graduate School and professional internships leaving the crux of the argument to revolve around the incumbent starter, rsJR Tino Sunseri and the newcomer and gunslinger rsFR Mark Myers.
There are valid points, both pro and con, that can be offered on each player. Let me make a personal note here – I was vehemently opposed to how Dave Wannstedt handled the QB situation from the end of the 2009 season until the opening game at Utah in declaring Sunseri the starter way before the spring practices for the 2010 even started. There was never a valid or open competition conducted and IMO it hurt the team and the anointed Sunseri. I do not think Coach Graham is doing that this season at all. But I was very critically outspoken of how Sunseri got the job then.
After watching Sunseri play every meaningful snap in 2010 fans now have a basis for compliment or complain… and they are strong and varied. The most common ones I’ve noticed are that “Sunseri did well for a first year starter” and “He did as well as Stull did his first year” or conversely “Sunseri was too nervous out there and can’t throw the deep ball at all” and “He’s hit his ceiling with the talents he has”. But one thing that has been shown, no one comes out and says “Sunseri did a great job at QB last season“. The remarks are always qualified somehow.
Obviously I’m paraphrasing here and simplifying, but let’s go on anyway.
Sunseri’s situation is indeed eerily like Bill Stull’s after his 2008 season. We won games but had the distinct feel that those games were won ‘in spite’ of the QB’s play, not because of them. It isn’t too far off to say the same thing about Sunseri’s results in 2010. Then, Stull made a great jump in progress and production from Year 1 to Year 2 and we all were satisfied with his play.
So, then this begs the question of “Will we see the same progress from Sunseri this season and if not, then why not play Myers?” It is a large and looming topic at this point in the preseason.
I think we all, save a few hard core Sunseri critics, want Tino Sunseri to be able to improve from one year to the next if he starts again. Coaches talk about the fact that having that first year of experience helps greatly towards the year after. We did see how Bill Stull progressed from 2008 to 2009 as it was rather dramatic.
Back in the summer training camp days of 2009, before Stull’s good senior season, I wondered about how Mike Teel, the productive Rutgers QB, did in the beginning of his career… I picked Teel because IMO he was physically pretty much like Stull and had the same type of team surrounding him – especially in the years I am discussing here. Teel’s first year of starting was in 2006 where he had almost identical numbers to Bill Stull’s 2008 production.
So let’s look at that comparison and throw Sunseri’s first year of starting up against those two past All-Big East QBs also:
Here are all three players’ starting seasons and the second years for Teel and Stull’s statistics. Note: This is between Stull’s JR & SR years, Teel went on to have a third, SR, year where he did very well: (Edit Note: I screwed with the tables for an hour… live with it.)
YEAR CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
2006 164 296 2135 55.4 7.21 74 12 13 7 120.59
2007 203 349 3162 58.2 9.06 69 20 13 7 145.73
YEAR CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
2008 188 330 2356 57.0 7.14 64 9 10 25 119.88
2009 209 321 2633 65.1 8.20 79 21 8 15 150.60
Remembering what kind of pushback PITT fans were giving Stull after his poor 2008 season, now we wonder if Sunseri could make the same type of improvement himself… You can see from the above that both Teel and Stull made pretty dramatic improvements from their 1st year starting to their 2nd. Sunseri’s first year was statistically better than Stull’s was no doubt.
YEAR CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA LNG TD INT SACK RAT
2010 223 346 2572 64.5 7.43 79 16 9 23 137.0
I don’t know the answer here regarding Sunseri’s chances at improvement and a wildcard is that Sunseri has to deal with a whole different offense between his first two seasons. But it is too broad to dismiss him out of hand when thinking ahead for his second season either. It is very possible that this High Octane offense can play into his strengths as his accuracy was based on short, quick passes – on which the new offense thrives. However, his deep ball HAS to improve to be the well-rounded QB Graham wants, as does his field ‘generalship’ IMO.
Now, throw in the large and valid potential we have in Mark Myers and the QB race gets very interesting. There are some tangible aspects to this kid that just flat out jump out at you. His size for one; 6’4” and 235 pounds is prototype for a QB; his arm strength is the talk of the town with a very accurate deep pass and we are finding out in dribs and drabs that his mobility is impressive for a guy his size also.
I had a conversation with a long time PITT fan who attended many PITT practices last season and he couldn’t stop praising this kid, going so far as to say “PITT hasn’t had a QB with tools like this since Dan Marino.” Take that for what it’s worth as third hand info, but it is high praise indeed.
But what we don’t know about Myers is valid also and that are the intangibles such as grasp of the offense (important!) and his poise under pressure during game time situations. Granted he hasn’t had a chance to show us that either so the jury has to be out with that. Let’s hope that Graham is holding true to his word and will ensure that Myers get a chance to show what he’s got with the 1st string offense and under playing pressure. This kid may be too good to not give him every chance possible.
Both QBs have impressive HS pedigrees in playing for state championship teams and both look to have competitive fire in their approach to the job at hand. What may be the determining factor for the OC and Coach Graham could be the ‘intangible’ aspects of the players. How well the kids handle the mental and emotional aspects of quarterbacking in his offense for instance. This can’t be overstated especially given that every other player on offense will be experiencing growing pains with the offensive changes and there will naturally be confusion and doubt in the huddle at times. The QB will have to be a firm hand of guidance out there.
I don’t know what the future holds. I have to think that it is proper for the HC to give Sunseri every opportunity to hold onto that starter’s position. At the same time I personally hope that Graham doesn’t shy away from the risk of making a change if he sees grand rewards in doing so.
That being said, Coach Graham will pick the best man for the job.
Nonetheless, unless the QB is undeniably the best QB, then the backup is always the fans’ favorite even though chances are never played under pressure … i.e., Sunseri in 09 and Myers this year.
I agree Bostick should have been given a chance to compete last spring since Tino hadn’t proved anything up to that point, but I also think that the coaches are going to play the QB that gives the team the best chance to win.
The open QB competition now is due to (1) a new staff coming in, (2) a new offense being installed, and (3) two highly-rated redshirt freshmen being available … and if Tino wins the job, there will still be many doubters on this site … it’s just the nature of the beast.
Reed, If this is truly an open competition, then Gonzalez should be in the mix.
I do think Gonzalez is in the mix but I’m wondering if it’s winnowing down to two guys. Hard to know with little actual info. But, the main point of the post was supposed to be whether or not Sunseri can make that jump in progress like most other QBs do after their first year of starting.
I do think if there is an actual competition (fingers crossed!) that having three QBs in the mix is better than four.
Guys – sorry about the stats tables, just couldn’t get them to work so I gave up on it.
Wbb – I too think Sunseri gave PITT the best ‘chance to win’ last season. My heartburn was the way it was handled by DW from January 2010 on by announcing Sunseri was the starter so early and the message that sent to the rest of the team. It’s the height of hypocrisy to tell every other kid on the roster that if he busts ass competing for an OPEN starting position he has a chance to win it… save at the OPEN QB position.
Reed, you will note in my above post that I did think that last year’s spring practice should have been opened up to include Bostick
Clearly experience matters in college football and from this perspective Sal Jr gets the nod. In many ways it is his job to lose and rightfully so. Myers is physically impressive and clearly there is lots of talk about his “big arm”. The unknown, as was pointed out, is his poise and ability to move along the learning curve quickly. Good news is that Buffalo and Maine are first up so we will get a fair shot at seeing both QB’s I am sure.
The other notable is that this “high octane” football is built on quick strikes and running up the score so we should see a lot of players getting time. This was the biggest disadvantage of Dave W. He never developed the next player (particularly the next QB). My guess is that High Octane Graham will do this.
However if you look at what that leaves for his other 11 games the numbers tank rapidly at 1983 yds @ 180 YPG. Then he had nine TDs with eight INTs over those games also. Very pedestrian all around.
In the five “big games’ threw for 204 YPG with four TDs and five INTs.
That’s why he should in no way be consider a lock as the starter.
If it’s Tino, so be it.
I was 50/50 on him last year. At times, I thought, “ok, nice going”, and at others, “what the hell”.
Did not like that he was picked without comp.
No question, his deep balloon ball was horrible.
Graham wants to win, has no behind the doors buddies here, whoever he picks, I’ll be good with.
Also, with wanting to win, and if the competition is close, he will not be afraid to make a change.
Hopefully, somebody grabs the bull, the offense clicks in one of their minds, and there is a clear starter.
Whoever the coach, and staff pick, I’ll be behind!!!
For awhile, anyhow!!! LOL!!!
dary QB coach will have a lot of insight as to who should win the starting job.
Dan – at the very least, if whoever starts and is faltering – and Graham makes a substitution, we’ll be way ahead of where we were the last few years.
I too think Sunseri could do real well in this offense, as I do with Myers also. But IMO Sunseri would have to make some definite strides in some areas to really be the complete QB Graham wants though.
These and other questions will be answered…stay tuned.
(comment by A above and supported by Reed)
You do realize that Coach Dodge was a legendary high school coach but fired as Head Coach at North Texas after a record of 6 and 37.
Hopefully, this new coaching staff comes close to measuring up to the great expectations of everyone on this site.
There is eveidence of a high school coach becoming a great position coach in D1 — Joe Moore was hired out of Upper St Clair by J Sherrill to become possibly the greatest OL coach ever … so who knows … I would caution, however, about seeing miracles overnight.
wbb, I think you are referring to the same “everyone on this site” that will be pining for Bradley after the 3rd game. We need to be patient!
The fact is, no one knows how the upcoming season will go, so your cautious (and, dare I say, often negative) outlook is just as potentially incorrect as anyone else’s high expectations. I hope that “everyone on this site,” as you unfairly generalize, is right and you are wrong.
Yes, I am aware of his college record. My comment was limited to the notion that a man with Coach Dodge’s experience will have some valuable insight in evaluating the talent at the quarterback position.
In fact in 06 RU went 11-2.
I appreciate the stats, Reed, but I think the main stat is winning the big games, not the cupcakes.