The QBs
Let’s get the main question out of the way right off the bat. I didn’t think either QB looked that good. Don’t get me wrong, both Tom Savage and Chad Voytik had some bright moments and some good plays, but overall after watching the complete practice I was soundly underwhelmed.
To get into more specific issues; Savage is the most inconsistent QB I’ve seen in PITT’s practices in the last six years. It isn’t hard to see why he is a career 52.2% completion passer as he began the warm ups/drills by completing almost every pass he threw then when things got more formalized with actual pressure later in practice with the 7 on 7s and 11 on 11s drills he faltered. The passes he throws are beautiful and on a line (more on that later), but just as with Iraq missiles, you really have no idea where they will end up. Yesterday a few of them landed in the DB’s hands and on plays where there were no WRs within five yards.
Voytik wasn’t a whole lot better either. His arm isn’t what Savage brings (no matter what fans want to think) and while he may be a bit more accurate his indecision shows up pretty regularly. Voytik does well on rollouts and can keep his eyes up field and that is something that usually comes with playing experience. He completed some good yardage passes like that but other times he’ll throw at the receiver’s feet. I thought he left the pocket too early on some plays.
Let’s don’t get caught up in the “who is more mobile” argument here either. Tom Savage is surprisingly able to escape from the pocket and throw while on the run. He was very close to completing a great deep pass into the left side of the end zone while scrambling to his left. So Savage isn’t some water buffalo out there. He’s big and muscular but can move his feet when required.
