So I did not see the game........

[Loyal Coug]

....I hate you DirecTV. Can some friendly fellow Coug briefly recap the 4 interceptions and fumble for me? All I heard is that the first (?) int was tipped by the D-line (?). Bad reads, bad throws, tips, great defense, receiver fell down.........???

Thanks in advance.

 

[Norbert1]

First INT: Falk threw late, deep across the middle to an open WR but the ball floated and the DB got there to take the ball.
Second INT: Falk threw short and low to a WR on a slat. The DE jumped, tipped the ball to himself and ran with it.
Third INT: Falk threw slightly behind a WR on a post route. The WR tipped the ball into the DB's hands.
Fumble: Falk's arm is hit while he is in the pocket. Ball comes out, recovered by ASU.
Fourth INT: Falk throws low to a WR on a post route. A LB jumps up and picks the ball.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

A lotta of the TOs seemed like fluky things happening.

The fourth TO reminded me of the Brady tuck a little.

 

[Wasichus]

Re: I want to be fair....

I don't want to sound like I am strongly criticizing Falk because I am NOT. But I do think this game showed on a number of occasions that he doesn't have a "gun" for an arm.

I think that may have cost him on the early int, on a long throw to an open receiver. And it hurt at least a couple of other times.

Again - NOT being hugely critical. He has a decent arm but not a gun/cannon arm. Purely an observation.

Leach doesn't even rank arm strength as one of the top key things he looks for in a QB. But there are times when it can help...... (of course there are also times when a guy with a cannon tries to force things too much. But that's another story).

 

[JBrown4435]

All 4 of the INTs were young QB mistakes. He was trying to force a few balls and didn't seem to see the defenders on two of the other ones. The fumble was a result of holding the ball too long. Thankfully, these are all things that he is going to learn to improve on and I thought he looked pretty dang good for the majority of the game. The announcers were really talking him up in the first half.

 

[Coug90]

My opinion...he made some poor decisions but they also made some incredible plays and didn't let anything hit the ground. Most games that would have been 1 or 2 picks and we are in it till the end and talking about his performance in a completely different light.

He still made some outstanding throws, and for the most part I liked what I saw. Thing I probably liked the most is his demeanor never changed even after turnover five. He continued to believe in himself, his line, his receivers...never wavered, and he finished the game strong.

 

[YakiCoug]

Originally posted by Coug90:
My opinion...he made some poor decisions but they also made some incredible plays and didn't let anything hit the ground. Most games that would have been 1 or 2 picks and we are in it till the end and talking about his performance in a completely different light.

He still made some outstanding throws, and for the most part I liked what I saw. Thing I probably liked the most is his demeanor never changed even after turnover five. He continued to believe in himself, his line, his receivers...never wavered, and he finished the game strong.

Other than the short time he faced USC's front seven, Falk had not faced real pressure until the ASU game. Clearly, Graham changed some things up with his blitzes and coverages in the second half, and Falk mysteriously chose to not run and slide even though he had many opportunities to do so. Did Leach clamp down on QB runs to maintain his offense's purity? If so, his detractors haven't yet pounced on it. Guess they're still too busy regurgitating Price threads...

 

[chinookpirate]

I don't know what Leach instructed his QB to do but looking at the roster of current available QB's I would think, QB safety is a consideration at this point in the season.

 

[YakiCoug]

Originally posted by chinookpirate:

I don't know what Leach instructed his QB to do but looking at the roster of current available QB's I would think, QB safety is a consideration at this point in the season.

When Falk ran against USC and Oregon State, I suppose "QB safety" wasn't a concern? NIce try. Btw, his running opportunities v. ASU were a bit limited by the constant blitzing: a linebacker or end with a DB looping on the left side, a stout LB spying from or flying in from the middle, and a d-end on Falk's right side who beat Seydel on a regular basis.

 

[425cougfan]

Re: I want to be fair....

Originally posted by Wasichus:
I don't want to sound like I am strongly criticizing Falk because I am NOT. But I do think this game showed on a number of occasions that he doesn't have a "gun" for an arm.

I think that may have cost him on the early int, on a long throw to an open receiver. And it hurt at least a couple of other times.

Again - NOT being hugely critical. He has a decent arm but not a gun/cannon arm. Purely an observation.

Leach doesn't even rank arm strength as one of the top key things he looks for in a QB. But there are times when it can help...... (of course there are also times when a guy with a cannon tries to force things too much. But that's another story).

Agreed ... it was obvious on a handful of Falk's throws that his arm couldn't get done what Halliday's could. WRs were wide open but DBs were able to close quickly while the ball floated a bit. Like you said, he doesn't have a "bad" arm ... it's just not a great one. I think he'll be able to be very effective, but he's going to need to be more judicious in making those throws. Good DBs are able to close on balls that our scout team -- or, for that matter, some of the guys in our two-deeps -- aren't able to, so he hasn't seen this in practice.