I think Davis has come in and played exceptionally--about as good one could hope. Impressive too is his leadership and obvious hard work. One nit I am seeing him repeat that I would hope the coaches would address, is that he simply will not step up into the pocket. He always retreats from pressure--often moving into the path of the rusher. It's a bad habit that has made some yardage losses much bigger and killed some plays that otherwise might have still broken open as he bought time stepping up into the pocket. Thoughts?

blungld;842739833 said:

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I think Davis has come in and played exceptionally--about as good one could hope. Impressive too is his leadership and obvious hard work. One nit I am seeing him repeat that I would hope the coaches would address, is that he simply will not step up into the pocket. He always retreats from pressure--often moving into the path of the rusher. It's a bad habit that has made some yardage losses much bigger and killed some plays that otherwise might have still broken open as he bought time stepping up into the pocket. Thoughts?

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I agree with a lot of this. He has played very well most of the time. His interceptions have been poorly timed brain farts that may have cost us two games. Regarding stepping up into the pocket, he has not done a great job of this and more than occasionally throws off his back foot. While he has thrown several TDs with this form, generally those mechanics will make a QB off target or result in interceptions more often than when stepping into the throw.

That said, I don't want to be too negative because overall, he has been pretty damned good and has engineered the offense well enough to get us to 3-2, with a bunch of winnable games ahead of us. There remains plenty of room for improvement but I am happy to have him leading our offense and expect continued improvement as he gains more experience with this group and Muhammad and Cochran return to full health.

Go Bears!!

Totally agree with all the points so far (and while keeping a generally positive tone, as well). Seems like if he stepped up in the pocket, he'd be getting away from the speed rushers that tend to get around Cochran.

I'd also like to see him take off and run more, too, though he'd need to know when to slide (unlike a couple of his power forays near the goal line). Sure, we want to keep him healthy, but it has been my observation that it is not QB running plays that tend to get the QB banged up. Plus, we need another dimension for when the bubble screen and the fake-bubble-screen-go-deep aren't working.

Big C_Cal;842739860 said:

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Totally agree with all the points so far (and while keeping a generally positive tone, as well). Seems like if he stepped up in the pocket, he'd be getting away from the speed rushers that tend to get around Cochran.

I'd also like to see him take off and run more, too, though he'd need to know when to slide (unlike a couple of his power forays near the goal line). Sure, we want to keep him healthy, but it has been my observation that it is not QB running plays that tend to get the QB banged up. Plus, we need another dimension for when the bubble screen and the fake-bubble-screen-go-deep aren't working.

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Agree with Webb running more often. There were more than a few plays where he handed the ball off rather than keeping it on option plays where he would've gained much more yardage. Even Yogi Roth mentioned that you have to keep it occasionally to keep the defense honest.

Good observations from all. I'd like to see him take the ball and run on the read option occasionally too. The TD he ran against Texas is just one example of how he can make more yards for us while also adding another thought into the minds of the defenders, thus making our RB's more effective. Overall, I can't remember a QB that has thrown more constantly accurate deep balls. He is the second coming of the mad bomber, former Raider, Daryle Lamonica.

Beardog26;842739848 said:

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I agree with a lot of this. He has played very well most of the time. His interceptions have been poorly timed brain farts that may have cost us two games. Regarding stepping up into the pocket, he has not done a great job of this and more than occasionally throws off his back foot. While he has thrown several TDs with this form, generally those mechanics will make a QB off target or result in interceptions more often than when stepping into the throw.

That said, I don't want to be too negative because overall, he has been pretty damned good and has engineered the offense well enough to get us to 3-2, with a bunch of winnable games ahead of us. There remains plenty of room for improvement but I am happy to have him leading our offense and expect continued improvement as he gains more experience with this group and Muhammad and Cochran return to full health.

Go Bears!!

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Hey BD, his numbers are off the charts when he is blitzed. What do you make of that? Less time to think? Goes for the easier routes? Doesn't lock onto a receiver for a long time?

It is kind of scary to think that Webb could still improve quite a bit.
If he does, the Cal O can rack up points in all games like they do now against the lesser Ds.

Theres always room for improvement. The fact remains that he is more of an asset to the team than he is a liability.

If anything, a lot of his hot/coldness is by in large due to the aggressiveness of our scheme. We put a lot of pressure on defenses, but sometimes its a bit feast or famine with what Spav targets/chooses to attack.

Totally agree, though the middle screen interception against SDSU was completely on Webb (just throw it into the ground if it's not there, which he did well last Saturday against Utah with Stoval as the intended receiver, who caught it on the bounce but still took off running). He also should've seen the defender coming under the receiver on the pass to the middle against ASU and the pick 6 on the next possession was a really bad decision, particularly in that situation.

All that said, I agree wholeheartedly that Webb has been far more an asset to the team than a detriment and am very happy to have him leading our offense.

blungld;842739833 said:

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I think Davis has come in and played exceptionally--about as good one could hope. Impressive too is his leadership and obvious hard work. One nit I am seeing him repeat that I would hope the coaches would address, is that he simply will not step up into the pocket. He always retreats from pressure--often moving into the path of the rusher. It's a bad habit that has made some yardage losses much bigger and killed some plays that otherwise might have still broken open as he bought time stepping up into the pocket. Thoughts?

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Webb's poor footwork in the pocket can be attributed to that. Most of his wight is on the back foot when gets set to pass.

heartofthebear;842739893 said:

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It is kind of scary to think that Webb could still improve quite a bit.
If he does, the Cal O can rack up points in all games like they do now against the lesser Ds.

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I'm a fan of Webb (and spoiled by Goff), but I think Webb has numerous areas to improve in (e.g., what everyone mentioned above). In addition, Webb relies too much on Hansen, but he is improving on this by spreading the ball more v. Utah. Also, Webb is too much of a gambler, which I've said before in another thread.

+1. Some QBs get this instinctively while others have to learn. Funny how stepping up in pocket makes the throw shorter and allows a more compact motion...two ingredients to being a successful QB. See AR.