I will start by saying that I am not upset that Vandy lost the game. I expected them to lose, so, while it is always disappointing to lose, I am not broken up about it.
I am very disappointed for the players, because this should have been no more than a 10 point-loss and could have easily been a 3-point loss. Either of those outcomes would have been viewed by most as an indication that this team is improving and I think the players could have gained some confidence in playing the #10 team pretty closely. I think they deserved that.
Now - what do I see as positives and negatives regarding the team from this game:
Positives
-Once again the defense looked good holding the GA offense to only 17 points and getting a lot of stops
-While many of the fans on this site have given up on the team, it is clear that they did not give up in this game and continued to play to win up to the end - I don't see any indication of quit or resignation in any of them
-I thought Skule was pretty good at RT today - he held up pretty well against linemen that just torched Fromang (I wonder if he gets moved to LT and Holden goes back to RT as the season goes on)
-I like what I saw of Deandre Woods, especially on the long completion where he could have gone out of bounds, but chose to stay in bounds and fight for more yardage
Negatives
-The OL is just not good enough - couldn't get any push and couldn't handle GA DEs
-This team doesn't have a go-to playmaker. The guys that were expected to be difference-makers haven't produced (Sims, Scheu dropped at least 5 passes between the 2 of them today)
-McCrary just can't be trusted to make the right reads (more on this in a minute) which limits what Ludwig can call
-The offense just can't get it done in the red zone
Okay - now onto McCrary. It is pretty easy to understand both why last year's offensive staff buried him on the depth chart to start last season and why this year's staff has him starting. You clearly see the phyiscal skills - he moves well in and out of the pocket, he is tough as nails, he is big enough to stand in and throw over the oncoming rush, he has a good arm and he makes some really good plays. BUT....he also very clearly struggles to process information quickly and make good reads, which causes him to throw into double, triple and quadruple coverage. The throw he made in traffic to Scheu was phenominal, but trying to make that same type of throw led to 3 picks and 2-3 more should have been picks. The question that the coaches are going to have to answer is - is McCrary going to evolve with experience and get better and faster at processing information and making decisions or not? If they think he gets better with experience, he will continue to be the starter. If they think he just doesn't have that ability, then they will move on. Personally, I think they give him the start next week and hope to build confidence with a solid win. We shall see.
Lastly, I think this team is going to get at least one SEC win this year. I think the defense is good enough to get multiple stops and turnovers, and I think the offense will get better as the season wears on.
I am very disappointed for the players, because this should have been no more than a 10 point-loss and could have easily been a 3-point loss. Either of those outcomes would have been viewed by most as an indication that this team is improving and I think the players could have gained some confidence in playing the #10 team pretty closely. I think they deserved that.
Now - what do I see as positives and negatives regarding the team from this game:
Positives
-Once again the defense looked good holding the GA offense to only 17 points and getting a lot of stops
-While many of the fans on this site have given up on the team, it is clear that they did not give up in this game and continued to play to win up to the end - I don't see any indication of quit or resignation in any of them
-I thought Skule was pretty good at RT today - he held up pretty well against linemen that just torched Fromang (I wonder if he gets moved to LT and Holden goes back to RT as the season goes on)
-I like what I saw of Deandre Woods, especially on the long completion where he could have gone out of bounds, but chose to stay in bounds and fight for more yardage
Negatives
-The OL is just not good enough - couldn't get any push and couldn't handle GA DEs
-This team doesn't have a go-to playmaker. The guys that were expected to be difference-makers haven't produced (Sims, Scheu dropped at least 5 passes between the 2 of them today)
-McCrary just can't be trusted to make the right reads (more on this in a minute) which limits what Ludwig can call
-The offense just can't get it done in the red zone
Okay - now onto McCrary. It is pretty easy to understand both why last year's offensive staff buried him on the depth chart to start last season and why this year's staff has him starting. You clearly see the phyiscal skills - he moves well in and out of the pocket, he is tough as nails, he is big enough to stand in and throw over the oncoming rush, he has a good arm and he makes some really good plays. BUT....he also very clearly struggles to process information quickly and make good reads, which causes him to throw into double, triple and quadruple coverage. The throw he made in traffic to Scheu was phenominal, but trying to make that same type of throw led to 3 picks and 2-3 more should have been picks. The question that the coaches are going to have to answer is - is McCrary going to evolve with experience and get better and faster at processing information and making decisions or not? If they think he gets better with experience, he will continue to be the starter. If they think he just doesn't have that ability, then they will move on. Personally, I think they give him the start next week and hope to build confidence with a solid win. We shall see.
Lastly, I think this team is going to get at least one SEC win this year. I think the defense is good enough to get multiple stops and turnovers, and I think the offense will get better as the season wears on.
