Leary: physical or mental
- Thread starter 23jumpboy
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My guess is it is all mechanical. I'm sure his delivery is somewhat different now since the injuries and I also believe that after a year off rehabbing, he still has some rust to shake off not to mention he is in a completely new system with new verbiage. It is a combination of everything in my book. Not that he has been horrible but he certainly has missed badly on a few throws.
Can you not see that he is already settling down some
He’s made some great throws as well. Big play qb
Likely has to get some instincts back, like has been said.
Maybe has some interesting new hitches in certain muscle groups because of the surgery.
New system.
Maybe doesn't completely trust his arm yet.
Definitely isn't on the same page as some young receivers. Moreover, drops affect who the QB targets – they have to. Leary has insane arm talent and senses, and I think he can get it together very soon.
Maybe has some interesting new hitches in certain muscle groups because of the surgery.
New system.
Maybe doesn't completely trust his arm yet.
Definitely isn't on the same page as some young receivers. Moreover, drops affect who the QB targets – they have to. Leary has insane arm talent and senses, and I think he can get it together very soon.
In addition to mental vs physical with QB, our WR stable is talented and some are blazing fast, but precise/reliable route running and sure-handedness are lacking at this point.
When either the QB gets better or the WRs get better....BOTH positions will look better.
If BOTH QB and WRs improve--even small improvements--watch out!
GBB!
When either the QB gets better or the WRs get better....BOTH positions will look better.
If BOTH QB and WRs improve--even small improvements--watch out!
GBB!
I don’t get all the angst over Leary.
He has not been a problem so far.
Add about 7 more completions to his numbers and the accompanying yardage (from the drops) and it looks a lot better.
He has not been a problem so far.
Add about 7 more completions to his numbers and the accompanying yardage (from the drops) and it looks a lot better.
Serious question. Did we miss on Graham Mertz when we took Leary over Mertz????
Mertz is leading the league in completion percentage and QBR, playing against much tougher competition in Utah and TN.
I watched him against both teams and he is very accurate, and very poised in the pocket.
Or, could it just be our OL problems negativity affecting the pass game?? And our WR's not catching the easy passes???
Mertz almost always has a clean pocket and plenty of time to throw to those talented wr's who know how to get open and also catch the ball when it is thrown their way.....
We are about to find out, I guess.
Mertz is leading the league in completion percentage and QBR, playing against much tougher competition in Utah and TN.
I watched him against both teams and he is very accurate, and very poised in the pocket.
Or, could it just be our OL problems negativity affecting the pass game?? And our WR's not catching the easy passes???
Mertz almost always has a clean pocket and plenty of time to throw to those talented wr's who know how to get open and also catch the ball when it is thrown their way.....
We are about to find out, I guess.
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So far, Leary has been attempting more difficult throws than Mertz.
Leary’s average depth of target is 11.6 yards. Mertz’s average depth of target is only 6.4 yards (4th smallest in FBS). When you take as many deep shots as we have with Leary, that will impact your QB’s completion percentage.
Leary’s completion percentage is also negatively impacted by our drop rate. Of Leary’s on-target throws, about 9% of them have been dropped by the receivers. That’s too high.
Leary could certainly be a little sharper at times, but I think there are other aspects of the offense that are more problematic (e.g., O-Line).
Taking snaps under center is much different from the shotgun. Leary came here to prepare for the NFL (taking snaps under center). There will be a learning curve. The excessive number of drops have not helped at all. He will continue to settle down as he gets more comfortable.
We, the fans, are the problem. Said this in another thread: we thought he'd be greater but that's because we didn't pay attention so he's a victim of our own expectations.
...his breakthrough 2021 season was mostly because he played with his hair on five in the last five games (18 TDs and 2 INTs). During that run he played all Top 50 teams, but only one ranked team.
He's never been as good as UK media played him up to be. He is good! Just not a super star (and he was better than any other QB UK could have landed in the portal save Sam Hartman who UK didn't have a chance with). Bottom line: if everyone expected 5-6th round NFL talent instead of 1st-2nd round talent we would have all had a healthier perspective.
...his breakthrough 2021 season was mostly because he played with his hair on five in the last five games (18 TDs and 2 INTs). During that run he played all Top 50 teams, but only one ranked team.
He's never been as good as UK media played him up to be. He is good! Just not a super star (and he was better than any other QB UK could have landed in the portal save Sam Hartman who UK didn't have a chance with). Bottom line: if everyone expected 5-6th round NFL talent instead of 1st-2nd round talent we would have all had a healthier perspective.
No way you watched the Utah game and came away with this. Mertz is 1 great play, then 2 or 3 bad ones. Maybe the UT game, but I didn't watch it past the 2nd quarter.
If Florida wins, it'll be in spite of Mertz, not because of him.
I didn't just come up with his stats.
Mertz is #1 QB in the conference in pass percentage, #1 QBR, with only 1 interception all year.
I watched every second of the Utah game. It certainly wasn't Mertz that cost Florida that game.
Utah is a top 10 program.
UF's OL did not protect Mertz in the UF-UT game. UF never got established at the line of scrimmage. You are correct - Mertz never had a chance. He is a solid Power 5 QB.
Next Saturday's game in Lexington will be won by the team that controls the line of scrimmage and executes its offensive game plan. The current spread, 3 points, is simply the home field advantage. It's a 50-50 game, but UK has the psychological advantage going in.
If inconsistency is the main problem, as I think it is, maybe Leary just needs more reps. On one play, he throws a perfect 40 yard pass and beats tight coverage. On the next play, he overthrows an open receiver 10 yards in front of him. Then he trips and falls. This is rust. He shouldn't be rusty after spring practice and four September games, but he is in a new system in a new league with new receivers and a new OC. To my eye, the game hasn't slowed down for him yet. He has the arm, and he probably has the IQ. I see determination in Leary but he just hasn't been seeing the field well enough in the limited seconds available for a decision. So he is still holding onto the ball too long and throwing into coverage too often.
People forget this too easily, but Will Levis had some really bad games in the first part of 2021. In our loss at Starkville that season, Levis played so poorly that I remember thinking he would never be a capable SEC QB. Now he is a second round NFL draft choice. Sometimes guys need more time than we think they need. Generally speaking, fans are not as patient as our coaches are.
Utah played without its starter at QB. Once they got the lead, they played not to lose. Utah destroyed their run game. No argument about Utah being a top 10 team, I'm just pointing out his stats vs them are a bit misleading. And the rest were against Charlotte, McNeese and an overrated Tennessee.
The big difference between them losing to Utah and beating Tennessee was running the ball. If you can run the ball, you protect Mertz. Missing from his passing stats is times sacked. Utah got him 5 times; Tennessee 1. If you can get Mertz under pressure, he's going to take bad sacks or throw some terrible passes. And I don't mean the ones every QB throws. He tends to do it every 5 or 6. Watched him at Wisconsin for a couple years.
As football players get more experience, they generally learn and play better. Moving from a B10 program to an SEC program exposes Mertz to a different coaching staff and a different football culture. Maybe he is still the same player with the same tendencies, or maybe he isn't. Levis wasn't. I believe the UK-UF game will be UK's to lose, but I am not counting on Mertz to be their weak link. We have to move the chains against their defense, and we need a solid game from our QB. If we can get to a lead on the scoreboard, Napier's offensive mentality becomes more predictable.
Mertz is coming upon 40 starts. He is completely different from Levis, who had 1, maybe 2 starts at PSU and was primarily used as a rush first, rush second, and rush third QB. Mertz looked the same in a Florida uniform as he did in a Wisky one vs Utah. He will throw one ball that screams "geez this guy is gonna play in the NFL one day!" Then he throws a handful of duds.
Strictly from one perspective, UK has to stop the Florida run and get pressure on Mertz passing. He can't beat you with his arm alone and will falter if pressured instead of throwing the ball away. He'll take bad sacks where it seems like he has no pocket awareness.
Maybe but mechanics sure weren't a problem in camp. In fact he was unworldly accurate by all reports, they had never seen a more accurate thrower. I think just getting back into live action again and getting on the same page with his guys is part of it.
But without watching him in the past I have noticed that he seems to gun the ball in there a lot and I wasnt expecting to see that. Usually the accurate guys are medium soft throwers who read the route early so they dont have to gun in it there. Just eaiser to throw anything more accurate the easier and less hurried you throw it.
I think you can see the difference in him when he is throwing to his primary route vs his second and third options. On his primary he is much more on time and accurate but on his back up routes he seems to gun those in there I think because he sees them later and thinks he has too to fit it in. Thats where some of the bad overthrows have come from.
Yes. Also looks like the game has not slowed down enough for Leary yet. That's why he is locking onto his primary and sometimes hurrying his throws to his secondary. Even Akron's edge rushers bothered him New team, new OC, new system, new receivers, new league. Plus the layoff following his injury and surgery. I'm sure the spring helped a lot, but imagine his head is still spinning a little bit. He is capable of playing better, and I suspect it will come. This week would be good.
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