Joe Southwick attempts a pass before getting hit by BYU’s Preston Hadley. (September 19, 2012 – Source: Otto Kitsinger III/Getty Images North America)
The quarterback position is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in football. Following in the footsteps of the all-time winningest quarterback makes the position even more difficult. Boise State fans have long been spoiled by consistent play at the qb spot. Because of this, people often call for a replacement at the first signs of trouble.
If Joe Southwick’s job was left in control of the fans that have posted on facebook and twitter he would likely be seeing the bench in the coming weeks. Coach Pete on the other hand, has continued to express his confidence in Joe.
“We’ve just got to get Joe into a rhythm. We’ve got to play to his strengths. We’ve got to help him. It’s not all Joe. But Joe will be the first to tell you there were a few throws in there where the game starts to change a little bit(if they hit)” (Idaho Statesman Press Conference).
Is Joe really the goat in all of this recent controversy? To that my answer is no. However I do think his performance can not be discounted. Joe’s numbers this season are comparable to what he did in the off-season. Bronco Nation may be calling for a replacement too quickly. In the spring and fall scrimmages, Grant Hedrick was 6 of 16 for 28 yards with three interceptions. Jimmy Laughrea was 1 of 4 for 75 yards with one touchdown and one interception. True Freshman Nick Patti was 1 of 10 for 40 yards and one interception. The numbers don’t lie, and we truly do have the best available quarterback on the field.
Joe has improving to do, no doubt, but can not and should not be shouldering the blame alone. If Joe doesn’t slide right before the sticks on a couple of occasions we may not even be having this discussion. There is definitely some changes that have to be made. Coach Pete is a master of analysis, and knows first hand where success starts.
“It starts right here. We’ll just analyze it. We’ve got good coaches. We’ve got good players. We’ll improve” (Idaho Statesman Press Conference).
I think Joe as the ability to be a great QB. He just needs to have confidence in what got him here in the first place and not try to e a KM clone.
You allude to a data based decision around a very small sample size of practice games against the stout BSU defense that knows the offense. Joe has a leg up on knowing the BSU defense. We seem to be scratching our heads. We have the luxury of playing a team this weekend we should beat 48-0. Each QB could get one quarter apiece to check things out further. I support Joe if he is the choice. But one way to troubleshoot this is remove the perceived problem and see if it goes away.
Good points for sure, Tim. Like I said though I think Joe has a confidence problem. Splitting time may add to this while letting him destroy NM could build his confidence. You are definitely correct that giving Grant or Jimmy time would let us see if Joe is the problem though.