Hot Summer

[castlerocker]

Brett Smith has been doing all the right things this summer to see that his skills are sharp for the upcoming season, but one thing still bothers me about his game.

Will he be cool under fire this year or..... let his emotions get the best of him. Will he re-act to bad calls, or taunting in a way that will penalize his team or will he be cool and stay in control? Will he take on two defenders down the side lines and risk injury, or a turnover, or simply step out of bounds when there is nothing to gain?

It's crucial that he stay in the game if this is going to be a Real Good Season.

 

[J-Rod]

After his "moment" in Reno.....Brett took it many notches down the rest of 2012. I doubt we ever see his emotions get the best of like that ever again.

 

[BeaverPoke]

People talk like Brett Smith is super injury prone, but I really think it is over reacting. I know he isn't the size of Tebow/Newton, but against TCU when Tank Carder hit him, he could have came in and finished the game. DC was just protecting his freshman QB. And the game against Toledo where he went down, that was a horse-collar tackle then a late hit. He didn't get injured because he is a skinny, over agressive, running QB. He got injured because of 2 illegal plays within 1 play.
Almost anyone who gets tackled that way is going to get a concussion. Tim Tebow would have gotten a concussion in that same situation. Brett was 1 million percent down, out of bounds, DEFENSELESS then got lit up by a sprinting/lunging safety.

I understand that concussions are scary and a couple more could end his football career for good, or even worse.
But because he knows that, and is getting older and smarter, he will still run hard but he will learn to slide or go down on the first hit if there is a mob of other defenders in the area.
Brett's concussion did not come from being a running QB, it came from fighting off every tackle and refusing to go down.

He can and still will run, but he will go down before he gets hurt.

It's not like he is Jordan Wynn from Utah. Brett has good height, and weight now for a college/NFL QB.

 

[J-Rod]

Injury prone? Maybe, maybe not. But Brett will always face the possibility of injuries as long as the Wyoming offensive line continues to play terribly.....any QB would in his position. I think that problem continues in 2013 (O-Line pass protection).

 

[fromolwyoming]

After his "moment" in Reno.....Brett took it many notches down the rest of 2012. I doubt we ever see his emotions get the best of like that ever again.

Yeah, I think he had a concussion at that point (he did get one during the game sometime).

 

[carbonpoke]

Im not sure if our pass protection will get any worse. I think it has a good shot of improving. both tackles will get better with each game. Against Nebraska im a little worried, but by season's end I think our two tackles will be the envy of a few teams in our conference. Brett's big hits, excluding the tank carter hit, were all applied when brett was past the line of scrimmage. Tank blitzed many times and hit brett late.

our guards have experience, but we will have to see how perez does. Bad snaps are worse than not blocking somebody, as it will send brett out of the pocket.

 

[J-Rod]

Im not sure if our pass protection will get any worse. I think it has a good shot of improving.

File this under "things fans said last off-season".

Stealing McPeachy's quote......until proven otherwise, the O-Line sucks. We hear this every year, and every year they disappoint.

 

[carbonpoke]

lol, so true, so true.

for some reason though I like coach kaglis. I have faith so too say.

 

[J-Rod]

lol, so true, so true.

for some reason though I like coach kaglis. I have faith so too say.

O-Line and run defense.....the two groups that get destroyed in WyoNation threads annually. We've gotten to that point that until we see something different, assume the norm. I think the run defense gets slightly better this year.....but what do I know? Maybe both improve.....maybe both suck again.

 

[NowherePoke]

People talk like Brett Smith is super injury prone, but I really think it is over reacting. I know he isn't the size of Tebow/Newton, but against TCU when Tank Carder hit him, he could have came in and finished the game. DC was just protecting his freshman QB. And the game against Toledo where he went down, that was a horse-collar tackle then a late hit. He didn't get injured because he is a skinny, over agressive, running QB. He got injured because of 2 illegal plays within 1 play.
Almost anyone who gets tackled that way is going to get a concussion. Tim Tebow would have gotten a concussion in that same situation. Brett was 1 million percent down, out of bounds, DEFENSELESS then got lit up by a sprinting/lunging safety.

I understand that concussions are scary and a couple more could end his football career for good, or even worse.
But because he knows that, and is getting older and smarter, he will still run hard but he will learn to slide or go down on the first hit if there is a mob of other defenders in the area.
Brett's concussion did not come from being a running QB, it came from fighting off every tackle and refusing to go down.

He can and still will run, but he will go down before he gets hurt.

It's not like he is Jordan Wynn from Utah. Brett has good height, and weight now for a college/NFL QB.

I don't think Brett is injury-prone, however he is more likely to get injured than the average QB (let me explain). As you mention, anybody who took the kind of hit he did against Toledo would have been injured. The difference is that Smith is going to take more of those shots than most due to several factors:

1. He is willing to do whatever it takes to move the ball down the field. It's part of why he is so much fun to watch, of course and we all admire his competitiveness.

2. Wyoming doesn't have a running game they can rely on to move the chains, so we depend on QB runs (by design) to run the football.

3. We can't protect him in the pocket, so he is forced to scramble

4. We are dependent upon him overall and other teams know that. If there are no significant repercussions for cheap shots, why not take a few at the only player on the other team that can hurt you? It worked for Toledo and others will try it.

 

[BeaverPoke]

4. We are dependent upon him overall and other teams know that. If there are no significant repercussions for cheap shots, why not take a few at the only player on the other team that can hurt you? It worked for Toledo and others will try it.

Yeah I do agree with that unfortunately.

Every game they play, you can see defensive players being a little dirty when they are getting off of him or when he is out of bounds. Most of the time it is nothing major, and I know defensive players will always do that at every level of football. They will use the offensive player on the ground as leverage to stand back up or kind of fall on them, but with Brett there is extra unnecessary BS going on. Watch how the players still hit him/make contact with him when he is running out of bounds, watch when they do sack him or he gets the throw off and still gets hit. They do anything and everything to Brett.

 

[J-Rod]

Yeah I do agree with that unfortunately.

Every game they play, you can see defensive players being a little dirty when they are getting off of him or when he is out of bounds. Most of the time it is nothing major, and I know defensive players will always do that at every level of football. They will use the offensive player on the ground as leverage to stand back up or kind of fall on them, but with Brett there is extra unnecessary BS going on. Watch how the players still hit him/make contact with him when he is running out of bounds, watch when they do sack him or he gets the throw off and still gets hit. They do anything and everything to Brett.

That'll happen to star QBs......its pretty obvious that if you omit Brett Smith from the starting roster, Wyoming becomes significantly easier to beat (Cal Poly says hello). Smith will receive his fair share of cheap shots....which is why I'm always wary of expectations for Wyoming. I think they win 6-8 games this year, but if Smith goes down again...... So much depends on one guy. That is never a good thing in football.

 

[BeaverPoke]

Yeah I do agree with that unfortunately.

Every game they play, you can see defensive players being a little dirty when they are getting off of him or when he is out of bounds. Most of the time it is nothing major, and I know defensive players will always do that at every level of football. They will use the offensive player on the ground as leverage to stand back up or kind of fall on them, but with Brett there is extra unnecessary BS going on. Watch how the players still hit him/make contact with him when he is running out of bounds, watch when they do sack him or he gets the throw off and still gets hit. They do anything and everything to Brett.

That'll happen to star QBs......its pretty obvious that if you omit Brett Smith from the starting roster, Wyoming becomes significantly easier to beat (Cal Poly says hello). Smith will receive his fair share of cheap shots....which is why I'm always wary of expectations for Wyoming. I think they win 6-8 games this year, but if Smith goes down again...... So much depends on one guy. That is never a good thing in football.

That's true but I've realized in most cases if you have a star QB, it is hard to replace them no matter how good your backups are. If Peyton Manning went down, then the Broncos would be screwed. If Andrew Luck went down, the Colts would be screwed. You never want to be thin in the depth of a position but when you have a good QB it is really hard to replace them no matter what. Unless you are the Patriots and have Matt Cassel step up for an entire season. That was weird.

 

[WYCowboy]

Yeah I do agree with that unfortunately.

Every game they play, you can see defensive players being a little dirty when they are getting off of him or when he is out of bounds. Most of the time it is nothing major, and I know defensive players will always do that at every level of football. They will use the offensive player on the ground as leverage to stand back up or kind of fall on them, but with Brett there is extra unnecessary BS going on. Watch how the players still hit him/make contact with him when he is running out of bounds, watch when they do sack him or he gets the throw off and still gets hit. They do anything and everything to Brett.

That'll happen to star QBs......its pretty obvious that if you omit Brett Smith from the starting roster, Wyoming becomes significantly easier to beat (Cal Poly says hello). Smith will receive his fair share of cheap shots....which is why I'm always wary of expectations for Wyoming. I think they win 6-8 games this year, but if Smith goes down again...... So much depends on one guy. That is never a good thing in football.

I think with Thompson as the backup QB, we are not down and out with Smith out of the lineup (like we were against Cal Poly).

 

[BeaverPoke]

Yeah I do agree with that unfortunately.

Every game they play, you can see defensive players being a little dirty when they are getting off of him or when he is out of bounds. Most of the time it is nothing major, and I know defensive players will always do that at every level of football. They will use the offensive player on the ground as leverage to stand back up or kind of fall on them, but with Brett there is extra unnecessary BS going on. Watch how the players still hit him/make contact with him when he is running out of bounds, watch when they do sack him or he gets the throw off and still gets hit. They do anything and everything to Brett.

That'll happen to star QBs......its pretty obvious that if you omit Brett Smith from the starting roster, Wyoming becomes significantly easier to beat (Cal Poly says hello). Smith will receive his fair share of cheap shots....which is why I'm always wary of expectations for Wyoming. I think they win 6-8 games this year, but if Smith goes down again...... So much depends on one guy. That is never a good thing in football.

I think with Thompson as the backup QB, we are not down and out with Smith out of the lineup (like we were against Cal Poly).

Thompson is looking like the real deal. Best possible situation is that Brett stays healthy all year, has a huge season, Thompson red-shirts. Then next season Thompson will be a RS-sophomore, and Smith will be a senior. Hopefully the Pokes have some big blowouts that year, and Thompson can play a lot in the 2nd half of games, priming him for a great junior year, his first year as the starting QB.
Thompson can run and apparently has a frickin cannon of an arm. Replacing Brett Smith will not be easy, but if everything works out to plan, Thompson could come in right away and have a smooth transition throwing the ball like a true veteran.
I really wouldn't be surprised to see Smith and Thompson drafted after their senior seasons.

 

[J-Rod]

Geez BP.....you got all that from 27/52 222 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT? Thompson can be serviceable, but he's hardly proven he's even starting material. Still think there is a significant drop off from Smith to Thompson.

 

[carbonpoke]

what ive come too value as the most important value a quarterback needs.... is a mind for the position. let me explain.

I went to school when jay stoner was in our program. and I was in high school at the Wyoming football camps with tiller, walwork, and my junior summer heading into my senior year... only two players from Rawlins (my hometown) made the trip so I was put on the wheatland team with casey bramlet. pretty cool eh? casey was a year younger than I was.

I can tell you this, casey could put a chair pattern throw on the money at 50 yards 98% of the time.

that brings me back to stoner, who was followed by bramlet, who was also followed by another bramlet...

to be successful at the college level, and to have a hall-of-fame career in the pros, the best qbs separate themselves from the rest because they understand their position and can make quick decisions at the snap of the football.

cam newton has a cannon, jeff George had a rocket arm, daunte culpepper had a howitizer... but they couldn't make a tight throw when it mattered most.

brett smith has that mind set. I didn't like ACS when he was here because he couldn't make fast decisions with the ball at the line of scrimmage... then brett came in his freshman year and had that fall practice when he lit up the defense on 26-29 throws for 330 yards. he was hitting quick slant and timing patterns, and that told me we had a winner.

there are two sides to this coin. Danny Werfel is the most accurate passer in colligate history, but wasn't successful in the pros.

Ok, that said, the point of this whole thing, is that with Thompson i've noticed a good arm, good athletic ability, but he has a hesitation on quick routes that worries me. I saw the airforce game. He needs to develop his understanding of his position, and become more efficient at throwing receivers "open".

 

[BeaverPoke]

Geez BP.....you got all that from 27/52 222 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT? Thompson can be serviceable, but he's hardly proven he's even starting material. Still think there is a significant drop off from Smith to Thompson.

I meant that he will be good if he gets to RS this season develop and keeps improving. I am just thinking of his decent performance and what Gesser has said about him. Thompson has a great arm, probably stronger than Smiths.

If Thompson were to step in NOW, I see the Pokes winning 6 at best, while with Smith 10 at best.
A lot of that "he could go to the NFL" talk is if he gets to red shirt this season, gets a lot of playing time his RS-sophomore season due to Wyo blowing teams out Smiths senior year.
I definitely think if things fall into place by then and he gets 2 starting seasons with a huge arm, and the DC offense he COULD be really good.

To me, he seems like if he rolls out he can hit a WR 60 yards down field in stride. Maybe not now, but he will.

 

[BeaverPoke]

what ive come too value as the most important value a quarterback needs.... is a mind for the position. let me explain.

I went to school when jay stoner was in our program. and I was in high school at the Wyoming football camps with tiller, walwork, and my junior summer heading into my senior year... only two players from Rawlins (my hometown) made the trip so I was put on the wheatland team with casey bramlet. pretty cool eh? casey was a year younger than I was.

I can tell you this, casey could put a chair pattern throw on the money at 50 yards 98% of the time.

that brings me back to stoner, who was followed by bramlet, who was also followed by another bramlet...

to be successful at the college level, and to have a hall-of-fame career in the pros, the best qbs separate themselves from the rest because they understand their position and can make quick decisions at the snap of the football.

cam newton had a cannon, jeff George had a rocket arm, daunte culpepper had a howitizer... but they couldn't make a tight throw when it mattered most.

brett smith has that mind set. I didn't like ACS when he was here because he couldn't make fast decisions with the ball at the line of scrimmage... then brett came in his freshman year and had that fall practice when he lit up the defense on 26-29 throws for 330 yards. he was hitting quick slant and timing patterns, and that told me we had a winner.

there are two sides to this coin. Danny Werfel is the most accurate passer in colligate history, but wasn't successful in the pros.

Ok, that said, the point of this whole thing, is that with Thompson i've noticed a good arm, good athletic ability, but he has a hesitation on quick routes that worries me. I saw the airforce game. He needs to develop his understanding of his position, and become more efficient at throwing receivers "open".

I agree with your assessment of QBs.
I really think that if Thompson is going to be a GOOD QB for the Pokes, he needs to get a full red-shirt season where he can actually learn instead of be thrown into the fire. And he needs those games the next season where the game is well in hand and he can learn on the field.
Brett Smith is a rare gem. Stepped in game 1 and had a game winning TD drive with less than a minute left.
Thompson won't be at that level for a little while.
He needs to learn more. Great skills and physical body, but does not have the mind or mental make up of B-Smith.

 

[carbonpoke]

to be very honest guys... if smith doesn't get hurt, we are going to see one of the best years at quarterback for Wyoming in our entire history. Im not saying this because im a huge homer... which I am.

his receiving crops, his physical growth, coach c calling plays, a true pass catching tightend, and his offseason work will give us great memories this fall. this will be a season to record games.