The Case for Kevin Craft
by hicalliber on Sep 18, 2009 4:38 AM PDT
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PrintBumped. Lot of good points here from hicalliber. GO BRUINS. - N
I never thought I'd write a post with that headline, but just hear me out. First, I want everyone to know that I think very highly of both Kevin Craft and Richard Brehaut (for different reasons). Not only that, but I trust that CRN and Norm Chow will make the right decision about who will start on Saturday. That being said, I think Kevin Craft is the right decision. Here are my reasons:
1. KC has more experience...he started all 12 games last year and this is his 2nd year in the program. He understands the schemes and will undoubtedly be better than he was last year. How could he possibly regress?
2. Kansas State is (arguably) our easiest opponent this season outside of SD State and Washington State...no disrespect to those programs. We don't need an all world QB performance. We need someone who can manage the game and make good decisions. KC's experience will help with that.
3. Our offensive line is much improved over last year...at least 5 picks last year were the result of KC being hurried or hit. Our running game was anemic as well, which put more pressure on KC. His stats don't tell the whole story.
More after the jump including a poll on who should get the start.
4. There is no reason to throw Brehaut into the fire. He has played spring ball, fall ball, and watched two regular season games with limited action...he is a true freshman and his time will come. Let's be patient and use him when we are (hopefully) blowing teams out so that he can learn to play and develop chemistry in a low pressure environment first. Barkley and Tate Forcier are exceptions (not the rule) when it comes to true freshmen performances.
5. KC is ready for redemption. Don't underestimate the power of motivation....he will play the game with a chip on his shoulder and hopefully channel that into good decision-making and inspired play.
6. What if Brehaut plays poorly? His confidence will be lowered...we will probably need him to step up at some point this year in conference play, so we need him to feel confident and strong. Right now, Brehaut is 2/2 and feeling alright about his ability to play Div. I football. KC was a victim of that scenario last year...he was unprepared for a collegiate game, and his confidence got crushed. More practice reps can't hurt.
One last point...it's no secret that Brehaut has much more upside than KC. Brehaut is part of the future at the QB position at UCLA, and a start in this game COULD go a long way towards building that future. But I see much more risk in that decision because of his youth. The right decision is to start KC, and then give Brehaut some reps IF the game is in hand. Right now it sounds like they will split time with KC getting the official start, although I have no idea how that would work. Please go easy on me in the comment thread...I promise I'm perfectly sane ;)
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Any chance
we could get both of them in there? I mean, you have to name a starter I suppose but why not have a game plan that utilizes both?
CNC and CRN are better at analyzing talent than we are so I trust their decision. However, sometimes the starter stinks inexplicably at game time and his replacement should be ready.
Troy will fall.
Here are my cases for each guy
1. Kevin Craft
CRN and CNC decide that he’s the guy.
2. Richard Brehaut
CRN and CNC decide that he’s the guy.
While I wouldn't mind Craft...
Kansas State is (arguably) our easiest opponent this season outside of SD State and Washington State…no disrespect to those programs. We don’t need an all world QB performance.
This is why it’s such a good time to give Brehaut a chance. There’s a relatively low risk of damaging his confidence and likely less pressure too. I can see the case for Craft, but it would be a missed opportunity if they didn’t both get plenty of playing time.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson
Earned the the nickname “Law Firm” on BN during his playing days during 2007 season.
CTS didn’t have him prepared to play v. ND even though he was the backup quarterback. Had to enter the game due to injury to Cowan (maybe Olson, I have erased most of that game from my memory) and the lack of preparation helped ND win its first game of the season.
Last time I ever want to think about that.
It wasn't the lack of preparation
It’s that the only time we ever opened up the playbook was with the Law Firm at QB against an awful ND team we could have run the ball against 50 times and won.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Sep 19, 2009 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Point number 2
Manage the game. Don’t fumble and don’t throw INTs.
Easier said than done? Sure. On the other hand, KP didn’t have a spectacular game against Tenneesee but he didn’t thow any pics, either. And we all know why they are coming down so hard on UT’s QB over in Knoxville.
Let the defense and RBs win this game. Let Kansas State make the mistakes. I’m fine with a boring, conservative game plan. Hell, I’m fine with whatever our outstanding coaching staff does (until they prove to me that they are clueless).
I’ll support whichever QB plays and I expect to see both of them play.
More about point number 2
The problem is, we couldn’t get Craft to just manage the game last year. He has a well established pattern of making bad throws. Brehaut doesn’t. The way we lose this game is by turnovers and of the two candidates looking to start, Craft seems more prone to that.
I think it's fair to wipe the slate clean for this year...
Last year’s O-line was abominable, so I would chalk up many of KC’s INTs to that (even the ones that weren’t directly a fault of the O-line… getting sacked over and over again will do bad things to a QB’s psyche). And Brehaut has only tossed two passes in the college game this year, so we don’t know if he’d be INT prone or not. Either way, I’m most comfortable with whatever the coaches decide.
What bothers me most about all these QB posts...
Sounds like we are taking KState too lightly. Newsflash: Tennessee has not proven that they are that good. San Diego St. ditto. Any team on our schedule is capable of beating us, and likewise we are capable of beating them. To me, this is a season where every game is in question at the kickoff.
To say that we can afford to have a subpar performance at qb or it’s a good time to get some experience due to a weak opponent, is just utter nonsense.
KState may not be the team they were a few years ago, but they do have a veteran coach and probably enough talent to give our team problems. Like most have said, I trust that our coaching staff understands this and will make the right decision. Hopefully the players will not take the game for granted.
I think it's simply an acknowledgement of the fact
That if the difference in this game for us comes down to QB play, then we’re in a lot of trouble anyway. We have other units that were our strengths before Prince went down and that is even more true now that he’s out. From that perspective, QB play should not be what makes or breaks this team. If it is, then we’ve failed in too many other aspects to blame it on whomever is under center anyway like the run game or defense.
I don't expect the QB
to win this game for us. I do expect the QB not to lose it for us, which is why I’m worried about Craft.
Some good points, but....
Point 6 is a tough one for me to grasp. If, as you concede, we do need Brehaut to play at some point in conference play, there is no better time to get Brehaut meaningful game experience than against Kansas St. (a decidedly bad team) before the outcome is decided. Waiting until a critical moment in a conference game is hardly the best way to ensure his confidence regardless of how many practice snaps he has taken.
If he struggles against KSU, then I think that’s when you lend more credence to the idea of using Craft as the backup (considering he somehow manages to play better than Brehaut tomorrow). Point 6 is what makes me believe wholeheartedly that Brehaut will be the starter tomorrow. The way CRN made his move to Brehaut at the end of the SDSU game is a pretty good indicator of who he intends to start. It would shock me to see Craft get the call, but the defense gives me confidence that we’ll come away with this one regardless of who starts.
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