Yep, Lamar Jackson appears to be on that track but he’s having a hard time getting that big second contract because he’s already sitting for injuries because of his style of play. If they had a choice of a guy that can deal excl from the pocket, they wouldn’t have a second thought as to which guy they would take. I’d take osu’s qb before I’d take AR. His floor is higher and less chance of a total bust. Also a much greater chance of a long career if he does prove to be a top 10 qb. The runners that are average throwers are a quick fix though.
ARs year was the second best QB at Florida in 13 years. I agree it’s not good enough to win titles so I hope for better. But Mertz has been significantly worse historically, so hoping he makes a jump to AR level is reasonable. Hoping he takes a jump to top 20 level seems like putting unrealistic expectations on the kid. I’m just analyzing Mertzs career and forecasting based upon that + the talent we have at Florida. Im happy to take a bet on Mertz play. AR finished 30th in QBR… so let’s say an AR year is 20-40th and we can consider that a push. I’d absolutely love for that to happen and I’m rooting for it. But the odds are significantly higher that he finishes worse than 40th than he finishes above 20th. But if someone like Skink wants to bet on it I’m all for great EV plays. Also just because I don’t think Mertz has much of a shot at being a top QB in the nation I am certainly rooting for it to happen.
Im not bashing Mertz. I’m simply looking at his actual stats and reporting what improvement he has to make to get to AR level and what improvement he needs to make to get to top 20 level. No opinion here, just facts. It’s a fact for him to get to top 20 level would be a massive improvement, and I think expecting that is putting very unrealistic expectations on the kid. If he gets to AR level that would be a big jump for him….and should be CELEBRATED. In 12 months I don’t want to see a Mertz “poor play” thread if he finishes 30th like AR. A big jump is possible. See Bo Nix. He went from basically right between AR and Mertz (~50-60th) to top 10 with a transfer. But it often doesn’t work out. See Emory. He was better than Nix in 2021, transferred, lost job, transferred again.
AR has all the physical talent in the world but many find it hard to believe that the NFL is going to be the place to make that same leap of faith you claim others have to have for Mertz to be successful. When people are objective about AR they are "bashing" but when a couple do it with Mertz they are just objective.... We all want AR and Mertz to succeed.
I like all the pundits that say "What separates Young and Stroud from the others is, they have shown they can win". Without looking, who were the last QB's that had losing seasons at Alabama and Ohio State? (I had to look). I'm just sayin', it's pretty hard to mess up when you are surrounded by 5 star talent.
It’s interesting how posts are perceived here. Kind of similar to how texting can create misunderstandings opposite talking…… I have never “bashed” AR here. Yes I have scratched my head over how he at critical points in a game refused to take the obvious opportunity to keep the ball and run through a gaping hole for “an easy” 15+ yards. I still think it’s a legit question, at the time, and still in hindsight. And of course it raised questions in some of us about whether or not he was holding back a little instead of laying it all on the line for the Orange & Blue. How could it not, when the opportunities were so obvious? Speculating over this is not “bashing” him. That said, I’ve been the most vocal over why Mertz is being trashed so much when the kid hasn’t even been able to take a game time snap yet. It seems that the people so outraged over questioning AR’s play seem to choose to defend him by bashing Mertz and comparing his numbers at Wisconsin to AR’s numbers here. I’m not for bashing any Gator player. To say AR was a great QB is just a tad over the top. To predict failure for Mertz before his first game is “sad and uncalled for” too
For the record I have never watched a single pass Mertz has thrown. Probably the most charitable spin for him is that while he won't have the big play capability of Richardson, if he can just be more automatic on the easy plays Richardson was erratic on, we may be able to have a more efficient offense. If he can be as money as Chris Leak on a bubble screen and always get that 6-8 yards per completion, couple that with what should still be a good running game, we may be able to have a capable long drive-style offense.
Agree with you on Mertz. We’ve got to Give him a fair chance I just wish so many would stop bashing AR ( you are not bashing). Lots of circumstances go into where he is in terms of development and most were out of his control.
Best in business is debatable and remember AR was 3rd Team so saw limited snaps in practice. Mullen didn’t make Trask. Trask made Trask. If up to the best in the business he’d have Franks running offense. Year 2 fir AR Mullen was on his way out the door and stopped being who he was so we know AR got little if anything that year.
He’s sat parts of the last two years.. othe qbs are getting the money he is looking for. What’s the chances of him not being extremely dinged up in a five year deal? Close to slim and none.
What other QBs are getting the money he wants? One guy, Watson. And who in their right mind thinks that was a good deal?
Thanks for making my point. This is a message board. Not everyone needs to think like you, nor should they.
No, saying I’m Not sure Mullen had to much to do with Trask. Nuss and Mac deserve more credit than Mullen. Again, he wasn’t Mullen’s first choice to play…even when Franks was bad. Mullen gets lots of credit for things not sure he should. Tebow…if not for Meyer, Tebow would have went to Bsma. It’s openly known Timmy didn’t care for Mullen and Tebow loves evv BFF erubidy.
Absolutely. Watch the tape. Every big play throwing AR had came out of play action. When he was inaccurate and could not read coverage was when he was in spread formation with empty or one back sets where he had no ball fake. He knew he was under pressure and showed it. Plus Napier did not run the ball...the Vandy game was all on him as we threw on just about every play...and Vandy easily confused him into making bad decisions and bad throws....when we could have run them right out of the stadium.
It’s unrealistic because he wants to be paid like he’s a top 3 qb in the league and will be for the next five years.
