Imo, nothing can save BN. He's a dead man walking but DJ has to be given the keys to the offense. Especially if we want him to stay here.
Or mop up against Miami. Mertz has played some terrible teams too and he never came close to what DJ did. Are you actually believing Mertz is the better qb?
People want to pretend the games against McNeese and Charlotte last year didn't happen. Mertz performed just fine in those games, but he didn't do what lagway did. And he also wasn't a true freshman in his first start (second game ever)
The downside to starting Mertz and bringing in DJ if Mertz struggles is by that point, we could be down multiple scores and the offense is forced into catchup mode. This will limit the playbook and allow the opposing D to pin their ears back and go after DJ. This offense isn’t designed to play catchup, so that puts DJ at a disadvantage over just starting him in the first place.
Sometimes people get Wally Pipp'd because there's a Lou Gehrig waiting in the wings. Loyalty to a player (Mertz) should never get in the way of loyalty to winning for the team. Lagway showed the ability to throw accurate long balls and his scrambling ability helps overcome o-line deficiencies. Could he be our Lou Gehrig? Never know unless he's given the chance and I'm all for making the move to see what happens.
This is an insult to the man who has a field named after him at SWAC! May I substitute the name Gary Darnell for good old Ron?
Or maybe this causes him to reevaluate his process and he changes for the better and he builds off that 7-5 season. It happened to Dabo, so maybe it could happen to Napier as well. But that may be wishful thinking.
He needs a top notch oc and in two years, he didn’t figure that out. Even if he has figured that out, it may be too late.
I don't think Mertz deserves to be benched, but Lagway damn sure looked like a general out there. I'm good with Mertz in there for now, but he can't have another Miami performance or the noise will get deafening.
Maybe so, but if Kiffin makes the playoffs we may be waiting a while to get an official answer from him, and that long wait could be detrimental to the roster. Or worse case, he strings us along to get a raise and we are left scrambling, which could leave us having to make another gamble hire. The playoffs and early signing day throw a monkey wrench into signing a “can’t miss” P4 coach, thought the portal could be a bandaid to offset that. If Napier can turn this around and win at least 7 games while having the team look competent/improved, I think that may earn him another year. But he would have to make some changes to his “process” to get to that point, and I am not sure he can do that.
There have been comparisons to Mertz against mcneese last year and the numbers greatly favor lagway against similar competition. Mcneese may have been worse even, I'm not sure. Mertz had time in the first half against miami to make some throws he was too hesitant to make and if he did he could have loosened up the defense. Now I'm not saying lagway is at the point that he could handle the defensive adjustments he is going to see as the competition stiffens and coordinators get more tape on him but it's pretty likely lagway would have taken some deep shots against that one high that Miami ran over and over. Its all supposition but I don't believe Mertz could have or would have even tried to make those throws over top of the defense even against Samford.
Don’t know about last years McNeese team but this year if you play with an oddsmakers site, Samford is like an 8 point favorite over McNeese on a neutral site.
lol last year's Mcneese team went 1-10, with their only win being a forfeit, and lost every game but one by double digits. A very strong argument that they were the worst team in the FCS last year. The Samford team I saw on Saturday would very likely MDK that team.
Just saw on CBS sports network that Mertz is starting. This is beginning to remind me of Mullen sticking with Franks over Trask. If we get in a hole Saturday and he stays with GM, that should be the final straw. Saw where Pitt fired thier AD today. So both CBN and SS should be shown the door.
hey, one of our problems the last two years and the Miami game, digging a hole, that this team's offense is not structured for. This makes a 60 minute game tougher. A lot easier is to be aggressive from the start and build a big lead. It won't be pretty if we don't score in the first quarter, if Mertz is the starter. This will just start the media to bury our coach, team and University name. I am tired of our offense doing the slow starts, one of Billy's signature offensive strategies. This puts the pressure on a rebuilding defense which is just wrong, oh well, here comes history.
Although I personally refrain from throwing casual insults at coaches or players, especially one who has clearly given his all for the Gators with tremendous dignity and class, DJ deserves to play early and often after what we've seen the last two weeks. If Mertz can return to the form he displayed in the latter half of last season, he can function as a viable, mid-league level SEC QB, which is certainly not nothing. But the OL problems, coupled with the talent chasm between the two QBs, are glaringly obvious and will become even more so as the season unfolds. If GM does seemingly wilt in the face of a strong pass rush again, or is still missing open receivers on a regular basis, it may be time to pass the torch as early as the 2nd quarter against A&M. I hope Billy doesn't analyze himself into unemployment in the name of continuity/resistance to change. His "last chance" at getting the program back on track will likely be sitting on the bench to start the game on Saturday. The question, sadly enough, is will he wait until it's too late to avail himself of that chance? GG! Beat A&M!
All this stuff about the roster will be the same next year so I don't think it matters. Short term roster hit is just another consequence of a failed hire.
