QB - Graham Mertz

First, I never claimed Mertz had any accolades. I asked who you thought the gators should have got that was better based on the info I provided. Second, I asked you a direct question which should have been easy to answer since you hate Mertz so much.

 

Many of the immediate negative viewpoints on Mertz are started from anti-UF trolls. Then we have a growing part of our own fan base that fall in the WCS (Worst Case Scenario) category. WCSers are flexing right now. 2 NCs from our rival Georgia, UT & FSU also improving, mix in Vandy & the bowl game and its no wonder they are they feel empowered. Finally recruiting was going to give us some positive momentum and just as we are rounding out our top class in years, the Rashada episode hits us.

As ET Gator points out, we need to bring some consistency back to the QB position. AR was a human highlight film, capable of making ANY play possible for us with his arm or legs. He struggled stringing positive plays together over multiple series and running an offense efficiently. He made some progress over the season but was still below average at it. Its one of the reasons why we only won 6 games in 2022. I do NOT think Mertz has the ability to make half the upside plays AR did. If he picks up Billy's offense quickly though, he has the experience to win games for us.

 

Mertz or Miller is gonna be the man. I am behind them! I trust CBN . The man has an eye for talent, just look who were our biggest Playmakers. All guys he brought in. Quit your complaining and get on board. He is gonna turn this thing around.

 

The big boys pay three top qbs at all times. Can’t just count on one guy every other year. They don’t all pan out.

 

I've watched a lot of Wisconsin football, simply because I love football and I watch a lot of games. I think Mertz is a very talented QB who was stuck in a bad situation.

You're only bad until you aren't. Now I'm not saying Mertz is the next Wuerffel, but I think (hope) Mertz is just the right situation away from a breakout. It's certainly not unheard of for a quarterback (or any player, for that matter) to excel once everything falls into place.

 

Great point. Agree with you on 3.

 

All of this might be true. But I have a couple of friends who are Wisconsin alums and they were happy to see him go. He has a bad habit of throwing to the other team.

 

I don't really get where this judgment on Mertz comes from. I challenge you to go look at some of his games. He had some bad throws just like Trask had at times, but he is a way better passer than AR, like night and day. I watched some of his interceptions, and his receivers were horrible, breaking off routes and not going after contested balls. Many of his highlight throws were in very tight windows because of his receivers' inabilities and poor designed routes. He had to throw contested balls to try to get first downs.

 

Funny how that works right? People here claim our scheme held AR back not his accuracy or confidence yet by all accounts Wisconsin ran an archaic predictable run heavy offense that put them in 3rd and long often and it's all Mertz fault. Talk about confirmation bias to satisfy one's own narrative. A shame that in Sports and politics the loudest most uninformed get all the attention while nuances and objective thought get drowned out

 

Even Danny W made some bad decisions and throws at times..just ask SOS
And so did AR..just ask uk..

 

Check the ratio of passes to interceptions. Danny, Tim, SOS and even AR wasn't that bad. If he is so good look at the schools that went after him. I love the statement of confirmation bias because it goes both ways. But you guys might be right. Next year he will be all SEC. Actually, I hope you are right.

 

Maybe the scheme was not right for him or the surrounding players...
People were critical of Frank's, Leak, Grossman ( I remember him throwing Int to opponents right in the endzone)
AR threw a lot to other teams..for pick sixes.
I am willing to go by what he does on our team..not what other teams are saying
I want to see confidence, and leadership..

 

Your remarks are absolutely fair and I apologize. You're correct, I NEED to be fair and not be too quick or harsh to judge a player who hasn't played a single down yet. Thanks for your kindness towards me. I do wish Graham Mertz well, and I hope he exceeds everyone's expectations! Go Gators!!!

 

Very nice post..Go Gators!

 

No one expects all sec and AR wasn’t close to that either.

 

Who's getting an All SEC QB in the portal? I don't see one out there. We just got a decent fill in for a year, and Ole Miss got a backup, who some think we should have taken as a starter. Smh.

 

In the old days having a pipeline of 3 elite QBs on the roster was necessary. But in the new world of NIL, its mighty difficult to afford to pay 3 QBs $1.5 to $2 million apiece.

 

Pretty naive to believe Georgia landed Eason, fromm and fields without some sort of compensation to entice even back then. Same with keeping RBs and TEs on their roster despite a backlog of talent.

 

Some players were given under the table compensation 5 years ago. An 8th ranked HS QB was not offered anything close to 7 figure guaranteed contracts.