Is Kaaya athletic enough?

[Martycane]

I don't see what the problem with asking this question is. The guy isn't saying Kaaya is our problem. I interpreted his question as him asking if he's athletic enough to become what we all hope he can become. At the college level, he's likely to be near elite regardless. If he wants to succeed at the next level and also win us big, meaningful games, he is going to have to continue to improve his athleticism - especially inside the pocket.

He has already improved a lot in one year. And, you can really tell the difference for Kaaya and our offense when he forcefully climbs the pocket. On the drive where he repeatedly converted 3rd down scenarios, he slid up in the pocket multiple times. There are times where he tends to drift. Perhaps not like Stephen Morris (Kaaya is taller and has a better release anyway), but enough to ask the question being asked in this thread.

If I had to list things Kaaya needs to work on this season and in the next offseason:

- Lateral movement INSIDE the pocket. Even a guy like Phillip Rivers moves around in a less than clean pocket. Kaaya has to do this better; he has time.

- Climbing quicker in the pocket. Last year, he was way below average in this department. This year, he's about average. I suspect he'll continue to work on his core and flexibility and be able to hit his back step on his drops and then CLIMB up in the pocket.

- Weight transfer from back to front foot is often average. Part of this is Gall and the guys getting thrown into his lap. Another part is that he seems to be fearful of overthrowing the ball at times. This isn't a big priority right now, I think.

- Throwing on the move. He'll get better. This is the least priority in his improvement right now, I think.

Someone have this dude work with an obsessive, technical QB coach, please. Even if in the offseason.

Smart. Thanks.

 

[Cane Dynasty]

I was kind of worried about Kaaya when he showed up here and had those terrible numbers in the 40 etc. Everyone kind of shrugged it off then. Watching him now for roughly a season and a half I am starting to worry that he's not just slow, he's alarmingly unathletic. He really seems to have trouble moving in the pocket, and he'll never take off and run. Is he athletic enough? It's such a huge weapon and advantage when your quarterback is a threat to run, or at least scramble and make a throw.

Have you heard of these guys named Brady and Manning.

In all fairness both of those 2 QB's you named could use their legs in college. I remember Manning even running for 1st downs in the NFL during his Colts days.

I don't know if Kaaya has ever run for a first down longer than QB sneak distance and his drop-backs are so slow from under center than Coley has all but abandoned anything starting from under center.

Kaaya can be good but I doubt he will never be on the level of a Manning or a Brady.

 

[BigCaneAl]

I don't see what the problem with asking this question is. The guy isn't saying Kaaya is our problem. I interpreted his question as him asking if he's athletic enough to become what we all hope he can become. At the college level, he's likely to be near elite regardless. If he wants to succeed at the next level and also win us big, meaningful games, he is going to have to continue to improve his athleticism - especially inside the pocket.

He has already improved a lot in one year. And, you can really tell the difference for Kaaya and our offense when he forcefully climbs the pocket. On the drive where he repeatedly converted 3rd down scenarios, he slid up in the pocket multiple times. There are times where he tends to drift. Perhaps not like Stephen Morris (Kaaya is taller and has a better release anyway), but enough to ask the question being asked in this thread.

If I had to list things Kaaya needs to work on this season and in the next offseason:

- Lateral movement INSIDE the pocket. Even a guy like Phillip Rivers moves around in a less than clean pocket. Kaaya has to do this better; he has time.

- Climbing quicker in the pocket. Last year, he was way below average in this department. This year, he's about average. I suspect he'll continue to work on his core and flexibility and be able to hit his back step on his drops and then CLIMB up in the pocket.

- Weight transfer from back to front foot is often average. Part of this is Gall and the guys getting thrown into his lap. Another part is that he seems to be fearful of overthrowing the ball at times. This isn't a big priority right now, I think.

- Throwing on the move. He'll get better. This is the least priority in his improvement right now, I think.

Someone have this dude work with an obsessive, technical QB coach, please. Even if in the offseason.

Thanks Lu, very insightful as always. How much of our problems on obvious passing downs would you attribute to the footwork/climbing in the pocket issues? Also, with the limited amount of coaching time in college do you think that's why so many schools are going to the read option type offenses? They just don't have the time to develop these types of skill sets, plus the demands on the oline?

 

[cane since birth]

Kaaya is elite. Go re watch the fsu game, he threw for 405 and no picks with no blocking.

And he threw some dimes with horrible footwork the kid is a stud

 

[DMoney]

The most important thing is still delivering the ball with accuracy and making good decisions.

How much have college defenses changed since 2001? OU's offenses with Jason White and Sam Bradford, USC's offenses with Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, our offense with Ken Dorsey-- they would be every bit as special today.

 

[brock]

If you can throw and hit your receivers while being hit by the dline consistently then mobility isn't as needed and we have seen kaaya do that against Fsu with no running game, no blocking and also throwing against an 3 man front with 8 being dropped into coverage...Although I still would like him to get faster. he is just not fast but that didn't mean that he can't improve though

 

[jkaz1]

Well, Kaaya clearly doesn't compare to Gino "Deion Sanders" Torretta or Ken "Michael Vick" Dorsey. After all, those two were incredibly athletic as Miami QBs (and were slightly successful as well).

Torretta may be finishing his 40 yard dash this week....

Dorsey had to use all of his 135 grams of weight to fire the ball a few yards down the field.

I was kind of worried about Kaaya when he showed up here and had those terrible numbers in the 40 etc. Everyone kind of shrugged it off then. Watching him now for roughly a season and a half I am starting to worry that he's not just slow, he's alarmingly unathletic. He really seems to have trouble moving in the pocket, and he'll never take off and run. Is he athletic enough? It's such a huge weapon and advantage when your quarterback is a threat to run, or at least scramble and make a throw.

 

[Ibis Wingz]

I can't even begin to describe how stupid you are if you believe that Kaaya is even remotely part of our problem.

> 40 IQ most likely.

Define problem? Yeah the overarching issue is our coaches suck, but are we not supposed to discuss anything else? He's a good QB, but I don't think he's elite, and part of the problem is he's got terrible feet.

It's virtually impossible to have an honest discussion on most individual players when we have arguably the worst coaching staff in the history of Miami football.

Kaaya is being "developed" and coached by a recruiter, not an actual QB coach, and you wonder why his footwork isn't very good.

Not true. #Dale uses a garden rake when training Kaaya and the other QBs.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

He's athletic enough for the offensive scheme we should be using. For this offense, not even close. At the Cincinnati game the nearby fans were chuckling every time I pointed out that their edge guys were steadily ignoring the perimeter and crashing aggressively toward our 1-back and Kaaya. With a typical spread-type college offense there is plenty of separation among those players. The back can dart one way and the quarterback the other. Hence the freeze step and confusion among defenders upon the exchange point. With our style and personnel it's more like attack one and attack all. You can be wrong and still make the play while maintaining the same path or only a minimal adjustment.

That's never going to change as long as Kaaya is back there and we're running anything resembling this offense. He may have improved in sliding forward in the pocket, but everything is brutally slow. I couldn't believe this thread extended into page two before someone emphasized that aspect, spotlighting the word slow. It happened only a few posts ago. Guys like Aaron Rodgers dart in the pocket to buy space and cavities. Likewise with Brady to a lesser extent and even Peyton at his age is quicker to adjust.

Any improvements Kaaya makes from this point forward will encounter the same issue. He'll learn to slide sideways as well as forward, but in doing so it takes him the extra vital few tenths to half second. That allows the defensive linemen time to crash toward Kaaya and knock him down after the throw, with little to no risk of a late hit penalty. If Kaaya had normal pace those linemen would have to pull back in frustration. We rip our offensive linemen while failing to recognize that Kaaya does little to nothing to make their life easier. We don't get cheap rushing yardage out of the shotgun sets since the defenders don't have to respect our quarterback at all as a running threat. Kaaya's jittery style of bounce bounce and throw is so same and predictable that the defensive linemen can easily time when to put their hands up and potentially deflect the pass, in contrast to quarterbacks with far more variance.

He's a good player. I don't believe in adjustments. Much more often than not, elite players are elite early. You can't depend on step ladder improvement that eventually results in greatness. That's the argument I made on Dolphin sites before Tannehill was selected. That was a sucker resume if I ever saw one, expecting a guy who never started a college season opener at quarterback until beyond his 23rd birthday to somehow bloom into something special. With that type it's a longshot so you need to be pay low and be rewarded if it pays off, not pay a premium first round pick and act like it's heavy favoritism at the outset.

 

[gogeta4]

only thing makes me angry is the fact that we go spread and have a 3rd and 5-7 yds to go....and the other teams defense drops their lbs like 20 yds deep with not even a look back at our qb.....i saw it sagainst fsu....and the whole middle of the field was open for a 10 yd jog...and our qb tapped tapped with the ball and through a ball in the dirt. he literally could of crawled for a first.

i love kayaa though but he has to atleast attempt to run twice a game...just attempt...lbs arent even looking..they are bailing out...and dends are doing the same....fsu dends did it in the last drive..hence the batted balls.it was wayyyy to predictable..

 

[LuCane]

I don't see what the problem with asking this question is. The guy isn't saying Kaaya is our problem. I interpreted his question as him asking if he's athletic enough to become what we all hope he can become. At the college level, he's likely to be near elite regardless. If he wants to succeed at the next level and also win us big, meaningful games, he is going to have to continue to improve his athleticism - especially inside the pocket.

He has already improved a lot in one year. And, you can really tell the difference for Kaaya and our offense when he forcefully climbs the pocket. On the drive where he repeatedly converted 3rd down scenarios, he slid up in the pocket multiple times. There are times where he tends to drift. Perhaps not like Stephen Morris (Kaaya is taller and has a better release anyway), but enough to ask the question being asked in this thread.

If I had to list things Kaaya needs to work on this season and in the next offseason:

- Lateral movement INSIDE the pocket. Even a guy like Phillip Rivers moves around in a less than clean pocket. Kaaya has to do this better; he has time.

- Climbing quicker in the pocket. Last year, he was way below average in this department. This year, he's about average. I suspect he'll continue to work on his core and flexibility and be able to hit his back step on his drops and then CLIMB up in the pocket.

- Weight transfer from back to front foot is often average. Part of this is Gall and the guys getting thrown into his lap. Another part is that he seems to be fearful of overthrowing the ball at times. This isn't a big priority right now, I think.

- Throwing on the move. He'll get better. This is the least priority in his improvement right now, I think.

Someone have this dude work with an obsessive, technical QB coach, please. Even if in the offseason.

Thanks Lu, very insightful as always.
1. How much of our problems on obvious passing downs would you attribute to the footwork/climbing in the pocket issues?
2. Also, with the limited amount of coaching time in college do you think that's why so many schools are going to the read option type offenses?
3. They just don't have the time to develop these types of skill sets, plus the demands on the oline?

I numbered your questions to make them easier to answer/read:

1. I'd say they're less than 1/3 (at most) of our problems. It's happened where Kaaya has a semi-clean pocket or a slight variation and has failed to step up properly, but it's seemed to me like it is in the definite minority. He's also had some WIDE OPEN ground ahead and remains fixed on his landing spot (from his drop). He needs to be trained to be more flexible. Like I said, he has already shown some improvement from last year.

Now, if you're asking the kid to save the day by sliding laterally and climbing vertically, despite having pretty below average route combinations and below average pass pro, I think it's asking for too much. I think route combos and poor pass pro account for at least 2/3 of our problems on 3rd down conversions. I mentioned P. Rivers for a reason. He isn't mobile. Never has been. He's facing serious pressure on Sundays. His O-Coordinator helps him a ton with rub routes and shallow crosses. He sometimes extends plays with a slide or a step up, and that's where I think Kaaya will evolve toward next.

2. Among many other reasons. Makes it more of an athlete vs athlete game. It's pretty rare to have a QB, like Kaaya, at the college level. He anticipates. He's relatively accurate. He reads defenses. I think he can do way better, but that's a testament to his potential moreso than his current "problems." Because these types of QBs are rare (kinda like the exceptional 2-gap NT), I think offenses are moving toward 7 on 7 type of structures. I think we can see why, despite some elements being used, that doesn't work well in the NFL, though. In the NFL, defenses are so sophisticated and the athletes are so good, that you need reads, anticipation, accuracy, etc., above placing your huge investment (QB) in harm's way.

3. Think I answered this above.

I've written this forever, even sometimes arguing about this with D$ through the Morris years, but anticipation and accuracy can completely dictate to a defense, and are therefore what I consider the biggest priorities in evaluating QBs.

 

[MIATL]

We should be running the WKY offense with Kaaya, or a true pro-style.

Either let him sit in shotgun all day, and throw it 50 times per game, or get him under center, and run a balanced "traditional" offense.

The read-option looks, when EVERYONE knows he ain't running, are useless, IMO.

But I think he's athletic enough to do either of the former ... Just not athletic enough for the read-option.

 

[moshated305]

Say what you want about Marino, Brady and Mannin but those dudes are masters in pocket. Yes, they lack athleticism but they move in pocket very well and avoid a ton of sacks. Kaaya is a statue back there at times and needs to improve in moving inside the pocket and throwing on the run. Part of the reason we suck on third downs is his inability to step up in the pocket and make the throws. He looked better against FSU but we still saw it at times like the sack and strip in 4th and basically killed that drive.

 

[DMoney]

Here's an interesting stat: Miami is 9th among Power Five schools in sack percentage.

That means that, despite the pressure, Kaaya isn't getting sacked very often. That speaks to his improved pocket presence and his ability to process the game quickly.

 

[Cane Dynasty]

Here's an interesting stat: Miami is 9th among Power Five schools in sack percentage.

That means that, despite the pressure, Kaaya isn't getting sacked very often. That speaks to his improved pocket presence and his ability to process the game quickly.

What were we last year? It's hard to argue progress without a baseline.

 

[Dingaan1828]

Here's an interesting stat: Miami is 9th among Power Five schools in sack percentage.

That means that, despite the pressure, Kaaya isn't getting sacked very often. That speaks to his improved pocket presence and his ability to process the game quickly.

What were we last year? It's hard to argue progress without a baseline.

Our sack % is lower this year.

 

[DMoney]

Here's an interesting stat: Miami is 9th among Power Five schools in sack percentage.

That means that, despite the pressure, Kaaya isn't getting sacked very often. That speaks to his improved pocket presence and his ability to process the game quickly.

What were we last year? It's hard to argue progress without a baseline.

46th with a more experienced OL.

 

[LuCane]

Here's an interesting stat: Miami is 9th among Power Five schools in sack percentage.

That means that, despite the pressure, Kaaya isn't getting sacked very often. That speaks to his improved pocket presence and his ability to process the game quickly.

What were we last year? It's hard to argue progress without a baseline.

46th with a more experienced OL.

To be fair, we went from under center a bit more last year and Kaaya had some deep 7-step drops - some from max protect that got Dorsett open downfield. That said, I think he's improved in processing info for sure. Moves defenders around at times. I wish he'd hold the ball a tiny tick longer at times. His 2nd and 3rd options are often extremely open. There were a couple examples of it against FSU. He'll probably see it on film and correct it.

 

[WhatTheHell]

I'm not surprised the sack rate dropped that drastically, Kaaya's game is pretty clean and precise right now. He's seeing things faster and getting the ball out on time to beat pressure. He's made this OL look much better than they really are.

You have to give him credit all the way around. He lost elite players at RB, TE, WR, and LT, as well as two other very solid OL, but he's improved his efficiency and decision-making. I expected his TDs to drop after losing that much fire power, but look at other areas - these are his projected season stats as of today:


60.8%, 3,597 Yards 19 TDs, 2 INTs


He's on pace for an improvement in completion percentage, yards, and turnovers. I think he's doing an amazing job considering he's being asked to operate behind a subpar OL with a lack of top-shelf pass catchers to throw to.

He's got three match-ups left on the schedule with highly-rated pass defenses in Duke, Clemson, and VT, so it'll be interesting to see if he keeps playing such mistake-free football. If Saturday was any indication, his projected TD number might spike as we move into conference play, because it appears he'll likely be forced to turn into a Texas Tech QB as our OL gets humiliated and fails to create a run game.

 

[plantcity3]

Can Kaaya improve on his throwing on the run, yes. He also can improve on climbing the pocket. But he is a quarterback. He will be judged off his arm and whats between his ears. Being athletic is just an added bonus. Imo, you can be mobile but not athletic. You just have to know how to move in the pocket a la Tom Brady. A shoulder turn here, a side step there and you can buy more than enough time to make a throw or scramble.