Here's an easy exercise.
Imagine we're 2-2 right now with losses to ND and UF. It could easily be the case if Carson wasn't BAILED OUT by the rest of the team.
Against ND, Carson, under pressure, threw a terrible pass into coverage as the 2nd quarter was ending. It just so happened that CJ made an incredible catch AND the ND DB went braindead at the same time. It turned what could have been an INT and should have easily been at least incomplete into a TD.
Against UF, after he threw the pick, if the defense doesn't step up, we end up going DOWN 14-13. Defense bailed him out. Maybe we go on to win the game either way with our defense and run game, but it would have been despite Carson's bad game, not because of him.
How much would you hate Carson right now if all his stats and throws were exactly the same, but we were 2-2?
Up to this point, Carson has been serviceable. Completes a lot of passes, even though not great accuracy. Makes mostly good decisions. But he has had a tendency in the past to make bad decisions when under pressure and his accuracy isn't always the greatest. So a slightly off game or amazing DB play can lead to bad games for him. We only need him to be serviceable though. That's how this team is built..he has to make good decisions, easy throws, and throw the ball away. He just can't make the backbreaking turnover at the worst time (which is exactly what he did at UF AND almost did at ND if it weren't for an amazing CJ Daniels catch).
And when I watch him and observe him, I suspect he's the kind of guy that doesn't rally when bad things happen. His highs take him higher but his lows take him lower. He retreats in the face of adversity, not rises and leads..it's gonna take Anez, Fletcher, CJ, to keep Carson's head up if he has a bad game.
Let's hope he is the game manager we need and not think he needs to be a hero like Cam was.
