Time to give Williams a shot?

If we don't beat GT next week, the season is over (no ACC, no nada). No reason to keep going with the same GB who. IMO, will never win. Just defaulting next year as well. I always thought Morris was a backup at best.
 
Advertisement
We'll agree to disagee on this on Citi - the performance by Morris against BC was abysmal and he deserves to take a seat if he follows up with another clunker against GT. By sticking with a struggling QB you hurt the teams chances of winning.

You talk in absolutes how Morris is way better than Williams and there is no comparison because the coaches are always right in there talent evaluations. He very well may be better, but until Williams is given the fair shot in a game situation it is all conjecture.
 
I don't think the answer is to bench Morris. I was very high on Morris coming into this year.

But it's pretty obvious he has some serious problems. First off, he has no clue how to go through all his different receiving options. He usually focuses on one receiver. If that receiver is not open he will throw the ball into the ground to another receiver or get tackled. He needs to learn how to read the field and go through his progressions. In addition, he MUST try to start making plays when the play breaks down. He needs to scramble behind the line of scrimmage to buy time for our receivers or just take off an run with the ball. Anytime his first option isn't here he rushes even if there isn't someone pressuring him anymore.
 
I wouldn't mind Williams at this point. The knock on him preseason was basically arm strength/vertical passing game compared to Morris.

I think it's pretty clear that Fisch has little-to-no faith in Morris's ability to throw a deep ball anyway. Williams would probably be more efficient running this offense as it's been called so far.

Morris was pure garbage Saturday and missing Hurns is not an excuse for it.
 
I don't know about benching Morris in favor for Williams... Williams had a very unimpressive spring and during the spring game he was missing some easy throws... Morris has to play better but Fisch offense doesnt call for too many big plays in the passing game... Just dink and dunk unless we fall behind...
 
Advertisement
If we don't beat GT next week, the season is over (no ACC, no nada). No reason to keep going with the same GB who. IMO, will never win. Just defaulting next year as well. I always thought Morris was a backup at best.

not that I think we have a chance right now BUT this game is not the end of the season. have you seen the ACC coastal? any team could lose to pretty much anyone any week
 
to answer the OP:

NO. we do not bench Morris at this point. IF it comes to that, the wheels will have fallen off and caught fire. we would be an absolute dumpster fire

we can only hope and pray that Morris and the defense improve throughout the season and dont take anymore beat downs. that is where we are at this point
 
Seems how easily we forget that Morris played well against BC in the season opener. 28/45, 1 TD, 1 INT (100% not his fault).

The KState game was a disaster on all fronts, but he went 19/26 for 215 yards (no tds or picks). A fine game.

As someone else pointed out, against BCC, Morris went 21/35, 1 TD, 1 INT. While not great, particularly against a school like BCC, it isn't bad, and he isn't out there losing us games. We went through three years where our QB would lose games for us, and Morris has not done that. Sure he had some bad overthrows, missed some easy throws, and missed a wide open Duke on the first play of the game, but he is making better decisions than a rookie Jacory was, and his arm strength is allowing him to make some more difficult throws. He's also made some critical plays on the ground, a gutsy 3rd & long run against BC comes to mind.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone to be calling for a completely unproven, and untested Williams against what the coaches have seen in practice when Morris has been playing just fine. Let the kid play and learn just like all the other young guys we have out there, and support your team.

I just don't understand it. It seems like the more I read these boards, the more I get the feeling that people on these boards actually want some of these kids to fail...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Advertisement
Does everyone realize that Hurns was not in this past Saturday and missed the majority of the KSU game? Hurns is clearly our best WR, and it's not even close. So before we call the dogs on Morris, let's see how he performs with a healthy #1 receiver helping his QB out and vice/versa....
 
to answer the OP:

NO. we do not bench Morris at this point. IF it comes to that, the wheels will have fallen off and caught fire. we would be an absolute dumpster fire

we can only hope and pray that Morris and the defense improve throughout the season and dont take anymore beat downs. that is where we are at this point

+1

As someone who called for benching Wright in favor of Freeman (with the help of certain practice reports), I have come to realize that the grass is usually not greener when it comes to the backup QB.
 
Is it just me or has the week in between games been lengthened this year? Sure feels that way.
 
Seems how easily we forget that Morris played well against BC in the season opener. 28/45, 1 TD, 1 INT (100% not his fault).

The KState game was a disaster on all fronts, but he went 19/26 for 215 yards (no tds or picks). A fine game.

As someone else pointed out, against BCC, Morris went 21/35, 1 TD, 1 INT. While not great, particularly against a school like BCC, it isn't bad, and he isn't out there losing us games. We went through three years where our QB would lose games for us, and Morris has not done that. Sure he had some bad overthrows, missed some easy throws, and missed a wide open Duke on the first play of the game, but he is making better decisions than a rookie Jacory was, and his arm strength is allowing him to make some more difficult throws. He's also made some critical plays on the ground, a gutsy 3rd & long run against BC comes to mind.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone to be calling for a completely unproven, and untested Williams against what the coaches have seen in practice when Morris has been playing just fine. Let the kid play and learn just like all the other young guys we have out there, and support your team.

I just don't understand it. It seems like the more I read these boards, the more I get the feeling that people on these boards actually want some of these kids to fail...

Please, stop making sense!!

Now, seriously, couldn´t agree more.

+ 1000000000000000!!!!!!!
 
Advertisement
Morris is not playing spectacular yet again he's not losing the game for us with dumb turnovers. In CFB you don't need a superior QB to win games, unlike the NFL.
However it sure made a difference for UF with Tebow and AUburn with Newton, neither of whom would have won the MNC without superior QBing.

The problem for us is that Morris is not even an average QB.
 
Seems how easily we forget that Morris played well against BC in the season opener. 28/45, 1 TD, 1 INT (100% not his fault).

The KState game was a disaster on all fronts, but he went 19/26 for 215 yards (no tds or picks). A fine game.

As someone else pointed out, against BCC, Morris went 21/35, 1 TD, 1 INT. While not great, particularly against a school like BCC, it isn't bad, and he isn't out there losing us games. We went through three years where our QB would lose games for us, and Morris has not done that. Sure he had some bad overthrows, missed some easy throws, and missed a wide open Duke on the first play of the game, but he is making better decisions than a rookie Jacory was, and his arm strength is allowing him to make some more difficult throws. He's also made some critical plays on the ground, a gutsy 3rd & long run against BC comes to mind.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone to be calling for a completely unproven, and untested Williams against what the coaches have seen in practice when Morris has been playing just fine. Let the kid play and learn just like all the other young guys we have out there, and support your team.

I just don't understand it. It seems like the more I read these boards, the more I get the feeling that people on these boards actually want some of these kids to fail...

The problem I have is that how long does it take Morris to "learn", kids been playing since he was a freshman, and has show, to date, little improvement. His best game I can remember was the comeback UVA game in Charlottesville, two years ago, where'd that guy go?
Overall I think a good many of the fan base are just tired of having average QB play at best, we're spoiled. I miss the days where I was confident our QB could really make a difference.
 
Seems how easily we forget that Morris played well against BC in the season opener. 28/45, 1 TD, 1 INT (100% not his fault).

The KState game was a disaster on all fronts, but he went 19/26 for 215 yards (no tds or picks). A fine game.

As someone else pointed out, against BCC, Morris went 21/35, 1 TD, 1 INT. While not great, particularly against a school like BCC, it isn't bad, and he isn't out there losing us games. We went through three years where our QB would lose games for us, and Morris has not done that. Sure he had some bad overthrows, missed some easy throws, and missed a wide open Duke on the first play of the game, but he is making better decisions than a rookie Jacory was, and his arm strength is allowing him to make some more difficult throws. He's also made some critical plays on the ground, a gutsy 3rd & long run against BC comes to mind.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone to be calling for a completely unproven, and untested Williams against what the coaches have seen in practice when Morris has been playing just fine. Let the kid play and learn just like all the other young guys we have out there, and support your team.

I just don't understand it. It seems like the more I read these boards, the more I get the feeling that people on these boards actually want some of these kids to fail...

The problem I have is that how long does it take Morris to "learn", kids been playing since he was a freshman, and has show, to date, little improvement. His best game I can remember was the comeback UVA game in Charlottesville, two years ago, where'd that guy go?
Overall I think a good many of the fan base are just tired of having average QB play at best, we're spoiled. I miss the days where I was confident our QB could really make a difference.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/gamelog/_/id/501142/year/2010/stephen-morris

Aside from this season, Morris has gotten significant time in just 7 other games. One game last year when Jacory was suspended, and six the year before when Jacory was injured. He hasn't even played a full season of football for us. I understand he's been around for a few years, but he got almost zero playing time last year, and his freshman year he was thrown into the fire and not ready for it. This is the first year where he is in the spotlight. He has the pressure now. Let him figure it out.

I understand that fans here miss the days where you were confident the QB could really make a difference, but how does that possibly turn into "bench our current starter who has only played in 10 football games over his three year collegiate career for the guy that can't even beat him out in practice"?

And if you're looking for progress, take a look at his numbers in his first three games freshman year compared to his numbers in his first three games this year. He's much better now (look at interceptions and completion %), and I expect him to continue growing. Is he going to become a righty Michael Vick with Tom Brady's arm and accuracy by this Saturday? No. Is he going to get better over this season? Hopefully. Will I have higher expectations for him next year? Absolutely. Just look at the growth of Jacory from his Junior to Senior season. Morris is playing well, and he'll continue to get better. If Williams was a better option, he'd already be starting. We shouldn't even be having this discussion.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Advertisement
In the spring game, it wasn't Williams' stats or any particular play that prompted concern. He simply looked outmatched physically, like there's no chance he could either elude a rush or execute a dart downfield if pressured. Backup caliber. I don't know how else to summarize. No question he's got better touch than Morris but the mechanics aren't ideal and he couldn't threaten to make some of the horizontal throws Fisch is relying on this season.

Morris is a hard thrower with limited scope. Players like that aren't completely fixable but can be successful on the college level if they relax and find a vital extra 10% in terms of taking something off the ball and scanning the field. Morris seems to be going the other way, as if he's panicking without reason. The guy who started against Maryland as a freshman was more comfortable than the guy we saw last week against Bethune Cookman. I think it's partial residue of relying so much on the horizontal throws, the ones with no defender challenging the flight of the ball. Downfield all of a sudden you've got hands in the air and defenders to evaluate. Horrors.
 
The guy who started against Maryland as a freshman was more comfortable than the guy we saw last week against Bethune Cookman.

True. I think this has to do with the fact that when he got tossed into the Maryland game there were zero expectations for him. If he plays well, then that's awesome, but if he plays bad, well, he's the backup and he's supposed to play bad. Now he has the added pressure of being the guy and is expected to perform day in and day out. Time will tell if he can handle it.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top