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Who will be the better QB on 8/31 -- Ward or Mertz?

grover

grover

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I'm bored, and since we have no news out of camp, I figured I'd get you guys all fired up. So here it is:

The host of Locked on Gators took time off as an extra on Swamp People to stake out a claim that Mertz will be the better QB in game 1 even if Ward has more NFL potential.

His first argument is that Ward coughs up the ball 3 times a game across fumbles and interceptions, whereas Mertz does so less than 1 time a game. He acknowledges that Mertz is a game manager, but refutes the "Checkdown Charlie" nickname, by citing the statistics that average depth of target was 6.7 yards for Merz vs. 7.7 yards for Ward, and that if you take away behind LOS passes throws, that increases to 10.9 for Ward vs. 11.4 for Merz.



Do you buy that argument?
 
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I think y'all have been selling Mertz short. Not saying i'd rather have Mertz but he's certainly capable of outplaying Ward at home.

He was around top 25 in yards a game last year, with a higher yards per attempt than Ward while being extremely efficient with the ball and avoiding turnovers.

Ward did have significantly more attempts than Mertz, which will bring down the yards per attempt.

Ward had no one on a ****** Washington State team, Mertz played a really tough SEC schedule on a mediocre team.

Mertz was 41st in attempts and 38th in yards per attempt, so that doesn't really paint this picture of quarterback only able to throw 4 yards check downs all game off play action.

Based on last season...If Mertz manages the game well, and is efficient with the ball and Ward fumbles a couple times he can easily have the better game.

But really the wild card here is if Ward just completely explodes with talent, protection and a running game around him and blows the doors off the league this year. That seems to be the feeling from inside the program. We'll see, that's where my money is anyway.
 
I think we are going to steamroll these MFers. Yep, I'm drunk on Kool Aid, but it's what I think.

To bring it to the topic, UF's OL is banged up, effed up, and overall just not that good. Meanwhile, everyone believes our DL is top 10 in the nation, if not best in the nation. How is Mertz going to be able to do much of anything, assuming we can generate pressure with our front four?

Ward by a landslide. Canes win by 20+.
 
grover said:
I'm bored, and since we have no news out of camp, I figured I'd get you guys all fired up. So here it is:

The host of Locked on Gators took time off as an extra on Swamp People to stake out a claim that Mertz will be the better QB in game 1 even if Ward has more NFL potential.

His first argument is that Ward coughs up the ball 3 times a game across fumbles and interceptions, whereas Mertz does so less than 1 time a game. He acknowledges that Mertz is a game manager, but refutes the "Checkdown Charlie" nickname, by citing the statistics that average depth of target was 6.7 yards for Merz vs. 7.7 yards for Ward, and that if you take away behind LOS passes throws, that increases to 10.9 for Ward vs. 11.4 for Merz.



Do you buy that argument?
Click to expand...

I buy into the argument that Mertz will be better than this board thinks he is, and will have a narrow window of opportunity on short, quick throws vs our DBs, which he’s proven to be effective with.

I am more confident than most that Mertz will be able to execute their game plan AND will be successful at it to a degree.

But Cam Ward is demonstrably the better all around QB.
 
grover said:
I'm bored, and since we have no news out of camp, I figured I'd get you guys all fired up. So here it is:

The host of Locked on Gators took time off as an extra on Swamp People to stake out a claim that Mertz will be the better QB in game 1 even if Ward has more NFL potential.

His first argument is that Ward coughs up the ball 3 times a game across fumbles and interceptions, whereas Mertz does so less than 1 time a game. He acknowledges that Mertz is a game manager, but refutes the "Checkdown Charlie" nickname, by citing the statistics that average depth of target was 6.7 yards for Merz vs. 7.7 yards for Ward, and that if you take away behind LOS passes throws, that increases to 10.9 for Ward vs. 11.4 for Merz.



Do you buy that argument?
Click to expand...

Removing half of your data set to make your point seem valid is a wild concept.
 
88 said:
I think y'all have been selling Mertz short. Not saying i'd rather have Mertz but he's certainly capable of outplaying Ward at home.

He was around top 25 in yards a game last year, with a higher yards per attempt than Ward while being extremely efficient with the ball and avoiding turnovers.

Ward did have significantly more attempts than Mertz, which will bring down the yards per attempt.

Ward had no one on a ****** Washington State team, Mertz played a really tough SEC schedule on a mediocre team.

Mertz was 41st in attempts and 38th in yards per attempt, so that doesn't really paint this picture of quarterback only able to throw 4 yards check downs all game off play action.

Based on last season...If Mertz manages the game well, and is efficient with the ball and Ward fumbles a couple times he can easily have the better game.

But really the wild card here is if Ward just completely explodes with talent, protection and a running game around him and blows the doors off the league this year. That seems to be the feeling from inside the program. We'll see, that's where my money is anyway.
Click to expand...
Not disagreeing with u but from my memory when the game was close or just starting he did NOT throw down field. Now after they were losing for a bit he may have opened it up. I think that’s more on Billy then him
 
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Honestly **** that dude in the video hes trying to rile you up on purpose for views. Either he’s trolling by not doing his homework or he’s about as smart as he looks.

He thinks Isaiah taylor is starting, was referencing damari brown but mixing his stats up with his brother at fsu now. Says he couldn’t assess Jaden Harris because he’s a no one and hasn’t played when he started and played pretty good against Clemson. Didn’t call Bain a game breaker said since he played football it’s just as easy as having their te hayne follow bane on the los to neutralize him lmao.

Aside from all that bull**** and taking the fan shades off Mertz is a good qb and we shouldn’t underestimate him at home. To answer your question yes can ward will out play him but it won’t be until late second or third until he settles down. The thing is we don’t need to rely on our qb to win this game like they do. We are very good on the ground and air. I would let Shannon cook and hopefully Mario backs off. If I’m a betting man though I’m sure 7/10 of our first plays are runs.
 
I wouldn't be shocked at all, and almost expect, to see the stat sheet tell you that Mertz played a "better" game than Ward on 8/31.

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see Ward struggle a little bit. Game 1 in this offense, lot of new personnel, noise, etc. vs a returning guy that they're going to make everything easy for and give him endless easy throws. Their best WR accumulated 80% of his production a year ago on passes that didn't go beyond the LOS.

The difference, in my opinion, is that Ward doesn't have to win the game, Ward isn't the one that is going against a lethal DL out for blood with an average at best OL protecting him, without my starting RB and the most trusted RB in pass pro. Also, Ward will make the big throws when he has to and Mertz will miss them.

I expect to see something like Ward 18/30, 255 yards, 1 TD/1int and a rushing TD. Mertz 24/31, 310 yards, 2 TDs/0int and then the score end up Miami 34 - UF 21. But in those numbers you don't see possible scenarios like Ward going 9/12 for 155 yards on 3rd down, or hitting a big 3rd and long throw putting us in the redzone and then Martinez breaking a 14 yard TD run on the next play compared to UF totaling 95 rush yards on 35 carries, Mertz going 0-4 on balls 20+ downfield, or UF going 5/15 on 3rd down.
 
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I agree with the narrative that Mertz is better than people than most probably give credit too. However I think Mertz's overall game is much harder at least on paper. His OL is banged up & not as good as well as #1 RB is out ( i believe)... Game could be pretty hard for him if they can't run the ball & forces obvious passing downs. With our DL ontop of that could be hard. not saying Ward can't make a mistake but I think he could throw 2 pics a game and we still average 35pts. I just look at how bad our offense "felt" last year & at least so far just can't fathom how we aren't dramatically better when we've improved/gained experience at just about every position. All which plays into ward not only being the better qb but much easier setup/difficulty of execution. Ward can throw for 300yrds and 2-3 TD's and not even play great imo... while that for Mertz would be a great game.
 
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Mertz will get it out quick as it is a big part of their offense and they will expect pressure from Guidry and blitzes
 
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Mertz is pretty decent quarterback and Billy playcalls to his strengths. If our oline performs like we expect then Ward will do his thing. This game will be very close unfortunately.
 
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