Starting Bateman would probably be the most boneheaded coaching move in Utah

[Ute Bc]

history.  I can’t imagine how you could stomp on the heart of Williams more.  He would be p**sed beyond measure and you would no longer have him.

Then you start a guy who really hasn’t played a down for you on the road against USC????  I have more faith in our coaches than that…

[perceptionate]

Why do we care about p**sing players off? This is a merit-based system. Whoever earns the position should play. Given Williams’s disaster of a performance against Stanford, it shouldn’t take much for Bateman to rightfully earn the spot.

[Ute Bc]

It is merit-based and Bateman couldn’t beat him out.  If Bateman goes down all you got is TW.  TW is a good back up QB, who has game experience.  He had a bad game, but it doesn’t mean you panic and go to some guy who has little/no experience – especially against USC on the road.  

I for one, will not pin this loss solely on TW.  The absolutely HORRIFIC calls when we had 1st and goal at the 2, the miserable snaps…  A lot of people to point fingers at – starting with coaching.  
Add the fact that TW is a captain of this team to his merits.

[RiseasUtes]

No offense to Troy, but what has Williams done to keep the starting job?

[gUrthBrooks]

NOTHING! Except he won 9 games last year with a team that put 15-16 guys into the NFL. 

[Ute Bc]

Coaches were there too

[RiseasUtes]

Pretty sure the 9 wins came more from the 15-16 NFL guys than it did from Troy last year.  Joe Williams and the Oline won several of the games.  Troy has proven to be a 50% passer and bad decision maker.  Give someone else a chance.  Williams already looks disinterested and Bateman is probably dying to get a shot.

[Minneapolitan_Ute]

I think the concern is more that: 1) Williams is a more talented QB than Bateman per the coaches decision for him to backup Huntley; 2) If you start Bateman now because Williams isn’t playing great, that only further destroys what little confidence Williams has left; so 3) If Bateman is even worse (which would seem to be the case based on coaching evaluations) you can’t go back to Williams at that point.

[ProudUte]

Life is a bucnh of challenges.  I do not wish any ill will on Williams.  He seems to be a good kid.  But, he is not going to be a pro QB.  He will have to deal with this and move on.  How he handles this or any setback at this point, could affect the kind of man he will become.  The coaching staff needs to win games.  They can’t woryy about how a player will take a change in the starting lineup.

 

[Ute Bc]

Bateman or Williams won’t be PRO QB’s but that isn’t the point.  Troy won the job.  Came off the bench and beat AZ.  Had a sub par game where there’s a lot of blame to go around.  I just don’t think you kick him to the curb.  Time for Whitt and staff to look in the mirror.  Why is our red zone O so damn bad year after year?

Just bad QB’s?

[Stone]

I do not have a strong opinion on this, but for the sake of argument, I think it is irrelvant that Williams “won the job” previously. While true, situtations change and people can subsequently lose the job. I do not know that Williams performance against Stanford should be enough for him to lose the job, but somebody’s pecking order is always subject to change based on performance, regardless of fall camp evaluations.

Whit said that Bateman has shown a lot of improvements over the last two weeks after taking second team reps. Having not been there, I have no way of knowing what that means. As an armchair QB, I can say that Williams did not look sharp against Stanford. The loss to Stanford was a team loss (i.e., it is not all on Williams), just as every win/loss is. There is blame to go around. Nonetheless, Williams did not seem to perform well, so his standing as the starter should be evaluated as should every player’s standing.

It’s possible Williams played as best as he could. If so, I thank him for his effort. I certainly could not have played better than him. But if his best effort is not good enough, and there is somebody else that is better (both of which are judgments that the coaches will have to make), then the better player should play.

 

 

 

[Ute Bc]

You may have hit the nail on the head.  Whitt is sticking his nose in the offense again.  Oh well Troy Taylor, it was fun while it lasted…Lucky number 10?

[ladyinred]

I agree with so much of what has been said here, both pro and con.
I was not expecting this offense to seem so ill suited to Troy. I thought that with the extra time to prepare,
we would see an improvement over the Arizona game. Instead he seemed worse than last year. =/

QB’s have bad games, that’s gonna happen. To me the bigger concern is him getting his head straight right now.

If Troy thinks that Ute nation ”hates” him, he might actually play better on the road.
I’m currently leaning toward the idea that I’d like to see him start, but on a shorter leash.

[THEeyepatch]

I have seen people say that I just shake my head. Pass protection needs to get better and fast! Williams can hit the receivers but he’s shown he can’t hit them running for his LIFE! USC is losing players to injuries faster than you can say USC. If there’s a time for Utah to beat them on the road, that time is now!

[Ute Bc]

I’ll have what he’s (^^^^^) having!  Make it a double!

Kidding – I love the optimism.  But USC destroyed Stanford, I just don’t see it.

[Onlyu]

Unfortunately Bateman is more of a Pro Style QB IMO.  In years past in our run heavy offense he might be a better option but not in this type of offense.  I think he could throw it fairly well if called upon but with average pass protection and with the way we’ve run it so far he brings little to no escapability.  

The one thing we don’t know is whether or not he has the ability to make quick reads, get the ball out on time and be accurate…that’s easily the biggest difference I’ve seen between Troy and Tyler.  Is it understanding the offense better from Tyler?  Is it the ability to make a read faster?  I’m not sure but Troy sure seemed to struggle to see and make quick decisions on Saturday when there were plays to be made.  I still think Troy is our best option if Tyler indeed can’t go again this Sat.

[Stone]

Yes, lots of unknowns. My biggest concerns with Williams in the Stanford game were: (1) leaving the pocket despite no pressure and then getting pressure because he left the pocket, and (2) failing to spot the open receiver. I think the two are related. Usually the open receiver did not clearly appear until after Williams left the pocket and ran into pressure, by then it was too late for him to see the receiver and make an accurate throw. Williams kept getting happy feet unnecessarily.

Bateman is intriguing to me BECAUSE he is a pro style QB and is less likely to jump out of the pocket. I have no idea how good Bateman is, so I am not suggesting he would have done better, but I wonder. Jake Browning is not exactly a running QB, but that worked fine for Taylor’s offense scheme previously (albeit, in high school). Williams seems to be in somewhat of an identity crisis–is he a mobile QB or a pocket passer?–good at both, but perhaps not exceptional at either.

[deleted]

Me too!

We have a young offense (extremely young line) and a new system with a coach who has never coached at this level. This was their first game against a elite defense. We can all be dissapointed, but I believe it’s best to recognize that there will be growing pains and sloppyness. I don’t think that justifies major personnel changes at this point.

[rbmw263]

I agree on the road vs usc is a bad situation to come in cold. On a new team in a new system nonetheless. And you can’t really go back to Williams after so you are living in that bed if you make that choice. 

[vcsg01]

David Shaw didn’t seem concerned with ruining the confidence of either of his oft used Qb’s. For all we know Troy gets more consideration because he played last year. And you never know how someone will react to an opportunity. Maybe Bateman comes in and lights it up. We’ll never know unless he gets a chance, here.

[Tony (admin)]

Darnold’s first start was on the road against a good team…  I think you know what game that was.

[Ute Bc]

I do.  And Darnold ain’t walking through that door…

[crazyute]

But darnold didn’t beat out Browne so he isn’t as good, right?

[Ute Bc]

So not the same. Bateman is our third string. He wasn’t close to starting. He/s not mobile. He’s a Sr.<div><br></div><div>But hey – wouldn’t be the first bone headed decision on offense.  Not by a long shot!</div>

[crazyute]

Wasn’t there talk of him playing TE of he didn’t start at QB?
Williams is who he is. And without joe Williams we are in trouble

[Ute Bc]

There was.  But this is now a PAC 12 roster and we have good TE’s.  We just don’t use them.  The days of QB’s going to TE may be few and far between.  That said, Travis Wilson would’ve been a great TE?

[KGUofU]

We’ll see who wins the practice battle this week. Troy still has the opportunity to earn it. I don’t think he has a confidence problem. He put up almost his PAC 12 averages from last year, except for his TD/INT numbers. Bateman is an unknown, but if he can complete 60% of his passes he gives us a better chance to win… I don’t think the coaches have done Troy any favors by playing at such a slow pace… Huntley is listed as probable now, so with any luck he’ll play this week.