So which team has the better Quarterback? It's closer than you think..
The Quarterbacks: The heart of the team. Most people believe that the quarterback that has the best game wins.
Jordan Jefferson: After some early season problems Jefferson has returned as top dog at QB for LSU. If you watched the Tigers play you had to be impressed with his performance and the overall improvement of the Tigers offense. JJ is long and evasive. He is a better runner than passer and look for ‘Bama to make him prove he can move the ball on the ground. The Tide would rather have him throwing the ball. Is that logical though? Jordan has completed 60% of his passes on 50 of 83 throws. His pass rating is 150.91. Those are surprisingly good statistics for someone who you want to throw. When Jefferson throws the ball it is usually on first or second down. He has completed 65% of passes on first down and 54% on second. What about third and long? His numbers are 7-9. He has thrown for only 684 yards. The main thing that sticks out is his hitting on big passes. Rueben Randall is the man he looks for. 65% of his throws came in the first half, and 45% in the second. LSU is obviously running the ball in the second half to preserve lead.
Jefferson is a senior. A senior in a big game is important. Jefferson has rushed for 248 yards. That doesn’t sound like a lot but it when he runs that is important. Three ways he runs the ball. 1.) keeping the ball on the option. He’d rather pitch it which is does 82% of the game. 2.) designed quarterback draws 3.) scrambles from pass pressure. It is the third category that bothers Tide coaches the most. Bama is not likely to dedicated a spy just for Jefferson. It is important that the Bama rush does not over run the pocket. Under pressure Jordan will try to run rather than pass. His passing percentage goes way down under pressure, but his longest pass plays (20+) yards have come off of pressure when he runs to his right.
Overall, Jefferson is a very good trigger man for an offense like the Tigers run. And like Bama he is not called on to win games as much as control the offense. In my opinion he is the most effective quarterback the Tide has played this season. He is the head of the snake. You kill the snake by decapitation. That will be the goal of the Tide defense.
A.J. McCarron: Let’s go ahead and say that A.J. played the worst game of his career against LSU in November and be done with the fact. He overthrew a lot of open receivers and ignored wide open receivers on many occasions. I suspect he has matured a lot since that night, and if he has the Tigers are in for some hard times. In all fairness to A.J. the lack of a big time downfield wideout has hurt him because it allows teams to shorten the defensive backfield. Where is Julio when you need him?
Statistic wise the sophomore looks pretty good. Those stats are also interesting. His rating is 148.9 almost exactly the same as Jordan. He has completed 67% of his passes overall with his his completion percentage against SEC teams. In the first game with LSU he was 16 of 28 for 199 yards. It was the passes he missed that killed Tide drives however. In overtime on a wheel route he threw the ball behind a wide open Trent Richardson which would have been a TD. I’m saying...a better game from AJ will be huge. It might also be the difference from winning and losing. AJ is not a runner but has enough mobility to scramble for some first downs. AJ’s idea of scrambling is generally to toss the ball to Trent who is his safety valve.
A.J. has considerable more upside than Jefferson in the future. The problem is the future is on Monday night. It’s closer than people think, but Jefferson gets the nod at the QB position by a hair.
Over the next few days this article with be expanded to compare all the positions, coaches, intangibles, and finally a prediction.
Back to the forum for more game talk with Rodney and Dalton
The Quarterbacks: The heart of the team. Most people believe that the quarterback that has the best game wins.
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| Like his character or not he can play the game |
Jefferson is a senior. A senior in a big game is important. Jefferson has rushed for 248 yards. That doesn’t sound like a lot but it when he runs that is important. Three ways he runs the ball. 1.) keeping the ball on the option. He’d rather pitch it which is does 82% of the game. 2.) designed quarterback draws 3.) scrambles from pass pressure. It is the third category that bothers Tide coaches the most. Bama is not likely to dedicated a spy just for Jefferson. It is important that the Bama rush does not over run the pocket. Under pressure Jordan will try to run rather than pass. His passing percentage goes way down under pressure, but his longest pass plays (20+) yards have come off of pressure when he runs to his right.
Overall, Jefferson is a very good trigger man for an offense like the Tigers run. And like Bama he is not called on to win games as much as control the offense. In my opinion he is the most effective quarterback the Tide has played this season. He is the head of the snake. You kill the snake by decapitation. That will be the goal of the Tide defense.
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| ...and a child shall lead them. |
Statistic wise the sophomore looks pretty good. Those stats are also interesting. His rating is 148.9 almost exactly the same as Jordan. He has completed 67% of his passes overall with his his completion percentage against SEC teams. In the first game with LSU he was 16 of 28 for 199 yards. It was the passes he missed that killed Tide drives however. In overtime on a wheel route he threw the ball behind a wide open Trent Richardson which would have been a TD. I’m saying...a better game from AJ will be huge. It might also be the difference from winning and losing. AJ is not a runner but has enough mobility to scramble for some first downs. AJ’s idea of scrambling is generally to toss the ball to Trent who is his safety valve.
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| Coach Mac have something up his sleeve for A.J. ? |
Over the next few days this article with be expanded to compare all the positions, coaches, intangibles, and finally a prediction.
Back to the forum for more game talk with Rodney and Dalton
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