Well, Spartan football fans, we've got about four months to debate the quarterback situation for next Fall. After one, tremendous Spring football game where both quarterbacks passed for 357 yards each, we now have the opportunity to discuss how to divide the playing time between the two.
For argument sake, let's assume both Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins remain healthy for the entire 2009 season. The way I look at it, there are five options for Coach Dantonio to consider. First, give the job to one of the two for the season. Make it his job to lose and the only way the other one gets to start is if the original starter begins to make too many mistakes along the way or just doesn't get the job done effectively.
Second, give the two, alternating game starts and continue to do so until one proves to be the better. This way, each QB gets to experience the entire game flow and situations and really gets to show what he can do for an entire four quarters.
Third, alternate the two by quarters. The starter plays the first and third quarters, while the other one plays the second and fourth quarters. In this scenario, each QB plays every Saturday, and doesn't have a week lay-off between starts.
Fourth, alternate the QB's by series. No one gets too tired, which could be important in September when the weather can still be very hot.
Finally, and probably the most absurd, alternate the two by play. Paul Brown originated substituting guards who then carried in the plays to the huddle. This substitution system would eliminate all the hand signals between the QB and the offense play coordinator on the sideline, and could help eliminate some of the confusion that sometimes seems to exist when hand signals are used to call the plays.
My personal suggestion would be to rotate the substitution by quarter, but I'm sure many of you will have differing opinions on how to give the QB's playing time. What are your opinions on the situation?
Like last year, Dantonio may see a spark in the play of the offense more often when one particular QB is over center.
This time he may stay with that QB until he becomes ineffective against a certain strentgh in the defense like pash rushing, or until a weakenss of the defense can be exploited by the other QB, like a more mobile QB ... like Nichols.
Momentum is extrememly important, So whom ever can genreate it or keep it going after a turnover should start.
GO GREEN!
Posted by: MayoSpartan | April 28, 2009 at 04:55 AM
I won't be reading these blogs much longer if we can't get rid of the trolls.
Posted by: holtram | April 28, 2009 at 07:02 AM
i think its important to give one guy the job and have that player be the on and off the field leader. at least for the offense. i would think Dantonio feels the same way. sure they will both see time, but he will have a consistent starter by week 3. he doesnt want a situation like they had at Purdue or i think Indiana. where sure you have two guys who could do the job but you want both of them in all the time. look, both guys are gonna have plusses and negatives but you just cant keep swapping them in over and over again. you need one general and one leader of a team. take the good with the bad and build a consistent game plan. of course if the bad piles up more than the good you make the switch.
Posted by: Rexrode (evil twin) | April 28, 2009 at 07:58 AM
Quickly losing interest in visiting this blog. Please LSJ address this issue.
Posted by: JR | April 28, 2009 at 08:12 AM
Quickly NOT losing interest in visiting this blog because I read the important, quality information it supplies me with, then don't get upset if seeing something else takes up a grand total of 12 seconds of my life.
Posted by: Danny | April 28, 2009 at 08:46 AM
JR I agree with you and Danny somewhat. I like the info from Joe and the substantial feed back and diff points of view and these trolls or "idiots" are ruining this blog, I find myself not coming here as often anymore and visiting other sites. Sorry LSJ you DO need to clean up this problem.
Posted by: DZ66 | April 28, 2009 at 09:09 AM
Going to be a long season. Our QBs suck big time.
Posted by: Joe Lunardi | April 28, 2009 at 09:28 AM
The trolls are tiresome, but so is Timothy Geitner and Charlie Weiss. I would like all three of them to go away. If the LSJ can get rid of the trolls that would be great; I think we are stuck with the other two.
For the important stuff....I am glad I am not Coach D. This looks like it is going to be a brutal decision. A big part of college ball is the quarterback making plays with his feet. Good to hear both of these guys are capable of that, with the edge to Nichols. You would have to think Cousins has a system and a play-book edge from seeing action and being there. I don't think playing two guys would be as bad in this situation as usual because they are so similar. The offense doesn't have the huge adjustment like they would between a pure pocket guy and a scrambler or running QB, (which usually results in a lot of holding penalties and an offensive line that can't find any rhythm).
Bottom line is I think we could be considerably better than people think. The freshmen running backs are going to make a big splash, and the D should be significantly faster. It is going to be a great fall. See everyone at the Rose Bowl, Go Green.
Posted by: Darrell Hensley | April 28, 2009 at 09:49 AM
DZ66 what are some other good sites? I live in Atlanta and get nothing really other than my daily Green & White fix. That's why I hate it when they go three or four days without an updated post.
Posted by: Darrell Hensley | April 28, 2009 at 09:51 AM
I was there and studied both intensely. Nichol faced a better D than Cousins. He constantly had D personnel in his face within 2 seconds, he literally had to run all over the place, and he was a rockstar in his accuracy, while outracing everyone. He never got caught and threw huge completions. He is as billed, I dont believe Cousins would have faired as well in those situations. Did anyone see the TD to Cunningham? Both are great and we are blessed! I think Nichol will eventually be the guy, but MD will start Cousins in the first game out of respect for his time here, and then it is game on.
How awesome a situation is this! Thanks to MD and staff for making all this happen. We have a great program now.
Posted by: bfsparty | April 28, 2009 at 09:56 AM
If you have two starting quarterbacks you really have none. Have a QB derby early and decide on the starter by game three.
Posted by: Jason Aikens | April 28, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Jason- No if you have two quarterbacks, you have two quarterbacks :) Let's not fool ourselves MD is saying all the right things, but KN will be starting. He is a playmaker with his arm and feet.
Posted by: H's-Mom | April 28, 2009 at 10:16 AM
I think Nichol was scrambling because that's what he does best and Counsins stayed in the pocket because he's more commited to the pass than the run. That said, there's nothing wrong with playing to your strengths.
Usually the "two quarterbacks means you have none" comment means you are choosing the lessor of two evils. In this case we have two very capable starters. I think a two quarterback senario could be usefull if you play them by situation (a goal line quarterback?).
Posted by: funsize | April 28, 2009 at 10:58 AM
I think substituting every play could be really exciting with the amount of athleticism at quarterback. The only reason you don't substitute quarterbacks is to make sure your offense has the proper "flow." State alredy runs the ball over 50% of the time, now has some option sets, and could be quasi-no huddle keeping defenses really confused. It will never happen under M.D. but could really be a lot of fun to watch if executed properly.
Posted by: JMoist | April 28, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Ernie, Move on.... Can't LSJ cull this guy out?
Quarterback by quarters at least for the first two games. After that use second QB with special plays/situations. Both need to be used in each game. Strength in depth and repetitions...
WE Are Green, and have been!
Posted by: rbe | April 28, 2009 at 11:16 AM
It may come down to match-ups. One QB style may be more effective vs Wisconsin and the other might be better against Northwestern.
I say that we keep the opposing defense off balance. Force them to prepare for two QB's every week.
Posted by: sdp000 | April 28, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Yeah, I like rbe's idea. Have your starter and then have your special situation quarterback. Could make for a dynamic offense. Isn't that basically what Florida did with Tebow a few years ago?
Posted by: funsize | April 28, 2009 at 11:28 AM
When is Izzo going to shave his pumpkin ?
Posted by: Sparticus837509809 | April 28, 2009 at 11:37 AM
game action is the only way to separate these guys. So you got to play both in the early games. Nothing wrong with developing both, but really must have get down to one starter. It's important for team morale to be absolutely fair in selecting the eventual starter, not just picking the one with the greater hype.
Posted by: fishiganstate | April 28, 2009 at 12:25 PM
It is nice to have two QBs and one in the wings. One of the two will emerge as #1, probably Nichol, due to his mobility.
Posted by: MSU1978 | April 28, 2009 at 01:01 PM
Hey Ernie Ernie Ernie...I'll bet you Dad is very proud of you. I know I would be...
Posted by: Tampa Bay 65 | April 28, 2009 at 01:05 PM
Over 700 yards in the air
Over 60 total points scored
No concern with the O
But the D...!
I don't care how may yards they gain or how many points they score - the Defense will determine how many games are won
Posted by: checking | April 28, 2009 at 02:14 PM
Darrell-Hensley try SpartanNation
http://spartannation.com/ . They monitor the boards and keep the riff-raff out. There are others but not as informative.
Posted by: DZ66 | April 28, 2009 at 05:30 PM
What ever happened to Maxwell? or is he just going to be redshirted.
Posted by: Billy08 | April 28, 2009 at 05:43 PM
I would say pick a starter by the first game. Give the #2 QB considerable playing time throughout the first 2 games. Then choose the true starter. Right now I'd give the edge to Cousins just because of his real game experience last year. I thought he looked very good. We already know he can handle pressure.
Anybody know if either of the two Freshman running backs enrolled early? And if a player does enroll early, can they play in the spring game? Or do they only workout with the team?
Posted by: karatechop6 | April 28, 2009 at 06:21 PM