Spring game things

[KittieKop]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

McKay was a steady 3-8 on his pass attempts. No completions in the first half. Everything he threw was overthrown and high. Hell, Mellot in his one hurry-up drive outplayed McKay. McKay's "1st team" offense scored because Ifanse outplays everyone on the field. The one caveat being McKay was in the yellow jersey. One run he made probably would have gone for a TD in a game situation.

McKay will have to prove in a game situation he's actually the shifty, scrambling runner some people are making him out to be, because his 2019 games in NC don't exactly solidify that. His biggest rushing game of the season was like 24 yards.

McKay might turn out to be a keeper and the torch bearer, but he was not the best QB on the field today. Maybe "QB3". Maybe.

Vigen said he wasn't sure about a lot of things in the postgame. Said he had to wait and check the tapes of the game.

[bobcat99]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

McKay was a steady 3-8 on his pass attempts. No completions in the first half. Everything he threw was overthrown and high. Hell, Mellot in his one hurry-up drive outplayed McKay. McKay's "1st team" offense scored because Ifanse outplays everyone on the field. The one caveat being McKay was in the yellow jersey. One run he made probably would have gone for a TD in a game situation.

McKay will have to prove in a game situation he's actually the shifty, scrambling runner some people are making him out to be, because his 2019 games in NC don't exactly solidify that. His biggest rushing game of the season was like 24 yards.

McKay might turn out to be a keeper and the torch bearer, but he was not the best QB on the field today. Maybe "QB3". Maybe.

Vigen said he wasn't sure about a lot of things in the postgame. Said he had to wait and check the tapes of the game.

lol

[91catAlum]

Am I crazy, or did Thelen look like the best qb today?!

He was certainly the best passer today imo.
Although in McKay's defense, he had 2 balls dropped in the first half. His first pass, deep to 86, was a great throw but off his hands.

[thefrank1]

Only saw the second half, but Thelen was the class act of the QB's

[Bobcat4Ever]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

Gotta disagree about Rovig here. He was good on all but the Int. Accuracy was way better than it ever has been, evn in past scrimmages. His deep ball is the best of all the QBs. The ball down the sideline to Stewart was perfect. The ball across the middle in the red zone before he ran it in a couple plays later was a great job of him going through progressions. Thelen looked good no doubt. But his deep balls were bad today.

I guess if you really like a ball that floats in the air, he’s got a good deep ball.

Anyways, I’ll go with what Vigen thinks and Colter reported. QB3.

Doesn't really matter how it gets there as long as it's in the right spot. I'm not saying he should be QB1, just thought he outplayed the other QBs today.

As long as Rovig doesn’t underthrow his long ball, only the receiver really has a chance to catch it as it comes down so sharply. It also needs to be thrown down the near sideline. He and Kassis did a great job of timing it out. Kassis was not tall but when he and the ball arrived at the same time, which they often did, the defender had no chance. Rovig did fire one on a lower trajectory to an open receiver today.

It was really great to see Bobcats playing football again.

[Helcat72]

I also was impressed with Thelen...

[94VegasCat]

There’s been much mentioned of FIVE RBs. What about Shane Perry?

[RickRund]

There’s been much mentioned of FIVE RBs. What about Shane Perry?

Also curious...

[CelticCat]

There’s been much mentioned of FIVE RBs. What about Shane Perry?

Also curious...

I think it's gonna be pretty hard for Perry to get any time at RB. He's a capable back but with a group that now has Ifanse, Martin, Hosey, Elliot and Sumner where does he fit in?

[HelenaCat]

Perry, Jaalen Rening, Joe Olson and Minaya Olivo have all been held out for some time. I have not seen Rening or Olson yet at all so no feel for them. Olivo has some promise, but will likely redshirt in my opinion. I love Shane Perry, but I think the top backs are Ifanse, Elliott, Sumner, Hosey, and Jaharie Martin. Ifanse and Elliott really stand out, the others are all very good.

[BigBruceBaker]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

You’re crazy. I don’t have a dog in the fight, I just want the guy at qb that’s going to win the most games next year.

Thelen played well, he impressed me.

McKay and Rovig were about even, I didn’t like the play call selection for a lot of the drives. We know we can run on anyone. I wanted to see 25 throws for both of them. But neither of the two “top” guys out played the other. If we were trying to pick a starter based on this one performance it wouldn’t be possible to say “McKay earned it” or “Rovig earned it”.

Honestly I’m disappointed in the qb play, not sure what I was expecting, but this underwhelmed me. They didn’t play bad, I guess I just had higher hopes.

[Hawks86]

He wasn't on Colter's list, but I don't remember seeing Estes yesterday.

[superbobcat]

I think it has already been decided. McKay and Bauman are 1 &2 Thelan and Rovig are playing for 3. Unfortunately for Rovig, he has never really fit in on this team. Choate gave him every chance to succeed at this level, but now we have a much more offensive minded coach who wants more and wants athleticism.Thellan and Mellot will battle each other in a couple of years.

[bobcat99]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

Gotta disagree about Rovig here. He was good on all but the Int. Accuracy was way better than it ever has been, evn in past scrimmages. His deep ball is the best of all the QBs. The ball down the sideline to Stewart was perfect. The ball across the middle in the red zone before he ran it in a couple plays later was a great job of him going through progressions. Thelen looked good no doubt. But his deep balls were bad today.

I guess if you really like a ball that floats in the air, he’s got a good deep ball.

Anyways, I’ll go with what Vigen thinks and Colter reported. QB3.

Doesn't really matter how it gets there as long as it's in the right spot. I'm not saying he should be QB1, just thought he outplayed the other QBs today.

Yes, it absolutely does matter how it gets there. How it gets to the spot is the difference between an interception or not.

Tell that to Peyton Manning. I gotta say, you remind me of my crotchety old grandpa. He never agrees with anyone on anything, even if he might actually agree, just so he can argue and debate with people

I’ll try to explain.

If the ball gets to the spot early, or late, depending on the type of throw, it can result in a bad play. It impacts the timing, which is a crucial aspect of playing QB. If you have a guy running open downfield, and throw a floater, it gives the DB a chance to catch up. I mean, some scenarios call for a touch pass, some call for a bullet. So yes, how the ball gets to the “spot” is absolutely very important. That is not to say that a QB needs a rocket to be successful, but if he doesn’t, his touch and timing needs to be on point. I think that’s where Rovig struggles. He’s often late, and just makes too many mistakes, and I don’t believe he gives us enough elsewhere to make up for it.

McKay might make mistakes too, but he has other elements to his game that can make up for that. Rovig, does not.

[BleedingBLue]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

Gotta disagree about Rovig here. He was good on all but the Int. Accuracy was way better than it ever has been, evn in past scrimmages. His deep ball is the best of all the QBs. The ball down the sideline to Stewart was perfect. The ball across the middle in the red zone before he ran it in a couple plays later was a great job of him going through progressions. Thelen looked good no doubt. But his deep balls were bad today.

I guess if you really like a ball that floats in the air, he’s got a good deep ball.

Anyways, I’ll go with what Vigen thinks and Colter reported. QB3.

Doesn't really matter how it gets there as long as it's in the right spot. I'm not saying he should be QB1, just thought he outplayed the other QBs today.

Yes, it absolutely does matter how it gets there. How it gets to the spot is the difference between an interception or not.

Tell that to Peyton Manning. I gotta say, you remind me of my crotchety old grandpa. He never agrees with anyone on anything, even if he might actually agree, just so he can argue and debate with people

I’ll try to explain.

If the ball gets to the spot early, or late, depending on the type of throw, it can result in a bad play. It impacts the timing, which is a crucial aspect of playing QB. If you have a guy running open downfield, and throw a floater, it gives the DB a chance to catch up. I mean, some scenarios call for a touch pass, some call for a bullet. So yes, how the ball gets to the “spot” is absolutely very important. That is not to say that a QB needs a rocket to be successful, but if he doesn’t, his touch and timing needs to be on point. I think that’s where Rovig struggles. He’s often late, and just makes too many mistakes, and I don’t believe he gives us enough elsewhere to make up for it.

McKay might make mistakes too, but he has other elements to his game that can make up for that. Rovig, does not.

We weren't talking about timing though. Rovig gets his deep balls to the spot they need to go, however they get there more often than not. And he gets them there in a perfect position for his receiver. His pass to Kassis in the Cat Griz game was perfect. He and Kassis made that pass look easy several times last year. He put a little too much air under some sure, but they were exactly where they needed to be. Same with the pass to Stewart yesterday.

I understand what you are saying about timing and how the ball gets there, and in certain situations where he isn't throwing a deep ball he struggles with timing and how it gets there. But I wasn't talking about those throws. I do however think his non deep ball passes were crisp and accurate yesterday. Wish we would have seen more passes from McKay yesterday.

[TomCat88]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

You’re crazy. I don’t have a dog in the fight, I just want the guy at qb that’s going to win the most games next year.

Thelen played well, he impressed me.

McKay and Rovig were about even, I didn’t like the play call selection for a lot of the drives. We know we can run on anyone. I wanted to see 25 throws for both of them. But neither of the two “top” guys out played the other. If we were trying to pick a starter based on this one performance it wouldn’t be possible to say “McKay earned it” or “Rovig earned it”.

Honestly I’m disappointed in the qb play, not sure what I was expecting, but this underwhelmed me. They didn’t play bad, I guess I just had higher hopes.

I look at demeanor/presence, control when gauging players, especially QBs. I think McKay has all of that on the rest of the QBs. He seemed to have command, which is the first time I’ve seen that since McGhee. His numbers were bad, but he didn’t get much help. When I look at scrimmage numbers I total them all up from each scrimmage to get a better picture. I’m fairly certain McKay has the edge there. No one has a chance to get in rhythm, so he could’ve gone 6 for his next 7 with 100 yards and a touchdown. Too small of a sample to get excited about stats good or bad. If McCutcheon catches that long pass it skews everything back to near the norm on just one play.

I thought Mellott was the next best quarterback. He made a bunch of rookie mistakes, but he showed flashes of his tools. He’s going to get polished by next spring. The pass (and catch) to Marshall was probably the best pass play of the day. It’s a HUGE jump from Montana high school to fcs for QBs. Mellott is easily the best one in many years.

Over the course of a game the wrs are going to make the QBs look good. I’m very confident of that. Smith is open the moment the ball is snapped. His height, jumping ability and hands make it so. The new guy from Akron, Marshall, and McCutcheon can all make plays.

[bobcat99]

Thelen out played Rovig. McKay out played Rovig. Rovig outplayed Mellot.

Rovig once again made an awful decision, threw across the field, and it resulted in an easy pick. An upperclassman, who is supposed to be a game manager, cannot do those types of things.

McKay was steady, and wasn’t allowed to play a portion of what his game is. That makes a big difference. He’s the starter for a reason.

I was really impressed with the OL, the RB’s, and Jaden Smith. He fought hard for yards after the catch. The RB crew is loaded. I’d trust about 5 of those guys as starters. Snell is a really good play action thread because he’s such a good blocker. Thelen has an impressive arm. Hope he stays.

Gotta disagree about Rovig here. He was good on all but the Int. Accuracy was way better than it ever has been, evn in past scrimmages. His deep ball is the best of all the QBs. The ball down the sideline to Stewart was perfect. The ball across the middle in the red zone before he ran it in a couple plays later was a great job of him going through progressions. Thelen looked good no doubt. But his deep balls were bad today.

I guess if you really like a ball that floats in the air, he’s got a good deep ball.

Anyways, I’ll go with what Vigen thinks and Colter reported. QB3.

Doesn't really matter how it gets there as long as it's in the right spot. I'm not saying he should be QB1, just thought he outplayed the other QBs today.

Yes, it absolutely does matter how it gets there. How it gets to the spot is the difference between an interception or not.

Tell that to Peyton Manning. I gotta say, you remind me of my crotchety old grandpa. He never agrees with anyone on anything, even if he might actually agree, just so he can argue and debate with people

I’ll try to explain.

If the ball gets to the spot early, or late, depending on the type of throw, it can result in a bad play. It impacts the timing, which is a crucial aspect of playing QB. If you have a guy running open downfield, and throw a floater, it gives the DB a chance to catch up. I mean, some scenarios call for a touch pass, some call for a bullet. So yes, how the ball gets to the “spot” is absolutely very important. That is not to say that a QB needs a rocket to be successful, but if he doesn’t, his touch and timing needs to be on point. I think that’s where Rovig struggles. He’s often late, and just makes too many mistakes, and I don’t believe he gives us enough elsewhere to make up for it.

McKay might make mistakes too, but he has other elements to his game that can make up for that. Rovig, does not.

We weren't talking about timing though. Rovig gets his deep balls to the spot they need to go, however they get there more often than not. And he gets them there in a perfect position for his receiver. His pass to Kassis in the Cat Griz game was perfect. He and Kassis made that pass look easy several times last year. He put a little too much air under some sure, but they were exactly where they needed to be. Same with the pass to Stewart yesterday.

I understand what you are saying about timing and how the ball gets there, and in certain situations where he isn't throwing a deep ball he struggles with timing and how it gets there. But I wasn't talking about those throws. I do however think his non deep ball passes were crisp and accurate yesterday. Wish we would have seen more passes from McKay yesterday.

When you float a deep ball like Rovig does, it impacts the timing, which can impact the result. Looks pretty, but not always effective.

[bobcatfan123]

Was it just me or did our o line look massive? Those boys sure look the part.

Not sure who our qb will be. However, I have to say that Rovig just continues to be solid, I’m rooting for the guy

[TomCat88]

Was it just me or did our o line look massive? Those boys sure look the part.

Not sure who our qb will be. However, I have to say that Rovig just continues to be solid, I’m rooting for the guy

The starting OL is the best thing MSU football has going for it. That’s a very good thing.

[HelenaCat]

I did not make any weekday practices, but I made every Saturday including the last two which were pretty much full contact (including all QBs). McKay has looked extremely good previously, not as sharp yesterday. With the Yellow shirt, we really had no chance to see his athleticism. As B99 pointed out, his running ability is what sets him apart. He is a capable thrower. I am not an expert, but I rate him a bit better than Rovig as a thrower.

Bauman has looked much improved and I am hopeful the new staff can develop him. He has, by far in my opinion, the strongest arm of the five. He is not near the runner that McKay is, but he is not a statue either. Too bad he had to sit out.

I thought Rovig looked much better yesterday than the previous weeks. Other than the one bad interception, he played well.

I also thought both Thelen and Mellott looked better yesterday than the previous weekends. But they have both shown they have some natural ability and again, I am hopeful that Vigen and Housewright are better at developing QBs than our previous staffs.

Really overall, I have thought our offense looked much sharper in terms of QB play the last few Saturdays than they looked yesterday. I suspect the play calling was pretty vanilla and maybe our defense is catching up a bit. Prior to yesterday, I came away from the previous scrimmages quite impressed with our passing game in general, especially compared to our last few years. Receivers open, QBs delivering the ball on time, and receivers catching the ball.

The one consistent every week has been our running game. The No. 1 O-line, no matter who has been in the rotation, has consistently opened huge holes and as discussed by everyone we have quite a few good backs. They have not been as consistent in pass protection, but boy are they good at run blocking.

I have been concerned about our defense, but thought they played much better yesterday. I am hopeful that our offensive line is just that good, plus we get a lot of really good players back in August.