im not about to shift through videos like Mel Kiper but it was even pointed out by our homie James (who has access to the All-22)
14:30-15:05 he talks about it
Now to your credit, I digress, I worded it wrong that Mertz doesn’t push the ball down the field. That’s not to say he doesn’t throw deep, im not saying THAT.
Here's the thing.
That guy can SAY "Murda Mertz would be looking for these two guys", but two things should be noted.
1. Let's say Mertz OR Lagway hits the MIDDLE guy, who happens to be the guy who is wide-*******-open. The guy goes for just as much yardage (if not scoring a TD) because the only guy who can catch him is the guy covering Badger, and Badger can simply block him. So whether you have Mertz-throws-shorter-but-more-YAC or you have Lagway throws-longer-but-less-YAC, both will be considered to be downfield throws by every statistical measure. Six one way, half-a-dozen the other.
2. The ONLY reason that Lagway can wait for Badger to come open is because of the MASSIVE bite on the play-action AND the time given by the OL for the wide-side protection. WITHOUT THAT, both Murda AND Lagway throw to either the middle or the shorter WRs who are crossing. And, of course, who is biting the play-action that hard and/or failing to pressure the QB? SAMFORD.
Look, I too would love to have 10 or 12 seconds for my WRs to get open so I could fling it down the field. I could complete a lot of passes that way too. I too could push the ball down the field. I just don't think Lagway will get to make 7 plays like that per game if he plays against SEC defenses this year.
Also, I would point out that AR-15 had a great throw for the Colts this week. AND the rest of his offensive output was pedestrian. AND he lost the game.
But that ONE THROW sure as **** made all the highlight reels.
