Stephen Morris Football IQ

[DMoney]

Before the season, many debated whether Morris had it between the ears to be a good quarterback. It wasn't necessarily about book smarts (Morris is one of the best students on the team), but decision-making. So where are we on the debate now?

On the positive side, his pass-to-INT ratio (60 to 1) was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He also showed command of the no-huddle. Not only were there very few procedure penalties, but Morris routinely caught the defense off guard.

However, his decisions were not the quickest and his velocity often bailed him out. He also had long stretches against Virginia Tech and FSU where he wasn't seeing the field.

So with Fisch gone, my question is this: how far has Morris come mentally?

 

[Ethnicsands]

Before the season, many debated whether Morris had it between the ears to be a good quarterback. It wasn't necessarily about book smarts (Morris is the one of the best students on the team), but decision-making. So where are we on the debate now?

On the positive side, his pass-to-INT ratio (60 to 1) was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He also showed command of the no-huddle. Not only were there very few procedure penalties, but Morris routinely caught the defense off guard.

However, his decisions were not the quickest and his velocity often bailed him out. He also had long stretches against Virginia Tech and FSU where he wasn't seeing the field.

So with Fisch gone, my question is this: how far has Morris come mentally?

He's a crystal ball -- people see what they want to in him. Great arm, solid athlete, makes good throws, improved each year. On the other hand, doesnt seem to have that 'it' thing (you know it when you see it) that gives confidence he's going to get it done. I could easily see him keep progressing and have a Heisman like year, and i could see him toss a bunch of dumb picks with a new OC and have a so so year.

Strictly on the IQ thing, i think he has a solid feel for the game, but isnt quick or natural in his reads. If he could get to his third and fourth options more regularly, he'd be an amazing qb. I dont conclude he cant get there, either. My bet is he keeps getting better, and has a good year. Hard to know how the PC change will impact him though.

 

[UMcanesfan420]

He still has some work to do. I'd like to see him check down more. We have RB's wide open in the flat sometimes and he forces the ball downfield. FSU was good at utilizing the RB's in the passing game so hopefully, Coley brings that with him.


And IDK if it was becuase of Morris' velocity, but he got lucky with alot of throws that should've been picked but were just dropped by the defender. He needs to watch that.


Bottom line though, he will have alot of weapons at his disposal next season and it's basically a contract year for him. He has the arm to make a name for himself with the scouts. I hope he comes through and challenges to be the top QB in the draft.

 

[weownfsu]

I think he's a guy who just needed experience. He works hard, is generally intelligent, has a great arm and can make some ridiculous passes, but I also don't see him as a guy who will always make boneheaded decisions and we'll be stuck with that for next year as well. A lot of his biggest issues are things that can just be fixed by experience iMO. For instance in the game against FSU, he was clearly overly excited..missed two easy throws to Duke and Davon that could have been big plays or even TD's early. Made the HORRIBLE throw to Lockhart when James was WIDE OPEN for a TD, and ran with the ball out and got stripped. But none of those are the result of general boneheaded-ness like Jacory, but rather a guy who was not completely developed yet learning to play the game. I think there's a huge difference and I suspect Morris is the latter. I expect him to learn to check down, take something off the passes, settle down, and have a gigantic season.

 

[DiegoCane]

Love him. Great 1st season as the full time starter, think he will only improver for his Sr year. Seems like a guy who wants to be great. I'm not around the team but also seems like the players respect him, think he's a good leader.

Wish we had him for two more years.

 

[LuCane]

Here's what I wrote at the beginning of the 2012 season:

Same as before the season, which is why I was hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. I think there'll be an overreaction to today's game, but here's what we still need to see from him:

1. Anticipation: this may be the biggest issue. It affects all of the other issues. I haven't yet seen any legitimate signs that he's a "step ahead." This is probably the most apparent in that you'll see he rarely leads WRs and he's struggling (partly due to the playcalls) to place guys in position to run after the catch.

2. Touch: This has something to do with the above, but manifests physically. I'm yet to see legitimate examples of placing the ball BETWEEN defenders instead of by them or just over them. It's great to see zip on the ball from our QB. It's something that is extremely helpful on certain routes. However, without touch +anticipation, we're missing on some crucial areas of the field.

3. Pocket presence: This is still up in the air for me because there's limited evidence. However, this one scares me the most because I feel it's rarely "learned." Part of this may be the type of offense we're running and part of it may be Morris' "inexperience," but most of his throws are timing throws. 1-2-Ball is out. Watch college and NFL football. Some of the biggest and most important plays come from stepping into a pocket or comfortably sliding within the pocket. There were a half dozen examples today where he looked totally uncomfortable. Want a positive example? Maybe our most important play of the day where Morris stepped into the pocket and hit Dorsett on the run to get inside the 10 yard line and set up our first TD. That extra tick and a half makes defenses completely break down and opens up gaping holes for the QB/WR connection.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The one area he improved was pocket presence. I believe the others are still remaining questions. I hope he makes a Brock Berlin jump.

 

[pcitycane]

Before the season, many debated whether Morris had it between the ears to be a good quarterback. It wasn't necessarily about book smarts (Morris is one of the best students on the team), but decision-making. So where are we on the debate now?

On the positive side, his pass-to-INT ratio (60 to 1) was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He also showed command of the no-huddle. Not only were there very few procedure penalties, but Morris routinely caught the defense off guard.

However, his decisions were not the quickest and his velocity often bailed him out. He also had long stretches against Virginia Tech and FSU where he wasn't seeing the field.

So with Fisch gone, my question is this: how far has Morris come mentally?

Watched him play against Virginia tech as a freshmen. Kid has come a VERY long way.

 

[MetiSkeemz]

WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! I think he has a very solid IQ. This is his second year as full starting QB plus he's playing spring. He might be one of the best in CFB next season. True story.

 

[CyberCane]

So tough to say without knowing exactly what our offense is going to look like. I will say that his #1 goal should be working on his lead progression. With improvement, I think we'll see him completing 65%+ of his passes. He has all the ability in the world to be able to do that.

 

[jakeman1]

That's another reason why I hope Coley doesn't tinker with the offense too much. Morris should be to the point that he's comfortable with the offense and what to look for, so he can make the reads faster.

 

[Canesfan1899]

I feel like he made a lot of positive progress but as has been alluded to in previous posts has a lot of work left to do.

- I want to see some touch on short-intermediate throws so the WR's can catch the ball in stride. He also needs to improve ball placement as he still threw too many balls behind receivers or into the dirt.

- He needs to work on progressions, he still locks on to receivers and trusts his arm to bail him out which it did for much of the year. When he starts locating his 2nd and 3rd options the offense could be lethal.

- I feel like he could run the ball a little more as well. Kid is athletic and could have ran for some first downs this year but elected to hold the ball too long. I realize this puts him at risk for injury which is why I would like him to learn how to slide because anyone who watched him try and slide last year could probably tell he's awful at it.

Positives:

-Arm strength is elite NFL caliber
- TD-INT ratio was very good
- Leadership seems to be above average
- seemed to have a good command of the offense as well.

 

[rok]

Say what you will about Whipple as an OC, but the guy is an accomplished QB coach. Stephen has been able to pick the brains of two NFL coaches during his time here. Pass pro next year should be even better and he's got a ton of weapons. We might have two Heisman candidates in 2013.

 

[DaU83]

Still wish he was the starter in golden's first year. I agree with most of what's been said in this thread, but i don't agree completely with the "touch" argument.. would it be nice? yes... but if he's gunning it in there and it hits you in the hands, you have to catch it. Which would also help with his completion percentage, we still had a decent amount of drops last year.

I do think he holds on to the ball a little longer than ideal because he trusts his gun, which is not necessarily a good thing.. though i'm glad he can make all the throws.

 

[bshaw28]

I think his presence and reads are much better. He looks like he'll take the jump from being comfortable to taking command of the offense. I agree with others that his touch and accuracy are my main concerns. His worst game was Bethune Cookman where he was straight up missing receivers on his passes.

Consistency will have to improve as well. He was boom or bust last year. He had 4 games of 370+ yds passing, and the other 8 he was 225 yds or below. That even, consistent, 250 - 300 yd game wasn't there.

I think a lot of that had to do with lack of playmakers. I like Hurns and Walford as solid players, but they couldn't put pressure on a defense the way Coley and Sandland will this year. With Dorsett stretching the field, Sandland working the middle, Coley doing his thing, and Duke out of the backfield, defenses are going to have a lot of weapons to account for.

Add to that our entire OL returns, which is huge, and the expectation that someone out of the Scott/Waters/Lockhart/Lewis group really takes a step forward.

The game should come much easier to Morris this year.

 

[AlexCane]

He's improved a lot. I'm more comfortable with him than any QB here since Dorsey (I know, I know, that's not saying much). Like others said, would like to see him work on touch.

*Friend had season tickets next to one of his teachers and she praised the **** out of his smarts in the classroom. Smarts in classroom doesn't necessarily mean football smarts, but it carries over well. We're in good hands.

 

[rsa coral gables]

great topic and great non-flaming responses.

he made a lot of progress last year, particularly in the last 3-4 games. he does need to improve all of the issues identified by LuCane. if he does, there is no stopping the offense (assuming we fix the excessive drop balls). if he does not or the WRs do not fix the drop ball passes,we will struggle from time to time and be good to very good, but not great.

 

[4Canes]

There was not a better QB the last few games of the season IMO, he's not perfect, but I like our chances with him coming back.
As mentioned, he's progressed every year, considering he missed all of spring LY, I can't wait to see him next season!

 

[CaneMutiny06]

Before the season, many debated whether Morris had it between the ears to be a good quarterback. It wasn't necessarily about book smarts (Morris is the one of the best students on the team), but decision-making. So where are we on the debate now?

On the positive side, his pass-to-INT ratio (60 to 1) was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He also showed command of the no-huddle. Not only were there very few procedure penalties, but Morris routinely caught the defense off guard.

However, his decisions were not the quickest and his velocity often bailed him out. He also had long stretches against Virginia Tech and FSU where he wasn't seeing the field.

So with Fisch gone, my question is this: how far has Morris come mentally?

He's a crystal ball -- people see what they want to in him. Great arm, solid athlete, makes good throws, improved each year. On the other hand, doesnt seem to have that 'it' thing (you know it when you see it) that gives confidence he's going to get it done. I could easily see him keep progressing and have a Heisman like year, and i could see him toss a bunch of dumb picks with a new OC and have a so so year.

Strictly on the IQ thing, i think he has a solid feel for the game, but isnt quick or natural in his reads. If he could get to his third and fourth options more regularly, he'd be an amazing qb. I dont conclude he cant get there, either. My bet is he keeps getting better, and has a good year. Hard to know how the PC change will impact him though.

Spot on. His progression is going to depend on whether Coley is comeptent or not. Coley doesn't necesarily have to be an elite QB coach but incompetency can lead to regression.

Morris has the tools and the brain, coupled with what should be an excellent OL and an array of offensive weapons available to him, to continue to progress and have a great year.

On a bit of a side note, Morris should become our first QB to be drafted since Dorsey and may be the highest draft pick for a Miami QB in 20 years or more. I think he could go in the 2nd round with a good year.

 

[DeadPoets]

Morris is the real deal. I'm stoked to have this kid back.

 

[DeadPoets]

Before the season, many debated whether Morris had it between the ears to be a good quarterback. It wasn't necessarily about book smarts (Morris is the one of the best students on the team), but decision-making. So where are we on the debate now?

On the positive side, his pass-to-INT ratio (60 to 1) was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He also showed command of the no-huddle. Not only were there very few procedure penalties, but Morris routinely caught the defense off guard.

However, his decisions were not the quickest and his velocity often bailed him out. He also had long stretches against Virginia Tech and FSU where he wasn't seeing the field.

So with Fisch gone, my question is this: how far has Morris come mentally?

He's a crystal ball -- people see what they want to in him. Great arm, solid athlete, makes good throws, improved each year. On the other hand, doesnt seem to have that 'it' thing (you know it when you see it) that gives confidence he's going to get it done. I could easily see him keep progressing and have a Heisman like year, and i could see him toss a bunch of dumb picks with a new OC and have a so so year.

Strictly on the IQ thing, i think he has a solid feel for the game, but isnt quick or natural in his reads. If he could get to his third and fourth options more regularly, he'd be an amazing qb. I dont conclude he cant get there, either. My bet is he keeps getting better, and has a good year. Hard to know how the PC change will impact him though.

How many QBs in college go to their 3rd and 4th reads? ****... how many in the pros do it consistently?