The risk of benching Morris

[U Know]

I wish one of the reporters would ask Golden if he's considering benching Morris due to his performance, guarantee he'll slap the **** mic out there hand. We're 6-0 and we haven't even played our best game YET! If the coaches didn't bench him last year when we were losing, you think they'll bench him now when we're winning? He's one of the leaders on this team that is filled with guys many of you wanted to write off as JAGS (Green, Rogers, Armbrister, Gaines, Crawford, etc). These guys have fought and clawed there way to being ranked and undefeated. Lets enjoy the major improvements and hope Morris goes on a run like he did last year when he threw 12 tds with only 1 pick in the last 5 games. Williams will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself next year when EXPECTATIONS will be to be a National Championship contender, hope he's up for it. If he's not I'm sure you guys will be screaming to put in Olsen, or even a true freshmen, Kaaya.

***We're on the verge of winning our 7th game of the year, we didn't win our 7th game last year until game number 12. Which was our last game of the year against Duke (52-45).

 

[OBLIVION]

Until cane fans actually see a real QB command this offense. They will continue to be jedi mind tricked into thinking Morris is a bona fide NFL prospect. The man is a practice/camp HoF. Dude should have been able to carve up that 105th ranked defense last night in his sleep. If he was half the QB his supporters claim him to be.

 

[CANE4LIFE]

I just have to laugh at this ****.

Morris is exactly the same QB as he was last year. People need to stop commenting when he is playing at his worst. Everyone with a brain knows how ungodly streaky he is so quit being so ****ing surprised. If you didn't call for Williams to be the starter at the beginning of the year, then shut your mouth because your Friday morning head corching thoughts are invalid.

That's totally ridiculous dude. I usually respect your insights, but I cannot disagree with you more.

FIRST off, Morris looked like he was developing last year, and you would EXPECT a SENIOR QB, with at least a year of starts under his belt, to continue to improve and develop.

Secondly, Morris suffered an injury which affected SEVERAL games, and its obvious he's not 100% recovered and its affected his play.

Third, Ryan Williams has OBVIOUSLY improved a great bit. How much? We really dont know, but he looked pretty decent moving the offense and playing with poise when he's been in. Certainly such that it begs the question, CAN he move the offense more efficiently and LIMIT mistakes better than Morris can at this point?

Everyone expected MUCH better out of Morris before this season, and no one could have forseen him being injured and that further hampering his play. NOR could anyone have forseen that Williams might actually emerge as a viable option to start, at least to compete for the job next year.

Im not saying Morris sux, or Williams is the savior. We dont really know what we have in Williams, but I dont think its unreasonable to have this discussion based on what is going on with Morris, and the potential that Williams may be able to come in and run the offense efficiently, without making as many mistakes.

 

[rmcid]

I suggested more reps for Williams with first team the first practice back in Coral Gables. Maybe for an entire practice.

Morris was awful. Truly awful. But aside from garbage time against two clearly inferior opponents (Sav. Stat and USF) I'm not sure what others have seen in Williams that makes then think he is a clearly better option.

I don't think we can stretch defenses and threaten downfield (or to the far sideline) the same way with Williams. I'm open to being wrong though.

It's always been the case that your back-up QB is always built up in direct relation to your starter stinking it up. Add his solid play when called upon (albeit it in garbage time) and it's not surprising to hear the calls to start for a kid who was written off just a few weeks ago.

 

[5XNC]

lol, Morris's arm will guarantee he is a bona fide nfl prospect. he will do well at combines and in private workouts. whether he does well once in the nfl, I don't know. I think he will have a good chance.

 

[HurricaneU]

Until cane fans actually see a real QB command this offense. They will continue to be jedi mind tricked into thinking Morris is a bona fide NFL prospect. The man is a practice/camp HoF. Dude should have been able to carve up that 105th ranked defense last night in his sleep. If he was half the QB his supporters claim him to be.

Who is this real QB who should be running the offense?

 

[JHallCanes]

I just have to laugh at this ****.

Morris is exactly the same QB as he was last year. People need to stop commenting when he is playing at his worst. Everyone with a brain knows how ungodly streaky he is so quit being so ****ing surprised. If you didn't call for Williams to be the starter at the beginning of the year, then shut your mouth because your Friday morning head corching thoughts are invalid.

That's totally ridiculous dude. I usually respect your insights, but I cannot disagree with you more.

FIRST off, Morris looked like he was developing last year, and you would EXPECT a SENIOR QB, with at least a year of starts under his belt, to continue to improve and develop.

Secondly, Morris suffered an injury which affected SEVERAL games, and its obvious he's not 100% recovered and its affected his play.

Third, Ryan Williams has OBVIOUSLY improved a great bit. How much? We really dont know, but he looked pretty decent moving the offense and playing with poise when he's been in. Certainly such that it begs the question, CAN he move the offense more efficiently and LIMIT mistakes better than Morris can at this point?

Everyone expected MUCH better out of Morris before this season, and no one could have forseen him being injured and that further hampering his play. NOR could anyone have forseen that Williams might actually emerge as a viable option to start, at least to compete for the job next year.

Im not saying Morris sux, or Williams is the savior. We dont really know what we have in Williams, but I dont think its unreasonable to have this discussion based on what is going on with Morris, and the potential that Williams may be able to come in and run the offense efficiently, without making as many mistakes.

His ankle is a borderline red herring. You can blame it for his downfalls, but his downfalls are still there no matter what. He's the same guy.

Apparently he can't figure out UNC. I really don't see the point in analyzing his every detail when he is exactly what most people knew he would be. A complete roller coaster.

I'm not saying you are full of ****, I just think it's a bit pointless to take a kid like Morris and break him down like that

 

[SFbayCane]

Point of clarification: Morris's ankle was not the reason he threw 3 of those 4 picks last nite. Those pics were thrown simply because Stephen Morris was channeling his inner Jacory Harris. ie: floating balls into traffic when there was nothing there. Maybe you can make the argument that Morris is forcing things out of frustration from his ankle but that's kind of a stretch.

As we move forward against FSU and Va Tech we will see defensive coordinators who have plenty of film on our offense with coach Coley and Morris AND have the talent to scheme effectively against it. Last night was the first sign of it. On passing downs UNC dared Stephen Morris to take his check downs, he was 4 interceptions into the game before he started doing that.

For me, there are two things that keep Morris from being an elite QB; his lack of accuracy on short passes and his inability to get balls out on time. His reads are always a half step late. There seems to be a mental glitch between read 1 and 2 with Morris. Even on those deep outs, the receivers are all the way out of their breaks before morris releases the ball. He often gets away with it due to arm strength but I see that being a concern against DB's like FSU has.

 

[Gamineal]

None of us know the lockeroom dynamic. Bench him and you could lose the team.

I agree,,,player that bust there *** all year , u tough 100* heat etc...love seeing over and over a QB throwing to the other team....

You play the best players and the team understands that...If Morris is the guy then he is the guy..

 

[JHallCanes]

Point of clarification: Morris's ankle was not the reason he threw 3 of those 4 picks last nite. Those pics were thrown simply because Stephen Morris was channeling his inner Jacory Harris. ie: floating balls into traffic when there was nothing there. Maybe you can make the argument that Morris is forcing things out of frustration from his ankle but that's kind of a stretch.

As we move forward against FSU and Va Tech we will see defensive coordinators who have plenty of film on our offense with coach Coley and Morris AND have the talent to scheme effectively against it. Last night was the first sign of it. On passing downs UNC dared Stephen Morris to take his check downs, he was 4 interceptions into the game before he started doing that.

For me, there are two things that keep Morris from being an elite QB; his lack of accuracy on short passes and his inability to get balls out on time. His reads are always a half step late. There seems to be a mental glitch between read 1 and 2 with Morris. Even on those deep outs, the receivers are all the way out of their breaks before morris releases the ball. He often gets away with it due to arm strength but I see that being a concern against DB's like FSU has.

Agreed about the ankle completely. He is using it when it's convenient. I don't care either way but what's wrong with him is in between the ears, not his ankle. He definitely worries me on the road against FSU but obviously there's no denying his talent when he is rolling.

 

[5XNC]

I don't think morris floats balls like jacory harris. not even close to the same type of qbs. he's not floating passes. he tries to rely on his arm strength too much and force balls sometimes. his lack of checking down to the te or rb out of the backfield is concerning.

 

[JHallCanes]

I don't think morris floats balls like jacory harris. not even close to the same type of qbs. he's not floating passes. he tries to rely on his arm strength too much and force balls sometimes. his lack of checking down to the te or rb out of the backfield is concerning.

I really thought he was turning a corner lately. It's exactly what killed us against UNC last year.

Though he did still TRY to check down and made some nice conservative throws late, he's going to have to really clear that up if we want to beat FSU. He's really just a victim of his own success. Kid throws such a ridiculous deep ball, it's clearly hard for him to reign it in when it's necessary.

 

[SFbayCane]

I wish one of the reporters would ask Golden if he's considering benching Morris due to his performance, guarantee he'll slap the **** mic out there hand. We're 6-0 and we haven't even played our best game YET! If the coaches didn't bench him last year when we were losing, you think they'll bench him now when we're winning? He's one of the leaders on this team that is filled with guys many of you wanted to write off as JAGS (Green, Rogers, Armbrister, Gaines, Crawford, etc). These guys have fought and clawed there way to being ranked and undefeated. Lets enjoy the major improvements and hope Morris goes on a run like he did last year when he threw 12 tds with only 1 pick in the last 5 games. Williams will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself next year when EXPECTATIONS will be to be a National Championship contender, hope he's up for it. If he's not I'm sure you guys will be screaming to put in Olsen, or even a true freshmen, Kaaya.

***We're on the verge of winning our 7th game of the year, we didn't win our 7th game last year until game number 12. Which was our last game of the year against Duke (52-45).

1) We are winning more this year than last due primarily to the play of our defense, not Stephen Morris.

2) I would really like to see coach Golden asked some hard questions about Stephen Morris's performance. Again, I was calling for Ryan Williams to start against Ga Tech so Morris could rest his leg. Look what happened; Morris got further dinged up and did not practice during the bye week. Now we're into the meat and potatoes of the ACC schedule, resting Morris is no longer a clean option.

3) When ANY player plays poorly the fans are going to want to see the backup get some burn. I DO agree that its different with your QB but even the QB is benchable when they make freshman-like mistakes (ie: lobbing junk into traffic when there is simply nothing there). Morris has 8 int's on the year and only 1 against uf. That means he's thrown 7 picks against: USF, Savannah State, FAU and UNC. That's simply unsat.

 

[AtrainCane]

Has anyone though that the 37 NFL scouts at the game was a very bad thing for us? It looked at times as if SM was playing hero ball out there last night . Just a thought.

 

[5XNC]

as someone stated on another board, it's almost as if he's trying to show off his arm strength too much. I guarantee you walford is open so many times and could have 5 catches a game.

 

[Chrisarg72]

Every coach goes through this. And its always a risk. Butch had to go through it with KK and Dorsey.

The thing is, Morris' ankle is still CLEARLY not 100%.

AG at least has an excuse to say, "Look, the ankle is still CLEARLY affecting your play, you cant roll out, you are having issues under center, and he is stepping back when he throws, instead of stepping INTO the pocket". Mentally he's also rattled. CRITICAL mistakes, he's panicking in the pocket, and making horrible throws OVER and OVER when he's under pressure.

Tell you right now, FSU and VT are going to T- Off and bring non stop heat on him and force him to make mistakes. He throws 2 or 3 picks against EITHER of those teams, and we are TOAST.

Look, I understand he is the Senior leader of the offense, and he's obviously got the talent and arm, but there is something SERIOUSLY wrong in this kid's head right now. And it wasnt just last night, its been ALL season.

He wasnt overly impressive against FAU. He was hurt for SSU and USF, he was inconsistent in the UF game, and he's thrown SIX Picks in two games against UNC and GT. And at least 3 or 4 were in the red zone and cost us points. That might allow us to survive against mid level ACC teams, but its going to get us KILLED against the likes of FSU and VT.

Morris is just not playing anywhere CLOSE to where he needs to be.

I would seriously consider sitting him down for a game or at least half a game to "rest" his ankle.

Its not the first time a coach would have done this. Obviously its not something you WANT to do, but Morris is having some SERIOUS issues, and with the injury he had, it COULD be that he's compensating too much for it. At least AG has a reason to sit him for a bit and see if it sparks something in him.

Honestly, I dont see how it could get much WORSE at this point. He is the most inconsistent he has EVER been. He looks like Jacory with a stronger arm at this point. 0 TDs and 4 Ints last night, against a 1-5 team, 2 picks in the red zone. 2 Picks the game before against GT, also in the red zone.

Things are clearly going in the WRONG direction, and FAST.

Thank you, that was the point I was trying to make. You have to leverage the injury to bench him and fix him up. Yes he has always been streaky, but it usually consisted of big plays and then incompletions. Not lofted passes for interceptions.

 

[Gamineal]

Has anyone though that the 37 NFL scouts at the game was a very bad thing for us? It looked at times as if SM was playing hero ball out there last night . Just a thought.

some guys rise some dont...Dallas and ebron made some coin last night...SM better shape up

 

[JHallCanes]

Every coach goes through this. And its always a risk. Butch had to go through it with KK and Dorsey.

The thing is, Morris' ankle is still CLEARLY not 100%.

AG at least has an excuse to say, "Look, the ankle is still CLEARLY affecting your play, you cant roll out, you are having issues under center, and he is stepping back when he throws, instead of stepping INTO the pocket". Mentally he's also rattled. CRITICAL mistakes, he's panicking in the pocket, and making horrible throws OVER and OVER when he's under pressure.

Tell you right now, FSU and VT are going to T- Off and bring non stop heat on him and force him to make mistakes. He throws 2 or 3 picks against EITHER of those teams, and we are TOAST.

Look, I understand he is the Senior leader of the offense, and he's obviously got the talent and arm, but there is something SERIOUSLY wrong in this kid's head right now. And it wasnt just last night, its been ALL season.

He wasnt overly impressive against FAU. He was hurt for SSU and USF, he was inconsistent in the UF game, and he's thrown SIX Picks in two games against UNC and GT. And at least 3 or 4 were in the red zone and cost us points. That might allow us to survive against mid level ACC teams, but its going to get us KILLED against the likes of FSU and VT.

Morris is just not playing anywhere CLOSE to where he needs to be.

I would seriously consider sitting him down for a game or at least half a game to "rest" his ankle.

Its not the first time a coach would have done this. Obviously its not something you WANT to do, but Morris is having some SERIOUS issues, and with the injury he had, it COULD be that he's compensating too much for it. At least AG has a reason to sit him for a bit and see if it sparks something in him.

Honestly, I dont see how it could get much WORSE at this point. He is the most inconsistent he has EVER been. He looks like Jacory with a stronger arm at this point. 0 TDs and 4 Ints last night, against a 1-5 team, 2 picks in the red zone. 2 Picks the game before against GT, also in the red zone.

Things are clearly going in the WRONG direction, and FAST.

Thank you, that was the point I was trying to make. You have to leverage the injury to bench him and fix him up. Yes he has always been streaky, but it usually consisted of big plays and then incompletions. Not lofted passes for interceptions.

Not trying to be a **** but did you watch the game against UNC last year? His lofted passes for INTs is exactly what cost us that game. It was like an instant replay.

I'm just saying we gotta strap in and deal with his ups and downs. His ankle is an excuse.

 

[5XNC]

I didn't see "lofted" passes. I saw hard throws into coverage on the sideline. and the one that was lofted was just trying to get a little air under it. it's not like he's lofting passes all over coverage.

 

[Picksix]

There's a difference between benching Morris and sitting him down for a series or two and getting him under control. I don't think anyone is saying bench Morris and make Williams the starter. I would have liked to have seen Williams get a series or two early to know if he had a hot hand or not. Maybe you put Williams in and he marches the offense down the field and scores a TD. Maybe you then get to sit Morris for the game and let him get healthy for the last half of season. What the wort thing that could have happened? Williams throws an INT? **** Morris threw 4 of them.

GaTech threw two QB's at us. UNC threw two QB's at us. At no point did we put Williams in the game even when Morris was completely rattled? We saw this Goldens first year when we would ride or die with Jacory when Morris was sitting on the bench while Jacory is out throwing INT after INT. This is the only thing I have been critical of with Golden so far. IMO you have to give Williams a shot when Morris looks like that.

Morris had a bad game. All game long. Williams might have changed that and it was worth a series or two to find out.