There Used To Be Clocks Here

Monday Morning Quarterback 1/3/11

0 Comments Published on 1.03.2011 by John Brennan

I salute you, Ryan Nassib!

I made it out of New York City alive. As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Syracuse beat Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl this past Thursday 36-34. That obviously gave me a huge reason to celebrate. So, I did.

In a season where defense has helped Syracuse win and the offense often times puttered around, the bowl game was a role-reversal. Syracuse put up 498 total yards. As in, two short of 500. Amazing! 198 of them belonged to Delone Carter on the ground. So with the Wildcats having trouble on the run and looking for it all the time, Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib was able to go to the air. And did he! To the tune of 239 yards on 13 completions from 21 attempts, good for 62%. Nassib also threw three touchdowns to Marcus Sales, including connecting on a flea flicker for 52 yards into the end zone, a 36-yard pass, and a nice 44-yard pass.

Let’s talk about that flea flicker. The play before it, Delone Carter rushed for 24 yards and brought the offense up to the 48 yard line. I felt that it would be the right time to try a deep pass. Evidently, Doug Marrone thought so too! It was just perfect execution all around: from Antwon Bailey selling the run and shoveling the ball back to Nassib, to Nassib putting the perfect amount of air under the ball so it arrived at the end zone at the right time, to Marcus Sales not only avoiding the defender but also the official, and of course Sales actually catching it. Oh… it gives me tingles just thinking about it again!

In all, Nassib got the ball to six receivers during the game. He looked much sharper than he had back in November. Though, he wasn’t perfect. We still saw a few typical Ryan Nassib tosses to the ground or off the mark. That’s just sometimes that’s going to happen a few times per game. And that’s fine, as long as it doesn’t kill drives.

So where does this leave us? Well, September is 9 months away. Spring ball is in April. I think if Nassib continues to work hard in the offseason, we’ll see him back at quarterback in the fall. What will be key is really getting the receiving corps to pick it up. With the number of big plays we saw at Yankee Stadium, you know they have the ability to perform at a high level. They just need to do it consistently.

Well, this is the final edition of Monday Morning Quarterback for the season. It’s certainly nice to be writing it after a bowl game. And a bowl win no less! Thank you all for reading, and of course keep coming back to Orange::44 for the latest on whatever Syracuse sports stuff is happening!

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Monday Morning Quarterback 12/27/10

0 Comments Published on 12.27.2010 by John Brennan

Final stop? Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

The Syracuse Orange return to the bowl scene this Thursday as they will play the Kansas State Wildcats in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at the new Yankee Stadium. Neither team has played in a month, so they both will be fresh, knowledgeable about the other team, and will leave it all out on the field.

Ryan Nassib will no doubt be taking the snaps for Syracuse. The young redshirt sophomore we saw grow up during the season had a very rough second half to the season, particularly November. But that was a month ago. That was with the grueling week-to-week schedule. He’s now had all this time to focus on the Wildcats, to find their vulnerabilities, to study film to his heart’s content, and to be ready to give it his all.

Important to Nassib’s success will be whether his receivers can play well. All season long we’ve seen a receiving corps struggle with drops, with errant routes, with not getting open. Really, though, I think the key to whether the passing game opens up rests on how successful Delone Carter and/or Antwon Bailey are at running the ball. It looks like the Kansas State defense is vulnerable to giving up a lot of yards on the ground, so hopefully Syracuse can exploit that.

Lastly, I sure hope Doug Marrone has been working these linemen hard during these extra practices. If the line can open up lanes for the running backs, the ground game will excel. If the running game takes off, Nassib will have the opportunity to mix things up and pass the ball more. I’m predicting an offensive explosion from Syracuse, with Nassib throwing for over 200 yards, and the two-headed running monsters racking up 200+ yards on the ground. I’ll be watching from Section 236, so I hope the Orangemen deliver for me!

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Monday Morning Quarterback 11/29/10

0 Comments Published on 11.29.2010 by John Brennan

This just in: the bowl game won't be in the Carrier Dome
When your team is bad, you get used to them playing poorly. When your team is good but plays poorly, well, that's pretty damn frustrating. Such is the story of the 2010 Syracuse Orange, who met or exceeded everyone's expectations this year, are going to a bowl game, and yet have all bit fizzled out in the month of November. The latest setback was this Saturday in the regular season finale, losing -- at home -- against Boston College 16-7.
As has been the case since pretty much the beginning of October, the offense just couldn't get much of anything going. This was especially true in the first half, when Syracuse was shut out. Ryan Nassib, starting his 12th game for the Orange and who can no longer be called inexperienced, had another typical Ryan Nassib day. He was 15 of 24 passing (63%) for only 147 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. I could dwell on him being hurried all day, throwing errant balls, balls being dropped, etc. But really, I think the two biggest reasons the Syracuse offense (particularly Nassib) couldn't get much of anything going were: time of possession (they just didn't have the ball much), and Delone Carter getting hurt. Antwon Bailey stepping up into the main rushing role was fine, but that really turned the offensive gameplay upside down. And Boston College figured it out.
Marcus Sales had another good game, with Nassib often finding him in a slant wide open for gains of 5-10 yards each. I was actually surprised at the stats when I saw them: Sales only had five catches for 73 yards. That, of course, puts him on the hook for half of Syracuse's passing yards. The other passing targets were the usual suspects, with Bailey, Van Chew, and Nick Provo all registering more than one catch each.
So when you take a dimension like Carter out of your playbook, the rest of your playcalling becomes more conservative. And when the playcalling of Head Coach Doug Marrone is conservative to begin with, well, this doesn't make the fans too happy. Case in point was 5:22 left in the 4th quarter, Syracuse down 16-7 facing a 4th down, two to go from its own 29 yard line. Syracuse punts to a thinning crowd of boos. I shared the disappointment. Not that your offense is doing a great job of moving the ball, but you have to give them a chance to win! At 5:22 there's no guarantee you get the ball back if your defense can hold; plus, you need two scores. Punting in that situation says "I don't want to win the game." Sure, there's the argument that if you go for it and don't make it, you're giving up field position that will at least result in BC scoring 3. But at that point you can say the game is out of reach anyway, so why not just go for it?
OK, that was my rant that had very little to do about the QB situation, other than to say Marrone had little confidence in his offense. So now, we wait. We wait for this coming weekend to find out which bowl game we're going to (I'm still hoping for Pinstripes myself). We wait to see who we're playing in said bowl game. And we wait for Doug Marrone to prepare the crap out of his team so we can end this season without such a sour taste in our mouths.
Monday Morning Quarterback will now be on hiatus for the next few weeks. Check back the Monday before our bowl game, and the Monday following our game, for all your quarterbacky analysis. And of course, keep coming here to Orange::44 for all other things Syracuse, including all the basketball updates you'd ever want!

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Monday Morning Quarterback 11/22/10

2 Comments Published on 11.22.2010 by John Brennan

Does anyone here wanna play well? Anyone?

When the Connecticut Huskies rolled into the Carrier Dome Saturday night and beat Syracuse 23-6, it was difficult to tell which was worse: losing to UConn, or the way Syracuse lost to UConn. Either way, this was a game that featured some poor play calling, some poor execution, fans booing, and the crowd justifiably leaving early. Forget about the Chipotle curse: we have a Carrier Dome curse.

Once again at the helm for the Syracuse offense was quarterback Ryan Nassib. For anyone who watched the game, you'll look at his stat line and be surprised: 20 completions on 36 attempts (56%) for 171 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Bear in mind, one of those completions was to himself. But then of course he had the foresight to again attempt a forward pass after catching his own, and well, that's a big no-no. I feel like a D-1A quarterback should know that. I knew that. Anyway, the no TDs thing. That not only snapped the streak of consecutive games passing for a TD (was all games this season up until UConn) but it also kept Syracuse out of this game.

Not that UConn was putting up a ton of points. But even when you're only down by two touchdowns, it can seem insurmountable when it's evident that your team can't put the ball in the end zone.

Nine players caught passes from Ryan Nassib, including, Nassib himself. Marcus Sales led the way with six for 57 yards. Van Chew, Antwon Bailey, and Jose Cruz were the only other receivers with more than one catch. The longest completed pass of the day went to Bailey for 24 yards; however, his other three catches had a net yardage of 0.

I am officially scratching my head about this offense and what can be done to fix it. There's plenty of blame to go around. Sure, it's easy to blame the offensive line for not providing the necessary protection for Nassib. They weren't great by any stretch of the imagination on Saturday night, but if I had to point my finger to one unit, it wouldn't be the line. The receivers are dropping balls and otherwise not getting open. So they could get some blame. Ultimately, I suppose it all rests with Ryan Nassib who, at the end of the day, just hasn't been executing very well. Basically since Big East play started. Look at Syracuse's first play from scrimmage on Saturday: as I recall, there may have been a bit of a play fake, then it was a bomb down the sideline. If executed well (and completed), that instantly puts the Orange in great field position to set up a score, and sets the tone for the rest of the game. Instead, the pass was bad and fell out of bounds. There were a few other pass attempts like that where the ball landed out of bounds. I'm not talking a foot or two inside the line, I'm talking about several yards. Many other throws just aren't hitting receivers: too high, too low, in front of the receiver, behind the receiver. Is the timing off? Is Nassib aiming the ball? And that one INT Nassib threw, I just have no idea what he was doing there. He had no business throwing that ball where he did, and I knew it as soon as it left his hands that it would be picked.

So what is the answer, after all of that? I heard many people calling for Charley Loeb. I'm not about to endorse that idea. Just yet, anyway. For one, we have no idea how he has looked in practice, how comfortable the team is with him in the mix. Plus, as noted above, this offense isn't working for a number of reasons, not just QB. So putting in a new QB won't necessarily solve the problem; we'll still have a sub-par line and sub-par receivers. Boston College comes to the Dome this coming Saturday to close out the regular season. Of course, Ryan Nassib will start at QB and will probably play the whole game. But after that, head coach Doug Marrone will have one whole month to prepare for the bowl game, to examine our yet-to-be-named opponent, and to put together Syracuse's best chance to win that game.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 11/15/10

0 Comments Published on 11.15.2010 by John Brennan

Picture Ryan Nassib running in slow motion to "Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"
It wasn't pretty. Nothing about it was. It was New Jersey. It got cold once the sun went down. Rutgers Stadium doesn't sell beer. Neither team was in any hurry to put up points. But when it mattered most, Ryan Nassib & Co. got the job done. Syracuse beats Rutgers 13-10 and becomes bowl eligible for the first time since 2004!
All things considered, Nassib had himself a pretty decent game. Though he was sacked 64 times (not really), he still put up some pretty good numbers, possibly the best of all Big East matchups he's playing in thus far: he completed 16 of 31 pass attempts (52%) for 214 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The one touchdown was to Antwon Bailey in a play in the first quarter where Nassib actually had time to allow the play to develop, checked down on a couple of receivers as first options, and then just found a wide open Bailey down low who took the 4-yard pass into the end zone. It was a thing of beauty.
Also in on the receiving action were the usual suspects of Nick Provo and Van Chew, but seeing some more action this week were Marcus Sales (5 for 73 yards), and Adam Harris who pulled down a nice 19-yard completion. The nicest addition was obviously the emergence of Marcus Sales, who started this game and was otherwise having a very quiet 2010 campaign. With Alec Lemon having his own issues, it's good to know that Sales can come in and make some plays.
Of noted concern to me (not surprisingly) is the Syracuse offensive line. Its pass protection is non-existent. Here we are, 10 games into the season, and they still can't hold together and give Nassib time. Simply unacceptable. I've seen what head coach Doug Marrone has been able to do with the other units on the field, and he's taken mediocre talent and made it usable. Does this mean the o-line just has no talent to turn into anything? I don't know, but something's gotta give here. With a bowl line now on the horizon, I'd hate to see whatever name we're up against just embarrass Syracuse by face-planting Ryan Nassib on every passing attempt.
One more conference game coming up this Saturday against Connecticut at the Dome, followed by the regular season closer against Boston College on its traditional Saturday after Thanksgiving slot. Two very winnable games, until you remember that Syracuse hasn't played well in the Dome as of late, and now that bowl eligibility has been clinched, will these players simply go into automatic pilot? I don't think a Doug Marrone-coached team would, but you never know.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 11/8/10

0 Comments Published on 11.08.2010 by John Brennan

A quarterback can only do so much
I have a confession to make. Two days outside of Syracuse's 28-20 loss to Louisville, at home, and I have pretty much put a mental block on what happened in this game. Therefore, this article will be pretty short on discussion and analysis. But for whatever little bit I will write, let me check out two things that should jog my memory: the box score, and my twitter comments.
The box score tells the story of a mediocre statistical day for Ryan Nassib: 19 completions on 32 attempts (59%) for 155 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, there isn't a stat line for "drops." I truly think Nassib did the best he could in this game. He was under pressure all day, and when he was able to get the ball off in time, well at that point, the ball is out of his hands. Maybe that's where that saying comes from. At any rate, it's then up to his receiving corps to get the job done.
Receiving-wise, Nassib successfully got the ball to seven different players for completions: Alec Lemon (5 for 73 yards and a touchdown), Nick Provo (5 for 42 yards, including a couple 3rd down conversions), Van Chew (2 for 18 yards), Beckett Wales (2 for 9 yards), Delone Carter (2 for 7 yards), Antwon Bailey (2 for 5 yards), and Jose Cruz (1 for 1 yard). The fact that seven players got in on the passing game but nobody had more than 73 yards says a few things to me. First, that these receivers are not very good. More importantly, though, that Ryan Nassib will find anyone to keep a play going and pick up some yards -- even if it's only a couple.
Turning to my twitter comments from during the game, well, that's just not helping me. It's just a bunch of me being angry. I think we all were after this loss.
Things to blame this loss on:
  • Dropsies
  • Only 40k in the Dome
  • My brothers being in attendance
  • The "we could clinch a bowl berth" jitters
  • Anticipation for the end of Daylight Savings Time
  • Louisville scoring 8 more points than Syracuse
The Orange look to get back in the winning column and finally clinch that bowl berth this Saturday at Piscataway as they take on Rutgers at 3:30pm. And since it's a road game, Syracuse will probably win. Brian and I will be there, so if Syracuse loses, you can very clearly blame us, too.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 11/1/10

0 Comments Published on 11.01.2010 by John Brennan

#12 evidently dressed as "Ryan Nosseeb" for Halloween

“It must be Halloween, because here come the spooks!” This is a line from a “racist West Virginia fan” in the Hollywood blockbuster The Express. The game didn’t actually happen. Syracuse didn’t play WVU at Morgantown in 1959. And of course, as we know, there are no racists in West Virginia (nor have there ever been). But watching Syracuse play against Cincinnati in the 2010 Halloween weekend, it surely looked like the Bearcats were spooked by the Syracuse team – both sides of the ball.

You know the song & dance by now: Syracuse beat Cincinnati 31-7; Syracuse is 6-2 overall, 3-1 in the Big East; Syracuse has played in four straight Homecoming games, winning all of them except the one actually in Syracuse; and with 6 wins, Syracuse clinches a non-losing season and is on the cusp of bowl eligibility.

The Syracuse offense was once again led by sophomore quarterback Ryan Nassib. Coming off three straight “meh” games, Nassib found himself back in positive territory. His line for the day: 16 completions on 26 attempts (62%) for 125 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. While the yards gained is nothing to brag about, the completion percentage on the positive side of 50 is definitely encouraging. But Nassib’s individual stats don’t tell the whole story; more important here was the third down percentage (47%) and time of possession (35 minutes, 20 seconds).

To say Syracuse dominated this game, I guess would be an understatement. Statistically, maybe not so much, but actually, well, yeah. Cincy had the problem of not being able to finish. Much like my brother Andy. But I digress (he’ll be in the Dome with me this coming weekend against Louisville so I shouldn’t say too much).

Since this is supposed to be a QB article and not so much a recap, I’ll bring my focus back to Ryan Nassib. Like I said above, he had a much better game this go-around. He, for the most part, was finding his receivers and throwing accurately. There were a few overthrows, but no QB will be perfect on the day. I’ll let those slide. I think the one throw I was upset about (in a statistical way, not so much a game situational way) was the one interception Nassib threw on the day. In the dwindling minutes of the third quarter, Ryan Nassib on third down forced a pass toward double (or maybe triple) coverage, with what would prove to be a harmless interception. Cincinnati went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, so situationally the INT had no impact. Rather, this decision by Nassib peaked my concern of him as a decision-maker. He would have been much smarter to simply throw it away in that situation.

Still, Nassib impressed me situationally otherwise. The most prime example was the goal-line stance in the second quarter. Syracuse was facing a third-and-goal situation at the Cincy 1 yard line, when Nassib picked up a different look on the defense – particularly at middle linebacker. He motioned and yelled for the offense to pick up the difference, but with the play clock clicking down, he called the time-out. This enabled the Orangemen to draw up a play, give themselves ample time to read the defense, and hand the ball off to fullback Adam Harris for the touchdown (which, of course, he fumbled and was recovered by Ryan Bartholomew for the TD).

For as much as I want to praise the Syracuse offense for dominating the time of possession in this game, and for moving the ball down the field (only 4 punts on the day), big props have to go to the Syracuse defense for creating turnovers. Three turnovers of the ball by Cincinnati led to 17 points on the board by Syracuse. This tells me two things: 1) the Syracuse defense is a monster; and B) the Syracuse offense can capitalize on opportunities when given the chance. Big props to Ryan Nassib & company for making this happen.

The Syracuse receiving corps was good. Not great or overpowering, but good. Nick Provo and Antwon Bailey each had four catches, for 40 and 24 yards, respectively. One of those Bailey catches was a touchdown. Also in on the action was, of course Alec Lemon (2 for 27 yards), Jose Cruz (3 for 20 yards), Delone Carter (2 for 11 yards), and Van Chew (1 for 3 yards – a touchdown).

There is no doubt this Syracuse squad is being led by its defense, but the fact that Ryan Nassib can go out there and make things happen based on what his defense gives him, is, well, awesome. This is what makes a great team. When all units are clicking, great things happen. We look for this to continue this coming Saturday at noon against the Louisville Cardinals. With the Orange making a triumphant return to the Dome, I expect nothing less than what we saw on the field this past Saturday against Cincy. Big East, look out. You’re about to be recolored.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 10/25/10

0 Comments Published on 10.25.2010 by John Brennan

Sometimes you just don't have to be good
Let me preface this article by saying I didn't actually watch this game. Rather, I was driving down to Philadelphia to watch the San Francisco Giants win the NL Pennant and move on to the World Series. So I had the honor and privilege to listen to Sirius to the call from Matt Park. Hey, better than Pam Ward or whatever nutjob espn2 threw out there. So of course, it was great to heard Matt Park call this 19-14 Syracuse victory at Morgantown.
The stat line for Ryan Nassib, the winning quarterback, is as follows: Five completions on 15 attempts (33%) for 63 yards and a touchdown. That should never be the stat line for a winning quarterback, but when the rest of the squad is playing at the top of its game, this is what can happen. Van Chew caught the lone touchdown early in this one, and had another reception for a total of 46 yards, making him the "favorite target" on the day. He also had a drop early in the game. Others in on the passing game included Antwon Bailey (2 catches for 11 yards) and Nick Provo (1 catch for 6 yards).
Often times when Nassib dropped back to pass, Matt Park would exclaim "Nassib hit as he throws!" Listening on the radio, I couldn't tell whether the coverage was just too good, or whether the o-line was breaking down, or what. But I feel like Nassib was hurried too much in this game, which seriously effected his accuracy.
I suppose this is now cause for concern. This is the third game in a row where Nassib hasn't been all that & a bag of potato chips. Is it because we're seeing tougher competition now? Is it fundamentals? Is it bad practicing? Now, to be fair, I don't think we have a quarterback controversy -- nobody's calling for Nassib to be benched in lieu of Charley Loeb. But you've got to wonder just how many more games Syracuse will be able to win if Ryan Nassib doesn't get back to where he was the first third of the season. I mean, the schedule ahead isn't that daunting, but it's still the Big East. Anything can happen.
Halloween weekend is coming up, and Syracuse travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats. Since this is the Big East and anybody has a shot to beat anybody (especially after Syracuse beat the best team in the league on their own turf) I have to say Syracuse can win this. But will they? A lot of that rests with Ryan Nassib. No pressure, buddy!

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Monday Morning Quarterback 10/18/10

2 Comments Published on 10.18.2010 by John Brennan

A Homecoming of sorts? Same as it ever was.
There are basically two kinds of people in the Syracuse world right now. The first is the syracuse.com message board poster, the guy who says that the four wins were flukes and the team sucks and won't win another game the rest of the season. The other is the eternal optimist, who thinks the loss to Pitt was just the team having a bad day, and that the team will march into Morgantown this Saturday and beat up on the Mountaineers. So of course, I have to make a third category since I'm not an extremist.
Fact is, while this team does have some talent and surely has a lot of potential, they just flat out played horribly on Saturday, losing to Pittsburgh 45-14. There's not a specific unit to blame for this one; it truly was a team effort. However, for purposes of why you read my rant each Monday morning, I'll focus on the offense, specifically the quarterback.
Ryan Nassib, starting the sixth game of his college career, did not play well. After having a "meh" game against South Florida, he may have regressed. On the day against Pitt, he completed 25 passes on 46 attempts (54%) for 231 yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Take the INTs out of it and it looks like a decent game. But it wasn't. Nassib really only had one great pass the entire game, a shot down the field on Syracuse's second drive of the game, responding to Pitt's score. The 41-yard bomb to Alec Lemon eventually set up a 1-yard dive by Delone Carter to tie the game at 7. That's as close as Syracuse would get in this one.
Even in garbage time in the 4th quarter, Ryan Nassib was not impressive. Throughout the game, he was overthrowing receivers, sometimes throwing at their feet, or just plain not accurate enough for these guys to catch. It was frustrating, because we've seen just how accurate Nassib had been in the first four games this season, and then for him to phone it in last week and then just plain not show up this week... ugh. He's in a funk, as everyone else is saying. I'd rather not steal words, but I'm too lazy right now to look up "funk" synonyms, so we'll stick with funk.
Unfortunately, it's not like Syracuse has another Maine or Colgate to rebound with next week like they did after they lost to Washington. Syracuse travels this week to Morgantown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers are pretty clearly the best team in the Big East this season. In a league where anything could happen to anybody, they've done a good job of keeping their noses relatively clean. Add to that the fact that West Virginia is always a tough place to play at and, well, I don't like the outlook for Syracuse. Ryan Nassib will need to find a way out of his funk if Syracuse will even make this a close game. I don't know what the answer is. I know he has the skill and the talent, so maybe this is a mental thing. If so, I'm sure Head Coach Doug Marrone has some choice motivational words for Ryan.
In the meantime, we're all back down to reality and can realize that this team still only has to go .500 over these remaining six games to make it to a bowl game. That's something that I, as a member of that new third kind of person in the Syracuse world, can believe.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 10/11/10

0 Comments Published on 10.11.2010 by John Brennan

Our little guy is growing up!

A lot can be said about Syracuse's 13-9 victory over the Bulls of South Florida. It wasn't pretty. A win is a win. A Big East win. A win on the road. A win over a program Syracuse has never beaten. A turning point in the program. A marquee win that puts the Orange at 4-1 overall, 1-0 atop the Big East standings.

How did we get there?

Well, it wasn't by outstanding quarterback play. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer here, but Ryan Nassib had what can only be described as, at best, a pedestrian performance. His stats don't jump out at you: 12 completions on 22 attempts (55%) for 129 yards, 1 touchdown (more on that coming up), no interceptions but he was sacked 4 times. A couple of the incompletions can be blamed on drops (looking your way, Alec Lemon and Nick Provo). The rest, well, that was Ryan Nassib not being accurate. We saw flashes of this a few weeks ago, and I wasn't overly concerned at that time. Nor am I overly concerned now. But it's noteworthy and needs to be monitored. The most common inaccuracy I saw was over throwing his receivers.

However, Nassib can't take all the blame there. Blame timing. More importantly, blame the offensive line's constant collapse for throwing off the timing. Time and again, Ryan Nassib was hurried by the South Florida rush, which just wasn't being contained very well by the Syracuse front men. Nassib had to do a lot of scrambling, and often times was forced to throw the ball before he wanted. He's young, so I assume he wasn't accounting for the earlier timing but rather still making the planned on throw, meaning he was throwing to the right spot, but the receiver wasn't there yet. I don't know, just a guess. But the o-line is a good scapegoat on this one.

Receiving-wise, Nassib spread the ball to six different players, with Van Chew once again being his favorite (four catches for 59 yards). Also getting in on the action were Antwon Bailey, Nick Provo, Alec Lemon, Beckett Wales, and the cap of an awesome drive, Marcus Sales.

So let me set the stage on that for you. The 4th quarter has just began. USF punts into Syracuse territory and pins the ball at the 2 yard line at the 13:49 mark. I tweet "Ok Ryan Nassib, 98 yards. Let's see what you can do." Heeding my call to prove himself as the leader of this squad, Ryan Nassib methodically and deliberately led the team down the field on the following 14 play, impressive 98-yard drive ending with a touchdown:
  • Harris runs for 6 yards
  • Bailey runs for 5 yards
  • Carter runs for 2 yards
  • Nassib pass complete to Lemon for 6 yards
  • Carter runs for 4 yards
  • Nassib pass complete to Provo for 6 yards
  • Carter runs for 8 yards
  • Bailey runs for 31 yards
  • Nassib pass complete to Chew for 4 yards
  • Nassib pass complete to Bailey for 12 yards
  • Carter runs for 8 yards
  • Carter runs for 1 yard
  • Carter runs for 2 yards
  • Nassib pass complete to Sales for 3 yards and a touchdown
Somewhere near the end of that drive, before Syracuse found itself in the end zone, I tweeted "This is by far the best offensive drive for either team all day." Not only the best drive, but the importance of the drive in the course of the game, and, of the season for Syracuse. For the game, that proved to be the game-winning drive, putting Syracuse on top 13-9, where the score would remain. It also ran 6 minutes 34 seconds off the game clock, which is absolutely huge in the 4th quarter of a tight game that was otherwise lacking on offense from both teams.

But in terms of that drive being important for Syracuse's season, consider this: on a day when Ryan Nassib didn't have the greatest stuff, he pulled the entire offense together to have a perfect series of plays to function as one whole unit, move the ball down the field, and put it in the end zone. Everything worked perfect. The play calling from the sidelines provided the perfect mix of run and pass. Blocks were made. Holes were opened. Rushers waited for plays to develop. Everyone fought forward. Of the 14 plays, Nassib passed on 5 of them for a total of 31 yards. Not in and of itself impressive, but he was a perfect 5 for 5, and to 5 different receivers. That must be frustrating for a defensive player. Add into that the fact that each Syracuse rush provided positive gains, and you call that the perfect drive.

Someone much wiser than me, I believe Head Coach Doug Marrone, said that Ryan Nassib grew up on that drive. I didn't quite realize it when it happened, but looking back at just how impressive it was, I totally agree. With the help of his coaching staff, Ryan Nassib took command of his offense, and used each one of its strengths to march down the field and give Syracuse the lead. A less mature QB may have passed more. A less mature QB may have gotten excited and freaked out. Let's not forget, this was a Syracuse team playing on a hot field, down 9-6 in the 4th quarter, in front of 41,000+ mostly hostile fans, against a team who had never lost to Syracuse. Daunting if you think about it. But that's what separates us from Nassib. Clearly, he didn't think about it. Or if he did, he quickly disregarded it and got done what needed to get done. And for that, we all thank him.

Meanwhile, another minute of gameplay later saw a very frustrated USF quarterback BJ Daniels yell "fuck!" very clearly on TV after being thrown out of bounds. Yes, BJ, fuck, indeed.

The mantra from practically day one this season has been that anything can happen in this Big East. We're seeing it unfold before our eyes. Coming up this Saturday is a noon matchup against preseason Big East favorite Pittsburgh. My how things have changed! I fully expect to see 45,000+ Syracuse fans wearing orange in the Dome on Saturday for Homecoming, knowing that this offense and this team have turned the corner and knowing that what was surely a loss when everyone looked at the schedule in August is a very winnable game. And we can all know that if Ryan Nassib doesn't exactly have his stuff with him on Saturday, he at least has the confidence of his teammates, his coaches, and his fans to make something happen.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 10/4/10

0 Comments Published on 10.04.2010 by John Brennan

Now is the time to be great
Coming off the bye week, there isn't much to talk about in terms of a performance last week. So this entry will be short. But let's take a look at Ryan Nassib going into the Big East slate, which starts off this Saturday with a tilt against South Florida, in Tampa, which is not in south Florida.
Syracuse and USF have very similar profiles coming into this game. Both are 3-1. Both lost the game "they were supposed to lose," while gaining wins over vastly untalented opponents. Both schools are looking for a win to start off the Big East games on the right foot.
I think this game means a lot to Ryan Nassib. After winning the praise of Head Coach Doug Marrone during the preseason, he has shown the fan base just how good he is. We've seen from Nassib something we haven't seen from a Syracuse QB is quite a while -- poise in the pocket, accurate passing, a strong arm, good decision making. So now the fan base is just as excited about our QB as Marrone is. Yet, we all have to sit here and say "Well he hasn't really played anybody." And that's true. But...
Let's not forget that Washington is a pretty good team. Remember that first quarter out there in Seattle? Nassib was brilliant. Hell, the whole team was brilliant. That is the kind of start Nassib needs to have against South Florida. Jump on them early and make them play catch up. In the two games leading into the bye week, Syracuse showed excellence in the passing game (vs. Maine) and excellence in the running attack (vs. Colgate). That excellence needs to culminate with a two-headed attack in Tampa this Saturday if the Orangemen want to fly back to New York with smiles on their faces and a 4-1 record.
Obviously the realist in me probably chooses South Florida to win this game. But this is your 2010 Big East Conference, so anything can and will happen. I'm looking at you, Rutgers.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 9/27/10

0 Comments Published on 9.27.2010 by John Brennan

This certainly isn't a 3-man race. Maybe I should crop the picture.

Here's the Cliff's Notes version: Syracuse won. Ryan Nassib is pretty good. The receivers are... meh. Nick Provo is a magician. And does any of this give us an indication of how Syracuse will do in the Big East conference games?

Ryan Nassib's performance was pretty much an afterthought of Syracuse's 42-7 victory over the Colgate Raiders on Saturday. While he took the spotlight last week against Maine, this game was Delone Carter's to shine. And while I'd love to write about how good Carter is, how he can see down the field and make adjustments to his running route to maximize his yards, well, that's just not what this column is about. This is a quarterbacks article. Nassib's line on the day: eight completions on 15 attempts (53%) for 169 yards and a touchdown.

On a day where the passing game was not being emphasized, I guess it's easier to scrutinize it. Most pass completions were netting several yards for the Orange offense, averaging in at 11.3 yards per reception for Nassib. That's certainly good. However, there were a lot of pass attempts that just didn't make it. There was something a little off about Nassib's accuracy in this game. Could be because he was hurried; could be because he was just having a bad day. I don't know. But I don't think we're gonna be seeing any more games where Nassib completes 53% of his passes and Syracuse ends victorious.

As for the receivers, Van Chew once again led the pack with a whopping three receptions for 68 yards. Antwon Bailey had the same output with only two receptions, but he was lucky enough to find the end zone. The one completion to tight end Nick Provo was only on account of what can only be called pure athleticism (or luck) on Nick's part, as that pass seemed to fall just short of his fingertips, yet somehow he was able to extend his arm and make the grab. In my opinion the best catch of the day.

One stat that everyone was talking about was the time of possession. Colgate won that battle 44:26 to 15:34. That's right, the Syracuse offense only had the ball for 15 and a half minutes. Yet it scored 42 points. The reason? The hurry-up no-huddle offense. To his credit, Ryan Nassib ran this quick paced team down the field very well. I think but for a false start call on the opening drive and one or two late in the game, they were able to stay together on the play calling. It takes a high level of skill to be able to consistently run a hurry-up offense (i.e. Peyton Manning), so big props to Nassib. For the record, I am in no way comparing him to Indy's golden boy. Plus, I would assume that Nassib's hurry-up performance might not look so fluid in a hostile environment where it's harder to get the play calls into him and out to the players on the field.

And Nassib's Orangemen should be seeing that hostile environment in Tampa in two weeks. Until then, we're staring the dreaded Bye Week in the face. If I know anything about Doug Marrone, it's that he's gonna work these men to death over the next two weeks to come out fully prepared for the Bulls on October 9. With the Big East wide open and anyone's for the taking, the question we'll all be asking ourselves is "Why not Syracuse?"

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Monday Morning Quarterback 9/20/10

0 Comments Published on 9.19.2010 by John Brennan

One for the record books
After the first quarter of the game Saturday night against Maine, I was bordering somewhere between miserable and furious. The Syracuse offense was virtually non-existent. They showed some signs of life in the second quarter, but really woke up in the second half, ultimately posting a 38-14 victory.
The big story of the day was that Ryan Nassib threw for a new school record 5 touchdowns. Pretty impressive. Nassib's stat line: 19 completions on 28 attempts (67.9%) for 260 yards, no interceptions, and of course, the previously mentioned 5 TDs. To have put up stats like that really surprised me, since I was really anticipating Syracuse to run the ball all day. I think the continued issues with the offensive line limited the Syracuse run game. Despite that, Ryan Nassib was able to get his job done, and done well. With Aaron Weaver gone for the season, he found his receiver choices diminished, completing passes to five different receivers.
It wasn't all happy, fun times, though. I didn't count, but there were several passes thrown by Nassib in this game that hit the receivers, and the receivers didn't catch. Dropsies. Awful. It's very clear to me that Nassib has a very strong, accurate arm. So why can't these guys catch passes? Luckily, I believe most of these drops happened earlier in the game, so they finally got their act together as the game progressed, and, well, 5 TDs later, we were celebrating a victory.
Back to the Aaron Weaver situation. With him tearing his ACL in practice last week, he leaves a huge hole in this receiving corps. To say he was missed is an understatement. It's a shame for the group, because I think he was developing into their leader, and the guy Nassib could count on to be open (and catch the ball) when called on. The big question now, for the offense, is who will step up and fill those shoes.
Van Chew had the most catches with 7, but Nick Provo and Alec Lemon were right behind him with 5 each. Obviously having the tight end play adds another dimension to the offense and gives Nassib another option out there. Chew and Lemon need to keep up that good work out there. Except for the Lemon drop. Those should only be seen in bars, not on football fields.
So where does this leave us? Well, ultimately, Ryan Nassib can only be as good as his receivers allow. There's no doubt he has the talent, the skills, and the knowledge to be a great quarterback. I see it as a blessing that Colgate is the next game. This will give the offense another chance to showcase itself and hone its skills before heading into what looks to be a daunting October.
Against Colgate, I don't expect Nassib to match or break his new school record for touchdown passes, but 4 isn't out of the question. He should easily reach 300+ yards in this game. But, as is usually my luck, this Colgate game will probably be the game Syracuse decides to rush for 300 yards instead. At the end of the day, of course, I don't care. A W is a W.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 9/13/10

0 Comments Published on 9.13.2010 by John Brennan

Who wants some playing time?
Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning during the football season called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.
While watching the South Florida vs. Florida game earlier on Saturday, I tweeted something along the lines of "They are who we thought they were" concerning Florida. After a slow start, they showed USF they were the better team. The Washington Huskies did pretty much the same thing to Syracuse, giving up a 10-0 lead early and then pouring it on to beat the Orange 41-20.
Let's focus on that early 10-0 lead, for now. The one person I can give credit to for that was none other than Ryan Nassib. The first drive of the game he led Syracuse down the field, then ran 28 yards himself for the touchdown. OK, obviously the extra point and the field goal later in the quarter can't be directly credited to Nassib, but you get the point. The Syracuse offense was hitting on all cylinders in the first quarter.
And then it gummed up like that junker you drove in high school that was about 12,000 miles overdue for an oil change.
Syracuse wouldn't put another point on the board until a Ross Krautman field goal early in the 4th quarter. By then Washington had put up 27 points. Nassib later added a 19-yard touchdown pass to Alec Lemon, but it was, as they say, too little, too late. The final stats on Nassib: 17 completions on 35 attempts (48.6%) for 202 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and 20 yards on the ground himself. He again spread the ball out, throwing to seven different receivers. Like last week, more often than not it was Van Chew or Aaron Weaver.
The completion percentage leaves much to be desired, especially after last week's was so high. This is due, in part, to the caliber of defense (Akron vs. Washington), but let's not keep the Syracuse offensive line out of the discussion. Nassib was forced to make quicker decisions and, thus, poorer decisions. Receivers weren't getting themselves open, or completely running their routes. Often times Nassib had to throw the ball when he didn't want to, which spelled trouble. But the good news is, we know what the problem is. Head Coach Doug Marrone should be able to assist this rather untalented O-line -- maybe not solve the problem -- but at least improve them.
Thankfully Syracuse can feast itself on Maine and Colgate the next two weeks.
Also of note in this game, Charley Loeb took some snaps in garbage time. He was two of two for 22 yards. Look for that perfect completion percentage to continue through his entire career.
Was it disappointing to see Syracuse lose to Washington? Absolutely. Was it a horrible loss? Nah. Syracuse was supposed to lose. Washington is good. Washington was at home. Syracuse has deficiencies. But Syracuse has some good talent out there, and as we saw with the rest of the Big East, this thing is still wide open. A loss always hurts, but dwelling on it won't get us anywhere.
Weekly QB Watch
Ryan Nassib has the potential to throw for 300+ yards and 3+ touchdowns against Maine this week in the home opener, but something tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of the running game this go around. So, I think more accurately we're looking at 220 yards and two touchdowns.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 9/6/10

0 Comments Published on 9.06.2010 by John Brennan

Ryan Nassib did what I thought he would

Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning during the football season called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.

Oh how good it feels to be right! Remember last week when I said Ryan Nassib will throw for 215 yards and two touchdowns against Akron? Actual retail price: 229 yards and two touchdowns. OK, so I underestimated Nassib by 14 yards. Still pretty damn good though.

But enough about me and my wisdom. Let’s take a good at how Ryan Nassib led this 2010 Orange squad to a 29-3 victory over the Akron Zips in the season opener.

As stated above, here’s the line on Ryan Nassib: 229 yards passing, two touchdowns, one interception, and he was sacked just once. To get those 229 yards, he completed 17 passes on 27 attempts, which by my calculations equates to about a 63% completion rate. Not too shabby. No one receiver was a favorite of Nassib (or no one receiver had the stand-above skills), but the ball was spread to seven different receivers. Touchdown passes were to Hofstra transfer Aaron “Immediate Impact” Weaver, and Van “Big League” Chew.

Sorry, Chris Berman stole my keyboard there for a second. I’m back now.

Pretty much the only blemish on the day for Ryan Nassib was an interception in the end zone. Where have we seen this before in an opening game? Oh yeah. Last year. Greg Paulus. Except, this time, the game was not on the line. So in the scheme of things, the Nassib pick was not a big deal. In fact, overall, I have to be pleasantly surprised with the poise, confidence, and decision-making out of Nassib. This was one of my concerns coming in – but he seems to have established himself as quite a leader of this offense. He was quick to get rid of the ball, especially when the offensive line broke down, but he was careful to throw it either where a white jersey could catch it, or nobody could catch it. To see that type of maturity out of a young quarterback who really has little actual game experience I thought was a big relief.

That said, let’s not forget this was the Akron Zips. The Akron Zips who turned out a crowd of 15,969 for their home opener. The Akron Zips who are picked to finish last in the MAC, below such perennial powerhouses as Toledo and Bowling Green. The Akron Zips who, well, you get the point. The point being, good warm up for the Orange, and a great showing from Nassib in his first start.

Had it not been a good showing, that obviously would have set the tone for the rest of the season. A bad tone. Disappointment. Instead, we’re looking at hope, at potential, at winning. Especially when you look around the Big East and see what the other seven did this weekend. This league is wide open, and if the Syracuse offense can pound the ball down the field, put points on the board, and otherwise continue to play like it did against Akron, Orange Nation will be quite happy with the 2010 campaign.

But it’s not all smiling kids and jelly beans. Syracuse faces the Washington Huskies this coming Saturday. While Washington fell this weekend to BYU, they are still a force to be reckoned with, and an offense that can put up a lot of points. This game will have to be a shoot-out if Syracuse wants to have a shot at winning. That means Nassib & Co. need to move the ball and put it in the end zone. Just like against Akron. Can they do it? We’ll find out, right after this.

The Weekly QB Watch

I’m debating between predicting Ryan Nassib throwing for 2 or 3 touchdowns. My heart says 3, but my gut says 2. So I’ll officially go with 2. I also see 280 yards passing.

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Monday Morning Quarterback 8/30/10

0 Comments Published on 8.30.2010 by John Brennan

Any one of these young men could be a hero


Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning during the football season called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.

Welcome to the first edition of Monday Morning Quarterback for the 2010 season here at Orange::44! It’s good to be back. We’ve had the luxury of Spring Ball, informal workouts through the summer, and training camp the past few weeks. It is now officially game week! The quarterback situation seems to be nothing like it was last season; no Greg Paulus to keep us busy. Head Coach Doug Marrone has been real hot on Ryan Nassib. So he’s our guy.

For those of you who read my article last season, you know I wasn’t a huge Ryan Nassib fan. I drank the Paulus Kool-Aid. I admit it. And what I saw of Nassib wasn’t very impressive. In fact, back then, I put my Weekly QB Watch probability for 2010 opening game starter as Charley Loeb 99%, Nassib 0%, and other 1%.

Looks like I was wrong.

That’s OK though. Like I said many times last year, Marrone knows what he’s doing, and I gotta trust him. He liked Nassib in the Spring, and he likes him now. He’s our guy.

Orange::44 proprietor Brian Harrison had an opportunity to see both Nassib and Loeb in action at the FanFest a couple weeks ago. His report was that Nassib was making some poor decisions, and Loeb looked pretty good. By that point, Marrone had already announced Nassib as the starter. So maybe Nassib was just having a bad day or something. I don’t know.

I guess what this boils down to is that there’s no QB controversy in Syracuse right now, and I’m trying to make one. Without one, this column is pretty worthless. More worthless than it is to begin with! But I guess, bottom line, as long as the team does well and wins with Nassib taking the snaps, then I don’t care.

The first hurdle to get over is Akron. Not an unfamiliar foe in recent years, Akron boasts, well, um, I guess they field a team. I’ll be honest, I haven’t done a scouting report. All I know is Syracuse is an 8.5 favorite going into this game. That means that people expect this offense to score points. Ryan Nassib, please make that happen.

The Weekly QB Watch

Since there’s no controversy, instead of listing the probability of who will start the next game, I will instead be devoting this section to performance guesses until such time as a controversy does develop. OK. Against Akron, Nassib will have two touchdowns and throw for 215 yards.

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Monday Morning QB - 5/31/10

0 Comments Published on 5.31.2010 by John Brennan


Why is he doing this? It's not football season!
Welcome to a special Memorial Day edition of Monday Morning Quarterback here at Orange::44. First and foremost, I would like to extend a very big thank you to all current or veteran members of our Armed Forces who read this blog. I think I speak for everyone by saying we are eternally grateful for your service. We all know someone who has served, and probably someone who has given the ultimate sacrifice, and one or two days a year dedicated to what they do for us is not nearly enough.
Usually on Memorial Day, the Syracuse lacrosse team is playing for a National Championship. Or at least they would have made it to the Final Four. Well, we all know that that went south this year, at the hands of Army, no less. So, then, why would I be writing a Memorial Day post? Memorial Day traditionally marks the unofficial start of summer. And with summer upon us, that means the football season is just on the horizon.
Last year's starter, Greg Paulus, is trying to find his place in the NFL. I guess maybe I use "trying" loosely. At any rate, that leaves Syracuse with one big question (among others): who will be the starting quarterback come game one? I don't think we can answer this question. Obviously, coming out of Spring ball, Head Coach Doug Marrone listed Ryan Nassib at the top of the depth chart. So, reason would dictate that he would start in the fall, right? No. (See also: 2009 spring depth chart). Now, I'm not saying Nassib won't be the starter. I am saying spring is spring and it means nothing.
For Charley Loeb and whoever else thinks they have what it takes, there's a long time between the end of Spring ball, and when summer practice officially begins. Marrone reported some great things out of Loeb, and during the practices that media and others were actually allowed to attend (read: few) all reports were that Loeb looked as equally impressive as Nassib. Each, of course, has their own pros and cons.
Bottom line, I consider the QB position to be wide open. Then again, if I didn't, then writing this column would kind of be a waste of time.
Enjoy the summer!

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Monday Morning QB - 11/30/09

0 Comments Published on 11.30.2009 by John Brennan

Unfortunately, Cam Dantley didn't make it into this game.

Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning during the football season called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.

Welcome to the fourteenth and final edition of Monday Morning Quarterback for the 2009 season here at Orange::44.

Greg Paulus was the starting quarterback for Syracuse for the first eleven games. The twelfth, and final game, against UConn, would also belong to him. Paulus ended the season, and ended his career, with possibly his best game. Greg threw 24 of 32 for a whopping 296 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He was also the team’s second leading rusher, with 28 yards.

Still, he was sharing snaps with Ryan Nassib. Stat-wise, Nassib had a pretty good game too, with 7 of 9 for 64 yards and a touchdown pass of his own. However, he also lost 19 yards on the ground. Throughout this game, it seemed pretty clear to me who the better quarterback was, and which QB would put this team in the best position to win the game. Unfortunately, the coaching staff still had “packages” for Nassib. More often than not, Nassib was in the game to hand off the ball, or to run an option play. The option was very ineffective in this one, including a decent pitch from Nassib to Delone Carter that was bobbled, recovered by UConn, and brought in for a defensive touchdown. While I applaud the coaches for digging the option out of the playbook and switching things up, it was pretty evident the past couple weeks that the QBs, the backs, and the line are not very comfortable with it.

In the absence of a superstar receiver, Greg and Ryan really got the ball to whomever they could. In total on Saturday, 10 different Orangemen had receptions. The most frequent targets were Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales (140 yards and 89 yards, respectively). To have a team that versatile really says something about how this team has evolved and how it has adjusted how it does things in the face of adversity (injuries, cry baby quitters, etc.). Lemon (freshman) and Sales (sophomore) are young, so if this game – and really, their level of play the past couple weeks – is any indication of what they could be capable of, then I think the receiving corps will be all right moving into the future. One more note about the receivers: Greg Paulus found Lavar Lobdell for a touchdown in the 4th quarter, for Lobdell’s first (and ultimately only) touchdown reception of his career. Paulus and Lobdell were teammates back at Christian Brothers Academy, and it seems fitting that they both end their college careers finally hooking up for a touchdown. Congratulations!

So the 2009 campaign is in the books. If you were to ask me, “John, do you think the Greg Paulus experiment was successful? Was it worth it?” well, then, I could have to answer each in the affirmative. Greg Paulus ends the year with the greatest number of completions in a season in Syracuse history, and the best completion percentage in a season in Syracuse history. He has, as Coach K said a few weeks back, left his DNA on this football program (CSI is checking it out with those special lights). He has been the leader of this team; he has shown a great work ethic; he has shared his knowledge with others. And he, along with Head Coach Doug Marrone, reinvigorated a dilapidated program. Now, sure, he wasn’t perfect. He threw an awful lot of picks, particularly given the situations. Better decision-making against Minnesota could have bumped that result into the Win column. And then what would the season have turned out to be? Would we have been waiting by our TVs to find out which bowl Syracuse would be going to? Who knows – this is the stuff of imagination. But let’s say Greg Paulus never comes to Syracuse. Let’s say Ryan Nassib, who was the main guy coming out of the Spring practices, is the 2009 Quarterback for Syracuse University. Would Syracuse have won four games? More? Less? Of course, we’ll never know, but I’ll offer my two cents. Less. Time and time again, Ryan Nassib proved to me that he cannot be the consistent, every-snap quarterback this team needs. He’s too inaccurate. That’s it and that’s all. Maybe this is something he can work on during the off-season and be better next year? I don’t know.

And that does bring us to next year. Who will be the face of the 2010 Orangemen? I guess by default, right now you have to say Ryan Nassib. But, as I’ve been hinting at for the past several weeks, you’ve got to believe Charley Loeb is in the mix. As a redshirt freshman next year, if he’s any good, he will have the opportunity to begin to build a mighty legacy at Syracuse. I think nearly every Syracuse fan finally believes this program is heading in the right direction. Charley Loeb could be the next piece to that puzzle.

The Weekly QB Watch
Based upon absolutely nothing except my gut feeling, the probability of starting the 2010 season is as follows:
Charley Loeb – 99%
Ryan Nassib – 0%
Other – 1%
Evidently, I don’t like Ryan Nassib.


Author’s note: This is the final Monday Morning Quarterback for the 2009 football season. It’s been fun. Thank you all for logging on each Monday morning (or whenever) to read me ramble on. I hope I will have the opportunity to bring the column back for the 2010 campaign. So, until spring practice, look for my other content here at Orange::44, and as always, GO ORANGE!


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Monday Morning QB - 11/23/09

1 Comments Published on 11.23.2009 by John Brennan


Are you sure we can't scrape up another season of eligibility somewhere?

Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of Monday Morning Quarterback here at Orange::44.

In last week’s article, I described how it was time to get Ryan Nassib in the game, to start him, to get him a ton of reps. Head Coach Doug Marrone disagreed with me. And by the end of the first quarter Saturday against Rutgers, I, too, disagreed with me.

Greg Paulus started this game, and early on, was in a clear two-QB system with Nassib. They practically traded snaps. But it was clear to the 36k in attendance that Paulus was the better of the two. By the second half, we were wondering why they even put Nassib back in.

Paulus finished the day with a great stat line: 13 of 16 for 142 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. Nassib’s line is much more underwhelming: 4 of 6 for 69 yards. One of Nassib’s completions was a 21-yard pass to a wide open Marcus Sales just short of the end zone. It was a great catch because of what Sales had to do to catch it. As I have written in a previous article, Nassib tends to not throw the ball accurately; as if he’s purposely throwing to a spot 5 yards away from the receiver. Such was the case on the Sales reception; Nassib horrifically underthrew the ball so Sales had to come back a bit and dive for it. Due to the NCAA tackle rules, Sales’ contact with the ground meant he was down and couldn’t pick up additional yards after catch. A better thrown ball that didn’t require a diving catch, and Sales can easily walk into the end zone on this play.

And really, this is the huge difference, execution-wise, between Nassib and Paulus. Nassib is just not accurate. This is okay when there are superstars as receivers, and the superstars can make the crappy QB look good. But Syracuse’s current receiving corps just isn’t the cream of the crop. They need a good QB to make the QB look good. Hopefully you follow the logic there.

So where does this lead us? One more game left in the 2009 campaign, against the hated UConn Huskies. While there aren’t must-win games anymore, how incredibly awesome did you feel at the end of that Rutgers game, coming away with a win? All other things aside, every Syracuse fan wants Doug Marrone & Co. to walk away from Rentschler Field with a W. That said, Greg Paulus will round out the schedule having started each Syracuse game this year. Why? Because Doug Marrone knew the whole time that even though Syracuse won’t win every game it plays, Greg Paulus gives the team the greatest chance of winning. Doug, I agree. Obviously Nassib will get his share of packages, but this is Greg Paulus’ team. I think there’s some bad blood between Marrone and Nassib. Or Nassib practices like he plays – inaccurately. God, I hope, for next year’s sake, that Charley Loeb is as good playing as he is good looking (according to some, I don’t know, I don’t judge those things).

The Weekly QB Watch
Going into the final game of the 2009 season, the probability of starting is as follows:
Greg Paulus – 100%
Ryan Nassib – 0%
Cam Dantley – 0%
Charley Loeb – 0%
Other – 0%

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Monday Morning QB - 11/16/09

1 Comments Published on 11.15.2009 by John Brennan


It's time for a change.

Editor’s Note: The following article is a weekly feature from Orange::44 correspondent John Brennan (twitter @jbren) that runs every Monday morning called Monday Morning Quarterback, assessing the quarterback situation of Syracuse football.

Welcome to the twelfth edition of Monday Morning Quarterback here at Orange::44. This will be short and painless, unlike the game against the Cardinals.

Syracuse will not be bowling this year. With a loss this past Saturday against the Louisville Cardinals, Syracuse clinched another losing season and knocked itself out of bowl contention. And what led to this loss? A lack of offense. Clearly, this team misses Mike Williams. With the rest of the receiving corps sucking a big one, Syracuse had to rely on running the ball.

Greg Paulus ended the game with a fantastic stat line: 12 of 16 for 89 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. When I say fantastic, I obviously mean shitty. Not his fault, just nobody to throw to. Ryan Nassib, in the few snaps he received, didn’t do any better: 2 of 5 for 21 yards.

So what does this mean? It means that Doug Marrone still thinks Greg Paulus is the guy that can best lead this team to victory. Quite frankly, he might not even like Ryan Nassib. I think we’ll get a better idea of that in these final two games of the season.

Now that we’re not in “must win” mode, it’s the proverbial time to start thinking about next year. Obviously, Greg Paulus is not part of next year’s picture. And in the interests of having something to talk about, I’m gonna create a quarterback controversy right now: Charley Loeb vs. Ryan Nassib.

I think it’s time to give the ball to Ryan Nassib and give him the vast majority of the snaps. Whether he’s the guy next year or whether it’s Charley Loeb, Ryan needs to get as much experience as he can right now. Charley obviously won’t be getting that, due to the red shirt, but it’s important for Ryan to get more experience. Quite frankly, I’m really anxious to see Charley Loeb play, and I’m curious as to how he’s been looking in practice.

As for Greg Paulus: thanks. You brought a buzz to the program, overall had a pretty good year, and while they didn’t always translate into wins, you put up some decent numbers. But your time here is done. You knew this was only a one-year gig anyway, and now that Syracuse will be home for the holidays, we don’t *need* you to help us win. Because winning right now isn’t a priority (assuming it has been up until now). Help these kids learn the game, help them learn your leadership qualities. But I don’t think we need your services under center at this point.

The Weekly QB Watch
Going into the upcoming game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the probability of starting is as follows:
Ryan Nassib – 60%
Greg Paulus – 40%
Cam Dantley – 0%
Charley Loeb – 0%
Other – 0%

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