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Message: [QUOTE="gocraz4dasu, post: 3146494, member: 1109"] Welch's accuracy is obviously not good but he did try and at least give our receivers a chance to fight for some balls. The offensive line is borderline committing human rights violations every game by allowing any and every defender a free shot on our quarterback every passing play. It's hard for anybody to be willing to stand back there and take some shots and get ready to compete just as hard on the next play. Dungey had that mindset because, while his lines weren't THIS atrocious, he played behind some mediocre offensive lines early. Welch sort of has that same fight and tenacity, which is required when you field the offensive line that our hopefully soon-to-be fired offensive line coach, Cavanaugh, has developed. Devito does not have that midset. He is obviously the more talented thrower, has vastly higher potential, and is probably more athletic but he is not the grinder needed when playing behind this offensive line. Devito is a fantastic 7 on 7 quarterback but he gets rattled under pressure. It's obviously exacerbated as we have played tougher and tougher teams that are just teeing off on him but there was evidence of this in the earlier games that we won. Combine his seemingly natural skittishness in the face of pressuring lineman and the turnstiles that are our lineman, it is a recipe for a disastrous offense. It's also resulted in more intentional grounding penalties than I've ever seen, and the sad thing is I think there could have been more called against us. You worry if this year will have a long-run impact on Devito's pocket-presence, which wasn't great to start. The David Carr-effect. But the shakiness when being pressured was still there versus Liberty and Western Michigan when there were times he actually had some blocking. And when he does get pressured his initial instinct always seems to retreat backward before going forward so his sacks feel like they are at a longer distance and his eyes are never back downfield. Welch made a few good moves in the pocket to step up and make the defensive end miss and scramble around looking downfield. Unfortunately his throwing ability limits his possibility for success stemming from his decent pocket awareness, but he created himself some time. Welch's deep ball is a lob that is bound to be picked off some but it also allowed Taj to run up under it and other guys to try and make some plays, even if it was a pass interference. Devito has gotten gun-shy and stops looking downfield after the first drive or two, which is why you see Taj Harris fuming when he's not even given an opportunity when he feels like he is open. Devito is the 7 on 7 style quarterback built to be the gunslinger flinging the ball all across the field but mentally, this year at the very least, he's become afraid to look deep. Now he obviously has a valid reason for being jumpy behind this line but we won't be winning anything this way. I'd rather he get healthy and possibly prepare for coming back later in the season or next year. He's got a lot of work to do to improve and rebuild his mental processes and progressions, along with his pocket presence. Is Welch the better quarterback? Of course not. Is he the quarterback of the future? Obviously not. Is he the better option, for this team, for next game behind this disgraceful offensive line and over the injured, and rattled, talented passer in Devito? I certainly believe that is possible and up for debate. At worst it needs to be genuinely thought about by Dino because there are a multitude of things that need to be altered in this offense for the rest of the year. TL;DR Version: Tommy is the better, talented passer but our offensive line is so bad, and Devito is terrified back there seemingly every game now, that Welch may be the better option for the next game. It deserves discussion at worst. [/QUOTE]

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