Aren't passes out of the pocket generally more difficult? I doubt Nassib's going to get worse when we give him time to throw...
No, 3 & 5 step drop timing routes are more difficult. Many young athletes can throw outside of the pocket (Newton, Tebow, A. Smith, Kaepernick, etc), but timing routes in the pocket are what makes a "quarterback." I only saw Nassib execute one 3-step timing route against Rhode Island. The biggest strategic difference between the SU offense the offenses run at Alabama, USC, Florida, and the other NFL football factories, is that they employ 3 & 5 step drop timing routes (aka "pro style offense"). The most complicated part of developing a top notch QB is working on the 3 & 5 step drop timing routes: the staff hasn't yet developed Nassib in this manner.
Also, I don't understand the hysteria that results whenever someone questions Nassib. For years, Milhouse and others have been vocal in suggesting that we adopt an innovative, gimmicky passing offense.
Now we have moved towards a gimmicky passing offense, and some of the fears associated with moving towards a gimmick offense have come true: we put up good passing numbers but otherwise fail to move the ball and get critical yards in a consistent manner. We make big plays when the opposing defense falls asleep, but we haven't been effective at meat and potato football. Therefore, a couple of posters are pointing out that Nassib might be more of a bandaid QB who works ok in our system, rather than a star QB who can take us to the next level. To his credit, Nassib had solid numbers last year, a hot start this season, and not much help along the way.
The fact that Nassib is 10-5 as a starter with a bowl game win, however, isn't dispositive of whether Nassib is the answer at QB. R.J. Anderson (aka "not the answer") put up a better record and a better bowl win not so long ago (albeit with more help), and many bandaid QBs in gimmick offenses at mediocre programs put up similar numbers, so Cuseman78, please spare us your witty commentary on the 'idiot parade.'
Many posters have used strange logic, arguing that since we have bigger problems than Nassib, Nassib should somehow be immune from scrutiny. Or since SU was lousy recently, we ought to have a low bar when judging Nassib. None of that makes any sense. The only question that really matters, for the purpose of evaluating Nassib, is "how good is Nassib compared to other BCS caliber QBs?" Is he a top 75 QB, a top 50 QB, a top 25 QB?
Last year he ranked fairly low in regards to talent, poise, and numbers. This year he looks improved: might be a top 50 guy. His numbers so far are certainly impressive. Ultimately, we need a top 25 guy to go where we want to go. That's what we always had (McPherson, Graves, McNabb) when we were great. So it makes perfect sense that SU fans are asking themsevles, "Is Nassib good enough to take us where we need to go, or is he merely a gimmick QB who looks like a savior simply by following GRob?"
SuFan44 actually articulated his argument very well: Nassib averaged only 130 yards passing per game last season in the Big East, which is a very poor number. Nassib put up bigger numbers this year, but our offense has relied on an unsustainable number of bootlegs and play action fakes. Tactically, bigger and faster teams are going to do exactly what SuFan44 said: they are going to sniff out our play action fakes and bootlegs by bringing a lot more back side pressure than mediocre teams like Wake Forest (borderline bottom 10 on ESPN to start the year, coming off of 3-9 season) and Rhode Island (FCS) were able to bring.
I'd say the jury is still very much out on Nassib: regardless of whether Nassib passes Troy Nunes, Todd Norley, and Perry Patterson in the Syracuse record books. Thankfully, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
