Dick_in_MI
Emeritus Legend
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 1,727
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One thing you have to love about Shrader is that he is, for want of a better phrase, "old school tough."
The team seems to have more fire and I know that some of it comes from believing that Shrader is one of them. He is as tough as a linebacker and takes responsibility even for things that go wrong...even for things he is not actually responsible for. That is what a "teammate" does.
If a receiver is open even a little, Shrader isn't afraid to make the throw. Maybe he will complete the pass, maybe he won't, but he isn't shy about taking the chance. The old saying "the enemy of a good plan is the quest for a perfect plan" is not something you have to worry about with him.
The other thing is that if somebody gets in the backfield, it doesn't mean an automatic sack. You have to do more than breathe on Shrader to get him to go down...a LOT more.
It is nice to feel excited about the team again. It is nice to have at least the hope that the guys will be rewarded with a trip somewhere in a couple of months. It is nice to think that ACC foes can no longer view us as a gimme and a laughingstock. We may not win...Shrader might not have a good game every time out...but the other team is going to know that they were in a fight. And that fight will be with a team and a QB that is not going to roll over.
The team seems to have more fire and I know that some of it comes from believing that Shrader is one of them. He is as tough as a linebacker and takes responsibility even for things that go wrong...even for things he is not actually responsible for. That is what a "teammate" does.
If a receiver is open even a little, Shrader isn't afraid to make the throw. Maybe he will complete the pass, maybe he won't, but he isn't shy about taking the chance. The old saying "the enemy of a good plan is the quest for a perfect plan" is not something you have to worry about with him.
The other thing is that if somebody gets in the backfield, it doesn't mean an automatic sack. You have to do more than breathe on Shrader to get him to go down...a LOT more.
It is nice to feel excited about the team again. It is nice to have at least the hope that the guys will be rewarded with a trip somewhere in a couple of months. It is nice to think that ACC foes can no longer view us as a gimme and a laughingstock. We may not win...Shrader might not have a good game every time out...but the other team is going to know that they were in a fight. And that fight will be with a team and a QB that is not going to roll over.