Why did Mahoney start the second half?

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[Millhouse]

i was curious about mahoney's stats in juco, he had a 128 rating. that's not so hot but he hadn't played qb much at that point.

 

[bothsocksup]

I was amazed when Mahoney took the majority of snaps in the second half. Clearly this isnt an Ohio St. quaterback situation

 

[Delmar]

Forgive me if this has already been answered in another thread, but I'm just not 100% clear on it.

Austin Wilson led us on a 5 play 41 yard scoring drive which included a beautiful corner fade throw for a TD. He was relaxed and into the game, so what was the rationale for bringing someone completely cold to start the half? Why wouldn't we want to have continuity between halves?

My guess is that our coaches assumed that CMU spent halftime preparing for Wilson, so throwing Mahoney out there might cross them up. Just a guess.

 

[tep624]

Forgive me if this has already been answered in another thread, but I'm just not 100% clear on it.

Austin Wilson led us on a 5 play 41 yard scoring drive which included a beautiful corner fade throw for a TD. He was relaxed and into the game, so what was the rationale for bringing someone completely cold to start the half? Why wouldn't we want to have continuity between halves?

You're not the only one. We had an opportunity on that drive to put the proverbial nail in and we didn't do anything. Great field position to boot, 3 and out and completely lost our momentum as well. Wilson led a scoring drive - even if you wanted to start emphasizing the option for whatever reason I still feel that he deserved to be in to start the second half.

 

[AZOrange]

You're not the only one. We had an opportunity on that drive to put the proverbial nail in and we didn't do anything. Great field position to boot, 3 and out and completely lost our momentum as well. Wilson led a scoring drive - even if you wanted to start emphasizing the option for whatever reason I still feel that he deserved to be in to start the second half.

totally agree. I was watching a replay of the game and thought I missed Wilson getting hurt. That's a bizarre move IMO. There's something about Wilson that reminds me of nassib. I'm not a fan of that style of qb, but I don't think that dude is that bad...

 

[longislandcuse]

What about a guy like Womack and running a Ga Tech type offense. We did it for a few plays against CMU with Dungey.

Clearly Wilson and Mahoney aren't legit options. They are barely a Band-Aid. I'd rather get creative if Dungey is out and if we lose, flame out spectacularly, than just be awful with a QB we knew was awful.

 

[reedny]

You're not the only one. We had an opportunity on that drive to put the proverbial nail in and we didn't do anything. Great field position to boot, 3 and out and completely lost our momentum as well. Wilson led a scoring drive - even if you wanted to start emphasizing the option for whatever reason I still feel that he deserved to be in to start the second half.

Didn't Wilson throw an INT? That might have been in the second half (I haven't been through the DVR of the game). But from my seats, the ball was at least 2 yards underthrown. However the fade pass to Custis was well done (and a nice catch as well).

I'm still having trouble figuring out a bunch of things about our offense and defense (understanding that some of the offensive dysfunction is the QB situation):

1- With our experienced (and beefy) O-line, why was CMU able to stuff so many running plays, especially in the second half?
2- If we're really running a West Coast offense, why aren't we passing to the TE's? They barely see the rock (1 pass to a TE in the CMU game).
3- Against CMU's offense (we knew Rush was a passing QB), 3 guys ran up 350 yards of catches. Our secondary seemed incapable of covering any of their receivers ... and we're not talking about Clemson or FSU here (we played a MAC team).

 

[reedny]

totally agree. I was watching a replay of the game and thought I missed Wilson getting hurt. That's a bizarre move IMO. There's something about Wilson that reminds me of nassib. I'm not a fan of that style of qb, but I don't think that dude is that bad...

There's something about Mahoney that reminds me of Nassib (maybe it's the tight spiral).

 

[TheCusian]

Didn't Wilson throw an INT? That might have been in the second half (I haven't been through the DVR of the game). But from my seats, the ball was at least 2 yards underthrown. However the fade pass to Custis was well done (and a nice catch as well). I'm still having trouble figuring out a bunch of things about our offense and defense (understanding that some of the offensive dysfunction is the QB situation): 1- With our experienced (and beefy) O-line, why was CMU able to stuff so many running plays, especially in the second half? 2- If we're really running a West Coast offense, why aren't we passing to the TE's? They barely see the rock (1 pass to a TE in the CMU game). 3- Against CMU's offense (we knew Rush was a passing QB), 3 guys ran up 350 yards of catches. Our secondary seemed incapable of covering any of their receivers ... and we're not talking about Clemson or FSU here (we played a MAC team).

There were at least 3-4 passes to the TE. Eric had a completion to Moore in the 1st (I think) and then had one bounce of his hands in the end zone on 3rd down. Then Mahoney had one to him for a huge 3rd down completion in OT.

 

[reedny]

As Bees said, it's because Mahoney is more familiar with the option.

Count me as more of a Mahoney fan. I thought his passes looked good, he ran the option well, and most importantly he didn't throw an INT. If you take a look at the QB ratings, Dungey and Mahoney were in the 90's (nothing to write home about) whereas Wilson was in the 30's (largely b/c of the int). The INT was thrown right across the field from my seats and it was at least 2 yards underthrown.

 

[reedny]

There were at least 3-4 passes to the TE. Eric had a completion to Moore in the 1st (I think) and then had one bounce of his hands in the end zone on 3rd down. Then Mahoney had one to him for a huge 3rd down completion in OT.

I saw that one pass go through the TE's hands ... but other than that, we had one completion to a TE. Josh Parris was out for the game .. that might have been part of it. But we're just way underutilizing our TE's for a "West Coast" offense.

Ishy was out the second half (banged up), so that might explain some of his woes (1 reception for our leading WR). But we got a passing clinic in the face from CMU. Not only was their QB sharp and relatively un-harrassed, their receivers made our secondary look silly. We were a dollar short and a day late in coverage all four quarters -- and gave up 430 yards in the air. Wow.

It's nice to get the W ... and winning ugly is better than loosing any day. But our secondary got exposed ... just in time for one of the nation's most prolific offenses to walz into the Dome. Yeah .. I'd say we have some things to "clean up".

 

[tep624]

Didn't Wilson throw an INT? That might have been in the second half (I haven't been through the DVR of the game). But from my seats, the ball was at least 2 yards underthrown. However the fade pass to Custis was well done (and a nice catch as well).

I'm still having trouble figuring out a bunch of things about our offense and defense (understanding that some of the offensive dysfunction is the QB situation):

1- With our experienced (and beefy) O-line, why was CMU able to stuff so many running plays, especially in the second half?
2- If we're really running a West Coast offense, why aren't we passing to the TE's? They barely see the rock (1 pass to a TE in the CMU game).
3- Against CMU's offense (we knew Rush was a passing QB), 3 guys ran up 350 yards of catches. Our secondary seemed incapable of covering any of their receivers ... and we're not talking about Clemson or FSU here (we played a MAC team).

Wilson did throw a Pick but that was later on in the 3rd quarter. It was right after we forced a turnover and recovered, very first play. Long pass downfield that was underthrown. I get that he's been an interception machine to date, but I was figuring you play on his confidence after coming off the scoring drive to end the first half.

The TE's have been thrown to but sparingly - I almost wonder if they're being used more as a decoy right now than anything.

Secondary is absolutely a concern. And some of it, specifically the height of the safeties, we're stuck with.

 

[Fjoinkay]

After the onside kick I was surprised to see Maoney, but my main concern was picking up a first down because of the field position. I had no real problem with using Mahoney to start the half, and I had no problem with Mahoney playing during OT. Moore caught a big pass during OT, however I believe the first play of the day for the SU offense was a pass to Moore which appeared to be a drop. He was also involved in offsetting penalties which I didn't see. I was really happy for him that he picked up the first down in OT.

 

[reedny]

After the onside kick I was surprised to see Maoney, but my main concern was picking up a first down because of the field position. I had no real problem with using Mahoney to start the half, and I had no problem with Mahoney playing during OT. Moore caught a big pass during OT, however I believe the first play of the day for the SU offense was a pass to Moore which appeared to be a drop. He was also involved in offsetting penalties which I didn't see. I was really happy for him that he picked up the first down in OT.

That was a big play, and we absolutely have to get more production out of the TE position. Big guys that can catch in traffic, short routes. I'll be glad when Parris is back (hopefully for LSU).

 

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