Pregame: Illinois vs Minnesota, Saturday, October 29th, 11:00am CT, BTN
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The line, which still isn't available at most of the major books, dropped to 5 and then suddenly shot up to 10.
Somebody out in Vegas knows more about who is starting at QB on Saturday than we do
Somebody out in Vegas knows more about who is starting at QB on Saturday than we do
+1 but the new helmet is a nice upgrade to the blue version.
I agree but I do like this grey and blue. Maybe one day we will see a grey and orange one.
I'm glad somebody likes them. Me, not so much.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
I can't stand the grey uniforms. Doesn't matter what the trim is.
I loved the gray uniforms a couple years ago when I was there to watch a great victory over Minnesota. I love this uniform combination as well. It's modern, it's elegant, and it's what all other teams are doing. I'll be there in a couple days to see this homecoming game against Minnesota.
peace davids
- Colorado
Disagree, love a dark gray look, trimmed slightly with dark orange and navy. Had some shoes like that once and they were awesome.
A slight orange on the collar and the pants, and we are in business.
Fans on multiple social media outlets can moan all they want with their cliche "Let's focus on getting wins and not on flashy uniforms." But the reality is that any football program not named Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, Texas, or Oklahoma has to do this. They have to follow the Oregon way and come up with several different uniform combos to attract the top football talent. Now I know it hasn't happened yet, but hopefully the combination of our uniforms plus a top notch coaching staff we have will pay off down the road.
These uniforms are awesome by the way!
These uniforms are awesome by the way!
Nice overall discussion on who should start at QB this week.
My take: Leave JG Jr. in even if Lunt is healthy.
It was great to see him in there against UMich.
Obviously McGee protected him in the beginning of the game by throwing the wildcat at them with Vaughn doing the heavy lifting. But after falling behind as quickly as we did, there was no more pressure anymore. I thought Jr. stepped up very nicely. I was thinking that Harbaugh had to be disappointed that he did not see the statue in the game. Just made him prepare for a mobile QB.
How about a comparison:
Lunt - a statue that can throw
Crouch - a mobile guy that can't throw
JG Jr. - the best of both worlds. The kid can throw and he is mobile. I thought he delivered passes in a very authoritative manner. Tight spirals.
The sampling for JG Jr. is obviously small, so that is why he needs to have another chance this week to grow his body of work.
And besides, the coaching staff has been doing this all season, ie, looking at the young guys.
My take: Leave JG Jr. in even if Lunt is healthy.
It was great to see him in there against UMich.
Obviously McGee protected him in the beginning of the game by throwing the wildcat at them with Vaughn doing the heavy lifting. But after falling behind as quickly as we did, there was no more pressure anymore. I thought Jr. stepped up very nicely. I was thinking that Harbaugh had to be disappointed that he did not see the statue in the game. Just made him prepare for a mobile QB.
How about a comparison:
Lunt - a statue that can throw
Crouch - a mobile guy that can't throw
JG Jr. - the best of both worlds. The kid can throw and he is mobile. I thought he delivered passes in a very authoritative manner. Tight spirals.
The sampling for JG Jr. is obviously small, so that is why he needs to have another chance this week to grow his body of work.
And besides, the coaching staff has been doing this all season, ie, looking at the young guys.
WiscIllini
- Madison, WI
I would agree with giving the nod to JG if we thought that he was going to be our starter next year. However, I don't think that is the case. JG will always be a back-up here, and he isn't what McGee wants in the long run. I think you start Lunt because he gives you the best chance to win and improve recruiting.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
I don't really want to knock JGJ...he was thrown into a very tough situation, but all the form in the world does not change the fact that he didn't complete a pass until after halftime in a game where we were down big early. There are a lot of things to knock Lunt on (most immobile human since Earl "The Mannequin" Morrall, zero pocket presence) but he's still far and away a better option than George at this point.
We do not have a QB controversy here. I am just as disappointed with Lunt as the rest of you, but he is far and away the best passer we have. The clear hierarchy at the moment is 1) Lunt 2) Crouch 3) JG Jr.
Now, if Crouch were healthy and able to consistently play at the level he did against Purdue, I would start him every week and develop him as a potential starter moving forward. Love his tenacity, and I enjoy watching him play more than Lunt. But wounded duck Crouch gives us no chance to win (unless we are playing Rutgers). Lunt gives us a chance to win 1-3 more games on the schedule and build a bit of recruiting momentum. JG looked awful in my opinion, as he should've in his first start against the conference's top defense. But I do not think he is ready for the field this year, and might not be next year. No controversy.
Now, if Crouch were healthy and able to consistently play at the level he did against Purdue, I would start him every week and develop him as a potential starter moving forward. Love his tenacity, and I enjoy watching him play more than Lunt. But wounded duck Crouch gives us no chance to win (unless we are playing Rutgers). Lunt gives us a chance to win 1-3 more games on the schedule and build a bit of recruiting momentum. JG looked awful in my opinion, as he should've in his first start against the conference's top defense. But I do not think he is ready for the field this year, and might not be next year. No controversy.
From what I can tell, nobody on here has said the JG Jr is better than Lunt. At best, they are tied on who gives us the better chance to win. So you start your 5th year Senior, and JG Jr is our package guy. Lunt gets us to the 30 or 40, then we put the kid in for some wildcat / multiple looks.
Multiple looks I think is the key. Lunt is easy to gameplan against - pocket guy who CAN'T MOVE. So you throw JG Jr in to throw off the defense. Also doesn't hurt that subsequent opponents would have to take time out of their weeks to scout multiple looks.
Playing both of them gives us the best chance to win. Then starting November 27 we figure something else out for next year...
Multiple looks I think is the key. Lunt is easy to gameplan against - pocket guy who CAN'T MOVE. So you throw JG Jr in to throw off the defense. Also doesn't hurt that subsequent opponents would have to take time out of their weeks to scout multiple looks.
Playing both of them gives us the best chance to win. Then starting November 27 we figure something else out for next year...
JG Jr can't really move either. A pro style dropback passer for sure. Just one of less Bledsoe-ian turgidity than Lunt.
The idea that JG Jr is a wildcat QB the way we used Bailey and Crouch in the past is laughable.
You know how doctors always stress how risky it is to combine medications? I think we're seeing that combining "Backup QB Syndrome" and "Famous Name Syndrome" is so dangerous it's life threatening.
The idea that JG Jr is a wildcat QB the way we used Bailey and Crouch in the past is laughable.
You know how doctors always stress how risky it is to combine medications? I think we're seeing that combining "Backup QB Syndrome" and "Famous Name Syndrome" is so dangerous it's life threatening.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
UI2009;1240042 [B said:
Actually, I think that's pretty much exactly what was implied by breadman's post. Not sure what package anybody thinks JGJ runs...unless it involves backpedaling. I don't recall seeing him running the ball in a forward direction and he doesn't look like he would survive long if he did. If you substitute Crouch in for JG Jr in your post, then I would agree. Unfortunately, it sounds like Crouch won't be available and it's not clear that Lunt will be either so all this could be moot.
Speaking of multiple looks, any word on the extent of Vaughn's injury?
Evidence? Well, here are some facts for you. QB play vs. Michigan defense this season.
Hawaii 12/23, 151 yards, 0 td, 2 int
UCF 6/22, 56 yards, 0,0
Colorado 18/34 261 yards 3 td, 0 int
Penn St. 16/27, 121 yards, 1,1
Wisconsin 9/25 88 yards 0 td, 2 int
Rutgers 2/18 5 yards, 0,0
JG Jr. 4/15, 95 yards, 1 td, 1 int.
Did JG Jr. tear it up? Nope. Did he play well? Nope. But, one QB has played well against Michigan all season. JG Jr. was in his first start. On the road. Against the best defense in the country.
Wes Lunt is 2-9 in the BIG. Reilly O'Toole led us to a bowl game, not Wes Lunt. Lunt has some nice non-conference wins (and stats! he always has nice stat lines against inferior opponents) vs. Texas St. Youngstown St. Western Kentucky and Murray St. That's it! Lunt is not a winner and thus we don't need to see anymore from him. He won't be here next year. JG Jr and Crouch will be, thus we should let them gain as much experience as possible.
I am fully aware as many of you have pointed out that JG Jr was a grey shirt. I'm also fully aware that he is best served as a back-up. I'm not tying the future of the program to him. But, he may be needed in the future and he may just prove to be serviceable. Only one way to find out.
Honestly, I don't understand the love for Lunt, nor do I understand how people can proclaim him to be the clear #1 option at QB. The team looked better with Crouch at QB than Lunt. Yes, Lunt throws the prettiest passes. For those of you who care about having the best 7 on 7 passing QB, then he is your guy!!!
It would be irresponsible to not start JG Jr at QB v. Minnesota to see what he can do with a full week of practice and a home slate v. an average team (as opposed to a road matchup v. the #1 defense in the country.
icengineer
- Southern Illinois
Well, that kind of wraps things up for me. Nice post. Will others agree?? Hey, this is IL, of course they wont!
I believe JG Jr will be our starter Saturday. Stopped by practice and he was running the
first team offence. Every pass was on the money and the receivers caught the passes in stride. He looked pretty mobile and had much quicker feet than WL. I only saw 10 mins worth but it appeared Cam Miller was running with the 2nd unit.
first team offence. Every pass was on the money and the receivers caught the passes in stride. He looked pretty mobile and had much quicker feet than WL. I only saw 10 mins worth but it appeared Cam Miller was running with the 2nd unit.
The available alternatives.
Put up against any real defense Lunt plays scared. His line might have problems and he's lacking protection to be sure but we've seen him so scared he's dropped balls with no one around him. There's just nothing he brings to the table that makes up for that. I think it was against Carolina... you could smell the fear from the top of the west stands. I don't know if you give him a chance to turn that around. I don't know if you can turn that around. I think that's what some ppl have meant by looking for a gamer... looking for someone that doesn't wet themselves and drop the ball to the ground when the pocket evaporates after one second. Maybe Lunt just needs a change of pre-game psyche music? I'd love to see him just go in and kick some buttocks but I don't see it happening. Once the D has you rattled they just thrive on it and it all seems to snowball pretty quickly. Hate to see repeats of W. Mich, Carolina, Purdue... ugh.
Im not a uniform guy but these are pretty cool. They are not dresses or handbags. I would not go for dresses or handbags no matter the color or if they matched or not. I know gamers get all excited about uniforms ( and not gamers like Junior ) I mean playing Madden gamers.
Okay, Junior versus Lunt.
Love that people say Junior is cocky. that is an absolute necessity for a qb. Even the not cocky qbs are cocky. They just hide it. I cant wait to see what hes got. But I can wait one more week. Wes is the man. He alone gives us a chance to be BOWL ELIGIBLE
Here is our schedule :
vsMinnesota
vsMichigan State
@#11 Wisconsin
vsIowa
@Northwestern
Absolutely no wiggle room in there because that game at wisconsin is probably not gonna go well. The other teams are unranked and three of them play in Butkuses house. I think the Illini can beat all four of the teams not named wisconsin but we wont know unless we try and unless we get that first win
Okay, Junior versus Lunt.
Love that people say Junior is cocky. that is an absolute necessity for a qb. Even the not cocky qbs are cocky. They just hide it. I cant wait to see what hes got. But I can wait one more week. Wes is the man. He alone gives us a chance to be BOWL ELIGIBLE
Here is our schedule :
vsMinnesota
vsMichigan State
@#11 Wisconsin
vsIowa
@Northwestern
Absolutely no wiggle room in there because that game at wisconsin is probably not gonna go well. The other teams are unranked and three of them play in Butkuses house. I think the Illini can beat all four of the teams not named wisconsin but we wont know unless we try and unless we get that first win
Thanks for the update. We shall see.
You know, they kept showing JG Sr. in the stands last week.
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