Fall Camp Questions - Quarterback
by Jake Bertalotto on Aug 27, 2009 9:02 AM PDT
in Oregon State Football
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It's the topic I've been trying to avoid for the longest time possible in our Fall Camp Questions series, because it seems that there has been enough discussion on the topic already: The quarterbacks.
I'm not looking to beat a dead horse, but after awhile, the discussion just boils down to the fact that Canfield is healthy and Moevao is recovering from an injury. That's the reason why Canfield will start Sept. 5 against Portland State. It's also one of the main reasons Lyle had the upper hand on Sean last season. We can ponder whether or not Moevao, if healthy, would still be the starter, but the truth is that he's not going full speed yet.
We'll discuss this subject more in our Building the Dam Q&A, which will appear in this space as soon as I turn in my answers to VD, but I think the most important question is this: How will the coaches use Moevao when he can go full boar, say, in Week 3? Because we all know that Moevao can make plays, and brings a different style to the quarterback position as compared to his counterpart. Although Riley and Langsdorf likely don't want to get into any type of quarterback rotation, do you think they want to let Moevao watch the entire season from the sidelines? My guess is that they'll have to look for ways to be creative with the two seniors (put Moevao on the D-Line?), because I don't see them going to a pre-set rotation anytime soon. But alas, it is possible.
Moevao has expressed his frustration with having limited exposure so far in fall camp. He's about six months removed from his surgery.
"Yeah it is (frustrating} sometimes, not being able to take reps and stuff like that," Moevao said. "Especially since it's my last season and last fall camp."
"As much as I want to go out and compete and throw and make the plays that I was used to making before, I understand that I had a surgery and it was a major surgery. I've just got to sit back and relax."
"We've still got a whole season ahead of us.''
This is what Riley told Kerry Eggers of the Tribune earlier this week regarding Moevao
"I know he's ready. He told me that yesterday," the ninth-year year OSU head man says. "Lyle needs to put a few days back to back when he shows he's really ready to step into practice. I'm talking about hard throws.
"I don't know when that will be, but he has shown very good progress with no back slides. In the next short while - probably before the end of the month - he'll be ready."
It is expected that Moevao could be ready by the time the Beavers play UNLV on September 12, but if not, it will probably be the Cincinatti Game on September 19.
For now, Canfield's the man, with Ryan Katz and Peter Lalich in a holding pattern.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)
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This could well be the issue of the season.
Both Canfield and Moevao both have big upsides, but everyone who is being honest with themselves, including Sean and Lyle, know both do have some limitations. And I agree with you Jake, I think both Riley and Langsdorf are uncomfortable with using a rotation.
I also agree with you that I don’t think they want to let Moevao (or Canfield) watch the entire season from the sidelines, which is what could happen if they name a starter, and he stays healthy. It is almost as though Riley is expecting a problem with Sean at some point, and is saving Lyle for that eventuality. Given that both have gotten hurt in the past two years, and 9 of 10 Pac-10 teams have had one, or in some cases several, QBs go down in the last two seasons, that isn’t an unreasonable expectation.
This is one of the most ticklish situation coaches can face, and making a real or perceived mistake can create real problems, both internally and externally. All you have to do is look at Cal last year, or ASU not so long ago, to see examples.
I personally think the fact that Riley realizes Canfield has the better pro prospects, due to his size and ability to throw the deep middle ball, could be a factor as well.
The situation with Lalich and Katz is similar, and has implications on the next couple of seasons, when Lyle and Sean will be out of eligibility, and the potential for huge seasons exist, with so many players with at least 1-2 more years left.
This is where I think Coach Riley is relying on that legendary Riley patience, which can drive fans, us reporters, and sometimes players, up the wall. Lacking enough clear evidence to make a semi-permanent decision on either pair of QB, I really think Riley is intentionally going to let things play out for a while. If an injury or some other event forces him to make a big decision, he will, but knowing circumstances could well dictate his options soon enough, I think we will be riding this issue until October.
That would be a problem, and a big one in a lot of places, but Coach Riley also knows he isn’t facing this issue in Seattle, LA, Ann Arbor, or Baton Rouge. Stay tuned…
Andy Wooldridge
Go Beavs!
I feel good about Canfield...
Canfield hits the field in, as he puts it, “…the best shape of (his) life…” after shedding some LBs and working out hard this past off season. He without a doubt gives OSU the best chance to win. He’s lighter on his feet (apparently) and throwing the ball very well in practice. We need to remember that he filled in extremely well in Lyle’s absence and, had he been healthy this time last year I think he would’ve possibly won the position then too.
Bottom line is he’s a senior, he knows the offense, he’s in great shape and we need the big arm. Here’s to running up the score whenever we can so we can get Katz and Lalich some PT.
Nice problem to have
For a coach (or anybody) this is the classic situation of not having a perfect situation so you have to choose the better of the imperfect choices available. You have to consider the possibility of Canfield playing the whole season with Lyle playing very little. This could happen if Canfield and the Beavers are very successful. If Canfield goes down or struggles, this is the time to replace him with Lyle and nobody would blame coaching if Lyle is rusty or stumbles a bit because it had to be done.
The danger I see is if the coaches try to force Lyle in here and there even though Canfield is doing well because of some wispy notions of fairness or loyalty or whatever. Circumstances are often decidedly unfair to these really fine young men because they get hurt or don’t meet lofty expectations and have to sit (see Gunderson, Ryan.) It’s also not a good situation where your starter thinks if he has two bad series in a row he might get pulled. Combined with the righty/lefty thing the receivers have to worry about, as much as I like Lyle and really enjoy his style of play I would say the team as a whole would be better off staying with Canfield as long as he’s doing well. Experimenting for any reason other than it’s our best chance to win would be foolhardy in my opinion.
This is a great topic though…let’s hear some other opinions.
Right now it’s hard to see any other QB on the roster that gives OSU a better shot at winning than Canfield. I even felt that Canfield gave us a better chance in the CW, but that’s another monster entirely (cue duck fans: “But Canfield doesn’t play defense! Blah, blah, blah, injuries only count when there to our players,etc., so on and so forth.”
I have a good gut feeling about Canfield. And that’s a good thing. Because with each year, I get a slightly bigger gut, and a bigger gut means a BIGGER good feeling. Follow? In all seriousness, Canfield has shown a lot in the past few years and I think that if some sort of depth can develop in the running game we’ll have a pretty solid backfield this year. Oh yeah, and our O-Line needs to step up, but I trust Cav will beat them into submission.
If it’s going to be anyone other than Canfield they need to beat him outright and make the substitution a no-brainer, which is pretty much how coaches operate anyway.
Arby, you've invoked the spirit of His Greatness
“It’s only Monday and my gut hurts already. And when the ole Pumpkin’s stomach hurts, he hurts all over!”
I even felt that Canfield gave us a better chance in the CW, but that’s another monster entirely (cue duck fans: "But Canfield doesn’t play defense! Blah, blah, blah, injuries only count when there to our players,etc., so on and so forth."
I agree! Canfield doesn’t play defense! Besides, injuries only count when they are our players!
All kidding aside, I agree with you although I still wonder why Riley put Moevao in the game if he was that injured. He obviously must have thought that Lyle gave the Beavs a better chance to win. Moevao made two major mistakes, those being the interceptions. You take that out of the equation, look at his line…27 for 51 for 374 yards and 5 touchdowns. Outside of a better completion percentage, that line is tough to argue with. The 38 points scored by the Beavs were more than all but two other games during the season (Wazzu and Hawaii).
I think the game may have been closer with Canfield in the game but its hard to say. He’s had his share of mistakes as well
--Dominic, Addicted to Quack
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
I would of gone with Canfield
But no excuses for that. Now Quizz, that’s a different story.
Hi, my name's Connor and I am addicted to College Football
Canfield is actually a great situational DE.
You wouldn’t think it, but he’s a mean speed rusher with a knack for busting up the zone read.
I DO think Canfield would’ve had a better handle on the game. And I DO think that OSU’s offense could have matched points IF the D didn’t do a disappearing act, but that’s life.
In my life I’ve never watched a worse defensive performance though. That’s at every single level too. Bad day for Banker.
I appreciate that you are trying to make it a bit better, but disagree a bit with you both
We still would have lost the CW in an embarrassing fashion with Canfield in there. It would have made no difference. I believe he would have made the same type of mistakes and cost us scores too. The entire team was not ready for that game, we can’t put it on Moevao or the defense or this or that. The team was tired, hurt, over-confident, and putting a bit too much on “destiny;” the conference season caught up with the team and it was a disaster waiting to happen.
This will be hopefully the last I will ever say about this game, but this is how I feel about it all. The season (after the Penn State game) just seemed to catch the team a bit off-guard. By this I mean that it seemed at the end of the season against UA and UO the team seemed to be living too much on this “it just has to happen doesn’t it,” and then throw in losing Quizz (which, in my opinion, was much much bigger of a loss of field leadership than is given credit to since he was a freshman). And throw in the fact that the Ducks came in fresh, healthy, and with nothing really to lose it all just added up to a game that very much had the feel and look going in as one that would go the way it went.
I actually, for what’s it worth, appreciated Riley’s going with the guy who got us there as QB for in a way it is not only about the short-term but it is also a little bit about the long-term, and Riley wants to show dedication to the players he commits to. This will, I believe, serve the program well in the upcoming years as higher caliber recruits keep coming in. Earn your place, earn Riley’s respect, and he will stand by you. Does this lessen the sting and bad taste of the CW game? Not really that much right now, but in the future? Maybe, we’ll see where this all goes in the next three years. One man’s opinion, and again take it as you want.
That all said I honestly expect the Beavs to be ready to play in Eugene this year no matter what the end of the year situation is for both teams, and no matter which Oregon State QB is playing.
-RVM
Kinda agree
I’m sorry if I didn’t make it clear in my post above. I was’t saying we would of won the game if this or that would of happened, I was just thinking that it would of been closer.
Hi, my name's Connor and I am addicted to College Football
Not a problem Connor, I just don’t think it would have been closer unless Quizz and James were healthy for the game (entire game for James). It didn’t matter who was in at QB last year.
-RVM
My thoughts
If both Lyle and Sean were healthy, I’d still take Lyle. I’ve stated that many times so I won’t talk about it any more. But the fact of the matter is that Sean is going to be our starter against Portland State and until he gets hurt or is playing badly consistently, he is our starting Quarterback. We don’t need another two Quarterback system.
With that said, I totally agee with Joe in that this is a great problem to have. And if this is the most of our worries in the offseason we should be in good shape.
Hi, my name's Connor and I am addicted to College Football
Not into leg tattoos, but he does have some cool stuff on his arms. Culturally appropriate for his background too. They’d look dumb if he was some red headed guy from Salem or something like that.
I'm not much of a tattoo guy in general
I just know when they look cool.
Hi, my name's Connor and I am addicted to College Football
That’s cool. I felt the same way about Moevao last year but I think this year Canfield could be the guy outright, even with a healthy #3 in the rotation. But again, we’ll see.
If I just start crossing off the days on my calendar will that make time move faster?! I swear the man has been adding days to the off season.
Recruiting Note
Giovanni Bernard will make his official visit to OSU on September 19th when we play the Bearcats.
Hi, my name's Connor and I am addicted to College Football
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Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)
| North | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
8 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| South | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
USC Trojans
|
7 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|
Utah Utes
|
4 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 2.9.2012 at 11:09 PM PST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
California Golden Bears
|
9 | 3 | 19 | 6 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
9 | 3 | 16 | 8 |
|
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 4 | 17 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
8 | 4 | 17 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
8 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
7 | 5 | 14 | 10 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
6 | 6 | 16 | 8 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
5 | 7 | 15 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
5 | 7 | 13 | 11 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
|
Utah Utes
|
2 | 10 | 5 | 19 |
|
USC Trojans
|
1 | 11 | 6 | 19 |
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