What Should Iowa's Quarterback Strategy Be? - Cade McNamara & Brendan Sullivan

back to your quarterback approach which is the same as mine and I'll say it this way it is or would be inexcusable if they would play one quarterback let's say Kate mcamera wins this job if he plays every play even deep into the game in a 40 to7 win over Illinois State then I don't know what they're doing and I don't anticipate that they have two quarterbacks who are extremely comparable in terms of their experience and their success take away the team success that cave mamera enjoyed in terms of their success statistically and their level of play they're too extremely comparable quarterbacks and we're sitting here on August 20th and we don't have a starter which shows us that they are still weighing this decision especially since Kade mamero was the starter last season and into the off season so both of these guys need to play regardless of what they show the last 10 days of Camp uh they need to show what they can do with the Iowa offense against an opponent but what if Cade comes out on the 31st and looks really good like if he's you know 15 of 20 and he throws for 200 yards and they just run the ball over the place I could see Kirk just you know he he likes what he's seeing so why why tweak what's not broken right I could see him doing that I'm not I agree with you for the record I agree with you I I don't see any reason why you there's no downside to it but ultimately that's gonna that will still ultimately be Kirk's call if Kirk says to Tim Lester we're going with Cade Brandon won't play so it's a matter of um again me reading into and the conversation the brief conversation the question I asked of Kirk at Iowa media day and he has doubled down on that stance that he thinks even with a healthy effective Kade mcam that Sullivan has a unique skill set and then you add on the top what you just said that this has been a very close competition yeah why wouldn't you play both guys I agree with you but I could also see in a game situation Kirk just riding with the guy that he's Long Preferred anyways who's in a Groove maybe for the first time since his injury I can think of two general approaches I would have either we go into the season and it's still a dead Heat if it is now assuming it is now and then I would just play them I I wouldn't necessarily alternate every series I'd want them to get into a Groove but let's say every other quarter or let's say in your situation Kate mamera is pretty much the clear starter coming out of Camp I still would Brennan Sullivan he would play Third series he'd play like 25 or 30% of meaningful snaps while the game's still on the line not when it's 40 to7 can I can I tell you what I would do and and maybe this again all questions for Coach Patterson but here's what I would do I would not approach this like Michigan approached JJ and Cade I would not necessarily approach it the way you just outlined not that it's a bad way not that I W you know going you know maybe you go every other Drive the problem is yeah if somebody gets going is it smart to pull that guy I I I don't know that that's I don't know that that's the case um but but here's the deal here's what I would do Mark I would go I would with Tim Lester in place with what Kirk has talked about regarding Sullivan's skill set and what we've seen what we've heard with his legs his ability to run I would have plays specific plays like pick a guy first of all that you're going to run first with whether that's Kate or Sol I don't really care I don't really think it matters I know that sounds bad I don't really think it matters all that much I know some people want to think make you think otherwise it all sorts with a quarterback well yeah it does but if the team knows both guys are gonna play if they have confidence in both guys pick a guy to start then have plays ready situational plays ready to go for Brennan Sullivan and maybe for Marco lonz and then if if Brenan comes in for those situational plays and looks good then you just you feel out the game right you feel it out play byplay series by series drive by drive and I think you let the rhythm of The Game come to you and you decide within I don't think you need to have everything prescripted um and I think Tim Lester is competent enough as a former quarterback and a play caller to make those calls now would I have trusted Brian ference to do that uh but I think that's how you approach it is from a rhythmic standpoint your thoughts my thought is that uh maybe my plan is not right for this particular team in this particular program because their offense has been so damn bad that if you do have a flow if you do start to score some points I was just at some point something you were saying was triggering in my mind the mentality maybe the subconscious mentality of these players on offense were used to going out there three and out three and out three and out okay couple first downs then the drive stalled and just playing like that all the time they're not used to having success so yeah do you want to break that up if Kate mcam leads them to two touchdown drives and a field goal Drive in the first three drives do you want to break that up maybe not if if it was another team another mindset another experience of offensive players and needing to find out the optimum situation a quarterback then maybe you go with my plan but I do understand that that may not be the best because of what these players have experienced in the past and I project part of the equation will be does somebody turn the ball over because although Kirk has sort of forgiven guys like Deacon Hill Spencer petus when those guys got into these turnover ridden games it's clear Kirk has a different level of confidence with number two this year that he has not had in years right so I do think that we're going to see a greater emphasis placed on who can protect the football not that that's the end all Beall but if on the flip side of that if Kate comes in and throws an ugly pick like he threw during Kids Day to Quinn schy I I could see just nope get him out and that's fine like that's fine with me I don't want a guy looking over their shoulder but if you have egregious decisions being made by a guy who hasn't played much in two years then you know we got to figure out a way to get him settled down but it's not we're not going to sacrifice um the lead or you know a game certainly um to try to make that happen now we we got to go with the better guy so it's a luxury to have two guys whether you think that you have two really good quarterbacks they've got two guys who have proven to be capable there are questions surrounding Cade's Health there's I guess questions surrounding Sullivan's ability in the system he asked the he was asked uh Kirk was asked about Tim Lester or about uh the quarterback competition and he did bring up the fact that Brendan is still working his way into the system so he's kind of behind from that perspective but I I really do think with a guy like Tim Lester he'll he'll be able to be up to speed by the time we hit August 31st if he's not already that's what's that's why there's reason to be a little bit frustrated by the fact that we continue to see snaps and photos of Cade consistently with the ones and Brendan consistently with the twos that just it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me um but what what is this can we go to the the chat hang on just a second before you get to your comment in the chat our buddy Ferris Khan so he's on the Michigan Channel with us producing content over there so check it out smash the numbers Ferris making a statement here that Cade won a big 10 Championship he should or it should be Kate I don't agree with that you make an evaluation in 2024 not in 20201 that was a long time ago that was a different football team different strengths different Talent different situation and he may not be the same player today than he was three years ago yeah and uh frankly would you rather right now build an NF would you rather right now tomorrow go out on the field as an NFL team team with Caleb Williams or with Brett Favre I mean I know it's not the same analogy but yeah past success there has to be some context put to that and Kate is a different guy than he was three years ago there's nobody gonna be debating that um all I know is this I have heard Tim make statements like when I talked to him at media day he said H we had go back and watch that interview go back and watch that interview because I had reported here few days prior to that that J Jacob Gil had gone off for several touchdowns on a Saturday against Jamari Harris and then that day I talk with Tim Lester go back and listen to interview he made the statement he said we had a pretty good one-on-one day today and the way he said that made me think okay things were clicking today and so may is it maybe the case that yeah maybe more often than not the offense hasn't looked great because of what it's going up against but they have still been flashing and if they're flashing against the Iowa defense how much more so will they flash against defenses across the schedule there's lots of ways you can look at it and you know not to pee in your own pudding before the season even starts can't say that I've ever heard that phrase before pee in your own pudding well did you make that up or did that come from somewhere is that not a thing is that not a not that I know I've been around a while I've never come across that one you know what Kelvin Bell said to me that I had never heard you probably heard it before but he said something about the biscuit hitting the grease is that a common expression I think I've heard it at some point I don't think it's common I cracked up when he said that and he he didn't act like it was he wasn't trying to be funny he was just saying that I just thought that was funny during my chat with him and again let me clarify because some people misconstrue when I make a statement like I just made I'm not saying this Brendan Sullivan should be the starter and that Kade mcnamer should not be the starter I'm saying that Kade mcnamer should not be the starter based on what he did in 2021 here's a few other things that hit me Corey about uh some things that Tim Lester said he was talking up the offense guys working hard guys figuring things out doing the right things etc etc finding consistency however he said we still need to find explosive plays he made that statement he also said that Cade up until that particular week was he used the word skittish and that he's finally calmed down and then he said Sully Brendan Sullivan is a natural in the pocket that sounds like a big compliment he's a natural in the pocket meaning he knows how to navigate the pocket he knows when to step up knows when to slide knows when the ball needs to come out yeah he does I mean we've watched him at Northwestern he you were impressed with him at Northwestern his numbers he was pretty good yeah yeah so no I agree and Mark I think the skittish thing is assuming that that Tim was referring back to just the nervousness you have when you come off of serious injury you know especially a serious knee injury two serious knee injuries you're going to be a little bit skittish to getting hit and um you know sometimes I think when you see the erratic type of throws that he made during Kids Day you wonder okay is it's more up here than than maybe the physical so that's good news if he's calmed down and he's settled in um and and like I said before kids day I I had somebody close to the program tell me hey right now Sullivan's the better guy and you know it's close but we think Sullivan's a better guy and um I had the same person reach out to me here a couple of days ago and said hey sven's still the better guy but expect Cade to start game one we'll see I mean we don't things can change but that's just that's the perception from even people on the inside that yeah we kind of feel like Sullivan's more ready but we still think that Cade's gonna get the nod and then listen to this one Corey I'm slightly reading into this but I don't think I'm making a big stretch here when Tim Lester says that he takes a lot from the ones and the ones playing against each other the twos playing the twos but when you take the ones against the twos he said you expect the quarterback to drive the ball down the field against the twos when he's got the ones but he loves to see more than anything the quarterback who can take the twos and drive them down the field against the ones now he didn't differentiate quarterbacks or anything but if Sullivan is getting more reps with the twos when did he ever imply though that they're doing that that whoever is running with the twos is taking the team down the field against the ones because I have a hard time imagining that happen I understand that but why would he say that if it I don't know uh who was I listening to was it Matt rule somebody I listened to I believe it was yesterday was asked about um the whole ones versus twos man who was that the guy found the interview on Twitter but uh the the question was posed similar to the questions we ask as to why Tim Lester um or why this offense is running so much with brandan and the two with the twos Kade with the ones and whoever it was that I was listening to this coach basically said yeah it's diffic was it Kelvin Bell or Liddell Betts anyways it's difficult to evaluate to an extent however even when you have like twos versus the twos you got realize yeah you're going up against the twos but you're also working with quote unquote inferior Talent around you as a quarterback so that has to be taken into account I'm not saying it's Apples to Apples I still think the best way to go about it is equal snaps against the same equal competition but if Brendan Sullivan's outperforming twos against twos that's still something because he you still have to be able to to make do with like Iowa's backup defensive backs backup linebackers backup defensive linemen they're better than Iowa backup receivers backup offensive linemen I would guess and you know maybe the tight ends running backs you get what I'm saying like that's still that's a different Challenge and it's hard to go I'm sure it's hard for Kade to wouldn't it be hard for any quarterback to go up against the Iowa defense every day I mean like at some point don't expect Iowa's offense I I don't think if Tom Herman were here running this offense that these guys would be running up and down the field against this defense Phil Parker is maybe the best coordinator in college football and these are the same guys that were brought in under Brian ference's regime so Tim's going to get everything he can out of them but you may not see the effects of that positive results until they go up against not Iowa's defense college football is even more exciting with some action on the line and the games are even better when you're cashing in 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