Spurrier team passing pockets vs last year (with pictures).. LaNorris didn't have a chance.

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole tonight after listening to GA Mangus on a podcast talking about Connor Shaw. Just to go down memory lane I decided to look up some of Connor's highlights. My intention wasn't to directly compare anything to the current SC teams. But watching some highlight videos and old games under Spurrier it immediately hit me because it stood out so much... what was it that stood out? A pocket.

We can criticize LaNorris all we want and, yes, there are things he needs to work on. Also, to not make this 100% about LaNorris we can even go back to Spencer's time at QB. Same thing there.

After watching the Connor Shaw highlights I decided to go back and fast forward through our games from this year just looking at the offense. I told you I went down a rabbit hole. haha. Guess what wasn't there at all? A pocket. The only time I saw Sellers have a pocket like the ones below was maybe once in the SC State game. That was it. But never in an SEC game. Even when he did stay in the "pocket" and complete a big pass, the pockets weren't nearly this clean.

Bottom line.. LaNorris (or Rattler) didn't have the chance to pass from this type of daylight ever. And before anyone says he held onto the ball too long, I am telling you he didn't have pockets like the ones below for even a second.

gamecox4982 said:

Lots of times he ran away from the pocket instead of stepping up into the pocket

Click to expand...

Maybe so.. But I am telling you right now he didn't have ANY pockets like the ones in those pictures. They simply weren't there and weren't going to be there whether he stepped up, polka danced, or did a handstand. Look at those pictures. I would challenge you to find any game against a SEC team where he had the OPPORTUNITY to have a pocket like those. There are PLENTY of times that he absolutely tried to stay in the pocket.

I said in my OP that he absolutely made mistakes and has lots of things he needs to be improve upon. But that doesn't change the fact that he simply didn't have the opportunity to have the time in the pocket or the being able to see out of the pocket that all of the QBs under Spurrier had. One thing a clean pocket gives you is the ability to see the field.

You take a look at those pictures I posted up above and be honest with yourself. Have you seen anything like that in the last few years with our OL???? Have you seen ANY QB in the last few years be able to drop back and have the space around them that Connor has in those pictures?? Go back to Rattler. I don't remember him having pockets like that.