I cringe a little bit when we say "better than TA was". TA was GREAT at some things. Apples and oranges comparing any guy that will follow TA. IMO any QB was going to have issues behind the banged up O line we fielded this past season. It's going to be interesting to see what our O line can do against a really good Tennessee front in the bowl game now that it's healed up a little bit.
I would have to agree. TA did some things great.
I wish he would have done some things great consistently though... but like you just said, any QB was going to have issues this year with the OL we fielded most of the season.
With Riley and Langsdorf, I doubt we see another run threat at the QB position that could hold TA's jock strap. TA won some games with
his running capabilities and his
heart, not because of the blocking capabilities of the OL in front of him.
TA hurt the team in many ways, whether it was playing injured (
maybe not his fault that he had to), not checking down and chucking the ball 40 yards downfield to show off his arm strength, and missing wide open receivers while forcing a pass into coverage.
In some of those games, he saved himself by being great when it mattered and by not screwing up. He was a fighter. He gave it his all. No one can question that about him. He just was not a great fit into Riley's offensive philosophy.
He was the best QB on the team these last two years and the coaches obviously thought that he gave us the best chance to win. I just wish the coaches would have pulled him for a series or two when he was having a bad game.