crazietalk.net

I'm starting a new thread as I believe the QB situation will be a popular topic this off season, which will become more popular once the season starts. I'll start it off with the following link:

In this Herald-Sun article:

http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/duke...-both-weigh-in

Coach Cutcliffe talks about the QB situation. While discussing Thomas Sirk, who missed his entire redshirt freshman season due to an Achilles rupture, Coach Cutcliffe states:

“He’s had a lot of meaningful reps, which has been good in practice,” Cutcliffe said. “Our practices are intense. It’s not game snaps. But he’s gotten better."

At the risk of repeating myself, you know that I'm really looking forward to seeing what Thomas can do since I hold extremely high expectations for him. Everything I've learned about him and his family suggests that he's very special and has the potential of being a game changer on the field.

Parker has shown some noteworthy potential given all that took place for him since he first enrolled. He was warming up, ready to answer the call throughout much of last season when Brandon was THE available QB.

What a treat to have such depth at this crucial position!

PS I understand that Alabama's not so fortunate regarding QB depth for 2014...... curious considering the depth of flashy talent they have at so many positions.

This is one of the things I hate about Connette's timing. I'm not blaming him for anything, I just wish he had made his decision before the spring practices. He obviously got tons of reps, and those could have been much better used on one of the new guys. Damn.

I really hope for our sake that there is NO discussion about the Quarterback position this summer/fall. This NEEDS to be Anthony Boone's team! He is our Senior, he has had plenty of practice and starts to be ready for this season. I know we wouldn't have had the same success last year if it was not for Brandon, but Anthony was the guy on the field the most when he was healthy. There is no way we will compete for a division championship if Boone struggles and we are forced to play Sirk. I like Sirk, but we need the stability of Boone to play well and be healthy all year if we really want a rematch with FSU in Charlotte.

Perhaps the biggest key for Anthony to have a great season is consistency. Coach Cutcliffe has noted this from time to time including in his most recent interviews about next season.

wolfpackdevil wrote:I really hope for our sake that there is NO discussion about the Quarterback position this summer/fall. This NEEDS to be Anthony Boone's team!

I agree with the above statements with the caveat "no discussion about starting Quarterback." I believe Coach Cutcliffe will stick with the two QB system he has had success with the past couple of seasons so I expect Sirk and/or Boehme will see action in certain situations.

Boone is the team leader and starting QB so we need him to have a stellar senior season.

Bob Green wrote:

wolfpackdevil wrote:I really hope for our sake that there is NO discussion about the Quarterback position this summer/fall. This NEEDS to be Anthony Boone's team!

I agree with the above statements with the caveat "no discussion about starting Quarterback." I believe Coach Cutcliffe will stick with the two QB system he has had success with the past couple of seasons so I expect Sirk and/or Boehme will see action in certain situations.

Boone is the team leader and starting QB so we need him to have a stellar senior season.

I agree with both. The main reason I would like to see either Sirk or Boehme at least getting snaps time to time is that we know Boone isn't indestructible. We lost Anthony last year for a stretch of games, and still had the most amazing season ever because Brandon was able to step in and take over. He was prepared; I like having a backup ready to go at any time.
Did anyone watch VT's bowl game last year? When their starter got hurt and had to sit, it was his backup's time to shine, and he sucked. Beyond sucked, he super sucked. I don't want to see that happen with our team.

Speaking of the Hokies and their sucky quarterback, I found this lovely quote from Heather Dinich in her blog today.

What we learned from Virginia Tech wasn’t revolutionary. It was confirmation, though, that the offense remains a work-in-progress, that the Hokies don’t yet look like they’re ready to return to the top of the Coastal Division standings, and that the fan base can either choose to be patient this year and believe the staff when it says these growing pains will pay dividends down the road, or buy their first Duke football T-shirt.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/6 ... or-concern

CameronBornAndBred wrote:Speaking of the Hokies and their sucky quarterback, I found this lovely quote from Heather Dinich in her blog today.

What we learned from Virginia Tech wasn’t revolutionary. It was confirmation, though, that the offense remains a work-in-progress, that the Hokies don’t yet look like they’re ready to return to the top of the Coastal Division standings, and that the fan base can either choose to be patient this year and believe the staff when it says these growing pains will pay dividends down the road, or buy their first Duke football T-shirt.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/6 ... or-concern

If the VT fan base in the courthouse wants, I will personally deliver Duke football t shirts.

There are some posts over on The Devils Den stating Johnathan Lloyd will be seeing time at cornerback. We all know Lloyd is a tremendous athlete so with our depth at QB it isn't surprising the staff has him working at another position. With his talent level he has to see the field. I believe he will continue to work out with QBs as well as with CBs. My interpretation is this is not an either or scenario. Lloyd is working as both a CB and QB. Most important is I cannot vouch for the veracity of the reports, it is just posts on a message board.

The team received key contributions from several true freshmen last year so I expect skill position guys like Lloyd, Trevon Lee and Shaun Wilson will see action as true freshmen.

Bob Green wrote:There are some posts over on The Devils Den stating Johnathan Lloyd will be seeing time at cornerback. We all know Lloyd is a tremendous athlete so with our depth at QB it isn't surprising the staff has him working at another position. With his talent level he has to see the field. I believe he will continue to work out with QBs as well as with CBs. My interpretation is this is not an either or scenario. Lloyd is working as both a CB and QB. Most important is I cannot vouch for the veracity of the reports, it is just posts on a message board.

The team received key contributions from several true freshmen last year so I expect skill position guys like Lloyd, Trevon Lee and Shaun Wilson will see action as true freshmen.

The Raleigh N&O even mentioned him as possibly playing baseball, too.

I've heard this rumor too. Adam Rowe of 247 sports had an interview with Quentin Harris where the rumor may have originated. You'll have to check there for more details, but I think there's something to it. I'm not sure what to make of it. Quentin Harris is a very similar style QB....Lloyd seemed to have more tape than Harris. Really, Lloyd's tape looked great. He looked like a more shifty and quicker version of Connette. Maybe a little better passer in high school. I'd love to know how it all went down. I just hope that if the move was made, it was one that Lloyd was excited about and not just forced on him. I think this is putting a great deal of faith in Nico and Harris. It also makes me wonder if we are moving away from the 2 qb system. Parker and Nico are not runners. Nico seems a lot like Thad Lewis. Athletic enough to get a first down here or there, but not a running threat. Sirk is 6'4' and looks bigger than the 215 lbs listed. Prior to the tendon issue, it was also reported that he had great speed. He could fill the phantom/short yardage qb role this year, but next year...we presume he takes the next step. If so, I don't see him coming out for goal line situations. It's also possible that he doesn't progress enough and keeps that role throughout his Duke career and Parker or Nico get the node for the majority of the games in 2015. The final decisions there are probably not premeditated and will work themselves out.

Though I thought Connette was the best qb on the roster, I don't see his leaving to be huge loss for us as long as Boone is healthy. I think Sirk can do most of what Connette was asked to do for us and may even be better. He looked strong running the ball in the Spring game. Again, he needs to take the next step and improve as a passer. When you get Crowder as a target, that will help, but more progress needs to be made for the following year when Crowder is gone. If Boone struggles, there won't be a reliever to pull up in the bull pen...but maybe that helps Boone.

While it looks like we have a great chance to win another 9-10 games and maybe win the Coastal again.... if you take away Boone or Crowder...who thinks we can win the Coastal? Sorry, I don't see it. The injuries piece concerns me greatly. A twisted ankle, turf toe, or broken whatever can dramatically affect this teams success. Crowder is by far the best player, but Boone may be the key. Ryan Smith, Joshnell Barnes, Terrance Alls, or Trevon Lee may be able to replace most of what Crowder does, but as of the Spring game, I don't see Sirk replacing Boone. I hope they work Parker into some early games and get him a few live throws. I know that puts 3 qbs in a game, but it may be useful to have that option down the road.

Great thoughts! I have a couple of comments.

The Football Fan wrote:It also makes me wonder if we are moving away from the 2 qb system. Parker and Nico are not runners. Nico seems a lot like Thad Lewis. Athletic enough to get a first down here or there, but not a running threat. Sirk is 6'4' and looks bigger than the 215 lbs listed. Prior to the tendon issue, it was also reported that he had great speed. He could fill the phantom/short yardage qb role this year, but next year...we presume he takes the next step. If so, I don't see him coming out for goal line situations. It's also possible that he doesn't progress enough and keeps that role throughout his Duke career and Parker or Nico get the node for the majority of the games in 2015. The final decisions there are probably not premeditated and will work themselves out.

The inexperienced depth on the team behind Boone is going to create some fierce competiton. This is a good thing. It is a given Nico Pierre will redshirt but he is going to be fiercely pushing the competition in practice. Thomas Sirk and Parker Boehme both bring a lot of skill onto the field so I have to believe they both have a high performance ceiling under Coach Cutcliffe's tutelage.

The Football Fan wrote:While it looks like we have a great chance to win another 9-10 games and maybe win the Coastal again.... if you take away Boone or Crowder...who thinks we can win the Coastal? Sorry, I don't see it. The injuries piece concerns me greatly. A twisted ankle, turf toe, or broken whatever can dramatically affect this teams success.

Injuries are always a huge concern. In 2013 we were basically injury free with the exception of Boone's cracked collarbone, while 2012 saw the team devastated with injuries. I agree with you that Boone needs to be available for all games in 2014 due to the inexperience behind him.

The Football Fan wrote:Crowder is by far the best player, but Boone may be the key. Ryan Smith, Joshnell Barnes, Terrance Alls, or Trevon Lee may be able to replace most of what Crowder does, but as of the Spring game, I don't see Sirk replacing Boone. I hope they work Parker into some early games and get him a few live throws. I know that puts 3 qbs in a game, but it may be useful to have that option down the road.

It is possible Sirk was still not 100 percent recovered from his injury when we saw him at the Spring Game. I watched pregame warm-ups several times in 2012 and Sirk looked very accurate throwing the football. I did not see that accuracy on March 1st. With a whole summer of continued rehab and practice, I'm optimistic Sirk will show everyone he can accurately pass the ball down the field. That is the key to me - downfield accuracy! Throwing the short passes and heaving it deep with a strong arm are nice attributes; however, slicing and dicing the opponent's defense with downfield accuracy is the difference between a good QB and a great QB. Longterm, we need Sirk (or Boehme) followed by Pierre to be great QBs.

Matt Fortuna interviews Thomas Sirk.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/7 ... homas-sirk

As I suspected:

TS: There's a lot of things in the spring that I could say I could go back and work on, and I'd tell you in the spring that I wasn't 100 percent but it was just a good opportunity for me to go back into football. And since then I've gotten a lot healthier...

This doesn't mean I'm smart, it means I'm old. Been there, done that, bought a T-Shirt.

Nico Pierre underwent surgery on his left (non-throwing) thumb:

http://www.heraldsun.com/news/blog/x210 ... as-surgery

Johnathan Lloyd underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle:

http://duke.scout.com/story/1413836-llo ... gery?s=167

The article refers to him as a cornerback.

Bob Green wrote:Johnathan Lloyd underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle:

http://duke.scout.com/story/1413836-llo ... gery?s=167

The article refers to him as a cornerback.

Yea, is this the quarterback thread or the cornerback thread?