BLUF: I'm a little concerned with the hits Hooker is taking when he keeps the ball.
No doubt he's made the correct read majority of the time (can only think of once during the GT game in his past starts that he should've handed it off instead of keeping it), but whenever he keeps and gets hit he always looks like he gets hit awkwardly / he's down for the count; I don't get the same TT vibe that whenever TT got hit (even hard), he'd wince but always be ready to go next play (and LT3 was a tank, so that's not a fair comparison - same with QP).
Anyone else feel the same? Do you think we should actually run less RPO in the remaining games and just give the window dressing that might make it look like an RPO to keep D's off-balance and keep less impacts on HH?
EDIT: I'm reminded of RG3 in his first year at Washington. Shannahan rode him and the read option until teams didn't care about the yards / points scored by him as long as they kept destroying RG3 whenever he kept the ball.
Comments
Hooker always seems good for getting up very slowly once a game and we just hope that hit doesn't knock him out of the game like vs UNC.
If I recall correctly, there wasn't a hit that knocked him out against UNC
Fair, I must have mis-remembered how he got hurt in that game. Hooker does always seem like an injury risk though which puts me on edge
Let's hope he's just Jim Browning it.
It's his running ability that makes the offense move.
i think it's more ability to actually make right read -- not sure if RW was not particularly adept at it, or if the plays that looked like bad reads were predesigned as handoff/keep. either way the QB was not really a run threat under RW
If Willis and hooker both make the same correct read on any given rpo that is a keeper, film has shown us that hooker will get more yards - he is clearly and simply a better runner. He has made first downs on plays many times that Willis would have not gotten even close. Guess I'm saying that I think his natural ability in the run game is far ahead of Willis in every aspect - and that's why we are running the ball well. More so than the intellectual read aspect. I'm sure careful analysis would show many missed reads by hooker. But he makes up for it much better than Willis.
You can't change what's working. Hooker is banged up, and rumor is will have shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm after the season. But the only way you win these games is by running what works.
I wouldn't be surprised to see QP make a few appearances against Pitt though.
Pretty sure his shoulder popped out against GT, and that is why QP came in for the 3rd and 9.
The medical staff obviously feels he cannot make his shoulder worse, and that he just needs the off-season surgery.
I agree. With the momentum this team has, you have to keep going with what is working. In fact, expand on it. Don't reverse coarse.
Not suggesting reverse course, but with HH back there, the threat of read-option is always there even if you don't have to always run it. So use that to ones advantage rather than to actually run the play - maybe a best of both world?
"Hooker's gon' get hit. S'all part of the game. They gotta get back up and get to work."
-Pimp Daddy Fuente
I laughed too much at this. 😂
Have your damn leg APFOW 🍗
I don't think there should necessarily be some huge difference in thinking about taking hits between HH and QP. Hooker is 6'4" 228lb and QP is 6'4'' 245lb. Granted 17lbs is not insignificant...I don't think there is a difference like "QP is a tank and Hooker needs to avoid getting hit".
that being said, I would like to see Hooker slide from time to time
Fair enough, but QP looks built like a tank whereas HH doesn't. I don't know where HH keeps the weight; he looks like a 200 lb WR on screen.
probably a difference when one has a wonky shoulder
Reminds me a bit of Cam Newton. He has this habit of staying on the ground tick more than is typical and the thought crosses the mind - is he hurt? Maybe Hooker has a similar "style." Cannot deviate from the system that works and expect positive "expected outcomes"
Justin Robinson did the same thing in basketball. Till he was actually hurt that is.
might be a durability issue. May need to pack on more muscle weight in the offseason to be able to absorb those hits
Perhaps so, but that's still several weeks out - I'm more focused on how to get him through this season without hurting him.
The window dressing was Notre Dame/2nd half of GT when we played QP allowing HH to rest. You go all in these last 2 games and stick with what moves the ball!
I believe it was reported somewhere that the play he went out vs GT was because his brace got dislodged, thats why he was laying there for a minute.
Doesnt invalidate your point, but worth mentioning that he wasnt hurt at all, just an equipment issue
Good to know, thanks. When did he hurt his shoulder that he needed a brace in the first place?
Not 100% sure, but i believe it was before the season started. The first game i remember seeing him in he already was wearing a shoulder brace
I have to believe that this is the only reason Hooker didn't start vs BC
The GT play just looked like his shoulder brace was completely out of place, and he had to adjust it.
My take is the complete opposite of yours, he seems to always snap right back up, and hold his balance in interesting ways when getting hit. I'm referring to a play in the GT game early on where he ran towards the far sideline for a first down and was carried out of bounds by several GT players while he was getting hit, but he didn't go to the ground, and looked like he avoided anything of substance.
I'll drink.
I'm confused. Many teams run RPO plays without running the QB. You can hand off an RPO play, lots of teams do this. At WVU, Will Grier ran tons of RPO plays and barely ran himself. Baylor did the same thing post RGIII.
Now if you are concerned that he might have to hold it longer for the RPO to develop then that is a concern, but normally QBs dont take hits on RPOs.
Read option plays, which we run a lot of are a different story, they can be a part of an RPO however then it's a triple option.
Yeah, I think the OP (along with every TV commentator) is confusing/combining standard option and RPO. Generally, the options for an RPO are hand to RB or pass. Qb not usually included in that.