Can’t help but speculate what happened this year. Repeated misunderstandings with WRs, sailing throws in key downs.

I saw an article by an informed talent assessor (at least the NY Times consults him) stating that MB is a rhythm passer with a moderate arm. The writer said MB’s strengths remind him of Matt Ryn. He thinks MB will be a good pro in system that is redesigned to emphasize shorter passes that thrown more quickly time after the snap. He doesn’t think MB is a franchise QB, who can adapt and progress in any system.

That’s because MB does worse than some when his rhythm is disrupted by pressure, and he has to throw quickly without perfect mechanics. MB loses more accuracy and velocity than some when he is not perfectly set and able to employ perfect mechanics.

I’m not sure whether that fully explains all the problems. MB has sailed passes when he had time to use perfect mechanics. It also sounds as though MB fails to understand the limitations of his arm. Thus, under pressure and not in balance to use best biomechanics to maximize his pass, , MB attempts a pass that requires great placement and/or velocity, when he should know that he can’t use the biomechanics that HE personally needs to use, and should just throw it away or check down to an easier pass.

If this analysis is correct, it’s fair to ask whether Kiffin, the OC, designed his game plans correctly? I’m not saying he didn’t do so–I don’t know. Logic would dictate that Kiffin needed to assess the pass rush of each opponent, and for those who would hurry MB, stick to shorter passes thrown quickly after the snap, in perfect balance. On rollouts, the passes had to be forgiving of accuracy and velocity.

Certainly, Kiffin may have relied on bubble screens because of MB, but they became too predictable, and Kiffin needed counter-moves, different short passes that relied on opponents’ expecting the bubble screens. Obviously, if the writer is correct, MB’s arm strength was a limitation that opponents could exploit, but Kiffin had to scheme around that as best he could.

It also fell on Kiffin to educate MB about MB’s limitations, and teach him how to use that knowledge in making good choices during the game when he couldn’t use best biomechanics. It also fell on Kiffin to clear up all those misunderstandings between Barkley and the WRs.

Kiffin, MB, both? Who knows? The INTs confirm that something was not figured out correctly.

I guess if MB can aspire to be Matt Ryan, things could be worse. I’d like to see him do well, with a coordinator who knows MB’s strengths and weaknesses, and gets the most out of him. Kiffin gets at best a “C” grade for that in 2012, and against stronger opponents, a “D” grade. Show me a loss, and I’ll show you INTs by MB, and fumbles by the other skill players.

MB probably won’t play vs. Notre Dame. That gives Kiffin a free game, without pressure to succeed. Will the team just take the week off? It will be interesting to see how that plays out with a first-time starter against such a good defense.

One might expect Wittek to struggle more with the pass rush, but he needs all the practice snaps just to get ready. Given a free rein, my instinct in this game would be use a lot of shotgun with Wittek, and maybe the hurry-up with a slimmed-down play list. Letting this ND defense get set seems like a bad idea.

If Wittek does poorly, would Kiffin switch to Kessler, and use a lot of roll-outs and planned scrambles, rather than a traditional approach. Spurrier or Brian Kelly would do that.

Well said!