After the 24 hour-rule wore off, and reading the message boards and radio talk show hosts dissecting the loss to Penn State, I felt it was time to sit down and take a more pragmatic look at the Huskies’ season overall in 2017.
There’s even been comments from one pundit, in particular, saying that Jake Browning doesn’t have the arm strength of athletic ability to take Washington all the way to a championship. That Browning, as a pro-style quarterback in a pro-style offense wouldn’t appeal to NFL scouts.
But right now he’s a college football quarterback.
I’m not a quarterback, and this particular pundit did play quarterback — but one thing he forgot to mention is that football is a team sport.
So let’s look at another quarterback — his team has gone 9-7 this year. Russell Wilson is arguably the best dual-threat quarterback in the NFL. A super bowl champion — and he’s actually better now than he was when they won the world championship.
So what’s changed from winning a super bowl to a season where the Seahawks are 9-7? What’s missing?
The Hawks had a better offensive line when they won the super bowl.
They had a better receiving corps when they won the super bowl.
And they certainly had a better defense when they won the super bowl.
So, to be blatantly honest — this stuff about how Jake Browning can’t lead his team to a “big win” is just a big pile of dog doo.
And before you lose your minds on this — I am not comparing Browning to Wilson. But just the scenario of what can happen when certain pieces of the puzzle go missing.
What pieces were missing for Washington and Jake Browning this year?
Well, some of it started last year and during the off-season. Browning never had a chance to get bigger, stronger, and faster because he was set back by shoulder surgery. He spent most of the off-season rehabbing. That isn’t an excuse — it’s just a fact.
I believe Browning needs to put on 10 to 15 pounds this off-season with a strict regimen that involves upper and lower body strength — and with the guidance of Bush Hamdan, along with Tim Socha, this should not be a problem.
But Browning can only control so much. What else is missing?
Trey Adams missed the latter part of the season with injury — he was Browning’s body-guard on the line.
But it doesn’t stop there — Browning’s go-to outlet, the 4.3 receiver Chico McClatcher also left the field and was out all season. Browning and McClatcher had their timing down to a tee. Chris Petersen said that there’s no replacing a Chico McClatcher. And to paraphrase further, Petersen said that everyone else in the Pac-12 was cheering that McClatcher was out.
To start the season, David Ajamu at tight end broke his leg and he was out. As well as Drew Sample, the other tight end. And then freshman wonderkid, Hunter Bryant wound up getting hurt and leaving the field for the rest of the season as well.
Eight games in, receiver Quinton Pounds went out and didn’t return. And the best guy of all, Dante Pettis went out in the Apple Cup and barely made an effective return against Penn State.
Yes — football teams have injuries. Part of the game. But these injuries were such that it almost made it impossible for Washington’s passing game to ever get into a consistent rhythm.
I’m not saying Browning doesn’t need to get better — he needs to get rid of the ball faster and trust his receivers more. But all quarterbacks miss open receivers — Trace McSorely missed a few too.
But I noticed that, when Browning was scrambling for his life, the receivers weren’t coming back to the ball to help him. They were just running their routes and floating around in space rather than working their way back. They need to get better here and the coaches will help them with that.
Jake Browning isn’t Jalen Hurts who can take over a game with his legs if that’s needed, instead he’s a guy who does read defenses and has a high quarterback IQ.
I understand that the quarterback always gets the blame for a loss — but let’s understand that a lot of the criticism is just not fair if you truly can digest the fact that this is a team game and not just a one-man show.
Browning does have a lot of work to do — that’s a no brainer, but with the returning receivers in 2018 — things are looking good for Washington’s offense next year.
My opinion? Jake Browning can win the “big one” at Washington — but he can’t be expected to do it all by himself. No quarterback can.
Afterall, the Seahawks are 9-7.
And by the way — the top Pac-12 quarterback in the draft this year will be Josh Rosen. How’d his career at UCLA go? So well that their head coach was fired for mounting losses.
Team game.
