QB PREDICTIONS

[GrizgradCatFan]

Any ideas on whose leading the pack to be the new QB?

[TomCat88]

My guess is that Prukop has a slight edge, especially considering the system that Cramsey runs.

However, it's yet to be seen if there's a lot of change to the offense. It's been pointed out that Ash hasn't done much different despite having six different OCs since he's arrived, so it may be tough for him to just throw Cramsey the keys and sit in the back seat. That, more than any position battle or incoming talent, is the most interesting item to watch develop in camp IMO. Will there just be minor tweaks or an overhaul?

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

Gonna sound weird but it's the honest to god truth. I had a dream the other night, I was at a bobcat game and Bleskin was the QB, so I'm going with Bleskin. However, I remember saying when DM was going against Kempt for the starting job, "there is no way DM gets the nod over Kempt due to Kempt's experience" it's safe to say I was way wrong on that, so maybe we need Prukop to start.

[catdaddy7]

I'm comfortable with either but "IF" Ash is gonna let Cramsey run his offense I'd say it's looking like
Prukop based on his style and history.... but..... you never know. I remember last year we started out
being an up-tempo offense but that waned before we started our BS games. I think our offensive line
will be a huge factor in our success this year therefor making whoever plays QB look pretty good.

[canyoncat]

I like Bleskin, but I believe it will be Prukop. Like Catdaddy I will be comfortable with either. It will be interesting to see how Quinn McQueary does this fall now that he will be able to practice.

[catatac]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

[wbtfg]

I think the OL will be much improved over the past 2 years which will lead to more opportunities for the qb to make plays

[CARDIAC_CATS]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

I think what he meant is that while DM was a great QB for his career, the QB play last year (due to injury and other issues sounds like) was down. I agree that even with a new QB the QB play should be able to keep on par or better than we saw last year. Plus as stated above the OL play should be better as well. The OL should be a big strength of this team this year. They need to get some attitude and just dominate people which I think they can.

[Hawks86]

Can Prukop/Bleskin be better than a clearly injured DM ?
Can the RB group as a whole get better numbers and be healthy at the end of the season ?
Can one of the receivers get better numbers than Bleskin or can the WR corps get better numbers as a whole ?

There are quite a few more but the answers are all based on perspective and honesty of course.

[John K]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I remember Griz fans saying exactly the same thing after Lulay graduated, and we were actually a better team the next season...better in fact than any of Lulay's teams. And that was with Carpenter/Rolovich at QB. I''m confident that either Bleskin or Prukop will prove to be better than either one of them. That just proves that although the QB position is very important, it's certainly not the only component for team success.

That being said, I also believe it's possible for us to actually be a better team than we were last season, without it being reflected in our record. I think this is the toughest schedule that we've had in recent memory. Of our eight BSC opponents, we play the four easiest at home, and the four toughest on the road. None or our conference road games are going to be gimmes, and it may be very difficult to go even 6-2 in BSC play. If the home/road schedule was reversed, we would probably be at least 7-1, or maybe even 8-0. Despite the recent history of the road team winning Cat-Griz, I'd still rather have them at home than at Wa-Griz, any day of the week. And realistically, I would be ecstatic if we went 3-1 in our NC games, but that too might be a tall order. Arkansas State is certainly not unbeatable, but they're going to be a heavy favorite. Central Arkansas is no gimme, and we'll also be an underdog against EWU, even at home.

[CARDIAC_CATS]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I remember Griz fans saying exactly the same thing after Lulay graduated, and we were actually a better team the next season...better in fact than any of Lulay's teams. And that was with Carpenter/Rolovich at QB. I''m confident that either Bleskin or Prukop will prove to be better than either one of them. That just proves that although the QB position is very important, it's certainly not the only component for team success.

That being said, I also believe it's possible for us to actually be a better team than we were last season, without it being reflected in our record. I think this is the toughest schedule that we've had in recent memory. Of our eight BSC opponents, we play the four easiest at home, and the four toughest on the road. None or our conference road games are going to be gimmes, and it may be very difficult to go even 6-2 in BSC play. If the home/road schedule was reversed, we would probably be at least 7-1, or maybe even 8-0. Despite the recent history of the road team winning Cat-Griz, I'd still rather have them at home than at Wa-Griz, any day of the week. And realistically, I would be ecstatic if we went 3-1 in our NC games, but that too might be a tall order. Arkansas State is certainly not unbeatable, but they're going to be a heavy favorite. Central Arkansas is no gimme, and we'll also be an underdog against EWU, even at home.

Yeah if we make the playoffs this year we will definitely have earned it. I agree it is a tough schedule. The Cats need to win ALL their home games as a start. The EW game is a HUGE game even though it isn't a conference game as it will count as a tiebreaker if it comes down to header to head with EW.

[John K]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I remember Griz fans saying exactly the same thing after Lulay graduated, and we were actually a better team the next season...better in fact than any of Lulay's teams. And that was with Carpenter/Rolovich at QB. I''m confident that either Bleskin or Prukop will prove to be better than either one of them. That just proves that although the QB position is very important, it's certainly not the only component for team success.

That being said, I also believe it's possible for us to actually be a better team than we were last season, without it being reflected in our record. I think this is the toughest schedule that we've had in recent memory. Of our eight BSC opponents, we play the four easiest at home, and the four toughest on the road. None or our conference road games are going to be gimmes, and it may be very difficult to go even 6-2 in BSC play. If the home/road schedule was reversed, we would probably be at least 7-1, or maybe even 8-0. Despite the recent history of the road team winning Cat-Griz, I'd still rather have them at home than at Wa-Griz, any day of the week. And realistically, I would be ecstatic if we went 3-1 in our NC games, but that too might be a tall order. Arkansas State is certainly not unbeatable, but they're going to be a heavy favorite. Central Arkansas is no gimme, and we'll also be an underdog against EWU, even at home.

Yeah if we make the playoffs this year we will definitely have earned it. I agree it is a tough schedule. The Cats need to win ALL their home games as a start. The EW game is a HUGE game even though it isn't a conference game as it will count as a tiebreaker if it comes down to header to head with EW.

Agreed...we better not lose any BSC home games, since they're all against the bottom feeders of the league. Central Arkansas will be tough, but that's a game we should win at home. EWU will be one of the biggest and most important NC games that we've ever played. As you said, it could potentially be important in terms of a tie-breaker for the auto bid, and certainly it will carry a lot of weight if we're on the bubble for a playoff berth at the end of the season. Not only that, but beating them would really give us some momentum going into the BSC schedule, and would probably be a huge confidence builder for our new QB, whether it ends up being Bleskin or Prukop.

[msuhunter]

I think the OL will be much improved over the past 2 years which will lead to more opportunities for the qb to make plays

No offense, but we Bobcat fans have been saying that for the past 4 years ... and so far isn't hasn't panned out.

[catatac]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

Ok, so agree to disagree... we'll just see how things play out. However, I'd be willing to bet a bottle of Maker's Mark that I'm right. Let me know which stats you think are most important in terms of QB play, and I just think we do better in 2014 than 2013. I don't remember all the exact stats except 8 TD's to 4 ints, maybe 250 passing yards per game, bout 2,000 total yards... 7 wins.

[John K]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

Ok, so agree to disagree... we'll just see how things play out. However, I'd be willing to bet a bottle of Maker's Mark that I'm right. Let me know which stats you think are most important in terms of QB play, and I just think we do better in 2014 than 2013. I don't remember all the exact stats except 8 TD's to 4 ints, maybe 250 passing yards per game, bout 2,000 total yards... 7 wins.

I would say the real key is that we need more consistent QB play than we had last season. For whatever reason, D-Mac was wildly inconsistent last year. The perception seems to be that he was ineffective all season, or at least most of it. If you go back and look at the stats though, he played very well in most of the games, but it seemed like when he struggled, he really struggled, and I don't buy that it was solely due to injuries. Whoever wins the job, I don't think he necessarily has to be spectacular, but he will have to be more consistent than DM was last year. With better QB play, we definitely would have beaten SUU, and probably UM too.

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

Ok, so agree to disagree... we'll just see how things play out. However, I'd be willing to bet a bottle of Maker's Mark that I'm right. Let me know which stats you think are most important in terms of QB play, and I just think we do better in 2014 than 2013. I don't remember all the exact stats except 8 TD's to 4 ints, maybe 250 passing yards per game, bout 2,000 total yards... 7 wins.

I would say the real key is that we need more consistent QB play than we had last season. For whatever reason, D-Mac was wildly inconsistent last year. The perception seems to be that he was ineffective all season, or at least most of it. If you go back and look at the stats though, he played very well in most of the games, but it seemed like when he struggled, he really struggled, and I don't buy that it was solely due to injuries. Whoever wins the job, I don't think he necessarily has to be spectacular, but he will have to be more consistent than DM was last year. With better QB play, we definitely would have beaten SUU, and probably UM too.

I think that is a perfect example of people having unrealistic expectations for DM. He was absolutely running for his life those two games, and I for one put those loses exclusively on the Oline and the absolute lack of any type of push up the middle on defense, zero push the whole stinking year!

Catatac how about we do the wager simply on wins and losses. Going into DM first year I don't think we were even ranked and probably picked around 3rd in the big sky, so the circumstances are about the same for the new QBs.What ya say?

[catman50]

It's funny, because I have so many Griz fan buddies that think we're gonna take a huge step back at the QB position because we lose DM. He was a damn good QB and we all know what kind of magic he worked when he was out there. All that being said, I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face, but we'll be better at QB in 2014 than we were in 2013... probably considerably better. Lastly, yes I'm probably biased in saying this but I strongly believe we'll have the best backup QB in the Big Sky, whichever of the three it ends up being. If I'm wrong, tell me who is better. Please don't say UM because we've all seen what SSH can do.

I like the enthusiasm but we will not be better at quarterback this year compared to last year. You don't replace an All-American, All-Big Sky, and a two time Big Sky offensive MVP and become better. People's expectations for DM were so high that they forget how good he actually was. We saw what happened when he went down and Bleskin had to play, we weren't even as close to being as efficient on offense. Give the new guys time and they should pan out, but next year we won't be better at QB, and I'm really nervous because I don't think the team will be even close to as good as last years team. I will be at every game but I'm really nervous to see how the season pans out. We had proven All-Americans and All-Big Sky players last year, so blast me if you want, but I think the reasoning for my skepticism is there.

Ok, so agree to disagree... we'll just see how things play out. However, I'd be willing to bet a bottle of Maker's Mark that I'm right. Let me know which stats you think are most important in terms of QB play, and I just think we do better in 2014 than 2013. I don't remember all the exact stats except 8 TD's to 4 ints, maybe 250 passing yards per game, bout 2,000 total yards... 7 wins.

I would say the real key is that we need more consistent QB play than we had last season. For whatever reason, D-Mac was wildly inconsistent last year. The perception seems to be that he was ineffective all season, or at least most of it. If you go back and look at the stats though, he played very well in most of the games, but it seemed like when he struggled, he really struggled, and I don't buy that it was solely due to injuries. Whoever wins the job, I don't think he necessarily has to be spectacular, but he will have to be more consistent than DM was last year. With better QB play, we definitely would have beaten SUU, and probably UM too.

I think that is a perfect example of people having unrealistic expectations for DM. He was absolutely running for his life those two games, and I for one put those loses exclusively on the Oline and the absolute lack of any type of push up the middle on defense, zero push the whole stinking year!

Catatac how about we do the wager simply on wins and losses. Going into DM first year I don't think we were even ranked and probably picked around 3rd in the big sky, so the circumstances are about the same for the new QBs.What ya say?

You don't suppose DM held onto the ball a little too long at times? You cant expect much after 6-7 seconds or after you break the pocket. Don't suppose his injury played a role there too?

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

Those two games DM didn't have a total of 5-6 seconds if you added up every drop back pass attempt.

[catman50]

Those two games DM didn't have a total of 5-6 seconds if you added up every drop back pass attempt.

lol, I doubt it but it sounds good.