Sorry, Ryan, but it's time for a change

Syracuse.com

Just made it back from Syracuse after watching the Orange drop their second straight and third of their last four to close out the 2010 regular season. 7-5 was the goal at the beginning of the year, but the way these last two games went down, it’s easy to be just a little disappointed.

Which brings us to the point of this post: Ryan Nassib. Honestly, the kid can make the throws. That bullet to Marcus Sales in the first quarter on Saturday was a thing of beauty – Nassib released the ball while Sales was still one step away from making his cut. Sure, he misses some throws over the middle from time to time, but he clearly has the arm strength and the ability to be a starting quarterback in the Big East.

The problem with Nassib, however, is pocket presence. He has none. And on a team with an offensive line as inexperienced (read: terrible) as the Orange, you need a quarterback who can sense the rush and make adjustments. At the beginning of the year, it was excusable – he’s never started before, and the line doesn’t give him any time to make his reads. It seemed easy to fix with time and experience in the pocket, but the fact is, over 12 games, Nassib’s ability to recognize the rush and get rid of the ball seems to have actually regressed.

Nassib has been sacked 31 times this season (not all his fault) and fumbled the ball 10 times (all his fault). Ten fumbles is nearly one per game. That's inexcusable. 

When he’s not picking himself up off the dome turf, he’s getting happy feet and scrambling out of the pocket, trying to make something happen with his feet rather than standing in there and trying to make a throw. Or he’s making ill-advised (and illegal) double passes on tipped balls like last week against UConn. Louisville showed the rest of the Big East the blueprint when they brought the house against Nassib and dared him to find the open receiver under pressure. He simply couldn’t make the reads he needed to make them pay. Defensive coordinators will not forget this.

The fact is the O-line isn’t getting any better between now and the bowl game. And if you look at it honestly, the line probably won’t get any better next year either (if there was a stud waiting in the wings, he probably would have seen the field by now). Nassib could turn into a good quarterback some day, as long as he’s on a team that could protect him and give him the chance to show off that cannon of an arm. But that team is not Syracuse in 2010. And it’s probably not Syracuse in 2011 either.

It’s time to see what the young guns can do at quarterback. They may not have the skills Nassib has – the arm strength or the ability to throw the deep ball down the sidelines – but they have to be more aware in the pocket (or at least have the ability to develop that skill). I’ll take my chances with the less-talented guy who can make better decisions and make up for the many deficiencies in the offensive line.

If Marrone doesn’t take that chance, get used to more offensive performances like these past four weeks.

And don’t get used to going to bowl games.