Originally Posted by Rajmahal33
Stats are usually good indicators, but can be deceiving...
1) JC gets a high completion percentage b/c he throws short and/or safe passes. Usually this is a good thing, especially when nursing a lead, but as we all know, the redskins have not had this luxury for quite some time. A QB should take risk so in order to balance out the completions % stat, u must look at number of pass plays over 20 yards (a category which, JC has been very sub-par over his career). Also completing passes that are short of a first down on 3rd and long are about as good as incompletions and should be accounted for in such instances. The OP mentioned Chad Pennington (who has the highest completion % among active QB's), but who here really considers him to be an elite QB. His completion % is very much deceptive in the same way JC's is.
2) Lack of TD's by a QB is one of the 3 most important statistical categories. How can someone doing a statistical analysis of his play neglect this or offer to reconcile his deficiency in this category? It is an absolutely telling stat about the offensive production of the team of which JC should be the field general. It ultimately falls on his shoulders, more than any player, and if he can't at least average 2 TD's a game, you cannot make the assertion that he is anywhere near the top 10 statistically. Just think 2 TD's in a game for JC was actually a GOOD day for him, compared to what is expected of the other elites of the NFL (which would be an average-to-poor showing).
3) JC gets a decent amount of passing yards because of two reasons: (1) We have receivers who r great at getting YAC (which is partly to his credit for putting the ball where it needs to be but largely are a product of the receivers' (ARE, Moss, and Cooley) skill set); (2) Often times he is forced to get big yardage in the second half and at the ends of games b/c it is a close game or we are down and we need to throw to catch up. He tends to rack up yards against prevent defenses (which again is to his credit) but had he is largely responsible for putting the team in that come-from-behind mode in the first place. Think about a typical game for Manning, Brees, or Brady. They are racking up yards and completions throughout the game. I don't know if u guys have been watching the same skins that I have for the past 3 years but it seems like we have 1 or 2 drives in the first half and then go away for an extended period of time only to have to rally back late in the game. Good QB's don't put themselves in this position most of the times.
4) To go one step further great QB's have confidence in their play (and instill confidence in the coaching staff) to the point where they are being aggressive even with a small lead. Nobody has the type of confidence in JC to allow him to try to rack up yards late in a close game to put the game out of reach... why? Isn't this the same QB who has a great completion % and low INT rate? The stats say you should want him to throw it, but seldom do you see this.
Yes, we have had a great running game in the past, but you can't start nursing a lead halfway thru the 3rd quarter. Yes, we've had O-line injuries in the past, but which team hasn't? At this level you must be able to adapt. The bottom line is that JC doesn't have that killer instinct (or his coaches don't have faith that he does), but either way some of the blame for that falls on him. More importantly, this lack of execution/faith is reflected in his play even though it may be lost in his padded stats. Ultimately it comes down to W's and L's and as we all know JC has been an average QB by this most important metric...
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