Sam has made some improvements in the area I feel he still needs the most improvement on : ball placement.
- He's improving on those 3rd and short slants. He's hitting his guys right off the break, in stride on most throws now.
- His deep balls still are 50/50 or less. He hit CJ in stride on the first drive. His other throws have been high and outside, or short.
- The throw to Burt. If he hits Burt in stride, Burt is gone for a TD. Thankfully, we scored on that drive anyway.
- The low throws right down the middle.
The announcers said something interesting. There was that one throw where he put the ball way outside to CJ on an up and out. There was a zone nickleback just below the pass. Maybe that throw was some growth. Instead of trying to put the ball where it's "easily" catchable could have been tipped or even picked off by that OU defender playing zone underneath. Either CJ can make a play on the ball, or it falls harmlessly incomplete. And maybe that's something to be said for most of his throws that are off ... he's putting the balls in a place where our guy and our guy alone can make a play.
Look, Colt had an AWFUL deep ball as well. People praised his "accuracy" but all it was, was a high completion percentage. But he had chemistry with Shipley, Quan, etc. Surprisingly, Vince threw one of the more accurate balls by his 3rd year, more so than Colt.
The important thing right now, is Sam's confidence is rising, and he has the leadership moxie, which is incredible for a 2nd year. His guys believe in him and want to play for him. If he continues to play smart, manage the game and exude confidence, the team will do well. Tom Herman's presser yesterday had some interesting comments about conversations he had with Sam, on when he feels Sam performs the best. Should check it out. He tells Sam to grip and rip it, w/o being reckless, and not to overthink. That's when Sam plays the best.
