FanPost

Terry Bradshaw is right about Sam Ehlinger...and wrong

If you haven't seen it by now, then you've either been on vacation or you don't follow Texas football as much as you should. ESPN has an article about it here. To listen to him, you'd hear right away that Bradshaw is selling his alma mater to somebody, probably some big pocket donors. It's obvious too, that the former Super Bowl winning MVP is trying to pump up his team as the ultimate fanboy and, if possible, motivate them for what we can all assume is his hope for a David vs Goliath victory the first game out for the Texas Longhorns in the 2019 season.

On the surface, Terry Bradshaw is right and who wants to argue with someone who has won 4 Super Bowls, 2 MVP's, an Emmy and was awarded Father of the Year by the National Father's Day Council. In many ways he's exaggerating something we all saw last year but didn't really want to admit. Sam Ehlinger was efficient and effective, but still has a ways to go if he's going to achieve the truly rare and elite status we all hope he grows into. Take for example Texas' explosive plays last year. The Longhorns didn't have an explosive play over fifty yards in 2019 and while Texas has struggled to find an overly productive running attack outside of D'Onta Foreman over the last number of years, explosives include the passing game as well.

It's important to remember, while Sam Ehlinger is as determined and tough as they come, Tom Herman runs an offensive scheme that intentionally focuses on short, precise screens and the quarterback run game to help open up the bigger plays. In many ways it's a math game for the head coach, who has mentioned a number of times in the past that his aim is to be sitting on 3rd down with 3 yards or fewer. I recall surprise upon hearing that Herman's minimum yardage required for explosive plays, was fewer than I would have ever expected but again, supporting the idea Herman is a calculated winner. Sam Ehlinger is a product of that mathematical coaching and has served as its beneficiary to much of our excitement in the last year.

However, the problem arises in that while efficiency is vital to great football, it's system effenciency we're seeing and that doesn't always offer as much opportunity for players like Sam to showcase how great they may actually be. I recall a number of comments over the last 2 seasons, but more spicifically 2018, where various BON post commentors noted, even lamented, Sam's struggle to hit the deeper passes well - especially with the speed of Duvernay and the pass catching ability of Johnson and Humphrey. So, Bradshaw is right to a certainextent, great quarterbacks have that down field touch. Sam needs to grow.

That said, Terry Bradshaw is also very wrong. While the sophomore signal caller still has a ways to grow, it's that incredible determination and toughness that makes him a great quarterback just waiting to break out - not that he had a bad year last year. We just all know how much better he's going to get. Remember, Colt McCoy was one of the best quarterbacks in college football history by any standard and yet he didn't really break out until his junior year. Where Bradshaw misses the mark, whether he knows it or not, and may just be trying to drum up support for his base like a good politician, is that Sam is only 1 of six quarterbacks over the last 20 years that has thrown for more than 25 TD's and run for more than 15. The other 5 quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy. Sam Ehlinger is the great quarterback Terry Bradshaw doesn't know about because he hasn't had a chance to see it yet! He'll get a chance August 31st and I'll bet he'll change his tune!

Hook 'Em

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