Growing pains continue for TU Football -- Cain Atkinson column
- Thread starter Chris Harmon
- Start date
Very good assessment and I'm glad he brought up Paul's name in that. IMO they both have similar passing ability, but Paul (as fragile as he was) was a fearless runner who risked life and limb to get that first down when need be. If Dane could do it or develope it, we might have the same result from him. But unfortunately, some kids never have that "burned" into their personality. Its the golfer analogy. Some play golf instead of FB for a reason.
I'm just glad they're not backsliding like they were the previous 2 seasons. It's not pretty, but at least it's not nauseating! Sometimes it's downright fun (like the OU game and the end of the FAU game).
To me, despite his inconsistent play at times, he's had a solid season overall. Completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,127 yards, 11 TDs and 4 INTs through six games is marked improvement for Dane.
I wonder what his percentage of 3rd down completions are. That's the money down for us.
Sure, you can certainly look at it that way if you like (according to CFB Stats, he's 70th in the country). He's completed 59.5 percent of his passes overall, and 62 percent in home games. His current completion percentage is 4.1 percent higher than last season and 16.4 percent higher than two seasons ago, which is one reason I feel he's made strides.
But when looking at the whole picture, he is No. 6 nationally in yards per game (354.5), No. 9 nationally in total passing yards (despite playing one less game than all but one other in the Top 10), No. 16 nationally in yards per attempt (8.8), and No. 39 nationally in QB rating (145.02). To me, he's had a solid season so far. Unfortunately, he's inconsistent at times.
His completion percentage on 3rd down is 62.2 percent (46-of-74). On 3rd downs with 10 or more yards to go, Dane is completing 71.4 percent of his throws (15-of-21).
