re: Jarrett Lee; Oregon game passing chart

Wow. Some of you guys really over analyze things. I definitely saw potential for improvement in Lee's performance. Losing JJ's athleticism limits things a but, but I think Lee is better suited to make throws that JJ was never comfortable with, like 3 step quick slants and WR screens.

One of the biggest positives that I saw was a legit threat of a downfield passing game. JJ could handle the short stuff pretty well, but he was always wildly inconsistent on the deep balls. Other than the 2 he hit in the Cotton Bowl, I think he only hit 2 or 3 more than 30 yards the rest of the season. That was an area that just never seemed to click with him, unfortunately. To me, I saw a lot more potential in this department with Lee. The throw that was called back wasn't perfect, but at least Lee put enought air under the throw that the receiver could get it. The throw to Peterson in the second half was a thing of beauty, and showed really nice touch.

In my opinion, this is a key area for the Tigers. We don't need a top 10 passing attack to succeed with our running game. It just needs to be an average, ball control, game management style passing game. What is key, however, is having a credible deep ball threat. If Lee can make opposing Ds respect the play action pass, then it could really make life hell for defensive coordinators.