Quarterbacks Left, Brandon Allen comparison

[Hogopotamus]

After seeing so many people say BA is part of the problem, he will never be an SEC caliber QB, etc, I wanted to see how he measures up to the rest of our competition. Here are the raw stats:

QB      Team      TD      Int      TD/Int      Atts Per Int    YPA      Compl. Pct      QBR
BA       Ark         13       4        3.25         46                 7.1         59%                96.3
DP       MsSt      14       4        3.5           39                 9.5         62.5%             112
AJ        LSU        7        3        2.67         43                 8.2         50%                86.3
BW      OMiss     17      6        2.8           35                 9.1         66%                109.7
MM      Mizz        14      9        1.5           22                 6.2         52.5%             76.3

Quick Takeaways: From straight QBRs, BA is right in the middle (Avg. 96.12 for these 5). While his QBR is not stellar, it is decent and for a run-first style offense with a young, inexperienced receiving corp it isn't bad at all.
Where BA really shows an advantage is his decision-making with his throws. Among these 5 he has the most attempts per int. And if you have paid attention, the Int against Auburn wasn't his fault (got hit as ball came out), against Alabama it was a desperate throw to save the game. His 3.25 TD/Int ratio is also near the top.
The only real issue is his yards/attempt which is about a yard shy of the average. I think this is more a reflection on our lack of a deep threat and a large part of our passing game going to the tight ends, a position which is not renowned for yards after the catch.

Overall: I think BA is a good QB, not one of the greats, but very efficient and makes good decisions when he is not in clutch situations (2nd quarter Georgia). One big thing I did not look at is mobility, where some of them may hurt us, but I just wanted to look at the passing game. When we play LSU and Mizzou we will be at a distinct advantage quarterback-wise and I think it may be enough to win those games. Ole Miss and Miss st will be hard, I think Miss st is a loss and Ole miss will be a win or a lose depending on which BW shows up, hopefully our home crowd throws him off and we finally get a lucky break or two (instead of the opposite which has been the case thus far). Finally, this is BA's junior season, and unless Rafe makes some huge strides in Spring and fall camp, BA will likely be our starter next year, and I think he will be even better and give us a chance to get some big wins.

[The_Iceman]

Oh no....FACTS!!

[PorkRinds]

A lot of people talk about BA and his "intangibles".  I see where they are coming from, but I also think that because he's the QB he gets credit AND blame when it's not necessarily due.  He's just been light on getting credit lately because of the lack of wins.  I personally believe a lot of the arguments against him are just people taking the easy answer and running with it.  Sure, at times he looks bad, and his decision making looks off.  But there are things that we can't and don't see as fans that can make him look better or worse than he really is.  Directly after the game Saturday I said to my wife "BA is not our answer at QB". After a while to think on it, I may or may not be correct.  There's just no way for a casual observer to know for sure if he's to blame for some of the things that seem to be his fault.  That said, the coaches talk about his leadership of the team, and I haven't really seen much of that, so I would like to see him show more of that on the field.

[The_Iceman]

If people have come to the conclusion that BA is not the answer at QB, then I wonder if they feel the same way about the LT and RT, and our backup RB.

The only players on this offense that have performed better than BA are Williams, Derby, and Henry.

[code red]

Oh no....FACTS!!

Yes and nice facts.  I am fine with BA.  He is doing a fine job with a limited number of true WR.  He has some flaws. He has problems throwing effectively while under center.  IMHO...it is because he has problems keeping his eyes up.  While in the shotgun he can light some folks up.  In addition, we will see how good his stats end up considering he still has to face the 2 best SEC defenses in the league.

[wholehog92]

Brandon Allen is serviceable.  He's not going to be the reason we win a game and he hasn't been the reason we've lost games this season.  He's also on the low end for YPA. The coaches see his limitations and keep him where he can be successful.  Our team would look better if he was more accurate with the long ball.  People bash Chaney, but he's working with the strengths of the players he has.

[code red]

Brandon Allen is serviceable.  He's not going to be the reason we win a game and he hasn't been the reason we've lost games this season.  He's also on the low end for YPA. The coaches see his limitations and keep him where he can be successful.  Our team would look better if he was more accurate with the long ball.  People bash Chaney, but he's working with the strengths of the players he has.

I agree. And I am not saying it is right...but, if....and I do mean IF...the Hogs go o'fer the SEC...again.  Then, some changes will be called for by the media, fans and administration.  As in assistants.

[PorkRinds]

I agree. And I am not saying it is right...but, if....and I do mean IF...the Hogs go o'fer the SEC...again.  Then, some changes will be called for by the media, fans and administration.  As in assistants.

And hopefully Coach B has the stones not to listen to ANY of them, and do it his way.  If he believes in the people he has, keep them and let the naysayers be darned.

[Hoggish1]

1.  He has some flaws. He has problems throwing effectively while under center.  IMHO...it is because he has problems keeping his eyes up. 

2. While in the shotgun he can light some folks up. 

1.  It's because under center it takes him a while to get away from the trees on his O, being only about 1' tall.

2.  Let's see if Chaney puts BA in the gun for obvious passing downs this week.  Although there may not be any obvious passing downs if we choose to stay exclusively with the running game.

[onebadrubi]

If people have come to the conclusion that BA is not the answer at QB, then I wonder if they feel the same way about the LT and RT, and our backup RB.

The only players on this offense that have performed better than BA are Williams, Derby, and Henry.

Add Kirkland and I'm in full support!

[onebadrubi]

OP, your QBR's are wrong when comparing to ESPN's.

[jcul28]

Those teams are winning. That's the staticstical difference at QB.

[Smokehouse]

A lot of people talk about BA and his "intangibles".  I see where they are coming from, but I also think that because he's the QB he gets credit AND blame when it's not necessarily due.  He's just been light on getting credit lately because of the lack of wins.  I personally believe a lot of the arguments against him are just people taking the easy answer and running with it.  Sure, at times he looks bad, and his decision making looks off.  But there are things that we can't and don't see as fans that can make him look better or worse than he really is.  Directly after the game Saturday I said to my wife "BA is not our answer at QB". After a while to think on it, I may or may not be correct.  There's just no way for a casual observer to know for sure if he's to blame for some of the things that seem to be his fault.  That said, the coaches talk about his leadership of the team, and I haven't really seen much of that, so I would like to see him show more of that on the field.

People are arguing "intangibles" because they've convinced themselves BA is the problem and they refuse to acknowledge that the facts don't bear that out.

"Intangibles" is just a way to claim you're right on an argument that's so subjective it can't be refuted. One of those cheap argument finishers.

[PorkRinds]

People are arguing "intangibles" because they've convinced themselves BA is the problem and they refuse to acknowledge that the facts don't bear that out.

"Intangibles" is just a way to claim you're right on an argument that's so subjective it can't be refuted. One of those cheap argument finishers.

Exactly.  When presented with facts and stats, "intangibles" is all that's left, and can't be proven either way. 

[Wants2Win]

4 of his TDs were against Nichols state.

[RT1941]

Those teams are winning. That's the staticstical difference at QB.

Winning cures EVERYTHING!

[arktennis]

Statistics are always subject to being misleading.  One big difference as D Coordinator would note is that the other QB's are actually a threat to throw the ball beyond 10-15 yards past the line of scrimmage.  BA, not so much.

[PonderinHog]

As his completion percentage improves, I'm thinking his yards per attempt will improve.  Just a guess.

[swineman]

I know he played adequate in the 2nd half, but are they hiding another shoulder injury with BA? There was one shot in the 2nd half where he came to the sideline with his freaking arm hanging down to this knees.

While the final score seemed respectable at the end. I really wish they would have brought out AA for the 2nd half and give him meaningful snaps.  BA could have rested and even sat out this week to get healthy for the last 4 games that we know we must win 3.

Hell....... who knows but AA could have done the same damage as BA and we found out he's a gamer.  TW showed this against Auburn!!  His previous showings were dreadful.

[sickboy]

When people say Allen will never be an SEC caliber QB, what they are saying is that Allen will never be Ryan Mallet... or Tyler Wilson. They're comparing BA to our recent successes at QB and maligning Allen, which is idiotic. The reality of the matter is, most people don't know what an SEC caliber QB is. They just know Allen isn't putting up video game numbers like Mallett and Wilson, therefore he's not good enough. This is obviously illogical.

[PonderinHog]

Did we even get the ball back after that second shoulder crusher?

[swineman]

Did we even get the ball back after that second shoulder crusher?

Maybe not..... they had it the last 5:30 of the 4th quarter

[The_Iceman]

4 of his TDs were against Nichols state.

I think you could say that about every QB. Everyone plays cupcakes, and usually its a stat padding game.

[onebadrubi]

Did we even get the ball back after that second shoulder crusher?

If the second was the 2 point conv dive he did come back to the sidelines with a thumbs up saying hes fine.

[onebadrubi]

4 of his TDs were against Nichols state.

8 of Bo Wallaces came from ULL and boise.
8 of Daks came from UAB and Southern Miss. 

It's weird when you pull out the outliers what happens to stats.  They all of a sudden CRUSHED your agenda didn't they. 

[PonderinHog]

If the second was the 2 point conv dive he did come back to the sidelines with a thumbs up saying hes fine.

I didn't see that.  Hope he's OK.

[onebadrubi]

I didn't see that.  Hope he's OK.

I do too.  I'm going to say that he is simply  because of what I saw, but they hid the severity of it last year pretty well.  However when he was walking back with a right shoulder droop ("Gangsta lean") it didn't look well.

[Wants2Win]

8 of Bo Wallaces came from ULL and boise.
8 of Daks came from UAB and Southern Miss. 

It's weird when you pull out the outliers what happens to stats.  They all of a sudden CRUSHED your agenda didn't they.

So  BA should throw 4 no problem this weekend.

[The_Iceman]

So  BA should throw 4 no problem this weekend.

[Wants2Win]

How dumb of me to expect production from the QB position.

[onebadrubi]

So  BA should throw 4 no problem this weekend.

The problem I have answering this is what if BA throws for 500 yards but every pass atttempt is tackled inside the 5 and Collins and williams come in and clean it up. You are right technically and literally, but so completely wrong and incorrect it's dumb. 

What I'm saying is you can't pull the stat lines out to infer and support football opinions always.  It sure can support an argument, but when it's the base of an opinion it is easy to overcome from anyone with any statistical skill. 

What if we win out with BA throwing 2 more TD's and 4 more INT's. Simply because when its 1st and goal within the 10 we might try to pound it in with our RB's which is our identity. 

[onebadrubi]

How dumb of me to expect production from the QB position.

You want production?  You are just to lazy to look it up and see you're receiving it. 

-He's already thrown for as many TD's as last year
-He's about 20% less yards already this year as his entire season last year
-His completion percentage is noticeable up
-His long this year is further than last year
-YPA is higher/further

That is production.  People are angry at the W-L, but the burden is not solely on QB.  They are just at the front of the face of a team so they take the majority of the blows, accurate or inaccurate. 

[The_Iceman]

http://www.uatrav.com/sports/article_ff63fa58-599b-11e4-b4e0-001a4bcf6878.html

[The_Iceman]

How dumb of me to expect production from the QB position.

You have it:

58.8% Completion (49.9% in 2013)
1293 yards (1552 total in 2013)
7.10 YPA (6.02 in 2013)
13 TD's and 4 INT's (13td-10int in 2013 total)
137.6 passer rating (109.0 in 2013)

So in every statistical category, Brandon Allen has improved. In fact, his numbers are pretty good when compared to other SEC QB's. He is a middle of the pack SEC QB....which is just fine.

[onebadrubi]

You have it:

58.8% Completion (49.9% in 2013)
1293 yards (1552 total in 2013)
7.10 YPA (6.02 in 2013)
13 TD's and 4 INT's (13td-10int in 2013 total)
137.6 passer rating (109.0 in 2013)

So in every statistical category, Brandon Allen has improved. In fact, his numbers are pretty good when compared to other SEC QB's. He is a middle of the pack SEC QB....which is just fine.

Also to add, He is in the top 50 of QB's, despite facing some salty D and some early receiving woo's and drops. 

[The_Iceman]

Brandon Allen is on pace for:

2220 passing yards, 23 TD's, 7 INT's.

Who wouldn't have taken that before the season?

[Danny J]

4 of his TDs were against Nichols state.

Yeah....I would be more interested to see the numbers against top 80 competition or at least power conference opponents.

I think BA is serviceable the only problem is to successfully utilize a serviceable/game manager type QB you really have to have a pretty good defense, good pass protection, good run game and good offensive line. Otherwise you need a mobile QB or a gameplan to make up for those deficiencies such as a HUNH pass/run game game or spread system, etc.....

If you want to try and win consistently at a high level with a game manager QB you really need to have a ton of talent around the QB which we just don't have. We should be a bit better next year though.

[Wants2Win]

Also to add, He is in the top 50 of QB's, despite facing some salty D and some early receiving woo's and drops.

And yet every defense sells out to stop the run due to our lack of a passing threat. He is no doubt improved from last year...who wouldn't be?

[Wants2Win]

Brandon Allen is on pace for:

2220 passing yards, 23 TD's, 7 INT's.

Who wouldn't have taken that before the season?

Say he hits these numbers and fails to win a conference game. Is he starting next season?

[Wants2Win]

You want production?  You are just to lazy to look it up and see you're receiving it. 

-He's already thrown for as many TD's as last year
-He's about 20% less yards already this year as his entire season last year
-His completion percentage is noticeable up
-His long this year is further than last year
-YPA is higher/further

That is production.  People are angry at the W-L, but the burden is not solely on QB.  They are just at the front of the face of a team so they take the majority of the blows, accurate or inaccurate.

His numbers were horrible last year.

[Hogs-n-Roses]

I've been critical at times of BA. With that said, I believe he's had a bad hand dealt him. Committed here to play for Bobby. First year thrown to the wolves by Smiley and Paul Petrino's wanna be act. Season 2, played injured and in a new system. Season 3, finally healthy and still learning a complicated system, much improved but inconsistent due to many factors. All we can hope for is a fantastic finish and strong next year.

[Smokehouse]

Say he hits these numbers and fails to win a conference game. Is he starting next season?

Yes, he should start next season. Defense should be improved, WR's will be improved, running game should improve with more experience/depth on the OL. Meanwhile you'll have Bama, Ole Miss, Auburn, and possibly Mississippi State breaking in new QBs. You want the 5th year senior showing good production to stay in when your division is going through some transition.

[lumphog]

"IF" BA can fix the sailin passes (high throws) and I think it's nerves & being rushed........He could be "GREAT"......That's the only knock I have with him. He has the potential to be a very good QB next year. Work on the high throws and his deep ball and he could have an all world sr. season.

[MissippHog]

How dumb of me to expect production from the QB position.

Fixed it for ya.

[MissippHog]

Why do some of you expect perfection from BA when nearly every QB in our conference has flaws?  Overthrows, underthrows, poor decisions, rushed passes.....they all do it.  Hell, Drew Brees makes stupid mistakes at stupid times. 

[The_Iceman]

Say he hits these numbers and fails to win a conference game. Is he starting next season?

Sure. Give him some better weapons to throw to and another year of this offensive line to get better over the offseason, I see no reason why we shouldn't. He isn't the reason we are losing games.

[Poker_hog]

BA ranks around 8th in the sec in most categories.  That's not terible until you consider he's one of the most experanced played in the league.

[NaturalStateReb]

After seeing so many people say BA is part of the problem, he will never be an SEC caliber QB, etc, I wanted to see how he measures up to the rest of our competition. Here are the raw stats:

QB      Team      TD      Int      TD/Int      Atts Per Int    YPA      Compl. Pct      QBR
BA       Ark         13       4        3.25         46                 7.1         59%                96.3
DP       MsSt      14       4        3.5           39                 9.5         62.5%             112
AJ        LSU        7        3        2.67         43                 8.2         50%                86.3
BW      OMiss     17      6        2.8           35                 9.1         66%                109.7
MM      Mizz        14      9        1.5           22                 6.2         52.5%             76.3

Quick Takeaways: From straight QBRs, BA is right in the middle (Avg. 96.12 for these 5). While his QBR is not stellar, it is decent and for a run-first style offense with a young, inexperienced receiving corp it isn't bad at all.
Where BA really shows an advantage is his decision-making with his throws. Among these 5 he has the most attempts per int. And if you have paid attention, the Int against Auburn wasn't his fault (got hit as ball came out), against Alabama it was a desperate throw to save the game. His 3.25 TD/Int ratio is also near the top.
The only real issue is his yards/attempt which is about a yard shy of the average. I think this is more a reflection on our lack of a deep threat and a large part of our passing game going to the tight ends, a position which is not renowned for yards after the catch.

Overall: I think BA is a good QB, not one of the greats, but very efficient and makes good decisions when he is not in clutch situations (2nd quarter Georgia). One big thing I did not look at is mobility, where some of them may hurt us, but I just wanted to look at the passing game. When we play LSU and Mizzou we will be at a distinct advantage quarterback-wise and I think it may be enough to win those games. Ole Miss and Miss st will be hard, I think Miss st is a loss and Ole miss will be a win or a lose depending on which BW shows up, hopefully our home crowd throws him off and we finally get a lucky break or two (instead of the opposite which has been the case thus far). Finally, this is BA's junior season, and unless Rafe makes some huge strides in Spring and fall camp, BA will likely be our starter next year, and I think he will be even better and give us a chance to get some big wins.

First, we've got the Nicholls State game in here.  In that game, Allen scored 4 of his 13 TDs in a matchup that was ridiculous.  Take the terrible FCS opponent out, and the numbers shift--the TD/INT ration sinks to 2.25 (9/4), and his QBR is 85.79.  When you look just at conference games, it slides further to a mere 81.22.

It's weird when you pull out the outliers what happens to stats.  They all of a sudden CRUSHED your agenda didn't they.

Good point.  Let's take a look.  How does Allen's conference QBR stack up against the rest of the starting QBs in the SEC (excluding Vandy, which is now on its 4th starter)?

Sims, ALA:  113.7
Wallace, OM:  111.9
Prescott, MSU:  103.3
Mason, UGA:  102.7
Hill, A&M:  94.38
Thompson, SC:  91.29
Marshall, AU:  87.13
Allen, ARK:  81.22
Towles, UK:  80.77
Jennings, LSU:  80.1
Worley, TN:  69.98
Driskell, FLA:  31.54
Mauk, MU:  18.57

Admittedly, this is only 7 games in, but Allen is not in the top half of the conference in QBR when it counts--conference games--in a league full of mediocre QBs.  He's one more poor performance from slipping to the bottom 3rd.

No one doubts Brandon Allen's heart, desire to win, or commitment to Arkansas.  But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how committed you are, highly rated you were, or whatever else:  you have to produce, and you are what your record says you are.  Right now, that record says Allen is not a particularly good QB--average, at best--that hasn't won an SEC game.  That doesn't mean things couldn't change, but he is what his record says he is.

[Hog Fan n Tx]

It is amazing that he has the stats he has.  My opinion is that the main reason he has so few interceptions is that he will throw a ball away instead of try to make a close play.  I would like to see the number of throwaways this year, anybody know where this stat can be found?  BA holds the ball too long but does not seem to ever look for second or third option, missing many open receivers. 

Does he ever change a play at the line of scrimmage?  This leads me to believe he can not read the defense.  I hope he gets better because I am afraid he is the best we have.  If AA or RP were better surely they would be playing.

[NaturalStateReb]

Sure. Give him some better weapons to throw to and another year of this offensive line to get better over the offseason, I see no reason why we shouldn't. He isn't the reason we are losing games.

He's part of the reason, but not all of the reason for sure.  QB is just one of the team's weak spots.