More Lambert4QB

I'm staying on the record that the full time starting qb race is far from done. But I've heard/seen some quibbles about Lambert's days as a qb at UVA. I've given some thought about that this summer, especially thinking about him graduating from UVA in three years with a degree in anthropology. He's certainly smart enough to pick up the playbook in three months.

One other thing I was thinking about, something Blutarsky hit on in several of his posts, is the difference in coaching Lambert is seeing in Athens vs. Charlottesville.

@DavidHaleESPN Lambert's most amazing stat from '14: 3rd Down, 4-6 To Go, 21-27 passing... and only 11 first downs.

— Senator Blutarsky (@MummePoll) September 1, 2015

As the chart Hale linked illustrates, Lambert threw a lot of passes to the wrong guys. But when you consider the stat Blutarsky shows about Lambert's 3rd and middle yardage situations last year, I can't help but think that is illustrative of 1) a qb who isn't getting time to make reads, 2) an offensive system that is set up to get folks open quickly, as opposed to at the right distance, or 3) a qb who is not good at making the right reads/doesn't have options at those reads.

Or a combo of all three. Yes, Lambert looked brutal at times. But when you consider that two of UVA's top four receivers last season were RBs, there is context to consider about the offense they run and the philosophy of the coaches. For reference sake, none of those running backs were named TJ Yeldon.

Now, I'm not ready to make a complete comparison, but I can think of one very good example of the difference coaching and philosophy can make. Russell Wilson:

						Passing
Year	School	Conf	Class	Pos	G	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	AY/A	TD	Int	Rate
*2008	North Carolina State	ACC	FR	QB	11	150	275	54.5	1955	7.1	8.2	17	1	133.9
2009	North Carolina State	ACC	SO	QB	12	224	378	59.3	3027	8.0	8.3	31	11	147.8
*2010	North Carolina State	ACC	JR	QB	13	308	527	58.4	3563	6.8	6.6	28	14	127.5
*2011	Wisconsin	B1G	SR	QB	14	225	309	72.8	3175	10.3	11.8	33	4	191.8
Career	Overall					907	1489	60.9	11720	7.9	8.4	109	30	147.2
	North Carolina State					682	1180	57.8	8545	7.2	7.5	76	26	135.5
	Wisconsin					225	309	72.8	3175	10.3	11.8	33	4	191.8

Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 9/1/2015.

Wilson was a good, not great, college QB at NC State. He had no run support, with the Wolfpack averaging 3.5-3.6 ypc in his time there; he had substantively better offensive line and receiving options than Lambert did last year. Then he goes to Wisconsin and gets an offense that averaged 5.5ypc. And wins the B!G championship under Bret Beliema. For my money, UGA is far better off in the QB coaching area than either staff Wilson played for.  Insert your own NotoriusTOB/paleoball coaching snark here.

One last thing. I've heard a lot of 'he only got an offer at UVA' so he can't be that good. Take a look at Lambert's offer list:

School	Interest	Offer	Visit	Recruited by
Virginia	COMMITTED (08/06/2011)	Offered	11/11/2011
Alabama	None	Offered	None
Arkansas	None		None
Auburn	None		None	Jeff Grimes
Boston Coll.	None	Offered	None
Clemson	None	Offered	None	Jeff Scott
Florida	None		None
Georgia	None	Offered	None	Mike Bobo
LSU	None		None
Miami (FL)	None	Offered	None
Mississippi	None		None
Mississippi St.	None	Offered	None
N.C. State	None	Offered	None	Jim Bridge
Purdue	None	Offered	None
South Carolina	None	Offered	None

FWIW, I believe his 2014 season is what Dak Prescott, minus running the ball, is facing in 2015. That is the talent level Mississippi State has vis-à-vis the competition Lambert had at UVA at OLine, receiver, and running back. To boot, Prescott has better coaching than Lambert did last year.

All this is to say that if Lambert is the full time starter from here on out, it is because he now has the coaching and offense to go with the talent to support that decision. In other words, let's let the house catch fire before we are ready to call the insurance company.
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