2015 Season Thread

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:37 pm

Brad Allis with an offensive preview podcast. A much better football analyst than Greg Hansen.

MrMeow · Post by **MrMeow** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:52 pm

I appreciate all your stuff, ANG. It's the best ... but based on last year I'll join Allis for a serving of the Anu Kool Aid when I see an actual reason. Meanwhile, I'm with Hansen. (Allis mostly gives a verbose regurgitation of the known. It's pre-season, after all) Last year Anu stunk it up as much as he didn't, and he now has more apologists for his poor performances than Hillary does. Jury's out. Hope he has improved vastly. Otherwise ..........

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:47 pm

Mr M, you read/heard more difference on their takes than I did. I didn't go back and re-listen to the podcast, but what I remember was Brad saying Anu had an up and down season and was hobbled by a leg injury in the second half of the year. Here is what Hansen said:

Solomon might not get much better physically. But he can improve on his ''reads'' and seeing the field. He's not an NFL prospect, and his arm strength is average. But he's elusive and his instincts were terrific as a freshman.

I missed where Allis was serving Anu flavored kool aid, but, again, I'm going off my faulty memory.

It would be interesting to have a someone get all the long term football writers like Allis, Hansen, Gimino, Sheer, and Morales and see if they have records of their predictions and how they stack up to each other. My gut tells me that Hansen only does well when the Cats have underperformed.

What I do know is that I have been to at least 2 full practices a year since Coach Rod has arrived and Allis has been at everyone and Hansen has been at exactly zero. He is not the football beat writer, does not have the daily exposure at practice, but writes every take like he is the local expert. In reality, Hansen gets most of his info from Berk (or Finley when he reported on the football team).

What I really appreciated from Allis' podcast wasn't actually any analysis, but a description of how everyone was looking.

MrMeow · Post by **MrMeow** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:32 am

Good new information, ANG. Thanks. Didn't know all that about Hansen's/Allis's practice attendance. Just going off what I observed in Anu's performance last year his accuracy would have improved immensely had his receivers been 2 feet taller and wore neon signs. Then there were all the excuses, injured leg, freshman, bad O-line, etc. Everyone says he looks bigger and stronger, even faster, now. What that has to do with finding open receivers, passing accuracy, and decision making I have no clue, but hey, what do I know ? I'm a big Coach Rod believer, so if Coach Rod thinks Anu is gonna do it this year, I'm all in.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:12 am

MrMeow wrote:Good new information, ANG. Thanks. Didn't know all that about Hansen's/Allis's practice attendance. Just going off what I observed in Anu's performance last year his accuracy would have improved immensely had his receivers been 2 feet taller and wore neon signs. Then there were all the excuses, injured leg, freshman, bad O-line, etc. Everyone says he looks bigger and stronger, even faster, now. What that has to do with finding open receivers, passing accuracy, and decision making I have no clue, but hey, what do I know ? I'm a big Coach Rod believer, so if Coach Rod thinks Anu is gonna do it this year, I'm all in.

So are you saying Anu had a bad RS Feshman year? 10-4"? First 10 win season in how long? TD/INT ratio? 3,700 yards passing? I don't understand what you're getting at. The logical thing to see is that his play deteriorated as his injuries accumulated. Thinking or saying he's under performed as a RS Freshman is a HUGE stretch.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:36 am

Anu threw high last year. A ton. Even when healthy.

Hope he got the yips out as a freshman or some people are going to be let down by Solomon, injured or not.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:37 am

I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.

3goggles · Post by **3goggles** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 10:45 am

ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.

YES!

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 11:44 am

MrMeow wrote:Good new information, ANG. Thanks. Didn't know all that about Hansen's/Allis's practice attendance. Just going off what I observed in Anu's performance last year his accuracy would have improved immensely had his receivers been 2 feet taller and wore neon signs. Then there were all the excuses, injured leg, freshman, bad O-line, etc. Everyone says he looks bigger and stronger, even faster, now. What that has to do with finding open receivers, passing accuracy, and decision making I have no clue, but hey, what do I know ? I'm a big Coach Rod believer, so if Coach Rod thinks Anu is gonna do it this year, I'm all in.

Look at the season he had, that the team had. He's a freshman. He's not a finished product. "Excuses" isn't exactly an accurate term. He was indeed injured and was not able to move around well in the pocket. He wasn't able to finish the Utah game, and it was clear against a fast Oregon defense that he was not able to move quick enough to get some room to work (the same Oregon defense he carved up in Autzen.) He'll be the first to tell you that he can be a lot better than what he was last year. But that's the price you pay with a freshman. The mistakes that he made were part of the price of becoming a top-tier quarterback over a career. Even with all of that he still threw for 3700+ yards, 28 TDs vs only 9 picks. Almost any team in the country would take that from their starting QB. He's only going to get better.

MrMeow · Post by **MrMeow** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:09 pm

azpenguin wrote:
MrMeow wrote:Good new information, ANG. Thanks. Didn't know all that about Hansen's/Allis's practice attendance. Just going off what I observed in Anu's performance last year his accuracy would have improved immensely had his receivers been 2 feet taller and wore neon signs. Then there were all the excuses, injured leg, freshman, bad O-line, etc. Everyone says he looks bigger and stronger, even faster, now. What that has to do with finding open receivers, passing accuracy, and decision making I have no clue, but hey, what do I know ? I'm a big Coach Rod believer, so if Coach Rod thinks Anu is gonna do it this year, I'm all in.
Look at the season he had, that the team had. He's a freshman. He's not a finished product. "Excuses" isn't exactly an accurate term. He was indeed injured and was not able to move around well in the pocket. He wasn't able to finish the Utah game, and it was clear against a fast Oregon defense that he was not able to move quick enough to get some room to work (the same Oregon defense he carved up in Autzen.) He'll be the first to tell you that he can be a lot better than what he was last year. But that's the price you pay with a freshman. The mistakes that he made were part of the price of becoming a top-tier quarterback over a career. Even with all of that he still threw for 3700+ yards, 28 TDs vs only 9 picks. Almost any team in the country would take that from their starting QB. He's only going to get better.

Let's hope he does, because constant high throws, stranded open receivers, and bone headed decisions ("I try to do too much myself") aren't going to cut it two years in a row. Anu went 10-4? Last I heard football is a team sport.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 1:52 pm

Anu Solomon surpassed everyone's' expectations last year, and I mean everyone's.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 3:54 pm

My perception Anu Solomon had a terrific freshman season. Nothing else us AZ fans can really compare to. Just based on AZ QB history, and playing freshman QBs at that AZ history:

I'm not comparing Solomon to Marcus Mariota but really trying to highlight that Anu Solomon is going to do really well. He also needs help. Too much fell on him LY. If I were to focus on a concern for TY, it's not Solomon. It would be

Rushing attack
Rushing Defense
Secondary
OL

LY, AZ had 6 games where they rushed less than 150 yards for the game. AZ lost 4 of those games. The 2 other games were won on a hail mary and the other where many say Udub's Petersen should have kneeled the ball to run out the clock (Turnover instead led to last second FG win)).

AZ had 7 games where their rush yards per carry was less than 3.5 yards carry. Again, AZ lost 4 of those games. (7th game was Fiesta Bowl). It's not because AZ didn't try to run the ball. Those games had carries of 30-56 attempts (Fiesta = 56)

Yes, RB/QB injuries, QB decision making, maybe OL performance, undersized DL. Net result the same. AZ lost majority of their games when they struggled to run the ball. Solomon needs to improve sure, but there are other priority areas of the offense (and defense) that needs to relieve some emphasis on Solomon's arm use. He was a Freshman. Best Freshman QB in AZ history. Put up some better stats than many/most QBs AZ History. AZ finished 11th in Pac12 rushing defense, 10th total defense, 9th passing defense. Now the Marcus Mariota reference:

Marcus Mariota Freshman Year:
Pass Completions 230
Pass ATT 336
Pass Completion % 68.5%
Pass Yards 2677
Pass Yards p/att 8.0
Pass Td's 32
Interceptions 6
Pass Eff 163.2
Rush Yards 752
Total Plays 442
Total Yards 3429
Total TDs 37

Anu Solomon Freshman Year:
Pass Completions 313
Pass ATT 540
Pass Completion % 58%
Pass Yards 3793
Pass Yards p/att 8.2
Pass Td's 28
Interceptions 9
Pass Eff 130.74
Rush Yards 291
Total Plays 677
Total Yards 4084
Total TDs 30

Anu Solomon Freshman Conference Leaders:
Pass Completions 5th
Pass ATT 1st
Pass Completion % 11th
Pass Yards 5th
Pass Yards p/att 4th
Pass Td's 5th
Interceptions 7th
Pass Eff 11th
Rush Yards NA
Total OFF 4th
Total Plays 1st
Total Yards 2nd
Total TDs 6th

Solomon will be just fine (needs to run ball more. Balance threat). AZ Needs other areas than Solomon passing for bigger improvements TY (IMO)

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 9:48 pm

Looks like the first article in an attempt by WSR to look at issues from different perspectives. First up, can the Wildcat football team finally build upon a successful season?

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:42 am

ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.

No. Solomon must improve A) his efficiency and B) his decision making (sack avoidance). He does that, and UA wins a lot of games. If he duplicates his statistics from last year, then there will be a lot of disappointed UA fans.

Solomon was very good for a freshman. That won't be enough this year.

EDIT: to expound on that, UA was in the lower third of the country in pass completion %, yards per pass play, and in sacked %. Not good enough, but all areas that can be fixed with experience.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:09 am

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:33 am

Scooby?

Made me laugh. I guess Greg Byrne's Dr Evil didn't make the final cut.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 12:47 pm

Haha, that was a great video. Rita looking extra fine and RichRod looking smooth as ever. Wonder if that was the Cole's stable of cars

Gilbertcat · Post by **Gilbertcat** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:02 pm

Great stuff, the scooby part was funny. I like how people didnt know thats they way the bond movie spelt "Licence" on twitter.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:29 pm

ANGCatFan wrote:Looks like the first article in an attempt by WSR to look at issues from different perspectives. First up, can the Wildcat football team finally build upon a successful season?

Ok, here are the 2 articles from WSR looking at the season from different views.

If your kool aid is half full, here's why Arizona should take a step forward.

Speaking of coaches, Arizona is just one of four college football programs at the FBS level to return its entire coaching staff. While staffs can’t win a football game, they certainly prepare and scheme to best-position their team to compete and win games. This is critical, again, for a young team and an emerging program clearly on the rise.

If you can't figure out why someone gave you a half empty glass of red sugar water, here's why Arizona will take a step back.

First, the obvious: the Wildcats play in the incredibly deep Pac-12 South division, which saw its top five teams combine for a 48-18 record last year, with each winning at least nine games. All five – Arizona included – are ranked or receiving votes in preseason polls, and project to seriously compete for the South title once again.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:52 pm

Gilbertcat wrote:Great stuff, the Scooby part was funny. I like how people didn't know that's the way the Bond movie spelled "Licence" on Twitter.

FYP

Gilbertcat · Post by **Gilbertcat** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:41 pm

catgrad97 wrote:
Gilbertcat wrote:Great stuff, the Scooby part was funny. I like how people didn't know that's the way the Bond movie spelled "Licence" on Twitter.
FYP

i cans reed and wright

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:05 pm

Puerco wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.
No. Solomon must improve A) his efficiency and B) his decision making (sack avoidance). He does that, and UA wins a lot of games. If he duplicates his statistics from last year, then there will be a lot of disappointed UA fans.

Solomon was very good for a freshman. That won't be enough this year.

EDIT: to expound on that, UA was in the lower third of the country in pass completion %, yards per pass play, and in sacked %. Not good enough, but all areas that can be fixed with experience.

Curious, what would you say to Anu each and every game before he stepped out on the field? Especially a Freshman QB who needs to do well if the team is going to do well. Something along the lines of whatever you do, don't turn the ball over? So knowing that, wouldn't you have a tendency to hesitate just a second before you threw it to make sure the WR was open? Wouldn't you also have a tendency to throw long to make sure only your guy is going to catch it? It was his first year starting at QB and no denying he made some freshman mistakes but you live with those because you know you have him for another 3 years.

Did either you or Meow cat watch the spring game? It was a different Anu from what we saw LY. From everything I've been told from a couple of folks who have been to almost every practice, Anu has an air of complete confidence this Fall. He knows where he wants to go with the ball and there's no hesitation. Will that carry over into the season? I would be surprised if it didn't? His confidence is extremely high right now and I'm not sure if you could shake it right now. I'm sure RR is trying as I've heard we're throwing all kinds of different looks defensively at Anu.

I think the other key factor for Anu is he has a group of WR's that he knows well and vice versa. The confidence in having watched a ton of film together and just knowing that a WR is seeing the same thing you are and will be in the spot that Anu expects him to be. At least once or twice a game LY you had a mix-up between Anu and the WR. Anu would throw deep and the WR had cut the route short. I don't think we will see that TY.

For those who haven't seen Cayleb yet TY - he looks like a pro player and shouldn't be playing at this level. He's going to be a handful for each and every D we face because of his size, his added strength, and his ability to go get the ball. If they actually kept a stat on how many times you draw a PI call, Cayleb would win hands down. He will get the other teams best cover guy and all that does is leave mismatches for the other WR's. If Anu and Cayleb stay healthy, they will shatter a ton of Arizona passing records TY.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:17 pm

dpottzzz at AZDS previews the offensive line.

Sid · Post by **Sid** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:38 pm

dc4azcats wrote:
Puerco wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.
No. Solomon must improve A) his efficiency and B) his decision making (sack avoidance). He does that, and UA wins a lot of games. If he duplicates his statistics from last year, then there will be a lot of disappointed UA fans.

Solomon was very good for a freshman. That won't be enough this year.

EDIT: to expound on that, UA was in the lower third of the country in pass completion %, yards per pass play, and in sacked %. Not good enough, but all areas that can be fixed with experience.
Curious, what would you say to Anu each and every game before he stepped out on the field? Especially a Freshman QB who needs to do well if the team is going to do well. Something along the lines of whatever you do, don't turn the ball over? So knowing that, wouldn't you have a tendency to hesitate just a second before you threw it to make sure the WR was open? Wouldn't you also have a tendency to throw long to make sure only your guy is going to catch it? It was his first year starting at QB and no denying he made some freshman mistakes but you live with those because you know you have him for another 3 years.

Did either you or Meow cat watch the spring game? It was a different Anu from what we saw LY. From everything I've been told from a couple of folks who have been to almost every practice, Anu has an air of complete confidence this Fall. He knows where he wants to go with the ball and there's no hesitation. Will that carry over into the season? I would be surprised if it didn't? His confidence is extremely high right now and I'm not sure if you could shake it right now. I'm sure RR is trying as I've heard we're throwing all kinds of different looks defensively at Anu.

I think the other key factor for Anu is he has a group of WR's that he knows well and vice versa. The confidence in having watched a ton of film together and just knowing that a WR is seeing the same thing you are and will be in the spot that Anu expects him to be. At least once or twice a game LY you had a mix-up between Anu and the WR. Anu would throw deep and the WR had cut the route short. I don't think we will see that TY.

For those who haven't seen Cayleb yet TY - he looks like a pro player and shouldn't be playing at this level. He's going to be a handful for each and every D we face because of his size, his added strength, and his ability to go get the ball. If they actually kept a stat on how many times you draw a PI call, Cayleb would win hands down. He will get the other teams best cover guy and all that does is leave mismatches for the other WR's. If Anu and Cayleb stay healthy, they will shatter a ton of Arizona passing records TY.

Good takes! I'm thinking a TE to be named later will be a huge component to a explosive Rich Rod led offense!

Can't wait!

BTFD

MrMeow · Post by **MrMeow** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 5:38 am

dc4azcats wrote:
Puerco wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.
No. Solomon must improve A) his efficiency and B) his decision making (sack avoidance). He does that, and UA wins a lot of games. If he duplicates his statistics from last year, then there will be a lot of disappointed UA fans.

Solomon was very good for a freshman. That won't be enough this year.

EDIT: to expound on that, UA was in the lower third of the country in pass completion %, yards per pass play, and in sacked %. Not good enough, but all areas that can be fixed with experience.
Curious, what would you say to Anu each and every game before he stepped out on the field? Especially a Freshman QB who needs to do well if the team is going to do well. Something along the lines of whatever you do, don't turn the ball over? So knowing that, wouldn't you have a tendency to hesitate just a second before you threw it to make sure the WR was open? Wouldn't you also have a tendency to throw long to make sure only your guy is going to catch it? It was his first year starting at QB and no denying he made some freshman mistakes but you live with those because you know you have him for another 3 years.

Did either you or Meow cat watch the spring game? It was a different Anu from what we saw LY. From everything I've been told from a couple of folks who have been to almost every practice, Anu has an air of complete confidence this Fall. He knows where he wants to go with the ball and there's no hesitation. Will that carry over into the season? I would be surprised if it didn't? His confidence is extremely high right now and I'm not sure if you could shake it right now. I'm sure RR is trying as I've heard we're throwing all kinds of different looks defensively at Anu.

I think the other key factor for Anu is he has a group of WR's that he knows well and vice versa. The confidence in having watched a ton of film together and just knowing that a WR is seeing the same thing you are and will be in the spot that Anu expects him to be. At least once or twice a game LY you had a mix-up between Anu and the WR. Anu would throw deep and the WR had cut the route short. I don't think we will see that TY.

For those who haven't seen Cayleb yet TY - he looks like a pro player and shouldn't be playing at this level. He's going to be a handful for each and every D we face because of his size, his added strength, and his ability to go get the ball. If they actually kept a stat on how many times you draw a PI call, Cayleb would win hands down. He will get the other teams best cover guy and all that does is leave mismatches for the other WR's. If Anu and Cayleb stay healthy, they will shatter a ton of Arizona passing records TY.

Nope, wasn't at the spring game. I am nowhere near Tucson. I found Anu to be frustrating last year, for all the reasons I said previously, so I am really happy to read what you have seen firsthand, and heard from other knowledgeable people. Gives me confidence, or at least hope, in the kid. As goes Anu so goes the Cats. Hope you are right. That is a great, insightful post, btw. Thanks.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 9:33 am

OK now, who's rockin these?

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 9:40 am

My daughter this Christmas. Ordered them first thing this am.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:22 am

Where do you order those?

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:37 am

azcat49 wrote:Where do you order those?

http://skicks.com/

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:42 am

Thx Greg, just ordered some. You should get some commission

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 11:13 am

It popped up on my wife's Facebook feed this morning.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 12:46 pm

Gabe Encinas looks at the DBs. Don't be surprised if Neal wins the starting corner opposite Denson. A lot of youth in this group, but also speed and athleticism.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 3:12 pm

azgreg wrote:
azcat49 wrote:Where do you order those?
http://skicks.com/

Come in 14s too!

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:32 am

Steve Rivera on the offensive line from GoAZCats.

"I feel better about our depth than I ever have since I've been here," Michalczik said of his group.

It could be better.

But with so many players being able to interchange positions like they do at Arizona it helps when things go awry, including injuries.

Figure that the second group may look like this: Gerhard de Beer, Kaige Lawrence, Zach Hemmila, David Catalano, Layth Friekh.

"I want to see those guys step up," Michalczik said. "I don't want them to lock themselves into a second team. I want them to work for a starting spot."

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:44 am

Michael Bird at SB Nation on why the P12 has a tougher road to the playoffs than the SEC.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 9:09 pm

Gabe Encinas with an article on how Arizona needs to beat the other south powers. Here is the meat of his article:

But for Rich Rodriguez to elevate Arizona Football to another level and continue to compete for Pac-12 Championships, it's imperative to improve against Pac-12 South opponents -- particularly Arizona State, UCLA and USC. In his three years at Arizona, Rich Rodriguez holds a 2-7 record vs those three schools, beating No. 9 USC in 2012 and No. 13 ASU in 2014 for the Pac-12 South.

Hopefully, this point is pretty obvious to everyone. I realize it is written for the fan who is just now starting to think about Arizona football, but I would have preferred to read what specific steps Arizona needs to take to beat USC, ucla, and ASSu.

Here are the things I believe Arizona needs to do to win the P12 South again this year:

Strengthen both lines - The losses to ucla and Oregon in the title game started with us getting pushed around on both sides of the ball. The defensive line is definitely bigger, stronger and deeper, but the offensive line is a work in progress.

Minimize 3 and outs - Arizona struggles when they can't get the initial 1st down. Anu will be the key to making sure we start each series off right - with a 1st down. I expect to see a big improvement in this area.

Stop the big pass play - the weakest part of our defense was pass defense. We allowed only 19 rushing TDs, but gave up 28 passing TDs. Not only does our coverage need to be better, but the pass rush need to be more consistent. QBs can't be allowed to sit back and pick us a part. And don't even get me started on defending tight ends.

Finally, don't do anything stupid - Every game is important. No one in the conference can be taken for granted and we can't afford any let down games. The focus that allowed us to beat Oregon 2 years in a row needs to be present every week. No slow starts and don't allow lower teams to hang around and manufacture their own miracle finish. A win over ucla is negated if we drop a game to Colorado because we weren't ready and they were.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:47 am

dc4azcats wrote:
Puerco wrote:
ASUHATER! wrote:I'll take some high throws if that means 28/9 td/int ratio and 3700 yards.
No. Solomon must improve A) his efficiency and B) his decision making (sack avoidance). He does that, and UA wins a lot of games. If he duplicates his statistics from last year, then there will be a lot of disappointed UA fans.

Solomon was very good for a freshman. That won't be enough this year.

EDIT: to expound on that, UA was in the lower third of the country in pass completion %, yards per pass play, and in sacked %. Not good enough, but all areas that can be fixed with experience.
Curious, what would you say to Anu each and every game before he stepped out on the field? Especially a Freshman QB who needs to do well if the team is going to do well. Something along the lines of whatever you do, don't turn the ball over? So knowing that, wouldn't you have a tendency to hesitate just a second before you threw it to make sure the WR was open? Wouldn't you also have a tendency to throw long to make sure only your guy is going to catch it? It was his first year starting at QB and no denying he made some freshman mistakes but you live with those because you know you have him for another 3 years.

Did either you or Meow cat watch the spring game? It was a different Anu from what we saw LY. From everything I've been told from a couple of folks who have been to almost every practice, Anu has an air of complete confidence this Fall. He knows where he wants to go with the ball and there's no hesitation. Will that carry over into the season? I would be surprised if it didn't? His confidence is extremely high right now and I'm not sure if you could shake it right now. I'm sure RR is trying as I've heard we're throwing all kinds of different looks defensively at Anu.

I think the other key factor for Anu is he has a group of WR's that he knows well and vice versa. The confidence in having watched a ton of film together and just knowing that a WR is seeing the same thing you are and will be in the spot that Anu expects him to be. At least once or twice a game LY you had a mix-up between Anu and the WR. Anu would throw deep and the WR had cut the route short. I don't think we will see that TY.

For those who haven't seen Cayleb yet TY - he looks like a pro player and shouldn't be playing at this level. He's going to be a handful for each and every D we face because of his size, his added strength, and his ability to go get the ball. If they actually kept a stat on how many times you draw a PI call, Cayleb would win hands down. He will get the other teams best cover guy and all that does is leave mismatches for the other WR's. If Anu and Cayleb stay healthy, they will shatter a ton of Arizona passing records TY.

Hey, DC4, I missed this! Sorry, man, I was distracted by those shoes and immediately went to the site to check sizes for my 6yo daughter.

I'm with you. First of all, as I said above, I think Anu had a great freshamn campaign. Second, I am making no predictions above about whether Solomon will improve or not this year. My point was simply that is is important to the success of the team that he does improve. Hater was referencing some volume driven statistics, which I don't place much value in. Of course any RichRod quarterback is going to get high volumes of passing yds. and tds. because he is running more plays, so what's important in judging QB play in Rich Rod's offense is efficiency. Then we have the oft-repeated fact that Anu had the 4th best passer rating of any freshman QB last year. That's great, but if you do a little more research you'll find that his passer rating didn't make the top 50 in the country. He'll need to do better for us this year, IMO, because of the schedule both in terms of toughness in conference and the lack of a bye. Avoid sacks, get a little more accurate, that's all. I will give all due respect to Anu's TD:INT ratio, which was excellent and speaks to solid judgement.

If you ask me to make a prediction on Anu this year, I will. You're asking? Okay, great. I think that, barring injury, he's going to be a stud. All of his problems are easily fixed just by getting rid of the freshman yips, IMO.

Thanks for your insight, DC4. It's always a good read and I particularly appreciate it because I'm so far away from Tucson.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:24 am

Nick Latta at AST compares Arizona 2015 to WVU 2007. Big similarity is 2 Coach Rod teams returning offensive backfields. Certainly hard to do straight comparisons, but it does give us a gauge of what may happen to the offense this year.

This is another story I think could have been improved by adding more meat. If you hadn't seen the 2007 WVU play, you would not understand what a high bar this comparison is setting for our offense. So I went back and looked at the WVU stats for 2005-2007, the 3 years Pat White and Steve Slaton played for Coach Rod in the same backfield.

WVU 2007 record 11-2

WVU 2006 record 11-2

WVU 2005 record 11-1

In 2004 WVU was 8-4 and they were 8-5 in 2003. Latta picked 2007 because he thought the stats of last year's Wildcats better matched the 2006 WVU team. I probably would have looked at the change between the 2005 and 2006 WVU teams because that shows the Sophomore jump for both White and Slaton in the system.

At QB what sticks out to me is that White jumped from a 57% completions as a Freshman to 65.9% his second year and went from 8 TDs and 5 Ints to 13 TDs and 7 Ints. If Anu makes the same jump in completion percentage we are going to be in great shape.

In Slaton's first year he ran for 1,128 yards with 17 TDs and 5.5 ypc and then jumped to 1,744 yards with 16 TDs and 7.0 ypc. That last number is not a mistake. Both White and Slaton rushed for more than 7 yards a carry as Sophomores. As a reminder, last year Wilson rushed for 1,375 yards with 16 TDs and 5.8 ypc. I'd love to see Wilson rush for 1,700+ yards this year and I will settle for any increase in his yards per carry from the already very good 5.8.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:35 am

Pat White was amazing, averaged 100+ ypg last 2 years.

Believe BJ Denker holds the record for yards by an UA QB at 949.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:54 am

Puerco wrote: Of course any RichRod quarterback is going to get high volumes of passing yds. and tds. because he is running more plays, so what's important in judging QB play in Rich Rod's offense is efficiency. Then we have the oft-repeated fact that Anu had the 4th best passer rating of any freshman QB last year. That's great, but if you do a little more research you'll find that his passer rating didn't make the top 50 in the country. He'll need to do better for us this year, IMO, because of the schedule both in terms of toughness in conference and the lack of a bye. Avoid sacks, get a little more accurate, that's all. I will give all due respect to Anu's TD:INT ratio, which was excellent and speaks to solid judgement.

Not discounting passer rating/efficiency, BUT I fall into that group that doesn't fully understand how well it correlates to win column. It's complex. I'm sure it has its place.

Rich Rod has coached 13 Division 1 seasons. Anu Solomon last season had the 8th worst passing efficiency for RR in his HC career. Same goes with Anu's passing completion percentage, 8th best QB in RR's 13 seasons.

Of course Solomon was a freshman AND he was with a team that had 10 wins where he leapfrogs many of RR's other seasons (except 3).

I feel it's hard to use this stat as a way to easily judge a RR "historical" QB. RR at AZ is throwing vastly more than any of his other schools. Even BJ Denker threw for more yards than any other Rich Rod NON-AZ QB (10 seasons) except for Denard Robinson 1 season. At there was only a 54 yard difference between Denard and Denker's season passing yards. So, personally I think it's important but the volume of throws Anu DID it just quite different than what a RR QB does historically.

Example: Pat White in 2007 had his most passing yards ever (1,724 yards, 67% completion). But White "only" threw 216 times (Anu=540 times). Both Solomon and White averaged about 12/yds a completion. Pat White threw an INT every 54 pass attempts. Solomon every 60 attempts.

Rich Rod passing attempts at AZ:
Solomon 540
Denker 381
Scott 499

The most passing attempts any other Rich Rod QB has in RR's Division One HC career was Denard Robinson 2010 with 291. Robinson had more INTs than Solomon that season, BUT Robinson had much better passer rating/efficiency and completion percentage. 7 wins.

Denard Robinson averaged 22.5 pass attempts a game in 2010. Solomon averaged 38.5/game LY. Matt Scott has most average pass attempts for a RR QB at 41.5 attempts /game.

Here's RR's QB season passing stats:
2014 Anu Solomon 58% 130.7 (10 wins) 3,793 yards
2013 BJ Denker 61.2% 126.8 (8 wins) 2,516 yards
2012 Matt Scott 60.32% 133.50 (8 wins) 3,620 yards
2010 Denard Robinson 62.54% 149.58 (7 wins) 2,570 yards
2009 Tate Forcier 58.7% 128.15 (5 wins) 2,050 yards
2008 Steven Threet 51% 105.26 (3 wins) 1,105
2007 Pat White 66.67% 151.4 (11 wins) 1,724 yards
2006 Pat White 66% 159.73 (11 wins) 1,655 yards
2005 Pat White 57% 132.41 (11 wins) 828 yards
2004 Rasheed Marshall 59.5% 143.4 (8 wins) 1,426 yards
2003 Rasheed Marshall 50.7% 133.8 (8 wins) 1,729 yards
2002 Rasheed Marshall 53.67% 113.7 (9 wins) 1,616 yards
2001 Brad Lewis 57% 106.6 (3 wins) 1,339 yards

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 4:28 am

Yeah, hard to correlate one player's statistics with wins and losses. Football's a complicated game...

Marshall and White didn't need many passing attempts because every time those teams ran the ball they got 6-7 yards. I'd love to see our team morph into a run-focused spread. Not going to happen this year, or in the next few for sure with Solomon and the receivers we have on the roster.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:13 am

I think we won't be a run-heavy offense, but we're going to see more of the runs go for longer gains. The receivers stretching out the field side to side and the fast tempo will mean that sooner rather than later someone in the opponent's front seven is going to miss a gap, and boom.

BMalo · Post by **BMalo** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:25 am

+1 what penguin said. Cayleb plus the rest of the WR corps are too talented to not stretch the field. Our running game should be extreme effective this year.

Had we not had Solomon, a QB like Randall could make this offense more run-heavy if he wasn't as much of an efficient passer as Anu. Regardless, I'm very excited to see this offense TY.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 7:45 pm

Steve Rivera with a story on Casey Skowron from GoAZCats.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:48 am

Brad Allis podcast defensive preview.

Scummy Dick Douglas · Post by **Scummy Dick Douglas** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:29 am

UA played 6 teams during the regular season last year that had average to above average defenses: Oregon, USC, UCLA, UW, Utah, and ASU. In those 6 regular season games, Anu Solomon completed 53% of his passes , 1465 yds (244 yds/g), 5 td's and 4 int's. Obviously most QB's stats drop against better defenses, but quoting his season totals from last season do not accurately portray his season (similar to what some do with DJ Foster's rushing numbers).

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:32 am

Still great production for a hobbled, oft injured redshirt freshman. He will be fine and a great qb for another couple years at Arizona.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 3:14 pm

WSR once again with 2 writers covering the same issue. This week - Defining success in 2015 for Arizona football.

First up, Eric Kay.

Next, beat the Devils on the road for the third time in four tries. In and of itself, simply besting their rivals to finish regular season play should not make or break the Wildcats’ season (although it did in 2014; see how hard this is?). But what a second consecutive win over Todd Graham’s team will likely do for Arizona is ensure an invitation to a better postseason game — possibly the conference title game — or at worst, make certain that the Cats achieve a winning record in the Pac-12 and collect eight or more wins.

Second take, Gary Randazzo.

First, in collegiate athletics, beating one’s rival is a big deal. Some would argue a really big ‘bleeping’ deal. However, my definition of success would sacrifice a loss to ASU if the Wildcats accomplished other significant things like winning the Pac-12 South and possibly the conference crown. Theoretically, I’ll take a 10-2 or 11-1 season with a loss to ASU over an 8-4 season with a win over the Sun Devils.

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 6:42 pm

First game is two weeks away!!

ANG thanks for all work and info that you've been posting - it really helps me get through the off season.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:58 pm

Bleacher Report with bold predictions for the top 25 teams.

First, the offseason is much more fun when we are in every top 25 article. First time this century.

Second, here is what they said about Arizona-

22. Arizona

Bold Prediction: The Wildcats post two 1,000-yard rushers.

In the three years that Rich Rodriguez has been the head coach at Arizona, the Wildcats have had go-to, 1,000-yard back. Whether it's Ka'Deem Carey or Nick Wilson, Arizona has had a guy it can rely on to carry the load of the run game.

In 2015, though, could the Wildcats share the love more? Jared Baker, the No. 3 running back a year ago, is looking for more carries this season.

“Behind Nick, I think Jared is a co-starter,” Rodriguez told Daniel Berk of the Arizona Daily Star. “Obviously Nick is a proven guy, but we think Jared is, too. He had a great offseason.”

Baker had just 27 carries last year. Obviously, his work load would need to increase a lot. Sophomore quarterback Anu Solomon had the second-most carries on the team in 2014. Rodriguez has never been one to shy his quarterback away from carries, so between Solomon and Baker, there are two candidates who could the load off of Wilson.

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