Doesn't our football field have a high crown? Might this have affected Dak a little?

[blacklistedbully]

Probably BS, and I'm not suggesting this as an excuse. Just curious if it's possible. Seems to me I remember early in Dak's career at State, he had to adjust his passes to account for the relatively high crown on our field.

Though I still tend to believe it was more a case of being rusty, I do find it interesting Dak was consistently way too high, never too low. So, I do wonder if the field at MM Roberts may have contributed.

It's a new artificial surface that was put in last year, I believe. The way guys were sliding around reminded me of those baseball games we played at Vandy, where their guys knew to start sliding into a base MUCH earlier due to the funky artificial turf they have there.

Is it also possible the footing was different enough to cause problems for a QB not accustomed to that surface?

[RC3]

Reaching imo. He just wasn't sharp at all last night and our offense never really got into a rhythm due to play calling/limiting

[Jupiter_Dawg]

No. Our field has no crown. It is flat.

[blacklistedbully]

Reaching imo. He just wasn't sharp at all last night and our offense never really got into a rhythm due to play calling/limiting

Like I said, I'm still leaning that way as well. But, I do find it interesting he was consistently high, not just inaccurate. If I guy's just having a bad night, one would expect a mix of inaccuracies, not the same thing nearly every time, right?

[blacklistedbully]

No. Our field has no crown. It is flat.

Do I have it backwards? Maybe I'm thinking of an away game he had where the field had an unusually high crown.

[Jupiter_Dawg]

Most natural grass collegiate fields are flat. All synthetic turf fields have a crown of some sort for drainage. Our field has an extensive drainage system underneath that allows for play after even the heaviest rains.

[Really Clark?]

Do I have it backwards? Maybe I'm thinking of an away game he had where the field had an unusually high crown.

Auburn' field has a significant crown

[maroonmania]

Auburn has the really high crown. Even if we had one and USM didn't you would think Dak would be more prone to throw the ball into the ground on a flat field than over the receiver's head when throwing out to the sideline.

[blacklistedbully]

Most natural grass collegiate fields are flat. All synthetic turf fields have a crown of some sort for drainage. Our field has an extensive drainage system underneath that allows for play after even the heaviest rains.

So, it's likely that USM has a crown on their field. Of course, Dak has experience playing on other AT fields, but I do wonder if playing on this one as the first game may have had an impact on his throws.

[blacklistedbully]

Auburn has the really high crown. Even if we had one and USM didn't you would think Dak would be more prone to throw the ball into the ground on a flat field than over the receiver's head when throwing out to the sideline.

Not if Dak is throwing from the crest away from the crest. It's been said our field is flat, while with their AT, USM's is likely one with a crown that slopes toward the sidelines.

[Jupiter_Dawg]

I really doubt that it had that much affect on his throwing ability. Mainly bc he is a 5th yr. sr. He has thrown on all types of fields and knows the differences in surfaces.

[blacklistedbully]

I really doubt that it had that much affect on his throwing ability. Mainly bc he is a 5th yr. sr. He has thrown on all types of fields and knows the differences in surfaces.

Of course, Just am thinking because it was the first game in a LONG time since he has thrown on an AT field, it may have contributed to being consistently high. Like I said before, if he was just having a bad day, I think we might have seen more inconsistencies.

But I could be wrong, and still feel that most of it was just being rusty, or perhaps being a little hyper. I also suspect Dak may be one of those guys who may do better after he gets hit a couple of times running the ball.

[EdDawg]

I believe it was just rust. In the 4th quarter Dak seem to be very consistent with his throws.

[Dawg61]

Of course, Just am thinking because it was the first game in a LONG time since he has thrown on an AT field, it may have contributed to being consistently high. Like I said before, if he was just having a bad day, I think we might have seen more inconsistencies.

But I could be wrong, and still feel that most of it was just being rusty, or perhaps being a little hyper. I also suspect Dak may be one of those guys who may do better after he gets hit a couple of times running the ball.

Dak was just super amped and forcing himself to stay in the pocket. He had some very nice throws that the WRs were not reading correctly for example the back shoulder to Morrow in the endzone that would of been a for sure TD if the WR reads the play correctly. He had two other for sure TDs, one was a drop by Ross and the other the rookie stud Johnson stopped running. That's 3 more TDs if the WR/TE doesn't make the error. Add in Shumps fumble and Ross making a very poor play on ST and the score could or should of been 62-9. 62-9 on the road facing a program playing its biggest game of all time and throwing the kitchen sink at us.

[mstatefan91]

I don't think it's been said but Fitz and Staley have been getting a large portion of reps in case Dak gets hurt. I think it's as simple as him not getting as many reps as you would expect your first team QB to get going into the first game. By the 4th quarter, the rust was gone.

Add into that that not getting all the reps you are used to affects the receiver/QB relationship.

This is all based on a press conference with Dan coming out of the camp. Unless I'm just misremembering what he said. Then feel free to disregard this whole post.

[mewrite]

Auburn's crown is roughly 18 inches. That may not seem like much, but a foot and a half change in elevation is noticeable. The recommendation for all artificial turf fields is a 1.5% elevation change, which would be upwards of 18 inches, meaning that USM's is probably in the same neighborhood simply because it's artificial turf. That's still no excuse for Dak overthrowing so many receivers, but it's a little extra context.

[Irondawg]

It's an interesting point to consider when throwing anything to the sideline. Especially to someone like holloway that's a huge difference