ESPN B1G Blog: Big Ten QB Ranking (Individuals)

[Ski U Master]

Gray at #5

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/53249/b1g-position-rankings-qb-individual

5. MarQueis Gray, Minnesota, senior: Gray had a rocky beginning to the season as he adjusted back to the quarterback position and a new coaching staff. But in his last five games, he averaged 255 yards of total offense. Of returning Big Ten players, only Robinson, Vandenberg and Martinez were responsible for more total yardage than Gray last season. Like many on this list, Gray has worked on improving his mechanics and accuracy. There isn't a more impressive physical specimen at quarterback than this 6-foot-4, 240-pounder.

 

[GoAUpher]

For those who prefer to avoid him, this is a Bennett piece.

 

[harrys ghost]

For those who prefer to avoid him, this is a Bennett piece.

Well, he did get the weight wrong. Gray is on the roster at 245 and I believe Kill said that he is now over 250. But, he is a specimen.

 

[supadupafly]

taylor martinez? please......

 

[Parski1]

taylor martinez? please......

Martinez has NO arm - even die hard Husker fans I know don't see him taking that team very far.

 

[GopherGod]

Martinez has NO arm - even die hard Husker fans I know don't see him taking that team very far.

He has a strong arm, just not very accurate and really ugly. He had a higher completion percentage than Gray however and has the break away speed and acceleration which is why he was likely ranked higher just based on numbers from last year. He will not take them far however barring a miraculous improvement in his mechanics. I definitely think the upside is higher for Gray, strictly off of numbers I see how they could rank him lower however.

 

[FireDaveLee]

Seeing him up close at the GLC Golf Tournament, people would be surprised how big he is. If you didn't know he was the QB, you'd think he was a TE.

 

[GoAUpher]

I definitely think the upside is higher for Gray, strictly off of numbers I see how they could rank him lower however.

Exactly. Preseason rankings are always going to factor in the previous season heavily (certainly more heavily than unproven potential) and ugly arm punt motion aside, TMart had a much better season than Gray did last year.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

I guess that's about where I would have put him being a Gopher fan, but higher than I expected from a columnist.

And being honest, a lot of where he ends up will come down to the receivers - there are still a lot of question marks there, but depending how they play could easily move Gray up or down a few slots in the rankings.

 

[STPGopher]

I guess that's about where I would have put him being a Gopher fan, but higher than I expected from a columnist.

And being honest, a lot of where he ends up will come down to the receivers - there are still a lot of question marks there, but depending how they play could easily move Gray up or down a few slots in the rankings.

Adding to your comment about the receivers, the lines ability to create holes when the world knows a run play is coming will come into play. The line and Gray(via scrambling) will need to be able to buy time for the receivers to get open as well.

 

[harrys ghost]

Exactly. Preseason rankings are always going to factor in the previous season heavily (certainly more heavily than unproven potential) and ugly arm punt motion aside, TMart had a much better season than Gray did last year.

Sorry, not buying the much better season business. Playing for a significantly better team, in 12 games, he generated 2963 yards of offense (246.9 per game). In 10 games Gray had 2461 yards of offense (246.1 per game).

 

[GoAUpher]

Sorry, not buying the much better season business. Playing for a significantly better team, in 12 games, he generated 2963 yards of offense (246.9 per game). In 10 games Gray had 2461 yards of offense (246.1 per game).

Gray played in 11 games, which means his per game avg is actually 223.7 ypg. Your focus on this stat also fails to incorporate Grays 6% lower completion % or his 1 to 1 TD to INT ratio. As for TMart playing on a better team, that is definitely true. But not being a super advanced stats person from a FB perspective I can't point to any "all things being equal" numbers to back either one of us up. Based on the numbers you cite (and the other standard stats that are out there) Martinez had a better 2011.

 

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

This Bennett clown is a total hack. It appears that his rankings are inversely related to that QB's ability to throw a spiral. Or at least a ball that isn't spiraling end over end. I love Bennett's logic that Denard is #1 just because anybody who could throw a ball through a truck tire at 10 paces has graduated.

I do think that Gray should be somewhere in the middle of the pack. I also think with the same WR's he'd put up better passing #'s than Martinez.

 

[harrys ghost]

Gray played in 11 games, which means his per game avg is actually 223.7 ypg. Your focus on this stat also fails to incorporate Grays 6% lower completion % or his 1 to 1 TD to INT ratio. As for TMart playing on a better team, that is definitely true. But not being a super advanced stats person from a FB perspective I can't point to any "all things being equal" numbers to back either one of us up. Based on the numbers you cite (and the other standard stats that are out there) Martinez had a better 2011.

You are correct about the number of games. However I got both wrong. Gray played in 11 games for an average of 223.7 yards per game and Martinez played in 13 for an average of 227.9 yards per game. Looking at yards per attempt, Gray had 7.02 and Martinez had 7.25. So, even though Martinez completed a higher percentage, Gray averaged more yards per completion which mitigates that advantage. Martinez did clearly better on passing TDs with 14 (along with 9 INTs). Still, IMO, you have hardly demonstrated a "much better season" (particularly taking team strength into consideration).

 

[GoAUpher]

You are correct about the number of games. However I got both wrong. Gray played in 11 games for an average of 223.7 yards per game and Martinez played in 13 for an average of 227.9 yards per game. You have hardly demonstrated a "much better season."

I'd argue that adding the bowl game (which Gray didn't play an equivalent to) when it comes against another quality opponent is an unfair advantage to Gray. Also helping Gray's average was the fact that he didn't play in the 58-0 shellacking, which likely would have hurt his numbers further.

EDIT: N/M, I wrote this before recalculating TMart's totals minus the bowl game stats. When you do that his numbers per game stay near Gray's.

At this point it sounds like your issue is with the word "much". That's fair enough. But it's hard to argue that he did not have a better season if the YPG totals are equal and he put up better completion % and TD/INT numbers. There is also the fact that his receivers also had issues with drops and that his rushing stats are lowered by the presence of a quality RB on his squad.

 

[harrys ghost]

I'd argue that adding the bowl game (which Gray didn't play an equivalent to) when it comes against another quality opponent is an unfair advantage to Gray. Also helping Gray's average was the fact that he didn't play in the 58-0 shellacking, which likely would have hurt his numbers further.

EDIT: N/M, I wrote this before recalculating TMart's totals minus the bowl game stats. When you do that his numbers per game stay near Gray's.

At this point it sounds like your issue is with the word "much". That's fair enough. But it's hard to argue that he did not have a better season if the YPG totals are equal and he put up better completion % and TD/INT numbers. There is also the fact that his receivers also had issues with drops and that his rushing stats are lowered by the presence of a quality RB on his squad.

My issue is really that people just throw out things like "much better season" like it goes without saying. IMO, had Gray played a full season (he missed substantial time in the first two games with cramps, played hurt in the NDSU game, missed the entire Michigan game and, supposedly, wasn't 100% the next game either) he would have had the better season. In any event we will find out pretty soon how they stack up this year as the season is starting soon .

 

[GoAUpher]

My issue is really that people just throw out things like "much better season" like it goes without saying. IMO, had Gray played a full season (he missed substantial time in the first two games with cramps, played hurt in the NDSU game, missed the entire Michigan game and, supposedly, wasn't 100% the next game either) he would have had the better season. In any event we will find out pretty soon how they stack up this year as the season is starting soon .

You definitely have a point with the USC game and it's affect on his total YPG. But given how poorly the team played against Michigan it's just as likely that he numbers would have been below norm and thus dragged his overall YPG avg down. And none of that speaks to this completion % and TD/INT ratio (neither of which are very likely to have been improved by more time in either the USC game or any playing time in the Michigan game).