In Reply to: Just One Worry posted by BruinBlue on September 06, 2026 at 21:00:49
in THIS game, Nico did not throw the ball accurately a number of times in the short and mid-range. He was fine when he could throw the ball up in the air and let the WR run under it.
But he was behind the WR a few times, and also low. That's not acceptable. It's hard enough to complete a pass as is, given the pass rush and the coverage of the DBs. But when the QB is missing remedial throws...what are doing here?
Also, Nico didn't seem to be "reading" the D in a very high-level way. We don't get the "all 22" view on the TV broadcast. But the color commentator did mention on one play that, on a 3rd and 19 play, Rowe was open running a dig route over the middle at about the 14 yard mark and was so open that he could have picked up the 1st if he had gotten the ball on time, on the money.
Nico can run the ball. But I don't think the NFL is looking for the next Tim Tebow, however. And it's possible that Nico's level of passing prowess demonstrated in the Cal game, if that's what we get the rest of the year, might cost Ucla some games this year, like DTR cost us the sc game and the Pitt game in 2022.
If we look at Nico's play at Tenn in 2024 and Ucla in 2025, how much different was his passing prowess in G1 of 2026?