This is a huge point. Part of what Ewers is currently deeling with is defined by how his season played out in terms of sequencing. His mid to late season struggles are being used to define his entire 2022 campaign. But, I'd argue his topsy turvy season was in some ways predictable by schedule and opponents. Are we over-selling his short comings, given the following?
- Ewers played in 9 games
- Starting with OSU - where he clearly was dealing with some sort of hand / finger issue and was not comfortable - he had a four game stretch where he did not throw the ball well at all.
- Three of those four games were on the road and the fourth was against a playoff team who sacked him 5 times
- In the other five games including the bookend at home against Baylor, Quinn threw the ball well and averaged a QB rating of 170.2, which in context is better than Williams or Duggan averaged in 2022
- Our young OL was great at times but also was wildly inconsistent in pass protection, particularly down the stretch. Ewers was sacked 13 times in the last 3 games. Some of those sacks are on the QB, and he did not consistently handle the pressure well.
Point being, all the tools are there and you can see the upside. If he settles down and has a good bowl game, he can start to reshape the narrative again. Consistency, playing well on the road, and managing pressure are not surprising issues for a first year QB. Let's hope he works hard over the next 8 months and continues to improve.
