Rocco has not been the same since Cincy!

[2speedy1]

I agree Rocco has not been the same since that hit vs Cincy.

Is it because there is an underlying injury/concussion. Possible, although if there is, I think he would have to be keeping it to himself as I dont believe the coaches or training/Med staff would be able to continue playing him, if they knew about such an injury. That being said I dont know if it would be possible to keep that type of injury from the staff, they monitor those things much more now than in the past.

Is it because he is in his own head, hearing footsteps, got the yips, etc. whether consciously or subconsciously, I feel is much more likely. A hit like that would rattle anyone, and then as those issues have caused more problems for his game, they tend to compound and cause a downward spiral, if something doesnt break the cycle.

I have a feeling the coaches know/believe it is the second here, and have been working with him and hoping he can snap out of his funk. He has been a great QB for us and overall very solid until the last couple games, so I think the staff believes he is owed the benefit of the doubt here, and a extended chance to work through it. Which I tend to agree as well.

That being said I think it may be time to give someone else a shot, which may or may not help the situation with Rocco. The rest may do him good, may snap his funk, or also may make it worse. There is also something to be said about the backup options lack of experience may hurt us as much as Roccos issues too.

It also just could be he has had a couple bad games, which also happens, and the coaches know that too, while he has been off on some throws for sure, there have also been just as many terrible drops too, and that is not on him, we definitely do not have the sure handed receivers we have gotten used to recently.

 

[not-the-manager]

The Higgins and Noel thing is such a tired take. Nine games in, I don’t care if people want to argue about the learning curve for this crop of receivers—guys are getting open now. That’s why the Mouser takes are so misguided, too. Becht isn’t reading defenses, and is missing guys when he lets it fly. @xboxfever is right that staring down one guy isn’t new for Becht, but you can get away with more in college than in the NFL, and for two+ seasons Becht had been able to process enough to not be completely predictable.

CW says Becht has the yips but I think that’s a misnomer. If it were the yips Becht would be bailing out of the pocket and throwing the ball away constantly. Yesterday he was holding onto it forever—taking sacks when he should’ve thrown it away—and throwing the ball way too late when he did notice an open receiver. It’s like there’s a longer-than-normal delay between the information his eyes are taking in and his brain receiving it, which is why there’s no other explanation to me except that something is still up with his brain. But I’m far from a doctor

 

[Buzzer68]

I do not claim to be an expert on concussions. But rocco has not been the same since that hit he took in Cincinnati. Before that he made every throw. Since then his throws have not even in the same zip code of the recievers. I know hes a gamer but i really think that something is just not same

I’ve noticed the same thing. Ever since that hit to the head he hasn’t been the same..

 

[cyatheart]

not sure what to call it but the rhythm is off….he is holding the ball a count too long at times when he doesn’t have time…and then when he does actually have a nice pocket it looks like he’s not feeling that either.

 

[wintersmd]

Even most of his completions have been bad throws. He's leaving a lot of rac yards bc receivers are having to adjust to his poor throws.

I will agree with you somewhat on this. Rocco has thrown some really bad balls, but our receivers have dropped many passes that were catchable. Last week we had a wide open receiver that dropped the ball that would have scored. There have been many bad drops. I will agree that Rocco has not been the same since the Cinci hit. I am also wondering if the loss of Kyle Kempt is bigger that what we thought. Kempt was always in Rocco's ear on the sidelines. I dont know if he has that this year.

 

[Iluvteak]

People might disagree with this, that last play I watched it a few times. I initially thought sowell made a poor play, but the ball was thrown so poorly he had to adjust and it threw him off balance in order to catch it. Good throw and that's a first down.

But why expect a QB in rain and cold and under pressure - to throw a quick out across the body to wide side of field. Righty throwing to left is hard. Ask any QB. Toughest throw to make IMO.

It’s a bad play call. Gotta throw past the sticks.

 

[clonehenge]

His mechanics have always been bad but they've gotten progressively worse as the season goes on. Hard to be an accurate thrower when your footwork is bad, your arm angle is low and you're throwing with your front shoulder too open.

He needs to go in the offseason and work with the same guy Purdy has worked with since before the draft.

 

[Clonefan32]

Just reminds me so much of Brock towards the end of his career. Tight windows to throw to, a line that doesn't give him a ton of time to process and injuries that have the coaching staff keeping him in the pocket. All that coupled with some confidence issues and here we are.

 

[CycloneVet]

Rocco doesn’t trust these receivers. That’s why he hesitates. Him Noel and Higgins were on the same page consistently due to being together for 2 years. I’d expect it will be better next year.

Plus a huge part of the problem is the defense has lost so much talent from last year. Freyler, Verdon, Cooper, Jontez, Purchase, and Darien Porter are gone from graduation or injury. That’s just the secondary. So it has been hard to get stops as consistently.

Thankfully Heacock rotates a lot of guys to give them experience so the drop off over the years hasn’t been huge defensively from year to year.

This year has been so frustrating. But please stop asking for Campbells head. There have been reasons for this decline.

 

[mitchforcy]

Rocco doesn’t trust these receivers. That’s why he hesitates. Him Noel and Higgins were on the same page consistently due to being together for 2 years. I’d expect it will be better next year.

Plus a huge part of the problem is the defense has lost so much talent from last year. Freyler, Verdon, Cooper, Jontez, Purchase, and Darien Porter are gone from graduation or injury. That’s just the secondary. So it has been hard to get stops as consistently.

Thankfully Heacock rotates a lot of guys to give them experience so the drop off over the years hasn’t been huge defensively from year to year.

This year has been so frustrating. But please stop asking for Campbells head. There have been reasons for this decline.

Anyone calling for Campbell's head is a certified moron. He's the only thing keeping Iowa State an above average big 12 program in the rev sharing era.

 

[demoncore1031]

I agree Rocco has not been the same since that hit vs Cincy.

Is it because there is an underlying injury/concussion. Possible, although if there is, I think he would have to be keeping it to himself as I dont believe the coaches or training/Med staff would be able to continue playing him, if they knew about such an injury. That being said I dont know if it would be possible to keep that type of injury from the staff, they monitor those things much more now than in the past.

Is it because he is in his own head, hearing footsteps, got the yips, etc. whether consciously or subconsciously, I feel is much more likely. A hit like that would rattle anyone, and then as those issues have caused more problems for his game, they tend to compound and cause a downward spiral, if something doesnt break the cycle.

I have a feeling the coaches know/believe it is the second here, and have been working with him and hoping he can snap out of his funk. He has been a great QB for us and overall very solid until the last couple games, so I think the staff believes he is owed the benefit of the doubt here, and a extended chance to work through it. Which I tend to agree as well.

That being said I think it may be time to give someone else a shot, which may or may not help the situation with Rocco. The rest may do him good, may snap his funk, or also may make it worse. There is also something to be said about the backup options lack of experience may hurt us as much as Roccos issues too.

It also just could be he has had a couple bad games, which also happens, and the coaches know that too, while he has been off on some throws for sure, there have also been just as many terrible drops too, and that is not on him, we definitely do not have the sure handed receivers we have gotten used to recently.

I don't think he has just had a couple of bad games. He looks like a completely different person out on the field. And in reality, he wasn't playing great when we were winning either, but then his play got really bad for some reason.

 

[Pizzapitter]

CW has been pretty rough, re: Rocco of late.
Hard to disagree with Chris.
"Great young man," has Nothing to do with "great qb."

 

[NazClone]

I expect another bad Rocco tomorrow.

 

[Pizzapitter]

I expect another bad Rocco tomorrow.

I hate to agree, but yes.
CW has suggested benching.
And yes, it pains Chris to suggest so.
We have another year of Rocco, like it or not.
Nary an NFL team will reach out to him.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

You can't bench him. He's the biggest team leader we have. It's not that he hasn't earned the seat, it's what it would do to him and likely the team.

It's a really crappy situation. The whole team is off but I have to put my foot down on this bad line play talk. We're running the ball well and their pass protection has been pretty good.

I'm wondering if his height is making it difficult to find good throwing lanes? Did Campbell take away his running option after all the hits? It's likely a combination of broken confidence and bad drops from receivers/not enough reps with the new players to be on time for routes. Penalties have been attrocious too and the impact can't be ignored.

 

[Rural]

I hate to be give the young guy a shot guy but give the young guy a shot.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I hate to be give the young guy a shot guy but give the young guy a shot.

Meaning give Rocco another shot or one of the back ups?

 

[1SEIACLONE]

You bench him, he will be in the portal the next day, Rocco right now is the best we have to win the game. Change for the point of change is not always a good thing. I have said all year for this team to be special, Rocco was going to have to be the man, each and every game, he wasn't and we have struggled. Maybe next season.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

You bench him, he will be in the portal the next day, Rocco right now is the best we have to win the game. Change for the point of change is not always a good thing. I have said all year for this team to be special, Rocco was going to have to be the man, each and every game, he wasn't and we have struggled. Maybe next season.

I don't think he would just quit on the spot. I think he has earned the benefit of the doubt through his character that he isn't that type of person. Maybe he would transfer next year but not instantly. I do agree with you generally that benching him isn't an option unless he just melts down.

 

[cyfanatic]

You bench him, he will be in the portal the next day, Rocco right now is the best we have to win the game. Change for the point of change is not always a good thing. I have said all year for this team to be special, Rocco was going to have to be the man, each and every game, he wasn't and we have struggled. Maybe next season.

This! There will be a school that will offer him money and an opportunity regardless of how his season plays out. Gotta be careful in this situation. Unless the coaching staff thinks Rocco has maxed out his potential? I have no idea...just thinking about all the different factors that come into play when deciding how to handle this situation in the now.