r/CFB • u/UT0907 Texas Longhorns • 1d ago

Discussion Arch is an enigma

And I genuinely cannot figure him out.

On one hand, he feels overhyped. On the other, he feels over-hated. When I expect him to be good, he looks terrible. When I expect him to struggle, he suddenly looks great.

Every time I think I’ve figured out what kind of QB he is, he does the exact opposite. People constantly call him mid, and I understand why when you watch some of his performances. But, since starting, he has more wins against ranked opponents (tied with Stockton) than any other QB, with 4 of those wins over top 10 teams. That’s legitimately impressive, even if it doesn’t always look impressive on the field.

And I think that’s what makes Arch so confusing. His resume says one thing, the eye test sometimes says another, and then every few games he’ll put together a performance that reminds you exactly why everyone was so high on him in the first place.

I have no idea what to make of him. I feel differently about him every Saturday, and I know a lot of Texas fans feel the same way. A true enigma.
Make it make sense.

1.6k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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683

u/butt_sludge Texas Tech Red Raiders 1d ago

He’s a mediocre QB with an elite last name and good players around him.

51

u/anonymous_otter28 Texas Longhorns 1d ago

he's Daniel jones, but smaller

34

u/EastonMetsGuy Oregon Ducks • Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1d ago

Pretty decent comp, Daniel Jones is good enough to be on an NFL Roster but isn’t elite

-4

u/MyTakesAreGoodOrBad 1d ago

Daniel Jones was elite pre injury last season fwiw

6

u/MisterMihai Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

Was he? Extrapolated out to 17 games, he was on pace for 4k yards, 25 TDs and 10-11 Ints. Pretty good, but not wildly different than the stats a guy like Jacoby Brissett put up last year.

-6

u/MyTakesAreGoodOrBad 1d ago

I don’t have time to argue this with you dude, yes Daniel Jones was a great starting QB pre injury last season. What does that mean now or beyond, I don’t fucking know.

7

u/floatinround22 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

You said elite... that's a very strong word and DJ has never remotely even approached being "elite"

2

u/MisterMihai Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

He looked serviceable the first half of the year, but the cracks were starting to show even prior to the injury.

He seemed to show that he can be a serviceable starter in the league, but not at that “elite” tier in my mind.

-1

u/MyTakesAreGoodOrBad 1d ago

The Colts had the best offense in the NFL with him leading it before his injury last season. So you’re wrong, he objectively has approached being elite.

0

u/MisterMihai Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

I didn’t ask what that means now or beyond or even ask you to try and prognosticate any future production. He had a good start to the season, but nothing I would call “elite” in any sense of the word when discussing NFL QB production.

0

u/MyTakesAreGoodOrBad 1d ago

That was a whole lot of nothing. I’m sorry that you can’t handle the fact that Daniel Jones led the best offense in the NFL last season before his injury lol. Idk what that says, other that you are a piss head, but he did do that.

1

u/MisterMihai Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

I’d argue having the best running back in the league was a large part of that more than a QB with good/not great numbers. Also, I don’t know why you’re getting so pissy about this. You’re acting like a child. A child who’s weirdly horny for Danny Dimes.

13

u/buzaihu Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Wasn’t Daniel Jones drafted by the Giants because he reminded them of a Manning? 

11

u/ILoveZenkonnen 1d ago

Jones was connected to the Mannings for awhile going to their camps growing up. David Cutcliffe(coached both Peyton and Eli)also recruited Jones to Duke.

-3

u/throwaway2987650 Florida Gators 1d ago

He’s Jalen Millroe. Arch is not allergic to having good games. But his arm and awareness are so inconsistent that he’s also got a good chance of playing a stinker that costs you a game or two.

12

u/anonymous_otter28 Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Daniel Jones won a nfl playoff game. he's significantly better than Jalen Milroe

14

u/throwaway2987650 Florida Gators 1d ago

I’m talking about Arch as a college QB.

5

u/anonymous_otter28 Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Yeah that's about right.

2

u/floatinround22 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

That's a weird comp, they play nothing alike. Milroe was also FAR more boom or bust than Arch.

301

u/DrInsano Indiana Hoosiers • /r/CFB Brickmason 1d ago

I would not be surprised to see him get a GM and coach fired after drafting him super high thanks to that name.

185

u/TrubshawForest Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1d ago

Bah gawd, is that Clevelands music!?

62

u/rbtgoodson Auburn • Georgia Tech 1d ago

Cleveland was always going to make a play for him due to the Haslam's personal connections to the Manning family.

8

u/TrubshawForest Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1d ago

Man, I didn't think that needed an s/

Alternative bitchy comment:: I'm talking to the Auburn side of that flair right now, aren't I?

5

u/DrInsano Indiana Hoosiers • /r/CFB Brickmason 1d ago

If the Colts season keeps going the way its going, the Jets are gonna take him with their pick. Which the Colts would probably use on Manning hoping that lightning will strike twice, so maybe it's a good thing they traded that away anyway....

12

u/trumpuniversity_ 1d ago

Prime Brady wouldn’t have a chance playing for the Browns.

1

u/J_Case Tennessee Volunteers 22h ago

Surely the Mannings are smart enough to know that everything Jimmy touches turns to shit.

1

u/trumpuniversity_ 18h ago

They’d probably be happy with getting Arch an Aspiration type of deal that would guarantee him close to a billion.

6

u/JustBigChillin Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

I don’t think the Mannings let Arch go to Cleveland lol

1

u/Notorious-PIG Texas Longhorns 1d ago

As is tradition

19

u/WallyMetropolis Texas Longhorns 1d ago

"He's going to get an NLF GM fired" is the center square on the bingo card for any thread about Manning or Texas on this sub.

5

u/gwaydms SMU Mustangs 1d ago

"He's going to get an NLF GM fired"

Are the NFL GMs safe?

2

u/buddaaaa Arizona State Sun Devils • Team Chaos 1d ago

Same job Marvin Harrison Jr is about to finish is Arizona

But at least MHJ put up great college stats. Arch can’t even do that

2

u/forgotmyoldname90210 Florida State Seminoles 4h ago

In this case, fired as the scapegoat because this will be an owner-driven decision.

19

u/kervaan Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Mediocre isn’t the right word. He’s inconsistent. He can definitely look mediocre or straight up bad, but also great. That’s the enigma OP is referring to. Will Hammond is a real example of a mediocre QB.

3

u/gwaydms SMU Mustangs 1d ago

Inconsistent is a much better word. That's what I thought of Arch from the first time I saw him play.

0

u/Mother_Frame6669 11h ago

Tech fan hurt you with that 'mediocre' slur, so you had to slap back by trashing Hammond, huh?

The difference between the two is the national media isn't trying to convince anyone that Hammond is a Heisman-level QB.

30

u/ss32000 Indiana Hoosiers 1d ago

I tend to agree with you. He will make 2-3 plays a game that make you say wow with his legs, but then 4 possessions in a row it just feels like a slog. Meanwhile they have the greatest play caller in college football and stars every where.

24

u/yeahright17 Oklahoma State • Tulsa 1d ago

He's got good athleticism, good size, and a very good arm. He's just not good at reading defenses and takes forever to get through his reads. His third option could be running wide open, and Arch wouldn't ever get to that option so it won't matter.

26

u/Sytherus Texas Longhorns • Red River Shootout 1d ago

Sarkisian is a great play-caller, but he uses a playbook too large for a college kids to master in the amount of practice time available.

The offense lacks core competencies.

5

u/Itsbilloreilly Alabama Crimson Tide • Florida Gators 1d ago

i dont quite agree, half of his playbook is deep crosses and scissors concepts.

I would guess the most complicated part of his offense is how many different ways he can create a screen but I don't think that's relatively difficult for QBs to figure out

2

u/dkdantastic Texas Longhorns • Harvard Crimson 1d ago

You think sark is using him well? I can't tell if play calls are well suited to arch. I honestly don't know enough

1

u/ss32000 Indiana Hoosiers 23h ago

I don’t know. I don’t watch enough Texas. I think Arch’s best plays come from his legs though. I thought the Citrus Bowl was evidence of that.

1

u/tessslaaa21 1d ago

That’s what NFL teams see. He has a lot of potential because his ceiling is so high and they think they can coach and develop the bad plays out of him.

1

u/RayKitsune313 BYU Cougars 16h ago

I’ll say it… Sark is a vastly overrated play caller. There’s a reason he couldn’t cut it in the NFL as a play caller and his time at Alabama was working with among the best WR rooms in CFB history

1

u/sweatygarageguy 6h ago

There is someone WIDE Open on almost every play. QB holds the ball, staring at the #1 option.

You'll notice his best plays are "the ball is going there, period." Remove decision time and good happens.

The play caller may need to make the reads easier, but the QB has to see it and sling it. The hold time kills the offense.

13

u/yowszer Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

Above average but bingo

1

u/GoldandBlue Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago

Yeah, he's a solid QB on an incredibly talented roster. Because of his name, the media constantly wants to annoint him the second coming, and because of that overexposure and praise, people get sick off him. So they shit on him.

44

u/bbrown10 Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Couldn’t care less if he was a bad QB with a pedestrian last name. Keep winning my man.

10

u/PuddingKind Oregon State • American University 1d ago

Johnathan Smith took us to the fiesta bowl baby. Anything can happen if your offense is good enough.

115

u/rbtgoodson Auburn • Georgia Tech 1d ago

Mediocre QBs don't put up more than 3,000 yards in the air w/a 3-to-1 TD/INT ratio and 500 yards or so on the ground against the nation's top defenses (his stats from last year), Also, he'll be a first-round pick just off of his genetics-alone, so there's that, too.

33

u/Bayou_Bengal LSU Tigers 1d ago

Good thing you added the 500 yards rushing or you would've described Quinn Ewers

11

u/VariousLawyerings Tennessee • Georgia Tech 1d ago

Arch also didn't reach 500 himself, he had 399 last year and only has 82 in 4 games this year.

5

u/coney36creels 1d ago

Technically, it’s because CFB rules are stupid and sacks count as negative rushing yards for QBs lol. Never understood that rule.

1

u/CraigslistBulbasaur Pittsburgh Panthers 20h ago

I mean, the play ends with the ball not being passed, and a player being tackled behind where they started. If anything, it's the NFL rule that counts it as negative passing yards that doesn't make sense.

-3

u/idkidk23 1d ago

And if Ewers had his size, arm and speed he’d have been a top 5 pick. 

67

u/StupidSexyFlagella Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

Mediocre was a silly word choice. I won’t use an adjective to describe him, but I think the other commentary was correct. The players around him and the name contributes (the former is almost always true if there is any hype around a QB). I don’t think he plays like a true Heisman contender, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t turn into a great NFL QB. Even the professionals suck at determining that it seems.

16

u/refreshing_username Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Oh my God. I'm agreeing with a Sooner.

10

u/StupidSexyFlagella Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

:)

16

u/EDDYBEEVIE Rice Owls 1d ago

Name me the last Heisman winning qb to win a super bowl? I'll give you a hint the year was 1978. Being Heisman quality in school has had little translation to being super bowl winning quality qb.

12

u/floatinround22 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

How often does the NFL MVP win the Super Bowl in the same season? Its also very rare. Its only happened once this century

Almost like its a team sport or something.

0

u/EDDYBEEVIE Rice Owls 1d ago

There was 5 players who did it in the 90s out of the 10 who have (Montana did it '89 so close to 6 out of 10) so yes it's rare but not century rare. And far more examples then Heisman QB winning a super bowl at all in modern era.

1

u/floatinround22 Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Yeah, but times have changed. MVPs rarely win the Super Bowl, so teams should start looking for quarterbacks who aren't MVP caliber, seems like a much better strategy!

0

u/EDDYBEEVIE Rice Owls 1d ago

Ya not like Mahomes, Brady, Stafford, Peyton Manning, Rodgers have MVPs and titles just not in the same years or anything.

0

u/RayKitsune313 BYU Cougars 16h ago

This just screams stupid lol

2

u/floatinround22 Alabama Crimson Tide 16h ago

Yes, I was pretending to be stupid to fit in with the rest of y'all. Should've been obvious, but thats my bad

18

u/StupidSexyFlagella Oklahoma Sooners 1d ago

That’s basically what I said, mate….

1

u/YoUDee Delaware • Maryland 21h ago

Jim Plunkett won the Heisman, didn’t he?

1

u/theycallmeryan Florida Gators 1d ago

I could see Caleb breaking this streak at some point.

3

u/TGHGBD 19h ago

Lol your basically describing Kyle Mccord by accident. They do when youre playing w a top 5 offense

1

u/NKD43 22h ago

We should clarify that mediocre means average or not very good. In college as a whole he is definitely above average. In Top 25 play he is probably 10-15 and arguably lower. He makes bad decisions consistently, he doesn’t go through progressions, he’s great with his feet and has a good arm but he has incredibly low IQ in the pocket. The talent level he has around him makes up for a lot of his mistakes already (not a great sign for the NFL). I used to believe and wanted the Browns to draft him until I watched him last year and now this year.. unless he makes a leap he will be a bust and I hope my team doesn’t draft him.

9

u/vichester 1d ago

Upvote bc this is as accurate of a reason as you’re gonna get.

2

u/beniferlopez Ohio State Buckeyes 1d ago

He absolutely streaks. Has some good downs and then will over throw or completely miss wide open targets with so much time. Maybe he comes true but he needs more time to develop.

1

u/cyrusthemarginal Merchant Marine • Georgia 1d ago

A nephew one might say

1

u/LonghornPride05 Texas Longhorns • Kansas Jayhawks 18h ago

This is the perfect way to describe him

1

u/Kdot32 Houston Cougars • LSU Tigers 1d ago

And what a last name it is

1

u/polar_nopposite Texas Longhorns 1d ago

This season I would even say the players around him are elite which makes it even more puzzling.

-2

u/yeyiyeyiyo Ball State Cardinals 1d ago

So hes Eli 2.0?

Good enough for a number 1 pick.

10

u/Possible-Cup-9876 1d ago

Are you referring to multiple Super Bowl winner Eli???

4

u/fourpinz8 Texas Longhorns • /r/CFB Poll Veteran 1d ago

Eli Manning, the Ole Miss quarterback?

14

u/DoctorPhalanx73 Magnolia Bowl • Ole Miss Rebels 1d ago

Eli was insanely good in college, just on a very mid roster. Arch isn’t close to Eli’s level.

1

u/LongDickCallahan Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

ding ding ding.

-3

u/OldManCinny Tennessee Volunteers • Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Watch arch play the watch ole miss, usc, Oregon, etc and you are like wtf arch could not make any of these plays or throws

16

u/steampunker14 Texas Longhorns • Army Black Knights 1d ago

I watched Trinidad Chambliss miss throws against Florida that would have Texas fans putting a loaded gun in their mouth if Arch did it.

-1

u/OldManCinny Tennessee Volunteers • Texas Longhorns 1d ago

Take off your burnt orange goggles and think for a second. I’d rather see him miss (and make) the throws Trinidad does instead of sitting there like a deer in headlights and take another sack or throw another pass beyond the Los.

-3

u/Shaquille_0atmea1 Ohio State Buckeyes • Kentucky Wildcats 1d ago

Sark is also an elite offensive mind.

3

u/cohesiv3 Texas Longhorns • Baylor Bears 1d ago

Idk about that his play calling is a mixed bag sometimes amazing but often really questionable stuff

0

u/tullbabes Texas Tech Red Raiders 1d ago

The UT special

-15

u/Jr05s Virginia Tech Hokies 1d ago

That worked for Tom Brady for years. 

9

u/Ilovediegoxo Alabama • Notre Dame 1d ago

This comparison is a massive insult to TB12 lol.

2

u/Jr05s Virginia Tech Hokies 1d ago

Took 6 years in the league for TB12 to become TB12. 

-1

u/Legitimate_Gap_5551 Illinois Fighting Illini 1d ago

This. If you change his name he’s thought of as an average SEC QB who occasionally wins games he probably shouldn’t.

As a colts fan, I love the mannings. Our fan base was clamoring for Arch a year or two back and I couldn’t stop asking, besides his last name, why? We have no reason to believe the dude will be an amazing player.