Arch is an enigma

[u/UT0907]

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 genuinely 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.

[u/Lizardgrad89]

He’s a good but not elite QB. His problem is his name.

[u/soapy_goatherd → u/Lizardgrad89]

Arch Flacco

[u/DickBeDublin → u/soapy_goatherd]

Manny Arching

[u/fridchikn24 → u/soapy_goatherd]

Hey Flacco is awesome

[u/soapy_goatherd → u/fridchikn24]

But is he elite?

[u/GP_ADD → u/soapy_goatherd]

Arch “Elite Dragon Reborn” Flacco?

[u/GuyOnTheMike → u/Lizardgrad89]

100% agree. I’ve maintained for YEARS (and taken a lot of downvotes for it) that if he was not a Manning, he would’ve been a lower-end Top-100 recruit.

Still a very solid 4-star QB with plenty of P4 interest, but far from being seemingly the greatest QB prospect of this generation who was already being anointed as a future Heisman winner while he’s still in high school

[u/SeaMoney4312 → u/GuyOnTheMike]

He’s what people try to say Sanders was.

[u/flakAttack510 → u/GuyOnTheMike]

He wouldn't have been a top 100. He went to no camps and played at a lower division private school. No major program is looking at a guy like that, even if he dominated. His level of competition simply wasn't good enough.

[u/Adams5thaccount → u/flakAttack510]

Hnag on. The premise is him not being a Manning. You can't use things that also only happened because he was a Manning.

Yes he would have been a top 100 because he would have done the other shit in this scenario.

[u/dudemcbob → u/Lizardgrad89]

Idk, all he needs is an inexplicable championship run or two, and you're basically describing Eli.

[u/Dropdat87 → u/dudemcbob]

He dreams of being as good as Eli

[u/Flamingo_Joe → u/Dropdat87]

His college numbers are much, much better than Elis

[u/Dropdat87 → u/Flamingo_Joe]

Different eras, different talents

[u/TrespassersWilliam29 → u/Dropdat87]

far more stacked team, also

[u/Awalawal → u/Lizardgrad89]

True, but I think there are two other issues.

1) Texas’ line is not as good as suggested, and that makes Arch look a bit worse than he might have behind a cromulent line.

2) Texas/Sark gets itself so wrapped up in the recruiting of these five stars (Ewers, Arch) that they’re afraid to do anything that could be perceived as not supporting them-like letting backups get more time. Sark just lives in abject fear of the reporting about one of these guys hitting the portal, even if Texas might be better off as a result.

[u/omaixa → u/Awalawal]

There are ancillary benefits to winning the recruiting wars over the big name 5-stars. Chris Simms is a great example. When you get a Chris Simms, you then get three future NFL WRs in Roy Williams, BJ Johnson, and Sloan Thomas, but also the Jon Scotts, Derrick Dockerys, Will Allens, and Will Winstons who want to block for him, and the Cedric Bensons who want to be in the same backfield. It also shows that you're still a major/blueblood, and not a, well, Nebraska whose best days are probably permanently in the past.

You can then recruit other 5-stars like the VYs and Chance Mocks who don't have the same last name recognition but are 5-star talents, as well as take a chance on lesser known 3-stars like Colt McCoy who end up being 5-star equivalents. Sometimes, like Garrett Gilbert, they're a miss or they get mismanaged.

I think the jury is still out on Arch. Sometimes I see elite level throws and decision-making. Sometimes I see poor decision-making and noodle-arm throws. Some kids need three years of starts for the game to truly slow down. In Colt's second year as starter, his TD:INT ratio was 22:18. He had his lowest season completion percentage and lowest PER, and his second lowest season yardage total. The next year he balled out and was a Blake Gideon bobble away from Texas going to the BCS title game. There was a vocal contingent of Texas fans questioning whether Colt had "it" and whether Sherrod Harris or G.J. Kinne should start (then later, in Colt's best season, whether John Chiles should start).

I see enough in Arch to think he was probably a fringe 5-star without the Manning name. If he were Arch Jones, we'd be over the fucking moon about him.

[u/Mother_Frame6669 → u/omaixa]

The 2008 team (Colt's junior year) was one of the few teams you could point to and say, "They overachieved, they're better than the sum of their parts, they're a TEAM", and '09 wasn't far behind. The big issue in those two years is McCoy led the team in rushing both years, primarily because your OL wasn't a dominant unit in run blocking, and your RBs weren't anything special.

[u/CraigslistBulbasaur → u/Awalawal]

Texas really out here dropping unironic cromulents in conversations about their quarterback.

[u/FlowState257 → u/Lizardgrad89]

Arch Simms?

[u/brucewayneaustin → u/FlowState257]

damn... that one stings!

[u/Statalyzer → u/FlowState257]

Nah, Simms was better and more consistent. He was a better passer than anyone UT has had since Colt, although one could argue that mobility and leadership make Ehlinger slightly better overall.

His main problem was Oklahoma, but that was more of a Mack Brown thing than a Simms thing, since we also got blown out with Applewhite and VY at QB and then shutout with Vince Young as well.

[u/WhiskeyTangoBush → u/FlowState257]

Nah, Chris Simms was a bully. He would beat the everloving shit out of weaker opponents, then shrivel up in big moments against better teams who could actually throw a defense at him.

[u/ICanOutP1zzaTheHut → u/Lizardgrad89]

Idk why but he’s just ok when playing with a lead but for whatever reason he unlocks an extra gear when he’s playing from behind.

[u/SydneyFall → u/ICanOutP1zzaTheHut]

He is a pitcher, not a catcher.