Unconquered

EJ was good enough last year to lead us to the acc title. Having guys like Datko and Spurlock go down early, Haulstead never playing and Reed missing time early hurt too. And of course EJ missing the equivalent of 2 games himself.

Keep this team relatively healthy. Have this oline become at least a solid, dependable group that can open up the running game and give EJ a respectable amount of time to go through his reads.

Do those things and last year's team is your acc champ. Do those things with the expected growth from the skill positions on offense (EJ included) and the defense overall and you've got your acc champ again and throwing our name in the hat for a national championship game spot.

Great read.

If we have a great year, Jimbo could put another QB in the first round.

Great article and I agree with 99% of what people on here have said. But, EJ has a little way to go to be an "elite" qb. He is very accurate in the intermediate passing game but does not throw a very good "touch" pass (specifically on out routes). Really happy to hear he was working on that with Wilson.
Does this have something to do with the OL play? Of course, he will only get better with a better OL and not having to worry about being sacked on every play. But, I do believe he could be better when facing a rush. We all saw the turn around and run backwards while losing 10 more yards on a sack happen multiple times last year. So, the other area of improvement for EJ would have to be learning to check that down more frequently (or maybe that option just wasn't there in some of Jimbo's play calls?), OR attempt to move laterally (buy more time), or fall forward (minimize the loss on the play.) Those large sacks putting us at a 2nd and 25 kill a drive and have to be cut back drastically this year.
As others have said, he would be benefited with a spread offense and a simpler game plan. I agree with that 100%, but Jimbo isn't going to do it. We all know that Jimbo is hard headed and wants HIS SYSTEM to work. How many times last year did Jimbo keep trying to run the ball straight up the middle when our o line couldn't hold a block? A LOT, while rarely utilizing the screen (the few times he did it worked for good chunks of yards) to take some pressure off the line.
All in all, Jimbo is not going to change, so EJ is going to have to get better in those 2 scenarios to be an "elite heisman worthy qb.." Can he do it? I definitely think he can and am excited as I have ever been for this season.

I think this is EJ's season. I am glad to see him reach out to a qb guru like George to get better. It can only help him this season.I'm pulling for him.

Bottomline.....Jimbo recruited EJ to run the offense we will be running this year and EJ came to FSU knowing what that entails...and knowing that it will prepare him for the NFL much better than the "gimic" COLLEGE offense like Oregon. (oh, and we do run a lot of spread at FSU too....lol)

I don't blame E.J. for anything. I think he'll be awesome.

It's been said on here, but really, it's hard to overstate how bad our offensive line was last year. It may not be anybody's fault. It may have been the result of purely freak occurrences. But it was the weakest OL play I've ever seen on any team in 3 decades of watching football. As a fan, I serious doubt I'll ever see OL problems that bad again in my life.

Those who question EJ's decision-making may not see the connection between OL ineptitude and QB decision making, but I guarantee the connection exists and is a strong one. EJ will look completely different this year, even if the OL isn't great--because I can pretty much guarantee it won't be THAT bad again, ever.

I actually think EJ makes the most sensible decisions of any of our recent QBs... my problems are with the offense.. so I mean people can hate that if they want to but honestly the hash marks make a lot of difference in the way the game is played... FSU running a Pro-Style offense is not utilizing the advantages or nullifying the disadvantages of college football... But I do feel we can win with it... I just say that because a QB like EJ is a heisman winner in an offense that is catered to him... Ala Tim Tebow...Cam Newton...Vince Young...RGIII...list goes on... But I do feel EJ can run our offense... I just think he is not a true pocket passer and that is all...

I love E.J. too but I'm afraid he'll have to keep scrambling again this year. I am not a believer in this "experienced" offensive line stuff. E.J.'s biggest impediment is Trickett. He just can't teach his system to the kids.