"The Offense Functions So Well With Him Back There"

There is still a quarterback battle going on at Michigan, but more and more people are leaning toward the same guy.

We're now less than two weeks away from Michigan kicking off the 2022 season and Jim Harbaugh has not officially named a starting quarterback. He's not going to do so publicly, but at some point a QB1 will be anointed. Harbaugh has said that he has two starting QBs in JJ McCarthy and Cade McNamara, but obviously only one guy can be the guy. 

As we get closer and closer to the opener, more people who have seen both young men in action are starting to weigh in on who should get the nod. Recently, an observer we hadn't talked to yet shared his two cents on the battle.

"Cade is confident and efficient," our observer said. "I think JJ probably gets some packages, but he’s too damn risky with the ball and we both know that’s not Harbaugh's DNA. JJ is such a good athlete that you want to put him out there, but Cade is too efficient and the offense functions so well with him back there."

The word "risky" has been thrown around when describing McCarthy's play, but what exactly does that mean? He's obviously more athletic and talented than McCarthy — that's a fact — but is he really so risky that the bads outweigh the goods enough to keep him on the sidelines?

"I think he only threw one pick when I was there but he throws into double coverage and he throws late across the middle too often," our observer said. "He does a lot of improv out there. And don't get me wrong, the great ones do that, no doubt, but they are more careful with their chances."

Obviously Cade isn't doing that. We recently heard Dave Revsine from the Big Ten Network say that the ball never hits the ground when McNamara is running the show. Apparently the ball does hit the ground when JJ is on the field and even worse, hits the opposing team from time to time as well. 

At the end of the day, Michigan does have two really good options at QB, including one who went 12-2 last year. Did Michigan get to 12 wins solely because of McNamara's dynamic play at the quarterback position? No, but there is a ton of value in being available and healthy, taking care of the ball, making the right reads and leading the offense on scoring drives more than half the time. Those things are what McNamara does. Until JJ can do all of those things at the same clip while also using his dynamic arm talent and athletic ability, he might just be a package guy.