A Switch For Switch Sake

After last night's loss to Memphis, I am forced to rely on an old canard: Time for a quarterback change!

First- can we agree that the Scelfo experiment just needs to end? No bitterness or rancor. Just please stop. I’m not saying it was a failure- or not worth trying- but it is time for it to terminate. Another 100 throws from this guy is simply not necessary to evaluate his potential going forward. Raise your hand if you are not 100% certain what we have in young Scelfo. Obviously his intangible “fire” was a nice boost to rally the troops versus LSU- but diminishing returns are kicking in. Scelfo isn’t really translating much in terms of actual production- a real problem in this League

I don’t want to take the red-shirt off anyone- so I vote for Elliott. And if you want to continue to sub in Moore- a guy who, unlike Scelfo, would benefit going forward from a few dozen throws while seeing the elephant; I’m cool with that.

Look, it is imperfect- and you could successfully argue Elliott deserved to lose his starting nod after the Lions’ mess. But...

He’s the one guy on the roster you know, for certain, can point to anything in his past that proves he can play C-USA football at a plus level. In 2005, he blew up Rice for 300 yards/3 TDs- and was okay in spot duty elsewhere. Some his later starts were shaky- but Tulane just couldn’t block those teams- not Scott's fault.

And he wasn’t that bad against MSU- completing something like 55+% of his balls. And now that Forte has been established as a real C-USA style threat- something not true after MSU/Houston, I think it might be a little “easier” for Scott to play. If Tulane could just get 225 yards out of the passing game, we’d be a whole lot better. And I think Scott can do that more often than not.

And isn't like Tulane is trying to develop Scelfo- taking snaps away from him at this point isn't hurting his progress. And if you aren't trying to mature the qb position- if you are trying to merely win games now- well, let's give Scott a try against conference competition.

Also, Tulane has real questions at qb for next year. Next year, Tulane has a hot RS Frosh- but you know, that isn’t a done deal. Let’s find out what we have in the RS junior Elliot once and for all. We know Scelfo, let’s know Elliot- before next year. If he’s a bust, then we know the qb has to come from the kid or Moore.

Let Scott Chuck It

Over the next few games, I want Scott Elliott to get some chances to play quarterback.

Now, Scott wasn’t good against Southeastern- lost his starting role fair and square. And I think Anthony Scelfo did a very commendable job. He played a physically courageous game versus LSU- and a pretty heady one too, protecting the ball.

But the Army game showed the limitations of the “all Scelfo, all the time” approach. To wit: how do you turn 200 yards of rushing, plus an entire day versus a bad Cadet defense, into a mere 17 points?

I think the answer kinda starts with the quarterback.

Look, the quality C-USA quarterback is a big number generating guy. It is a League that for all its faults scores points in bunches- and Scelfo is sort of mis-cast in that role.

It isn’t that he can’t play quarterback- if you wanted a heady, protect the ball kind of guy, he could well be worth a look. But that 22-for-37 for 300 yards and 3TDs performance- the performance that gets you to the four-five TDs you need to be in a lot of C-USA games- that just isn’t Scelfo. Thus, Tulane can play well on offense but generate too few points- and thus still be a single play away from trouble all afternoon long.

Now, we’ve seen that 22-for-37 for 300 yards and 3TDs performance though. That was Elliot’s line against Rice.

It might have been a fluke- but these recent tests against Houston and MSU were a lot harder than Scelfo’s Army one. Anyway, we’ve seen enough of Scelfo to know he’s a sort of a charismatic holding action at best- and Tulane could learn something good about Scott if they find away to let him get a series or two against some of these more “shaky” league opponents.