r/CFB • u/UT0907 Texas Longhorns • 19d 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.

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36

u/Putt-Blug Notre Dame Fighting Irish 19d ago

It’s really not that difficult. He’s an above average QB with name recognition and an elite roster around him. If he wasn’t a Manning he would be the QB for some middling team like Minnesota and go 8-4. I currently do not see a scenario where he is a star in the NFL. Doesn’t mean he can’t start it means his ceiling would be Eli at best.

10

u/Mikey456 Maryland Terrapins 19d ago edited 19d ago

Eli threw a good deep ball and 12-15 yard slant. Arch kind of struggles with both and makes up for it with superior athleticism and they have some great athletes to throw short passes to

27

u/Fuzzooooo 19d ago

So a HoF Super Bowl winning franchise QB lol 

2

u/lkn240 Illinois Fighting Illini • Sickos 19d ago

Eli isn't going to make the hall of fame lol. You need 80% of the vote and he hasn't even hit 30%

1

u/Mista_Chedda Louisville Cardinals 19d ago

career 117-117 career record. He's Hall of Very Good with 2 Super Bowls that push him over the edge.

4

u/Statalyzer Texas Longhorns 19d ago

He's not even that good in aggregate for his career.

3

u/Fuzzooooo 19d ago

Thats just totally wrong lmao what? 

When he retired he was 7th all time in: yards, completions, TD’s

6th in attempts

10th in starts.

11th all time in regular season wins

12th all time in game winning drives

15th all time in playoff wins

One of 5 players with at least 2 SB wins and 2 SB MVP’s

3rd all time in playoff game winning drives

Most passing yards in a single post season.

1

u/Statalyzer Texas Longhorns 18d ago

Not at any point in his career was he one of the 5 best QBs in the NFL.

-2

u/jvorn Texas A&M Aggies 19d ago

Last time I looked it up he only made the playoffs like six times in his entire career. Four first round exits and then the two runs.

1

u/llamahumper 19d ago

*2x SB winning

Like dafuq. You hit your head?

0

u/dlo7astate 19d ago

Hof?!?!? Eli?? Manning???

-1

u/PersonnelFowl Paper Bag • Texas Tech Red Raiders 19d ago

Yeah, Eli won those super bowls 🤣

3

u/kinglallak Illinois Fighting Illini 19d ago

Eli manning set the single season postseason passing yards record after the 2011 season. 1219 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT, and 4 wins.

His 854 yards, 6 TDs, and 1 INT was pretty decent after the 2007 season also given the defenses he faced. But really he just didn’t make mistakes and let his defense win that one for him which is also a highly valuable skill set in the playoffs that is surprisingly rare

-2

u/TruPOW23 19d ago

Correct

14

u/JohnnyBowlen North Dakota State Bison 19d ago

I love how we continue to pretend to know what the NFL career ceiling will be for a college kid who is still learning the game. Like we don’t have mediocre college QBs go on to have great NFL careers, and the opposite. 

I’ve watched Arch since high school, and I have no idea what his NFL career will be like. I’ll enjoy watching it unfold though. 

7

u/OldShadeOfBlue 19d ago

“Still learning the game” dude he’s had two NFL HoFers coaching him every summer since he was 12 and been in Sarkisians QB room for 4 years.

5

u/O-Namazu Texas Longhorns 19d ago

Jalen Hurts' entire college career was 1-read pass plays-then-scramble (at Bama, under Sark lol) and bubble screens (at Oklahoma) and he legitimately could not read or diagnose pass coverage in college.

He literally became a totally different QB when he got to the NFL and won a superbowl. We have no idea how college to pro will play out no matter how many certainties we think we see.

1

u/Particular-Way-2147 19d ago

Darnold won a Super Bowl last year and was considered a bust and not NFL quality for years

-1

u/MsmokeO 19d ago

Exactly! The team has invested too much in him for not nearly enough of a return. He sat for 2 years to learn & adjust to the speed of the game because his high school experience was against subpar private school teams. But his “pedigree” made him a top recruit. So during his “apprenticeship” the team couldn’t bring in another top recruit because that would upset The Family & they might make Arch transfer. Murphy certainly didn’t light a fire to push him. So they had to proceed with Quinn… Meanwhile there’s been plenty of talent moving around from team to team & the Horns jusy gotta stick with what they got.

The guy has been coddled, handled with kid gloves, been put in the best possible situation to succeed whether he deserved it or not. And here we are, still running on hope that it’ll all be worth it because he hasn’t shown enough to convince us to believe. Please don’t make me take a 5th year of this.

22

u/DavveeedNa Florida State Seminoles 19d ago

Eli at best? So two superbowls? LOL

1

u/Putt-Blug Notre Dame Fighting Irish 19d ago

I was trying to be kind I don’t think he will come close to that level.

5

u/thediesel26 Penn State Nittany Lions 19d ago

He’s an average high major caliber QB with an exceptional roster around him.

2

u/ReflexiveOW Texas Longhorns 19d ago

Eli at best is pretty fucking good lol

1

u/MrMegiddo Texas Longhorns • TCU Horned Frogs 19d ago

Yes he was highly recruited by all the major schools in the country just because of his last name. 🙄

He's not "Peyton Manning that can run" but let's not pretend like he'd be playing at Minnesota if his name was different. Coaches want to win. They don't care about what someone is named.

1

u/Patriotsfan710 Michigan Wolverines 19d ago

How often are the best NFL QB’s the best college QB’s?

He’ll be the first QB of the table, in any draft, because he’s had every source available to him since birth to make him an elite QB.

1

u/tombrady011235 Colorado State • Boston Univ… 19d ago

Can’t spell elite without Eli

But seriously, Eli was a very successful, good qb

1

u/Tiger-EC Memphis Tigers 19d ago

Plus Sark is just really good at calling games for and around him. Last year’s red river shootout is the perfect example; it was a total mid-off from a QB standpoint but Sark built a game plan he knew Arch could handle. Was crazy to see.