Joe Mollberg New Starting QB

[geaux_sioux]

This game showed that Joe is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the QB of the present and future. The line was not doing a good job protecting and he made some amazing throws. That throw to Hardin that he wasn't able to step into as two quys were hitting him was NFL caliber and then some. The kid is a man child and showed it out there against the #6 team in the country. His mobility was also noticeably better than Bartels. Bartels made too many costly mistakes and missed too many throws. Joe has my vote from now on even though I was cheering for Bartels in my heart. Joe lead the team back from the dead and he earned this job.

[Siouxperman8]

I'm on board with Mollberg. Bartels wasn't bad but Joe was very good.

[Wilbur]

This game showed that Joe is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the QB of the present and future. The line was not doing a good job protecting and he made some amazing throws. That throw to Hardin that he wasn't able to step into as two quys were hitting him was NFL caliber and then some. The kid is a man child and showed it out there against the #6 team in the country. His mobility was also noticeably better than Bartels. Bartels made too many costly mistakes and missed too many throws. Joe has my vote from now on even though I was cheering for Bartels in my heart. Joe lead the team back from the dead and he earned this job.

Know very little about the QB position. But I think the footwork that Joe showed was on a higher level than Bartels.

Accurate?

[geaux_sioux]

Know very little about the QB position. But I think the footwork that Joe showed was on a higher level than Bartels.

Accurate?

Neither was great with the accuracy today but after Joe settled down he did not play like a FR. He made a couple throws that made my jaw drop.

[Wilbur]

I thought Joe did a nice job moving the pocket away from the pressure. Did make some tremendous throws that showed off the type of arm that he has.

[UNDBIZ]

I thought Joe did a nice job moving the pocket away from the pressure. Did make some tremendous throws that showed off the type of arm that he has.

When there was defensive pressure, Mollberg looked better than Bartels. When there was no pressure, I thought Bartels looked better. Since we won't be playing Valpo again this season, I say go with the guy who performs better under pressure and on the run.

[Sioux95]

In the Valpo game I thought Joe was slower to make good reads and took a sack he shouldn't have. I n this game, his mobility was a big plus, and with our Oline, I think we are going to need a mobile QB, and a good back up QB.

[geaux_sioux]

Bartels was hesitating to make his throws today. Mollberg was more confident and decisive. He's the guy. This competition is over.

[UNDBIZ]

Bartels was hesitating to make his throws today. Mollberg was more confident and decisive. He's the guy. This competition is over.

Better inform Muss

[SIOUXFAN97]

one position i know better than the other positions and its the qb...i went to one practice this year and i posted that joe was clearly the better qb from what i saw...the only thing i'm upset about from this game is that we would have won this game if joe would have started this game....

[siouxjoy]

the only thing i'm upset about from this game is that we would have won this game if joe would have started this game....

To be fair, Bartles wasn't out there trying to arm tackle Zenner...

[Sioux95]

one position i know better than the other positions and its the qb...i went to one practice this year and i posted that joe was clearly the better qb from what i saw...the only thing i'm upset about from this game is that we would have won this game if joe would have started this game....

I am not ready to throw Bartels under the bus yet. He did his part to get us off to a 14 - 0 start to the game against a good defense. Both QBs made mistakes. Joe threw 2 passes from his knees for Pete's sake.

joe probably earned his chance tonight, but by no means is Bartels out of the running in my mind.

[MoSiouxFan]

Bartels was hesitating to make his throws today. Mollberg was more confident and decisive. He's the guy. This competition is over.

Not necessarily. They both had their moments, good and bad, but, like you, I was impressed by the throws that Mollberg completed under heavy pressure in the fourth quarter. He stood his ground and has a gun for an arm. They both gained some invaluable experience today against top-notch competition. They both did a good job of getting the ball to our playmakers, but I think they'd both be more effective if they'd go to the tight end and one of our backs coming out of the backfield once in a while to mix it up a little.

[bincitysioux]

I thought both guys looked good tonight. WRs had at least two costly drops when Bartels was in there. Bartels clearly makes better decisions, seems more accurate, but is not fleet footed and has the weaker arm. Mollberg has a cannon and is uber athletic. He wowed me with several throws, but made me shutter with a couple. That one throw across the field that Golladay caught as Joe was falling down with 2 bunnies around his ankles should have never been thrown.

I am still on the fence, but whoever ultimately wins the job it appears the offense is in good hands.......

[southpaw]

Neither was great with the accuracy today but after Joe settled down he did not play like a FR. He made a couple throws that made my jaw drop.

Really? He threw numerous times off his back foot while falling. If he didn't have stud receivers who could go up and get a ball a lot of those would have ended up as interceptions. He played better than Bartels but he wasn't off the charts amazing. He got lucky a number of times.

[geaux_sioux]

Really? He threw numerous times off his back foot while falling. If he didn't have stud receivers who could go up and get a ball a lot of those would have ended up as interceptions. He played better than Bartels but he wasn't off the charts amazing. He got lucky a number of times.

With how the line was 'protecting' today throwing off the back foot was the only option for either guy way too often. Joe is more able to get away with that because he throws easier and is a better athlete. The main reason I think he's the guy is he showed 'it' tonight.

[Goon]

To be fair, Bartles wasn't out there trying to arm tackle Zenner...

The offense is going to have to score a lot of points this year unless the defense steps up. UND's outside contain was horrible tonight. The defensive ends and outside line backers were getting hooked a lot tonight. Also, I thought that SDSU's offensive line took UND to woodshed. Also, Zenner is an awesome running back, he seems to be at full speed in about two strides. Zenner's long run on 4 and 1 was sick. I don't think he was touched on his way to the end zone. I am going to say, we need to give credit where credit is due. SDSU is a good football team and they are very tough physically. I wouldn't be shocked if SDSU beats the dirty Bison this year.

[southpaw]

The offense is going to have to score a lot of points this year unless the defense steps up. UND's outside contain was horrible tonight. The defensive ends and outside line backers were getting hooked a lot tonight. Also, I thought that SDSU's offensive line took UND to woodshed. Also, Zenner is an awesome running back, he seems to be at full speed in about two strides. Zenner's long run on 4 and 1 was sick. I don't think he was touched on his way to the end zone. I am going to say, we need to give credit where credit is due. SDSU is a good football team and they are very tough physically. I wouldn't be shocked if SDSU beats the dirty Bison this year.

On that 4th and 1 run, three SDSU linemen were able to trap six UND players from getting to the hole. Their line is pretty dang good and it will be interesting to see if they can play well when they face NDSU's defense.

[CMSioux]

SDSU must have a top 5 schedule for toughness - The Nebraska next week followed by FU the following week.

[Oxbow6]

Joe earned IMO the start vs Griz w his play last night. Bigger, more mobile and athletic. Rocket arm!!

[Matt]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/272644/

Wayne doesn't directly quote Muss here, but for him to write this Wayne must have gotten something off the record-at least until the staff breaks down the film.

There also seems a lot of folks here readily pointing out Bartels' mistakes while glossing over his good plays. It should be noted that Joe ended what could have been a game tying drive by forcing a ball into coverage. Two guys got a hand on that ball, and they were both Jacks.

He is a great athlete with a great arm, but what Joe showed me is exactly why I suspect Bartels got the start coming out of camp. Joe is prone (as most freshman are want to do) to making bad decisions because he thinks his arm will bail him out. If Joe tightens that up, I think this QB controversy will be over quickly.

[UND92,96]

http://www.grandfork...icle/id/272644/

Wayne doesn't directly quote Muss here, but for him to write this Wayne must have gotten something off the record-at least until the staff breaks down the film.

There also seems a lot of folks here readily pointing out Bartels' mistakes while glossing over his good plays. It should be noted that Joe ended what could have been a game tying drive by forcing a ball into coverage. Two guys got a hand on that ball, and they were both Jacks.

He is a great athlete with a great arm, but what Joe showed me is exactly why I suspect Bartels got the start coming out of camp. Joe is prone (as most freshman are want to do) to making bad decisions because he thinks his arm will bail him out. If Joe tightens that up, I think this QB controversy will be over quickly.

Given their youth, they will both make mistakes. But what strikes me is that Mollberg put up 259 yards, 2 td's and led 3 scoring drives in less than a quarter and a half against an above average defense. That's pretty impressive. It's possible Bartels may be a better "game manager", which might be fine if UND had a better running game and defense. But under the circumstances, I think you have to go with the better playmaker. In my uninformed opinion, that's Mollberg.

[iramurphy]

What you saw Sat is what Mollberg brings to the table. He is a gunslinger who has a cannon of an arm. He threw the ball effortlessly to Hardin 60 yds in the air. He may have made a poor decision as he admitted on his last play but then he also may have made poor decisions to throw the long ball to Hardin or the TD to Hardin or the cross filed pass t Golladay as he was getting tackled. He moves better in the pocket and helps his O-linemen by moving within the pocket. Bartels doesn't do that as well. Mollberg's int wasn't a terrible throw like Bartles int was it was a gunslinger trying to make a play and win a game. Brett Farve and Terry Bradshaw were two guys who were similarly criticized early in their careers. He was the better QB and has earned a chance to start against Montana.

[tnt]

But the bottom line is that Mollberg had nothing to lose when he came in. If receivers don't drop balls in the second drive we might not be talking about this. So if Mollberg starts, how long do you go with him if he makes mistakes? I don't think you want to be going back and forth based on a mistake here or there and dropped passes here or there.

[geaux_sioux]

But the bottom line is that Mollberg had nothing to lose when he came in. If receivers don't drop balls in the second drive we might not be talking about this. So if Mollberg starts, how long do you go with him if he makes mistakes? I don't think you want to be going back and forth based on a mistake here or there and dropped passes here or there.

I think you stick with Mollberg unless he has a terrible game and needs to be yanked even if he was a 5th year senior. Even when Bartels made plays his throws were as good as Joes were. Bartels had Hardin for a long TD but threw outside instead of leading him inside the way the route goes. Also his INT was a terrible decision. They each had too much pressure from rushers but Mollberg was still able to make things happen and throw while off balance. Mollberg also has a much faster release and puts more zip on the ball which is harder on the defense to react to.

The final and most important reason to go with Mollberg is his upside. It's 10X what Bartels is. Look at how far Jensen has come at NDSU. Imagine Mollberg after 3 years of starting going into his senior season.