In 2022 we had, based on the NFL draft, an elite duel threat QB and still lost 7 games. Mertz, to me, exceeded expectations and played very well considering the line in front of him and the way our play-caller ran the offense. Even with our deficiencies, the offense averaged over 30 ppg the last 1/2 of the season, but the defense collapsed into being one of the very worst in D1. And arguably our best player on defense as well as one of our best offensive players (both Top 10 in the transfer portal rankings) are leaving. We've already lost 3 commits from the new class, still don't have a d-line coach and apparently aren't going to hire an OC or a special teams coordinator. And with the 2024 schedule being one of the toughest in the country, the future looks very dim to me. Would love to be wrong, but that's how I see it.
lol Everyone knows he was drafted on physical talent. Mertz just isn't a good QB. Even the joke play caller Napier had him throwing short most of the game and then a review of the tape showed Mertz was gun shy to throw it down field unless it was a situation you didn't have to fit the ball in a close window. The difference from WI is he did throw it a lot more trying to get the actual yardage on 3rd and 4th down instead of taking a joke short wide open pass that had no chance and just gives you hardly any picks and a nice completion %.