The Myth of the Quarterback Controversy is No More

Written by: Guest Author on 12th October 2009

A myth was developing in the land of Spartans. It happens all the time — fans begin to grumble about something, things don’t go exactly as planned on the field, and even the biggest whoppers seem to hold some kernel of truth.

When MSU opened the season 1-3, the bellyaching — very understandable bellyaching, mind you — was rampant amongst fans, and one of the primary recipients of the invective was head coach Mark Dantonio. Suddenly, after a deeply satisfying first two years at the helm leading the Green and White to a pair of bowl games, the old ball coach seemed to have lost his marbles in the eyes of many.

Specifically, Dantonio’s decisions pertaining to the depth chart caused enormous indigestion for many. The running backs had a rotation that went about five deep and the quarterback situation in particular had many fans’ stomachs in knots.

Neither Kirk Cousins nor Keith Nichol, a pair of sophomore quarterbacks, could pull away from the other. So they both got the nod with a word on the depth chart that, quite simply, made many people flip out: or. Dantonio just needs to choose one QB and stick with him, the refrain went. What’s he doing, the peanut gallery would ask, hurting the team by rotating those quarterbacks? He needs to just pick one already, he’s killing this team, we’d be 3-1, maybe 4-0 right now with a clear number one QB!

Bunk. Horse puckey. Total myth. First of all, for anyone who hadn’t been sleeping under a rock with slugs the first few weeks of the season, the passing game and on-field leadership — perhaps the two most important attributes one OR two quarterbacks bring to the field — were not lacking in the least. In fact, the team seemed to be and continues to excel in those areas.

No, the biggest reasons MSU fell for three straight weeks to Central Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin were because of a disappointing defense (the secondary in particular) and an inability to recreate the kind of devastating ground game that carried the offense in Dantonio’s first two seasons, a problem that is linked to the play of the offensive line unit and a corps of young running backs, not a set of rotating quarterbacks.

Now that Nichol is injured (and running back Glen Winston, too, to a certain extent) the mythical position controversy is finished. And we just might begin to see the wisdom in the way Dantonio handled the situation up to this point.

For instance, what happens now if Kirk Cousins begins to implode? He shouldn’t — after all, he seems steady as the day is long. But with the team’s bowl chances still hanging in limbo, where does Dantonio turn if Cousins has some kind of Tate Forcier moment?

The advantage of playing a pair of quarterbacks was that both were ready at the drop of a hat. Neither destroyed games when he entered or reentered a contest. Had the quarterback play been clearly lacking, that would have been a clear signal Dantonio really didn’t know what the heck he was doing. But for the most part, both players performed admirably, just like Dantonio said they would, and just like each promised he would do, selflessly assisting the team in whatever fashion possible, whether it’s starting and playing an entire game or taking a seat when the team appeared to need a pick-me-up from a different quarterback who might throw the opposing defense a bit of a curve ball.

Now if there’s an injury, what will the team do? Pull Andrew Maxwell’s redshirt, despite having a pair of starting caliber quarterbacks on the roster for two more seasons after this? Just gut it out with Cousins even if the offense struggles to move the ball? Imagine the bellows from the fan base if this team goes back into its shell and loses another string of games while Cousins does not play like the next coming of John Elway Montana Favre.

There was wisdom in Dantonio’s early season QB shuffle. There was a recognition that both players not only deserved time on the field, but by playing both of them, a strategic advantage could be held game-by-game, series-by-series, and, in addition, both players would be ready to step into the limelight should their singular duties be called upon.

Cousins is a better quarterback because of the experience he has had playing this season, experience that would have been non-existent had Dantonio listened to the yelps of panic from parts of the Spartan Nation. Instead, Dantonio has a seasoned, veteran QB to turn to, one with skills that have been tested on the field and nerves that have been hardened through the handling of an unconventional playing rotation.

The myth was that Dantonio didn’t know what he was doing this year, that his inability to select a quarterback was hurting the team and that his indecisiveness was destroying the season. After two straight wins, including one over arch rival Michigan, those accusations seem to have fallen flat. And now with only one ready body to turn to at QB, we all just might get to see how wise Dantonio really is.