I'm not buying into the "Jantz hasn't been the same since he injured his ankle" argument at all.
Go back to the posts after the UNI game. I think we quickly forget that Jantz stunk it up for 3 1/2 quarters of that game. And he went 0-4 with 3 INTs on his first 4 throws of the UCONN game, or something like that, all BEFORE he injured his ankle at the end of the 1st half of the UCONN game.
Jantz has shown the ability at times to make plays that probably only he can make. That is a fact. That is what is so exciting about him.
HOWEVER, he has made crucial mistakes time and time again that have really cost his team. I think the coaching staff just kept thinking he would eventually get over making these stupid mistakes, but we're now 7 games into the season and and he comes out and throws WAY too high on his first throw of the game, which lead to yet another first drive turnover. That was not a difficult throw at all, probably around 8 yds or so, and Lenz jumped as high as he could and could only manage to barely get a hand on it.
The coaching staff then gave Jantz another chance, and he gets a ball tipped and nearly intercepted again.... followed up by a 10 yd throw to Money that Money had no chance of even getting a hand on. It was just too much for Rhoads to stomach any longer at that point, and I don't blame him a bit.
Barnett showed yesterday that he's WAY more accurate than Jantz, if only the WR's could catch a ball for him. I'm not saying Barnett is great, but he allowed us to stay in the ballgame. And remember, Barnett had to come into the game cold off the bench. I thought he did pretty well for being thrown into such a tough situation. He didn't get the luxury of his first playing time coming against UNI like Jantz did.... he got Texas A&M. He looked like he was really in control and not afraid of anything at all. And the coaches weren't afraid to let Barnett throw down the field either, like they were with Tiller. I think they have a lot of faith in Barnett's passing ability.
So, yes, Jantz might have an ankle that hurts, although he seems to run on it just as good as he ever has IMO. But the fact is... Jantz was bad before he hurt his ankle too. He leads the nation in turnovers for crying out loud. He was horrible for over 3 quarters against UNI, and threw 3 INTs in the first quarter against UCONN all before getting injured. He played pretty well against Iowa, although accounted for 2 fumbles in that game too.
The ankle is just an excuse being used by Jantz apologists IMO. The fact is, Jantz on occasions this year has come back to win games that he almost cost us in the first place. As I said, he can make some amazing plays now and again, but his inconsistency just can't be overcome every single week.
I really think next year will be a battle between Barnett and Richardson. Time to look to the future. Jantz has a trait that is sometimes good for QB's to have and sometimes bad IMO. He has the ability to tune out the last play he just made and not let it affect him. However, I think that same trait also means he has the propensity to make those same mistakes over and over again because he doesn't seem to learn from them and realize how critically they cost his team.
Let's ride Barnett and see what he can do with some actual game preparation for a week. Maybe at some point we'll need to go back to Jantz if Barnett isn't progressing, so maybe Jantz should keep his head in the game too, in case we need him. Just a thought.
