Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Manley factor

I want to come out and say I think the Aggies should start Andrew Manley the remainder of the season.

Why not?

The team got a win, so they got that taken care of. Will they be able to win a few more games this year? I think they can win one or two more. Will it matter if it’s Manley or Matt Christian starting under center? Judging from how Manley threw the ball last Saturday — I know it was a small sample size, two passes — but I still don’t think so.

I think it will be a valuable experience for him to start. Manley is the future of the Aggie program.

Here’s the thing with Andrew, though. He’s going to throw interceptions. And he’s going to be up and down.

And lets not mistake last Saturday’s game. The Lobos are a terrible team. The only program comparable to UNM the rest of the way on NMSU’s schedule is San Jose State. So it will be tough sledding for Manley if he does start from here on out.

But he showed exactly what you want in a pressure situation — poise, confidence and no fear. And he’s got a nice arm — he zipped that pass down to Marcus Allen inside the 10-yard line to set up the winning field goal.

I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Manley since fall practice. My opinions didn’t change the other night.

8 comments:

Sam said...

I'm with you on having Manley start the remainder of the season, yes it was only two passes but one of the two passes was a thing of beauty that like I've been saying this whole week, was a pass we haven't seen from an Aggie QB since the Chase Holbrook era.

That being said, last year Jeff Fleming did almost exactly the same thing that Manley did. Came in cold off the bench in the 4th quarter and led the Aggies to a game-winning drive. (Fleming did have one drive right before the game-winner).

Fleming is also no longer an Aggie...

But definitely count me on the Manley bandwagon.

Anonymous said...

I like Manley as our starting QB.
Man, he reminds me a lot of Chase Holbrook!

We have a very good line protecting him and we have a decent running game.
With his arm, the offense can be pretty balanced.

He's the future of the program. Please give him the experience he needs to get us in the right direction.

Jefe

Anonymous said...

I'd like to see Manley too, but I think you can't throw the injured starter to the wolves either.

Maybe give them both some time behind center.

Anonymous said...

Manley did a good job Saturday and I agree the sideline pass for 21 was very nice but what about Christian? I think he has done a very nice job to date against some pretty good teams. What is his status injury wise? If he is hurt, then Manley should certainly start, if not, I'm not so sure. I guess the best thing to say is the aggies have a couple of pretty good young prospects at QB.

Anonymous said...

By Manley starting and also the Wallace (O line) and I know there are a hand full of other freshmen starting.
It shows the Aggies are recruiting talented kids that can come in play right away.

Most freshmen red shirt at other schools.
However, NMSU can go to into a living room and sell them on playing right away and they have proof to go along with the sales pitch.

CDW is building this thing from the ground up. Give him time!

Vic

Anonymous said...

Christian did not show anything impressive in the first 3 games. Nothing. I say go with Manley. He has a history (high school) from taking his first start on varsity, winning and taking the team to the state championships three years in a row, winning 2. I say let the Young Pup show what he's got. He is the future of the Aggies.

Anonymous said...

Best crowd in a long time. Everyone was on their feet for the last 5 minutes of the game and that was due to Manley. If they would have left Rush in, people would have started to leave to beat the traffic. It was an awesome finish to a relatively boring game. Lets give him a shot Coach Walker!

Anonymous said...

so now they throw manley out there against fresno for three series and he is out. so the coach used him up to end unm game and for three series with fsu. what a horrible way to manage his first year as a head coach. stupid. so now he stands and watches from the sideline again but this time he has used up his year. what the heck.