Sooners proving two-QB system can work

Sports

October 20, 2012

Sooners proving two-QB system can work

Evan Grice The Duncan Banner The Duncan Banner Sat Oct 20, 2012, 11:24 PM CDT

NORMAN — On a night where Oklahoma celebrated homecoming, the Sooners continued to show something a lot of teams could learn from, and possibly use in the future: A successful two-quarterback system.

Now while all the talk these days is about how the New York Jets should balance between Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, the debating has brought little success. Contrary to that is coach Bob Stoops and his staff, who have shown a two-quarterback system can not only work, but bring with it powerful results.

Let’s examine what the Sooners have created thus far.

Landry Jones is clearly the finesse of this two-headed monster, with the ability to throw passes like a thing of beauty, with accuracy and precision to boot. Blake Bell, meanwhile, is the muscle of the two quarterbacks, choosing to run around, and sometimes through, defenders to get yardage and plenty of touchdowns.

A perfect example of Jones’ gracefulness came with the first touchdown of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, when he connected with Kenny Stills for a 44-yard bomb. While the catch was just as great to watch as the throw itself, there’s no denying Jones has the touch most pro coaches dream of in a quarterback. While his second touchdown was from a much shorter distance, Jones still managed to have the accuracy. Finally, with his third touchdown pass of the evening to Trey Millard, Jones just simply stayed calm and connected with his receiver over the middle.

At the same time that Jones does deserve a lot of credit for how well he plays as a quarterback and leads by example, the same could also be said for his core group of receivers who make the catches necessary to complete the plays, and sometimes the touchdowns.

As far as Bell is concerned, even on a 1-yard touchdown run, the “Belldozer” still put his head down and hit someone, sending a message he is anything but a soft quarterback. However, Bell might have made his biggest mark the previous week against the Longhorns of Texas. Running for four touchdowns in the Red River Shootout is a statement which commands respect, no matter which side you are on.

A clear difference in the way the Sooners conduct themselves from those in the NFL and other programs is that they never make it seem like there is a quarterback controversy of any kind. Fans and coaches alike have just grown accustomed to seeing both Bell and Jones play their respective positions, all be it in two completely different roles.

Now while Kansas is nowhere near the caliber of team Notre Dame is, there’s no doubt the Sooners are going to need everything Bell, Jones and the rest of the squad have in order to knock the Fighting Irish from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Could it be that Bob Stoops and his staff have solved a problem which has plagued all brands of football for years on end? Should the Sooners continue to be successful this season, might this become the trend for future teams that wear the crimson and cream or become the standard for other programs? Only time will tell for these answers, but the bright side is the football should be exciting to watch.

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