Washington Football key to victory: Jake Browning touchdown passing

While the nation oohs and ahhs over top rated quarterbacks, the Washington Football team plugs away with quarterback Jake Browning. Still, to win a championship, that TD tossing ability of Browning remains the key for the Huskies this season

Washington football quarterback Jake Browning is not a name you hear often on the national circuit. On one hand, he’s not as flashy as other Pac-12 gunslinging hurlers. On the other hand, he’s not in the right time zone to be picked up by regional news and flashed as a national Cinderella story.

No, he is just a throw-back-to-the-old-days-ball-control quarterback. A game manager who can get the ball to the right receiver.  A blue collar kid whose work ethic demands head-down, remain-focused, make-time-in-pocket, until he can throw a pass to the open man.

But to win a national championship, the Washington football team needs Jake Browning to remain that unsexy, disciplined, great-reads-and-judgement-in-the-pocket quarterback. After all, that’s how he delivers touchdowns. Only touchdowns.

Contrarian Opinion

And tonight, I expect him to deliver.  But I’m on a limb on this one.  Saturday Blitz Matthew Bartlett takes the opposing view in this writeup.  He terms it this way:

"“3. Jake Browning struggles There have been a lot of Pac-12 quarterbacks catching NFL Draft chatter this season but Jake Browning has not been one of them. He’s a junior, so he has another year to build some draft capital, and he’s going to need it. Browning is averaging 2.3 touchdowns per game. Those numbers are down from 3.1 touchdowns per contest a season ago.”"

And there it is. The narrative without substance, without evidence.

Au contraire’ mon frere’!

Rebuttal

As Bartlett talks about “struggles” and “not as sharp”, I have to wonder who he thinks he is watching?  While Browning may not be leading the Pac-12 in passing yards per game, (he is seventh of twelve), he DOES lead the entire conference in passing efficiency among active quarterbacks (Oregon’s Herbert leads, but is injured). And his 14 passing touchdowns is third in the Pac-12.  Tell me again, how many games do you win by gaining more yards anyways?

Stripe Hype

Washington leads the Pac-12 in scoring offense at 43.0 points per game.  So if the offense is scoring so much, what is the criteria? Style points?  Browning may not float or twirl, but he rolls up his sleeves and “gits ‘er done!”.

Dig deeper if you come at Browning, please. By the fourth quarter, the Washington Huskies sit upon commanding leads. Anyone who knows head coach Chris Petersen knows he does not kick the opponent when they are down.  That means, Browning usually gets three quarters per game to add to his stats.

Good defense does not mean struggling quarterback

It should not be a penalty to be a quarterback on a team which does not play shootouts each week. If that is the case, remove any offensive player from Heisman discussions if they play alongside a strong defense.

The truth is that strong defenses usually happen from strong mistake free offense.  There is a symbiosis between an offense that doesn’t hurt the defense and a defense which sets up the offense. Washington is such a team this season.

Back to Browning

No, Jake Browning is not popular unless you follow the Washington Football team. It’s easy to play the highlight reel each week, not see Browning, and conclude he is not worthy of discussing.

But let’s clear that up right now.

Point I – Jake Browning has thrown a touchdown in each of the last 20 consecutive games.

Let’s start here. Name a college quarterback who has thrown a touchdown in each of the last 20 games? Jake Browning. Just him right now. And he does it so easily, so effortlessly, that it’s not something anyone talks about.

That is a TD pass against every opponent – including Alabama.  That is a TD pass no matter who was or was not on the field receiving, or defending.  The record is huge, and he does it each week.  So tell me again how he struggles.  He only throws TD passes, that’s all.

Point II – Jake Browning doesn’t throw INTs

While Jake Browning throws touchdowns, he does not throw interception. So far this year, he’s thrown three. Only five Pac-12 quarterbacks have thrown fewer (all tied at two), but none have attempted over 165 passes (Browning attempted 173 so far) and none have thrown for more than eight touchdowns (Browning has thrown for 14 so far).

No Heisman? No problem

So while the Heisman chatter continues over Sam Darnold (12 TDs 10 INTs), Josh Rosen (17 TDs 5 INTs) and Luke Falk (19 TDs 7 INTs – but not including Cal game), Browing plods along with 14 TDs and just 3 INTs. And he is not in the discussion. Go figure.

Point III – No “Late Game Heroics” needed, but don’t conclude they are not there

The mindset of some folks befuddles me. So many follow the late game heroics of other quarterbacks. But dig folks. If you are playing from behind at the end of the game, you fell behind during the game, didn’t you.

Related Story: Come on, cupcake. Any Washington Huskies fans up for FanSided’s Fan of the Year?

Nobody sees late game heroics from Jake Browning because ,frankly, he doesn’t throw picks which result in points for the opponent and the Washington defense is very good. But that cannot lead anyone to conclude Browning can’t win games. I have never seen China. So, that country never existed. See how stupid that sounds?

Jake the Snake is coming for ASU

The media has not been giving the Washington Football team much in the way of favorable press. To the contrary, the broadcast booth from ESPN actually delivered the opposite message to the nation about the Washington Football team last week amidst a sound thrashing of the California Golden Bears. Soft team, cantankerous coach was their message. Meanwhile the Huskies dismantled the Golden Bears.

But this week, the team will likely play a tad more angrily.

You see, the ESPN has another Washington Football game scheduled for the late late show on the east coast. It is what it is. I had initially predicted this to be a very close game for the Washington Huskies months ago.

Upset this weekend? You bet Washington is upset this weekend!

Now? Not so much. Two nationally ranked teams (Clemson and Washington State University) were upset on Friday, October 13, 2017.  But beyond that, Washington enters this week… perturbed. Perhaps even perturbed enough not to take their foot off the gas if or when they get a large lead late in the game.

Jake Browning, and the Washington Football team has a reputation of being a nice quarterback playing on a nice cupcake-soft-schedule team. I fear that changes this week, at the expense of the Sun Devils.

Field General Browning

I’ve said it before. Browning is a field general. What does that mean exactly? Well, Browning has face tough pass rushes, and tough pass defenses. Still, he finds a way to win. But he does so with incredible poise and discipline.

I have little interest in a quarterback who slings the ball all over the field, never knowing if it will come down for a touchdown, or in the hands of a defender.  The media loves the gunslinger. They lose games.

Browning plays it close. But that is not to say he won’t get a long score.  Check out this stat from PFF:

Struggling quarterbacks panic. Browning rises up to the challenge folks.

Browning needs better press

Perhaps that lack of notoriety of Jake Browning in the national discussion is something I am partially responsible for. After all, I cover the Washington Footbal team and it’s my responsibility to get the word on on this team and it’s players.

Well, whether I am or am not responsible, I will be upping my coverage of Jake Browning. He may not get a Heisman, but he deserves to be in that discussion.  And for the Washington Football team to find success this year, it will not be on the backs of the defense alone.

The key to winning games and earning an invitation the the NCAA playoffs this season is the touchdown tossing ability of Jake Browning. Ultimately, he will face that come-from-behind-moment.  When it happens, I expect him to deliver the win.

Next: How do you catch the game Washington at Arizona State?

For now, this week is a road game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. And the cool and collected precision passing of quarterback may not be the case today. He may unload his passing fury upon a vulnerable Arizona State pass defense.

After all, that’s one way to get better media.