Should mertens see the field as a WR?

[yippie]

At quarterback he has been a failure without a doubt. But, he is physically gifted as we have seen with his ability to run the ball this year. So why not give him a shot at WR where i think he could go in and easily be a number 2 receiver because gary williams and shamen have shown nothing this year.

[HandoEX]

YES! I hope he still sees the field somehow. He should defintely know the plays;)

I'd rather see him play TE since Veldman is out for at least the Mo State game.

[bisonmike2]

At quarterback he has been a failure without a doubt. But, he is physically gifted as we have seen with his ability to run the ball this year. So why not give him a shot at WR where i think he could go in and easily be a number 2 receiver because gary williams and shamen have shown nothing this year.

probably not since he is now our only non-redshirted backup. Mohler could come out and get hurt, Nick needs to be ready to fill in. Although a formation here or there with Nick as receiver would be interesting to see. Maybe as a WR screen and give the option to run or pass?

[tjbison]

Fullback:nod:

[LITTLEGUYSINGREEN]

At quarterback he has been a failure without a doubt. But, he is physically gifted as we have seen with his ability to run the ball this year. So why not give him a shot at WR where i think he could go in and easily be a number 2 receiver because gary williams and shamen have shown nothing this year.

Linebacker.......seriously.

[roadwarrior]

Walker lined up as a WR on a couple of plays against Miss Valley 2 years ago.

[yippie]

i just think seeing him at receiver will be another nice big target for jose to throw at, i mean if he drops balls its will be no different then any other receiver we have.

[bisonmike2]

i just think seeing him at receiver will be another nice big target for jose to throw at, i mean if he drops balls its will be no different then any other receiver we have.

jose's passes will be filled with happiness, sunshine and rainbows that will be impossible for any WR to drop.

[Gully]

I could see them throwing in a few trick plays to take advantage of his skills. It should be fun to see what they do. I hope them move Mohler around a bit.

[runtheoption]

Completely ignoring the fact he is our #2 QB...

I could see him play WR, TE, FB, or OLB. He is that good of an athlete. I would love to see him split wide on offense and come in on a good old fashioned crack back on a OLB or DE. He could knock someone out if they aren't looking.

[Leonardite]

probably not since he is now our only non-redshirted backup.

I'm sure we'd just preemptively pull the redshirt off of Ryan Smith so that DJ could play QB.

[yippie]

he is our #2 qb, but he has four games left in his senior year and is a excellent athlete i just hope he can play maybe 15 snaps a game at WR or something, i think he has earned it.

[Bison bison]

Wildcat - B#tches!

[bisontwice]

I hope he can get on the field somewhere but let's be realistic-he is now the backup QB and still needs to learn the game plan for the week as a QB. TE-I think there is little thing called blocking involved with that and same for the FB position. LB involves making some reads, drops and oh yeah-tackling. We tried DJ out there, who through no fault of his own, looked lost out there. WR-maybe, but doesn't exactly look that fleet of foot.

[G-city Bison Fan]

Wildcat - B#tches!

This I am okay with, but how terrible are our other Junior and Senior WR's that we are talking about Mertens playing over them. This isn't 9-man football, this shouldn't even be a damn discussion.*

*However, I realize it is, and I realize that Mertens is an "athlete" so wildcat away, why the hell not.

[NDSUstudent]

This I am okay with, but how terrible are our other Junior and Senior WR's that we are talking about Mertens playing over them. This isn't 9-man football, this shouldn't even be a damn discussion.*

*However, I realize it is, and I realize that Mertens is an "athlete" so wildcat away, why the hell not.

Well when you boot your #1 and #2 receiver off the team in spring ball what do you expect? That was on top of graduating the #1 and #2 receiver from the 2008 team.

[Kermit]

Well, the Bison receivers DO seem to be covered like a glove 9 times out of 10. Meanwhile the opponent's receivers are usually wide open with no defender within 3-4 yards. Damndest thing I've ever seen.

[G-city Bison Fan]

Well when you boot your #1 and #2 receiver off the team in spring ball what do you expect? That was on top of graduating the #1 and #2 receiver from the 2008 team.

This is true, I guess going into the season I didn't think we were as thin as I do now.

[SportsLover]

I hope he doesnt get to play at all. The only time he steps on the field is to shake hands before the game. He has gotten his chance. He isnt even that great of a runner. I havent seen him make someone miss once this year. Anybody on team could do just as good running. Its Jose's time!

[ndsubison1]

Wildcat - B#tches!

It's Always Sunny in Fargo!

[Jdubs21]

Either wildcat formation or put him at fullback

[NDSUstudent]

I think we'll see Nick on the sideline doing what he can to help the team win.

[DjKyRo]

With a legit QB and a stacked backfield NDSU can now become the Miami Dolphins, running the Wildcat exclusively. Though hopefully winning. They'll not know which way to tackle and NDSU will drop 80 on the....whatever the mascot of the team we're playing is.

[HooliganBison]

With a legit QB and a stacked backfield NDSU can now become the Miami Dolphins, running the Wildcat exclusively. Though hopefully winning. They'll not know which way to tackle and NDSU will drop 80 on the....whatever the mascot of the team we're playing is.

So why didn't we see the wildcat before?:blush: If the objective of a coach is to put players in position to make plays this should have been an obvious solution to our passing woes.

[NDSU1980]

To let Mertens back on the field sends the wrong signal. It tells the rest of the team that even if you are total failure at something we will let you keep trying something else.

Next thing you know, Bibeau will want to play defensive lineman.

[56BISON73]

To let Mertens back on the field sends the wrong signal. It tells the rest of the team that even if you are total failure at something we will let you keep trying something else.

Next thing you know, Bibeau will want to play defensive lineman.

Mertens wasnt a total failure. There were just a few things that he really didnt do very well that were really important if you want to be a successful QB in D1.
By playing him in a different capacity does not send that message at all.
He actually has some skill sets that would work pretty good in the wildcat formation.

[Kermit]

I hope he doesnt get to play at all. The only time he steps on the field is to shake hands before the game. He has gotten his chance. He isnt even that great of a runner. I havent seen him make someone miss once this year. Anybody on team could do just as good running. Its Jose's time!

Good point. Mertens is strong and he runs hard, but he doesn't appear to be very agile. He will be needed as the backup QB, otherwise if Jose goes down we will lose another redshirt.

[EndZoneQB]

Good point. Mertens is strong and he runs hard, but he doesn't appear to be very agile. He will be needed as the backup QB, otherwise if Jose goes down we will lose another redshirt.

Forget agility, what about speed, or lack there of?? If our current receivers can not create separation, how is our "QB" going to do it??

[yippie]

Forget agility, what about speed, or lack there of?? If our current receivers can not create separation, how is our "QB" going to do it??

You can create seperation through the use of good route running and being crisp out of breaks, im not saying he can do this, but what i am saying is it cant be any worse.

[EndZoneQB]

You can create seperation through the use of good route running and being crisp out of breaks, im not saying he can do this, but what i am saying is it cant be any worse.

But my point is that if he doesn't have the agility(like said in the post I quoted), then he needs the speed. One or the other my friend, atleast.

[MPLSbisonFAN]

At quarterback he has been a failure without a doubt. But, he is physically gifted as we have seen with his ability to run the ball this year. So why not give him a shot at WR where i think he could go in and easily be a number 2 receiver because gary williams and shamen have shown nothing this year.

This is stupid, maybe tight end or fullback. Thats it. He can NOT play WR. He is not fast or quick enough to get separation from a DB. Running as a QB is by far the easiest way to run especially when the D is focusing on the pass, and there is an extra blocker. This is a joke. You say he runs well, where in the open field making all those people miss? Get realistic, I too wouldn't mind seeing him on the field somewhere, but not at WR. I also don't see this happening because he is still our backup and one play away from being the guy again.

[met1990]

This is stupid, maybe tight end or fullback. Thats it. He can NOT play WR. He is not fast or quick enough to get separation from a DB.

I'm sorry, but how many of the current wide receivers have shown the ability to get separation from a db?

[Kevin]

I'd like to see Mertens run the end around like we've been using Voit and Sigers for. He runs hard, and plays tough.

[Tatanka]

I'm sorry, but how many of the current wide receivers have shown the ability to get separation from a db?

0.00 :smh:

[MPLSbisonFAN]

I'm sorry, but how many of the current wide receivers have shown the ability to get separation from a db?

Good point, and they are a hell of alot faster and quicker than mertens and have been playing the position for years. I've seen gary williams get great separation and mertens miss the throw (GW wide open down the sidelines last game and he throws him out of bounds). I stand behind my thoughts of him being a terrible WR.

[bisonmike2]

0.00 :smh:

One time we had WR streaking up the sideline against SDSU. Ball was almost thrown into the crowd.:hide:

[Tatanka]

One time we had WR streaking up the sideline against SDSU. Ball was almost thrown into the crowd.:hide:

Well, yes. I suppose my answer was based on our ability to get the ball to a WR that had created said separation. Looking for this to improve.

However, it's pretty clear that our WRs don't run crisp or precise routes. Youth, maybe, lack of confidence in QB, maybe, talent, maybe. Either way, looking for this to improve.

[DjKyRo]

I wouldn't mind seeing him line up at fullback now and again, maybe behind Vandal on the two-deep. He's shown the ability to flat-out steamroll people, so we should use that while we can.

[NDSUstudent]

I'm sure Nick is disappointed in losing the starting spot but his experience is still invaluable. I hope he does his best to help Jose improve and get better, at least that is where I think he could make the biggest impact.

[EndZoneQB]

Just heard bohl address this a little. Pretty much played it off. Also sounded like Mohler should have been playing the whole year lol said he is "about 2 steps faster" than Mertens and has some "special ability". Talked pretty highly of him for starting the statement with "I'm going to be guarded, as I am a Nick Mertens fan". If a coach is a fan of someone, isn't that where things go wrong too tho? I mean, it can get in the way of the truth, can it not?

[NDSUFan_Sav]

0.00 :smh:

gary williams 90+ yard td ring a bell :)

[NDSUFan_Sav]

Just heard bohl address this a little. Pretty much played it off. Also sounded like Mohler should have been playing the whole year lol said he is "about 2 steps faster" than Mertens and has some "special ability". Talked pretty highly of him for starting the statement with "I'm going to be guarded, as I am a Nick Mertens fan". If a coach is a fan of someone, isn't that where things go wrong too tho? I mean, it can get in the way of the truth, can it not?

also said there is the thing called the wildcat

[DjKyRo]

So Bohl's saying Mohler is a whale of a quarterback?