I would say that we have seen a nice set of mid-range passes from GMac, but most of the long plays have been heavy on the YAC, and most of the real downfield stuff has been slow or underthrown, and just lucky to beat poor coverage [Arkansas game to Juio for TD, for example].

How about his 30-yarder to Hanks, 40-yarder to Maze and 20-yarder to Peek against Virginia Tech? His 45 yard TD to Maze against North Texas? His 55 yard TD to Jones or his 80 yard TD to Maze against Arkansas? How about his 30 yarder to Hanks or his 20 yarder to Peek against Kentucky? What about his 40 yard pass to Maze out of our own end zone against LSU? Or the perfect 25-yard touchdown throw to Hanks against LSU? The two 50 yarders against MSU, one to Hanks and the other for a touchdown to Julio? The 45 yard pass to Hanks and the 20 yarder to Julio against UT Chattanooga? Or perhaps the 30 yard TD pass to Peek against Auburn? And let’s not forget, the amazing (and, according to some of our regulars, “ugly”) drive with all those “dink and dunk” passes that won us that game.

You might refute this by pointing out mistakes he has made this season, or by claiming that on some of these plays the receivers were wide open (which on most of these plays is simply not true, I will add). Well, guess what? Even Peyton Manning makes mistakes. Brett Favre is the all-time interception leader. Every quarterback who has ever played a season has overthrown a lot of receivers.

I will now point to his stats. 16 TDs, 4 INTs, 60.8%, QB Rating: 138.7, 180/296 for 2211 yards
Now here’s Peyton Manning from his freshman and sophomore campaigns:
Freshman – 11 TDs, 6 INTs, 61.8%, 89/144 for 1141 yards
Sophomore – 22 TDs, 4 INTs, 64.2%, 244/380 for 2954 yards

Of course, I’m not saying he’s as good as Peyton Manning. I’m sure he is not. But what are we fans complaining about when we complain about McElroy? That he’s NOT Peyton Manning? Honestly, I have no clue. It may be that when he makes good things happen, the fans on this blog downplay it (“any competent QB could’ve done that,” etc.) to the point where people believe that his downfield pass successes are the exception to the rule just because they’ve heard it over and over again. And when he messes up, it gets magnified, and OTS ends up breaking each failure down on youtube. I have no idea.

Conclusion: McElroy “can throw down field really well.” (And I realize I went a little broader than that. I know you like McElroy, so please don’t take the stuff regarding general criticism of him as addressed to you personally.)