Mike Griffith of AJC thinks App 2007 better than 2016 team

[Yosef10]

Not saying this to detract from anything AE did, only to highlight what a stud TL is: he broke AE's single season TD record....as a sophomore. Obviously he's not quite the athlete AE was and they bring different skill sets to the table. I think the 2016 team is better as a whole but it would be fun to see the '07 O go against the '16 D

He only broke AE's PASSING TD record. Not to downplay the accomplishment, but AE had something like another 10 or 15 rushing TDs on top of that. Taylor Lamb isn't quite the offensive juggernaut that AE was just yet, but he's still learning.

Hence me saying TL isn't quite the athlete AE was. Once again, he did it as a sophomore. But like I said, it wasn't a knock on AE, just putting things in perspective.

[Appftw]

Not saying this to detract from anything AE did, only to highlight what a stud TL is: he broke AE's single season TD record....as a sophomore. Obviously he's not quite the athlete AE was and they bring different skill sets to the table. I think the 2016 team is better as a whole but it would be fun to see the '07 O go against the '16 D

He only broke AE's PASSING TD record. Not to downplay the accomplishment, but AE had something like another 10 or 15 rushing TDs on top of that. Taylor Lamb isn't quite the offensive juggernaut that AE was just yet, but he's still learning.

Hence me saying TL isn't quite the athlete AE was. Once again, he did it as a sophomore. But like I said, it wasn't a knock on AE, just putting things in perspective.

AE's Junior year : 30 pass TD 11 Rush TD
TL's sophomore year : 31 pass TD 5 Rush TD

Definitely interesting, and TL probably doesn't get the credit he deserves. I've even heard our fans talking about how "He'll make a great coach some day"... seriously?? The guy has a real shot at the NFL if he keeps improving.

[EastHallApp]

I was among many (and I refuse to believe we were delusional) who felt like AE could have played FBS level QB for many schools. His slight build could have gotten him beaten up a bit but he could really play.

I have no doubt of this. Put him on any spread team and he would have excelled. I fully believe that you could have plugged him into Florida's lineup in those years in place of Tebow and they'd still have been a national title contender.

[bh2oson]

CMP ATT INT YDS CMP% TD No. Yds. avg TD
AE 315 496 17 4199 63.5% 32 425 2741 6.4 36
TL 351 578 18 4768 60.7% 48 163 919 5.6 9

Just to compare the 2 in their first 2 seasons. More yards and TDs passing for Taylor and more rushing yards and TDS for AE. I can't wait to see what the next 2 years have in store for Lamb.

[Yosef10]

I was among many (and I refuse to believe we were delusional) who felt like AE could have played FBS level QB for many schools. His slight build could have gotten him beaten up a bit but he could really play.

I have no doubt of this. Put him on any spread team and he would have excelled. I fully believe that you could have plugged him into Florida's lineup in those years in place of Tebow and they'd still have been a national title contender.

I agree. Today he would have his pick of any P5. Unfortunately for AE I think he was *just* a little before his time. The spread was still in its infancy and not widely used when he was coming along. If any of you guys are familiar with Lamar Jackson at Louisville, he reminds me a lot of AE.

[AtlAppMan]

AE was a gamer who always showed up in the big games. TL does a lot of great stuff and is a different style but still needs to show me he can take it to the next level in the biggest stage. I think he will.

Now in all fairness most of AE's stats were against FCS competition albeit he does have great performances against the best FCS had to offer in playoff runs. TL is playing against FBS comp.

[SpeedkingATL]

The 20O7 Mountaineers were truly special team...lets hope the 2016 edition is too!

[bigdaddyg]

AE was a gamer who always showed up in the big games. TL does a lot of great stuff and is a different style but still needs to show me he can take it to the next level in the biggest stage. I think he will.

Now in all fairness most of AE's stats were against FCS competition albeit he does have great performances against the best FCS had to offer in playoff runs. TL is playing against FBS comp.

Truely loved watching AE but he did a lot of damage against some crap defenses. In my mind he was an FBS caliber QB playing FCS and that certainly helped his numbers. Sometimes his xompletion %'s were like a video game. We also need to consider that behind TL is a man who could finish his career as the best back in the schools history. How many times did AE just take off on designed runs?

[S.Lewis15]

If Taylor Lamb can dial in his deep ball, not underthrowing or overthrowing open guys, I think that's all he needs to do to improve his game. He doesn't have the greatest arm strength but having the touch is sometimes all a QB needs.

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[AtlAppMan]

What Mike will look like about 11:00pm Thursday night after the 'neers upset the Vols.

What!!! I guess they are better than '07

We gotta have some fun. It is less than a week away from opening night on National TV!!

[T-Dog]

2006 would beat 2007 IMO.

If both played the 2016 team ten times, 2016 would beat 2006 and 2007 seven or eight times due to depth and rotation.