Hundley talked about not being nervous starting his first game. He said it was just football, no different than practice or playing in a T-giving game with family. This was pure BS, he was using talk to compensate for the fact he was scared crapless. Guys about to play well in their first games will never say stuff like this.
Hundley has been the deer caught in the headlights. He knows this stuff cold; but the collar gets tighter in the bright lights. Having his 1st start at home and 2nd on Monday at home didn’t do Hundley any favors. Some never learn to control the nerves; but his steady improvement from game to game shows the game is slowing for him. Hundley’s general nonchalance was probably misread by the staff a bit as guy who’d be as cool as a cucumber under fire. As it turned out his calm demeanor was concealing mental emotions bouncing off the walls like many GB forum posters after Rodgers went down. There’s only one way to tell what a QB will do under fire in a game or in crunch as opposed to practice, preseason or mop-up duty.
When BH is struggling he’s thinking too much, trying to be too perfect, too Rodgers-like and he’s not trusting the play and/or the route. You cant take a fraction to look to see if a guy is open and then throw the ball, it has to be a non-thinking spontaneous reaction. Against Bears there were 2 outs thrown in first half, where he took a split second to make sure the WR was open and this could have been 2 pick 6s, we were fortunate.
When he can play with an unencumbered mind his talent and ability to play to speed shines; his release is a half beat faster, his feet reset naturally like toward end of Lions game, his 4th Q play today, his TD to Adams, the long 3rd down pass and the TD pass to Monty that was dropped in Minny or NO game [I forget].
Hundley’s late success v. Minnesota was garbage time. But, some unfairly downplay Hundley’s play in 4th Q of Lions game when they identified that as “garbage time;” but nothing could be further from the truth. Garbage time comes when the D plays soft; but the Lions NEVER did this. They played single deep safety and aggressively the ENTIRE time and kept blitzing a lot. The Lions were playing their D and Hundley was having success against it. Hundley knowing the game was over, knowing an INT couldn’t do any further damage was just playing football, to use his words.
There may be a set back or two, but I expect Hundley’s play will continue to become more instinctual; that he’ll trust the receivers and the play and can fire completions to guys with a half step of separation. Then as the game continues to slow down for him he can throw pinpoint balls to guys in certain spots that seem blanketed.