Drew Olson - Week 8

Before this season, I didn't normally watch NFL Europa games. I'm not a big fan of the professional leagues and usually only watch the pros to see former Bruins in action. I have to admit, though, I've gained an affinity for the Amsterdam Admirals since Drew has been their starting quarterback. Usually, I don't care much if the team wins, just as long as Olson looks good; but this week I found myself getting excited as they raced down the field to try and score in the final seconds. It was a thrilling week full of crazy plays, bundles of points, and a wild finish.

This wasn't a particularly good week for Drew. He connected on 25 of 47 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers sound pretty good, except when you also note that he threw two other touchdown passes... to the wrong team. In both halves, Olson threw passes that were intercepted and returned for touchdowns.

It was ultimately a difference maker in the game as Drew and the Admirals came up just short of winning this week: 38-41. He almost got them back into it by leading his team on a scoring drive in the final seconds of the 2nd half. He even managed to connect on this miraculous 2-point conversion where he somehow found a receiver, throwing back across his body, as he was knocked out of bounds. All of it was for naught, though, as the Admirals couldn't recover the ensuing on-side kick

Drew had a weird week where good passes would get dropped by his receivers and some bad passes would get bailed out by pass-interference calls. He struggled again with accuracy on long passes and that slowed down the Admirals effort to get back into the game. Consistency has been a problem all year and this game was almost like a microcosm of the season. You just never know what type of play you'll get from him each week or even each possession.