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Running versus Passing against the Falcons


finknottle

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There's a number of people who thought we should have run more - fair enough.

 

On the other hand, on the question of whether Losman was really ready to play, there's a number of people who argue that his gaining game experience is more important than putting the quarterback out there who is best right now.

 

My question is this. The Atlanta game offered Losman to work on perhaps the most important skill a quarterback can have: the ability to pick on the corners and exploit mismatches in the secondary. We are never going to face another situation where the secondary personnel was in such disarray. Ought we not have let him go at it, for the sake of his development if nothing else?

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There's a number of people who thought we should have run more - fair enough.

 

On the other hand,  on the question of whether Losman was really ready to play,  there's a number of people who argue that his gaining game experience is more important than putting the quarterback out there who is best right now.

 

My question is this.  The Atlanta game offered Losman to work on perhaps the most important skill a quarterback can have:  the ability to pick on the corners and exploit mismatches in the secondary.  We are never going to face another situation where the secondary personnel was in such disarray.  Ought we not have let him go at it, for the sake of his development if nothing else?

457123[/snapback]

 

Absolutely not....if it comes down to winning the game vs. JP's development, you WIN THE GAME. Willis was running all over the place....we should have stuck with it, tied it up, and then run him some more in overtime.

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Absolutely not....if it comes down to winning the game vs. JP's development, you WIN THE GAME. Willis was running all over the place....we should have stuck with it, tied it up, and then run him some more in overtime.

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Then why not start Holcomb? Or keep Bledsoe?

 

PS Willis running all over the place vs DVD running all over the place even more effectively spells a short game and a loss.

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were the corners in disarray when they played Philly?

457132[/snapback]

 

No, the guys Atlanta had on the field the other day (with the exception of Hall) weren't even on Atlanta's team when they played Philly.

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My question is this.  The Atlanta game offered Losman to work on perhaps the most important skill a quarterback can have:  the ability to pick on the corners and exploit mismatches in the secondary.  We are never going to face another situation where the secondary personnel was in such disarray.  Ought we not have let him go at it, for the sake of his development if nothing else?

457123[/snapback]

 

One one-thousand, two one-thous....doh! :D

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One one-thousand, two one-thous....doh! :w00t:

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The line wasn't great, but a lot of that is on JP (and some is on the RBs). He has to recognize when and where the blitz is coming from and get rid of the ball. This is the same problem Bledsoe had. A QB that makes quick decisions and gets rid of the ball quickly makes his line look much better.

 

Just look at Brady, I don't know how many times I've seen defensive players come at him totally unblocked only for him to make a throw and hit his WR for a first down. Sometimes a QB has a split second to make a decision, know where his WR is going to be and throw the ball.

 

No, I'm not expecting JP to be able to do this just yet, but its not always the OL's fault. It’s a numbers game. The line can only block 5 guys at any one point. After that its up to the backs and QB to make the read and do what needs to be done.

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Then why not start Holcomb?  Or keep Bledsoe?

 

PS  Willis running all over the place vs DVD running all over the place even more effectively spells a short game and a loss.

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I"m not saying we don't develop JP.....I'm saying that if the situation comes down like it did in Atlanta (i.e. behind in the fourth quarter), I think you go with what works. Willis clearly gives us the better chance to tie the score and win the game. If Willis is running the ball, maybe JP doesn't fumble the ball (after getting hit in .9 seconds :w00t: )....maybe he doesn't throw the pick....

 

I want them to take shots with JP and work on his development, but not in a situation like this past weekend.

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I"m not saying we don't develop JP.....I'm saying that if the situation comes down like it did in Atlanta (i.e. behind in the fourth quarter), I think you go with what works. Willis clearly gives us the better chance to tie the score and win the game. If Willis is running the ball, maybe JP doesn't fumble the ball (after getting hit in .9 seconds  :w00t:  )....maybe he doesn't throw the pick....

 

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I would have liked to have seen some play-action deep passes in the 4th quarter too. Even if JP wasn’t accurate with his throws there was a solid chance of a PI call with the CBs the Falcon’s had on the field.

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I would have liked to have seen some play-action deep passes in the 4th quarter too.  Even if JP wasn’t accurate with his throws there was a solid chance of a PI call with the CBs the Falcon’s had on the field.

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Absolutely....and I'm not advocating that we run Willis every down....but 6 carries in the fourth when he was averaging 5 ypc?? But yeah, I think some shots down field would have been a great idea, too.

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The line wasn't great, but a lot of that is on JP (and some is on the RBs).  He has to recognize when and where the blitz is coming from and get rid of the ball.  This is the same problem Bledsoe had.  A QB that makes quick decisions and gets rid of the ball quickly makes his line look much better. 

 

Just look at Brady, I don't know how many times I've seen defensive players come at him totally unblocked only for him to make a throw and hit his WR for a first down.  Sometimes a QB has a split second to make a decision, know where his WR is going to be and throw the ball. 

 

No, I'm not expecting JP to be able to do this just yet, but its not always the OL's fault.  It’s a numbers game.  The line can only block 5 guys at any one point.  After that its up to the backs and QB to make the read and do what needs to be done.

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Yeah, I agree. :w00t:

 

But the unfortunate thing is that JP appears to be so busy looking for the pass rush that his down-the-field vision and timing are getting totally screwed up. The DCs are taking advantage of this by running so many stunts/blitzs that he and the OL are spinning like tops.

 

If they could get Campbell out of supporting the OTs in blocking and back into the passing game, maybe JP would have a better relief option. I'd like to see them put Peters in on two TE sets and have MC get more involved in the passing game.

 

That said, the pass rush Sunday was not going to let JP exploit the Falcons banged up secondary. And as MM said, they were trying to keep Vick off the field by winning the time of posession game.

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were the corners in disarray when they played Philly?

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I believe they were at full strength, except they lost a backup corner Mathis when he and Jemeriah Trotter were ejected for fighting.

 

They went into the season with 5 cb's and none on the practice squad. For the Bills game, starter Webster and backups Mathis and Rossum were out, leaving them only with starter DeAngelo Hall and a backup Morton. The week before the game they signed some guy named Cash, who had been released by Detroit. So during the game, when Hall got injured they featured a backup at one spot, a one-week veteren on the team who had been released by the Lions at the other, and no cornerbacks to cover extra receivers.

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Then why not start Holcomb?  Or keep Bledsoe?

 

PS  Willis running all over the place vs DVD running all over the place even more effectively spells a short game and a loss.

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Too late for that now. We cannot go back once the season started. At this point I would be exteremely disappointed if they sat JP before game 10. They made the choice now they have to coach him and stick with it, unless he gets hurt. He looks bad, but he needs to suck it up and either learn, or we probably will be getting Leinart next year.

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Too late for that now.  We cannot go back once the season started.  At this point I would be exteremely disappointed if they sat JP before game 10.  They made the choice now they have to coach him and stick with it, unless he gets hurt.  He looks bad, but he needs to suck it up and either learn, or we probably will be getting Leinart next year.

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That's precisely my point. If we're gonna commit to his development, then because of this freak situation in the defensive personnel we should have had him airing it out in the second half rather than handing off more. Better he practice recognizing real-game coverage mismatches here than later against the Pats...

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That's precisely my point.  If we're gonna commit to his development, then because of this freak situation in the defensive personnel we should have had him airing it out in the second half rather than handing off more.  Better he practice recognizing real-game coverage mismatches here than later against the Pats...

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No, you have him "practice" real world. That doesn't meean throwing 50 yard bombs every play. This isn't madden and that isn't how a QB develops. This is one of my complaints with the coaches. He should be taught to throw the short stuff, slants, etc... and stop looking down his receiver. He has got to learn to check off. Drew may have been slow at it, but Drew did know how to check off. Watch Losman, he stares at his receiver before the play even starts. He needs to learn those nuances, and throwing fly routes all day isn;t gonna help his timing, his development, nor his touch.

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