Asking MM what he needs solves what?

[Johnny Coli]

I will bet anything that almost all of the three yard patterns and passes on third and nine are Kelly Holcomb deciding to throw it to that player and not the way the play was called. The main target and second main target were past the first down marker on 90% of them.

547854[/snapback]

Then this should be even more evidence damning Mularkey. He chose to put Holcomb in there after watching him check down to that option in every single game he's played here. If Mularkey has plays designed to get a first down, and Holcomb keeps dumping it off to Shelton/Williams/whoever, then Mularkey has no one to blame but himself for continuing to trot him out there.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

I think Ralph wants to know what happened with JP. If it was a matter of JP being healthy but MM refusing to play him because Holcomb seemingly gave them the best chance, then he's gone because JP should have been inserted after the 2nd INT, and at the least after the 3rd INT.

[Kelly the Dog]

Then this should be even more evidence damning Mularkey.  He chose to put Holcomb in there after watching him check down to that option in every single game he's played here.  If Mularkey has plays designed to get a first down, and Holcomb keeps dumping it off to Shelton/Williams/whoever, then Mularkey has no one to blame but himself for continuing to trot him out there.

548317[/snapback]

This is the reason Holcomb, to me, is a journeyman player, and it was always obvious. He was a career back-up. Career back-ups usually get a series of starts over their careers due to injuries to starters. They are expected to play pretty well in those stints, especially after surviving 5,6,7,8 years in the league. Holcomb played pretty well for Cleveland. But we looked for him as a back-up, we signed him as a back-up, we paid him as a back-up and he came riding into town on a horse yippee-yahooing that I am here to be your back-up!

 

And his strength is also his weakness. That is why he is a back-up. He is a pretty smart quarterback. he reads defenses very, very quick. So he goes through his progression rat-a-tat-tat. I'm sure he looks downfield past the first down marker on those plays. You can see it. But he immediately checks down to his number 3 and 4, who are short of the first down marker because he is gutless (meaning he would always rather take the safe play than try to make a play) and he has no confidence (rightly) that he can get the ball downfield with any zip. So he is left with always dumping the ball down. Sometimes he can dink and dunk and make it down the field. But it is a tease. His stats are drastically aided by this philosophy and grossly distorted. The plays are not designed to go to the backs and WRs short of the first down on 3rd and 6. KH just makes the decision to go there.

[Johnny Coli]

But he immediately checks down to his number 3 and 4, who are short of the first down marker because he is gutless (meaning he would always rather take the safe play than try to make a play) and he has no confidence (rightly) that he can get the ball downfield with any zip. So he is left with always dumping the ball down. Sometimes he can dink and dunk and make it down the field. But it is a tease. His stats are  drastically aided by this philosophy and grossly distorted. The plays are not designed to go to the backs and WRs short of the first down on 3rd and 6. KH just makes the decision to go there.

548471[/snapback]

I put this in another thread, but it seems appropriate for your argument as well....

 

Holcomb had 23 completions:

-16 were for 9 yards or less

-5 were for 10-19 yards

-2 were for 20+, the longest being a 22 yard gain

 

Of his 4 INTs:

Three INTs came on passes of 20, 17 and 18 yards, the fourth was to Shelton for 3 yards

 

He was 5 for 7 passing to McGahee/Williams/Shelton for a total of 33 yards with the majority coming from a 19 yard catch and run by Willis.

 

Note that YAC are included in these numbers.