Rubes Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 ...what was their first reaction when they heard that Buffalo chose to try a naked bootleg with Drew Bledsoe on 4th and 3 with the game (season?) on the line, what do you think the responses would be? I see it as: 10 immediately busted out in a chuckle 3 immediately busted out in a chuckle with projection of food out of the mouth 1 immediately busted out in a chuckle with projection of liquid out of the nose 6 winced with pain in a show of commiseration as they harkened back to their own first prodigious blunder 4 rolled their eyes and shook their heads, wondering how it is that this person has the same job title as them 4 expressed enough disbelief to ask to have the question stated again 2 expressed enough disbelief to question the accuracy of the question's content 1 shrugged his shoulders and thought it was an interesting idea* * until he thought about the question for a second and finally realized he wasn't paying attention
MDH Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think the playcall itself was that bad. Nobody in the entire state was expecting it, had they actually executed the play correctly (yeah yeah, I know) I'm guessing it probably would have worked. I recall seeing KC run a naked bootleg on 4th and 1 about 10 years ago with Dave Kreig (who wasn't exactly Vick either) and they burned the D for a 70 yard TD because nobody was looking for it. I don't think you can blame a play call unless the players actually run it semi-correctly and it fails. The only thing I would question about the call is who it was called against...the Pats...they'er not really for overpursuing and ususally play pretty disciplined.
Ramius Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think the playcall itself was that bad. Nobody in the entire state was expecting it, had they actually executed the play correctly (yeah yeah, I know) I'm guessing it probably would have worked. I recall seeing KC run a naked bootleg on 4th and 1 about 10 years ago with Dave Kreig (who wasn't exactly Vick either) and they burned the D for a 70 yard TD because nobody was looking for it. I don't think you can blame a play call unless the players actually run it semi-correctly and it fails. The only thing I would question about the call is who it was called against...the Pats...they'er not really for overpursuing and ususally play pretty disciplined. 57885[/snapback] it was Steve "I got you baby" Bono that ran the naked bootleg 73 yds against arizona, while he was in KC...
drnykterstein Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 actually sitting in my armchair offensive coordinator position. i yelled out "run a play action bootleg" at the tv. then i saw drew pull the ball up and was mad because they didnt call it. when i read that it was the play that was called i was happy. then i realized that it still failed miserably and was sad again because something besides the palycalling is what is causeing the bills to fail. its not looking good for us.
eSJayDee Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think the playcall itself was that bad. You can add me to the list of silent minority that don't have an objection to the actual playcall. The way I look at it, there's probably 2 or 3 defenders that need to be fooled for it to work. Unlike w/ someone like Vick or JPL, if these guys aren't fooled, I assume there's next to zero chance that it'll succeed. If they are fooled (you gotta admit they probably weren't expecting it), I don't know. Could be an easy way to pick up 3 yards, maybe not. I do recall Manning (not exactly fleet of foot), burnt us for like 40 yards once, leaving the important party's completely fooled and flat footed.
Rubes Posted October 5, 2004 Author Posted October 5, 2004 Sorry guys...I respect the opinions and all, but I just can't say I'm with it. I mean, this is Bledsoe we're talking about here. Manning, Bono, Krieg, whoever...these guys may be slow but they just aren't in Drew's league here. Drew can't get out of his own way for crying out loud. Maybe...MAYBE...if it was 4th and 1 and there was a chance he might be able to dive for the first, or trip over his own feet and fall forward for the 1st...but 3 yards? The other thing to consider, of course, is not just if the defense is expecting it (which they weren't, and for good reason), but what do we think the defense is going to do on the play? Anybody think the Pats weren't planning on sending a few guys on a blitz on that play? Anyone? What's the best way to mess with this offense? Send a bunch of guys and confuse the hell out of them. The Pats were sending guys, left and right. A naked bootleg could, COULD work if the QB is really good at selling the fake and getting outside. But this is Drew, who is neither fast nor good at selling fakes, and this is the Pats, who have extremely good, extremely fast outside LBs who could run ten yards into the backfield, turn around, and snag Drew before he could even smell the first down marker. There may be a time for this team to consider a naked bootleg (I'll only believe it when I see it), but 4th down and 3 with a blitz-happy defense may not have been the best time. And I'm not even going to start into the whole argument about this team being well-prepared enough to even run a play like that against the world champs.
stuckincincy Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 A bootleg with DB was ridiculous. Every defensive player in the NFL, when they play the Bills, keep their eyes on him like he was Mom's best ever recipe. So any juke is instantly discerned and taken care of... I can't imagine any NFL defensive coordinator that doesn't tell his troops, "Keep your eyes on that slow dip, it will be a piece of cake"...
col_forbin Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 How do we know it was a naked bootleg??? Did someone come out and say this??? It looked like a playaction fake that was gonna be a pass. Not "feet in cement Drew" around the end. Just curious if someone came out and said the play was an actual bootleg. If that was the play that sh*t is a horrible call. Drew couldn't win a special olympic race.
Rubes Posted October 6, 2004 Author Posted October 6, 2004 How do we know it was a naked bootleg??? Did someone come out and say this??? It looked like a playaction fake that was gonna be a pass. Not "feet in cement Drew" around the end. Just curious if someone came out and said the play was an actual bootleg. If that was the play that sh*t is a horrible call. Drew couldn't win a special olympic race. 58035[/snapback] Mularkey said it in his post-game press conference.
BuffaloBob Posted October 6, 2004 Posted October 6, 2004 A bootleg with DB was ridiculous. Every defensive player in the NFL, when they play the Bills, keep their eyes on him like he was Mom's best ever recipe. So any juke is instantly discerned and taken care of... I can't imagine any NFL defensive coordinator that doesn't tell his troops, "Keep your eyes on that slow dip, it will be a piece of cake"... 58033[/snapback] You are missing the point. The issue isn't whether people were watching him or as stated above that they would be blitzing. The point is that if you execute properly, those defenders hitting the pocket hard enables Drew to get outside of them easily. Had Henry hit the correct hole, he would have chipped Bruschi charging up the middle who would have also hesitated slightly before he was sure Travis didn't have the ball. Once that happens, even Drew can pick up three yards running to the sideline. Too bad Travis fugged it up. We'd all be posting today what a ballsy and unlikely call it was.
Rubes Posted October 6, 2004 Author Posted October 6, 2004 You are missing the point. The issue isn't whether people were watching him or as stated above that they would be blitzing. The point is that if you execute properly, those defenders hitting the pocket hard enables Drew to get outside of them easily. Had Henry hit the correct hole, he would have chipped Bruschi charging up the middle who would have also hesitated slightly before he was sure Travis didn't have the ball. Once that happens, even Drew can pick up three yards running to the sideline. Too bad Travis fugged it up. We'd all be posting today what a ballsy and unlikely call it was. 58653[/snapback] I sincerely doubt it, because Seymour would have popped Drew just as easily as Brewski. And I think it would take more than a chip by Travis to take him out of the play, especially when it's Drew running the ball. Regardless, I still can't tell where the screw up was. Was it Henry, who ran left instead of take on the blitzer? Was it Villarial, who pulled to the right, going nowhere? Was it Price, who didn't even breathe on Seymour much less delay his progress into the backfield? Was it Drew, who might have thought the play was a bad idea in the face of that defensive front? Who knows. I just happen to think that thinking Travis clipping Bruschi is all it might have taken to allow Drew to bootleg for a first down is right up there with all of the other Drew-related head-in-the-sand stuff.
BuffaloBob Posted October 6, 2004 Posted October 6, 2004 I sincerely doubt it, because Seymour would have popped Drew just as easily as Brewski. And I think it would take more than a chip by Travis to take him out of the play, especially when it's Drew running the ball. Regardless, I still can't tell where the screw up was. Was it Henry, who ran left instead of take on the blitzer? Was it Villarial, who pulled to the right, going nowhere? Was it Price, who didn't even breathe on Seymour much less delay his progress into the backfield? Was it Drew, who might have thought the play was a bad idea in the face of that defensive front? Who knows. I just happen to think that thinking Travis clipping Bruschi is all it might have taken to allow Drew to bootleg for a first down is right up there with all of the other Drew-related head-in-the-sand stuff. 58656[/snapback] Well, good for you. All I can do in response to that is paraphrase what Mularkey said to a reporter who said the same thing: "I knew it was a good call because of how much I know about football compared to you."
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