Players' Thoughts on Panther QB Situation

by Ryan Basen on Oct 28, 2009 5:37 PM EDT Comment 35 comments

Panthers quarterbacks Jake Delhomme, left, and Matt Moore listen to coach John Fox during practice in Charlotte Wednesday. Fox says Delhomme will remain Carolina's starting quarterback. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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After coach John Fox announced that Jake Delhomme would remain the Panthers' starting quarterback for Sunday's game at Arizona, CSR spoke to several offensive players in the locker room Wednesday afternoon.

This is pretty much a non-story. Delhomme has started every game when he's been healthy since he became the regular starter early in the 2003 season.

So Delhomme's teammates reacted as you would expect. They praised the move. They gave bland answers to reporters' questions, saying one of three things: They still supported Delhomme because he produced before, they are not too concerned because it's not their job to decide who plays quarterback, and teammates need to play better too. None of them stood out and advocated for a switch to backup Matt Moore, not even Moore himself.

It's always tough to gauge how the players really feel about a sensitive topic like this. Pro athletes rarely open up when outsiders are shoving digital recorders and cameras in their face.

That said, we can make some inferences from what a few veterans said Wednesday...

--Inference No. 1: Many players are not sold on Delhomme's future. While they spoke in favor of playing Delhomme Sunday, none got up and delivered a convincing case for why the Panthers should stick with the NFL's interceptions leader (13 in six games).

--Inference No. 2: Star receiver Steve Smith, who has often stood up for Delhomme, may be among those players not too bullish on him right now.

Smith spoke briefly from his locker Wednesday afternoon, as he dressed after practice. He spoke in general terms, saying such gems as "Nobody wants to come to work and be uncertain if you have a job or not" and "My job is to play wide receiver...I can't worry about somebody else." Smith also said he is still comfortable playing with Delhomme.

But when asked for his response to Fox's decision, all Smith said was this: "Jake's the guy. Jake's the guy. It's not my call."

Now, Smith was not suggesting that if it had been his call, he would have went with Moore. But he stopped short of offering a strong endorsement for his teammate of seven seasons.

Here's a roundup of what Delhomme and a few teammates said Wednesday about the quarterback situation:

--Delhomme said he was pleased to still be the starter, but he understood why Fox waited until Wednesday to make a decision. "How could I blame him (for switching to Moore)?" Delhomme said. "I haven't played well."

Delhomme feels good, he said. "I'm not frustrated right now. It's a work week and it's back to work...I don't feel heat on the outside. I really don't. I'm like a hermit during the season." If he loses his job, "I'm going out swinging."

He was in disbelief Sunday night, after throwing three interceptions in the home loss to Buffalo, he said. On the first pick, when he overthrew tight end Gary Barnidge, "I pushed it. It wasn't a good throw." The second interception, which he threw high for Smith, was inaccurate because he was trying to get the ball around a Bills linebacker in the way.

The worst part about his start, Delhomme said, is he feels like he is letting his teammates down. "I haven't played well enough for them. That's what hurts the most."

Delhomme was comforted to hear that his teammates were sticking up for him to the reporters, he said. He concluded with a statement about his approach heading into the rematch with Arizona, which intercepted him five times in a playoff loss last season: "Okay. It can't get much worse. Forget about it and go on."

--Moore was not at all surprised to learn he's still the backup, he said. Nor is he upset. "It's how I figured it would be."

Moore is ready to step in whenever the coaches ask, he added.

--"That's been our thing all along," tight end Jeff King said of playing Delhomme. "The team collectively has to be better around him."

--Offensive linemen Travelle Wharton and Jeff Otah also support Delhomme, they said.

"There's really no issue," Wharton said. "Jake's our quarterback."

"Coach (Fox) knows what he's doing," Otah said. "We just go out there and do what we're told."

One way to help Delhomme would be for the Panthers to run the ball more effectively, Otah added.

--Running back DeAngelo Williams said Delhomme has shown a lot of character answering questions about his poor play this season. "He's done a great job handling all this negative media he's been getting."

Williams was asked if it was important for Delhomme to play against the team that started his slump (Delhomme has thrown 18 interceptions in his last seven games, including the playoff loss, after tossing only 12 picks in 16 regular season starts last year). Replied Williams: "It's very important for all of us."

--And finally, receiver Kenny Moore said Delhomme is the Panthers' best option at quarterback because he knows the offense and has experience. "He's done great things for us," Moore said. "He'll get the job done."

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I’m glad to know our team sticks together…

I mean, we could have coaches threatening coaches, players getting in trouble/jail, and also making slurs only to get themselves banned.

At least we’re just losing games and getting suspended for the occasional “questionable hit”. lol

by D-Ranged1 on Oct 28, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes the team will not speak up against the coach. Remember last year? We played great but lost to the Cardinals. Did anyone speakup? No. But what happened once the season was over…Peppers said he wants out.
This year we are getting our rear ends whopped. Smith is unhappy. Beason is unhappy.
Wait till this season is over. We may have half the team wanting out.
What Fox does now is what is going to decide the future. He screws up now, he knows he has no future with the Panthers as the coach. What he may have done is ireparable damage to our morale and players.
As for us fans…sit back and relax. We do not make the decisions. We only pay for someone else’s decisions.

by Indian Panther on Oct 29, 2009 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beason unhappy? Where has he said this?

I listen to his 2 hr interviews every week on WFNZ and never has he indicated that he is unhappy with the team, actually the contrary is true. Despite the losses he said he wants to remain a Panther for his entire career, a sentiment echoed by his agent Drew Rosenhaus who has a guest on Mark Packer’s show two days ago.

As for Smith, it’s important not to confuse the Steve Smith situation with the Julius Peppers one. Peppers didn’t want to leave because the team lost a playoff game, he wanted to leave so he could retreat to a media market where he could be anonymous, he’s a shy individual and doesn’t like being a big fish in a small pond.

Smith was frustrated that he couldn’t be part of the victory vs. Tampa. Even though we lost vs. Buffalo he had 99 yards recieving… I think he’s satiated for now.

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Oct 29, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Obviously everyone gets frustrated and is emotional but, my point being, at least our players know how to hold their tongue. It’s a team and thus should receive a team effort. When one man is down, you don’t kick him, you help him to his feet. That’s what they’re trying to do. They may know in the back of their minds the truth of the situation but, until the call is made, they’re going to continue as a team and stick with their QB and their coach.

Once the season is over, players can do whatever they feel necessary to further their career. Right now it’s the middle of the season, though, and not sticking together is the worst thing they could do.

by D-Ranged1 on Oct 29, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the above 2 comments...

…about “unhappy” players — there’s no finger pointing, and if you call Beason’s comments about Pep, it was resolved in the best way it could’ve been — Peppers stepped up, in words (though private with the team) and and actions on the field.

The members of the Panthers continue to conduct them in a professional and classy manner.

As far as “We only pay for someone else’s decisions,” what are you, or we, paying exactly? I know I’m not being billed for any part of their salaries. If you’re a PSL owner, I can admit you’ve got a gripe about quality of play, but that’s it. But that’s the risk a fan takes, that the team he roots for may have a down year.

by bigdavis on Oct 29, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

DUH!

Really what else could anyone in the locker room say. Are they going to go against their coaches and suggest Jake be benched after John Fox said he would start. Plus there has to be harmony in the team, so I think they would stuff it and not throw him under the bus or they might be warming the pine.

by Cwilly1 on Oct 28, 2009 6:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just imagine if T.O. played in Carolina.

by D-Ranged1 on Oct 28, 2009 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man would that be a mess

by Cwilly1 on Oct 28, 2009 9:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol

Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader

by Ivan459 on Oct 29, 2009 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They could say something stupid

That’s what surprising…how they are all towing the party line. Makes me wonder if they pass out cue cards on how to answer media questions on a weekly basis! I kid…

What troubles me is his focusing on how his teammates feel, that he lets them down. I’d prefer the motivation to come from the competitive spirit, the burning desire to WIN!…lol…I’m not getting a sense that Jake will turn things around. It’s been 7 straight games.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Oct 28, 2009 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure it is in the players best interest...

to say all the right things. You may be on to something with the cue cards Jax.

7 games… heck I was in the mindset that Moore should get a chance after the Dallas loss, but Foxy has other plans.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

by Davejinxer on Oct 28, 2009 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Go down swinging, Jake, or go down flinging?

As long as this is a “This is your last opportunity” start, I’m OK with the decision. I fear it’s a “I’d rather start the league leader in INTs than anybody else, thanks for showing up Moore & Feeley, check your playbook for the location of the bench this week, we’re on the north side of the field, don’t forget!” move, however.

by old_skool on Oct 28, 2009 6:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You'll know by halftime.

That’s about how long Jake will have to show that he still has it.

by Scrantsj on Oct 29, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look to the right

NFL Power Rankings Cardinals crack the top 10 and Jake might reach 20 interceptions.

by Cwilly1 on Oct 28, 2009 9:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

King's response: "The team collectively has to be better around him."

What more can they do with Jeff Davidson running the offense?

Collectively, I don’t know how much more the Panthers offense can do to support Jake. He’s been playing horribly, no doubt but there is one stat that I keep hanging on.

This is our record with Delhomme as a starter based on how many times he’s called on to pass:

0-20: 10-2
21-25: 12-3
26-30: 17-2
31-35: 4-6
36-40: 2-9
40+: 1-6

If I can work this out, and it’s pretty simple to see, why the hell can’t Jeff Davidson? Pretty friggin’ simple Jeff, the more you throw the ball you more you hurt the team as a whole.

This took me about 5 minutes to look up the information, and I’m sure not getting paid over 100K to do it.

So, here’s the plan Jeff… DON’T THROW THE BALL MORE THAN 30 TIMES!

It’s real simple Jeff, real simple… I’ll make it easier for you… you can throw the ball 7.5 times a quarter, even less if you feel like it. If you’ve reached that number RUN THE BALL… RUN IT…

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Oct 28, 2009 9:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So where do we start the petition to replace Davidson with yourself? lol

by D-Ranged1 on Oct 28, 2009 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course I’m not conceited enough to think you’re serious… but it really makes you wonder if I can work these things out why a profession sports franchise can’t.

Kind of strange that we won the two games where he threw the ball 25 and 17 times respectively, and lost games where he threw 33, 41 and 44 times; the 4th loss was Philly, 17 passes but given he was benched you can’t really count it… care to guess what he was on pace to throw? 31.

The more you look into the numbers the more you see it’s Jake being Jake, the same player we’ve had since 2003 with Jeff Davidson stacking the deck against him and the team.

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Oct 29, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's a bit of a misleading stat, though, James...

I understand what you’re saying. And it’s true that Jake shouldn’t be throwing the ball that often. But, the reason we lost those games wasn’t simply because Jake threw a high number of passes. More often than not, the Panthers got into situations where we needed to throw rather than run, because we were already behind by more than one possession. Sometimes, that happened because Jake threw a pick-six in the early going…some his fault for overthrowing or throwing behind guys, others resulting from poor route running by his receivers, or just bad luck on a tipped ball or a good read by the defense. Other times, we got behind because of a special teams blunder (oh, how they suck this year!). Or even the not-as-rare-as-last-year fumble by our RBs. So, it’s been a failing on the part of a lot of players

Even so, I think it still comes back to coaching. To me, the coaching staff panics as soon as this team gets down by two scores. They’re the ones that consciously turn away from the running game and ask Jake to throw that many times to conserve clock and try to lead us down the field on quick strikes to make up the deficit. But this team just isn’t built to do that. Not at the QB position or the WR position (because we still only have a single viable stretch-the-field WR in Steve Smith). The playbook apparently doesn’t have smart, crisp plays in the intermediate range to the TEs and RBs down the field rather than on very short, out patterns. That’s been a problem with the offensive coordinator going as far back as Henning before he got run out of town in favor of Davidson. But now Jeff seemingly calls very similar plays and can’t get the ball to Smitty in the open field…relying instead on smoke passes and Steve’s agility to make guys miss. I also don’t trust Davidson’s playcalling when we’re trying to go down the field. I think his players don’t trust him either. In the Buffalo game, Steve Smith could be seen yelling at his own sideline for a playcall he didn’t like in the given situation. And, as soon as players start buying out of the game plan and the playcalling, we’re done.

This is why I’m citing the coaching staff just as much as Jake Delhomme. There’s just not enough creativity, game planning, and adjustment-making in this coaching staff. It’s their mistake to have so many phases of the team screw up that it puts Jake in the position of having to heave it downfield into double-coverage where he just isn’t accurate enough. If Jake’s “the problem” this year, the coaches are magnifying the problem…not helping it.

But that’s just my two-cents,
—Neil

by NSpicer on Oct 29, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And...if I might add one more thing...

…if Jake isn’t “the problem” this year (or at least not the sole problem), that means it’s even moreson on the coaching staff. They either haven’t prepared and developed the other positions very well (special teams, route-running, and pass-blocking come to mind). Or they’re making bad decisions and playcalls in the course of the game that doesn’t help the team.

Another penny,
—Neil

by NSpicer on Oct 29, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I understand what you’re saying about getting down early and needing to throw… however, if throwing the ball more than 30 times, regardless of whether you’re down or not nets you 7 wins and 21 losses what’s the point? I don’t think there have been 28 occasions in 6 years where we needed to rely on a passing offense to get the job done.

I don’t pretend to think we’d automatically win if Jake threw less, however, it does show a distinct shift away from what we like to think is ‘Carolina football’, it shows that beyond coordinators, recievers, running backs, tight ends and offensive line throwing the ball more = a greater chance for a loss.

This is based on John Fox’s instilled philosophy he has based this team on since he arrived in 2003. It shows that throwing the ball a high number of times is counter productive to the philosophy of this football team. One of the reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers were perenially in the playoffs is they never had staff that went against the basic tenets of Bill Cowher/ Dick LeBeau football.

I don’t know the inner workings of the Panthers, I don’t know who make the final decision on hires… but when interviewing Jeff Davidson to be our OC, a year removed from running a Cleveland Browns offense that ran the ball 372 times (for a pathetic 3.6 ypc) and passed 938 times what made John Fox, or Marty Hurney confident that he would work in our system?

That means in 2006 the Browns passed the ball 72% of the time. Why was this man selected to be the OC of a team that passed 52% of the time between 2003 and 2006?

I am most definitely not absolving Jake from responsibility, but I think it’s actually opposite of what you said, I think Jake’s poor play is a magnifying glass on the coaching staff (particularily the offense).

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Oct 29, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

whoa there...

some wrong numbers…

In 2006 Cleveland ran the ball 372 times and passed 512 times.

Passing was 58% of their offense.

All other numbers check out.

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Oct 29, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with your points, however I'd like to add...

…John Fox’s philosophy isn’t just “run first” and pass a lower percentage of the time. It’s also built on playing good defense. And, special teams. The other phases of the game have to hold up their end of the bargain for his philosophy to work.

In other words, if the Panthers give up lots of points on defense or special teams (which has happened this year)…it puts Fox’s team too far behind for his “run first” philosophy to work…or, at least, in the minds of the coaching staff, it does. Personally, I remained unconvinced that we couldn’t engineer some early drives still relying on the run to get us back into games. I think they abandon the “run first” philosophy too quickly. Especially when you consider that a fair number of the points the opposing team is putting on the board (which got us behind in the first place) came off turnovers in the passing game (though, in fairness, there have been a few resulting from fumbles in the running game, too).

Bottom line for me: John Fox has consistently built his teams around great defense, great running game, decent passing game and decent special teams. So far this season, his special teams and passing game are non-existent. They don’t even qualify as “decent” any longer in my book.

The passing game is in shambles due to a combination of not having a legitimate WR2 and WR3…developing a go-to TE or pass-catching RB out of the backfield…and preparing any kind of future QB. I also think we have a lack of creativity in our passing plays and route running. Opposing defenses know what’s coming way too often for us to be reliably successful throwing the ball…and that’s assuming Jake’s performing well on a good day.

In addition, they no longer have a “decent” special teams unit. I believe this partially stems from a personnel problem (i.e., many of the original guys from the “decent” unit either left as free agents, got promoted into the starting defense, or were replaced by rookies they wanted to keep on the roster). But, I also think we have a sub-par special teams coach who just isn’t capable of properly developing or preparing these players to perform well on special teams.

I also think our defense looked sub-par early on in the season. They were “good” or “okay” but not “great.” And haven’t been for awhile now, season to season. Hollis is starting to make a difference now, though. And Thomas Davis is flourishing in Ron Meeks system. We’ve also had some injuries in our LB corps that we’re just starting to get over. And it’s taken awhile for players to understand their roles in the new defense. But the damage got done early and we dug ourselves a hole on that side of the ball, too. Now it doesn’t look quite as bad, but we’ve also been playing the Redskins, Bucs, and Bills over the past three weeks. So who knows what happens against Arizona, New Orleans, and Atlanta?

Lastly, the vaunted running game of the Panthers has taken a sharp decline. The RBs still have it, of course. But the offensive line has not lived up to its billing. I suspect some of that results from an inflated sense of accomplishment last year against really poor run defenses. And now they’re facing much tougher teams. Some of it’s also the fact that we’re running very predictable plays that challenge our opponents to stop us even when they know what’s coming. And they have been. For instance, against the lowly Buffalo Bills who were dead last in the league defending the run, I cannot comprehend how or why the O-line didn’t just maul them. Part of it was the coaching staff and the poor playcalling. Way too many passes vs. runs. But the inability to pick up short yardage (particularly on that 4th down play) against the Bills speaks volumes. And we’ve had issues with ball security at the RB position this year, as well. So, although the potential is still there to be a great running team, I’m not sure we’d see it on the field even if the coaches did call more running plays. Against the Redskins, Bucs, and Bills…we probably would. Against tougher teams, I’m starting to doubt it. But we’ve still got plenty of season left, so let’s see what they’ve got…assuming the coaches turn the horses loose a bit more and we’re not having to play from behind all the time.

So, to wrap-up, Fox’s philosophy…solid though it might be…is facing a serious challenge this year. He doesn’t have a great running game (at least as far as playcalling and execution are concerned). He certainly doesn’t have a decent passing game or special teams. And he didn’t have a great defense at the beginning of the year due to the hole at DT and sub-par play in the secondary. In my mind, he and his coaching staff have a LOT of problems that need fixing. And they may be out of of time to do it and still have a meaningful season.

But that’s just my two-cents,
—Neil

by NSpicer on Oct 29, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If anything the blame falls on Davidson for the idiotic playcalling. You can blame Fox and the upper management for not developing a young QB.

Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader

by Ivan459 on Oct 29, 2009 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure whose fault that is...

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more aggravated at the stifeling conservative play-calling that Dan Henning did during his time with Carolina. Then low and behold, he looks like an innovative and revolutionary play-calling genius down in Miami! Amazing what having the freedom to exercise your gifts without the iron fist of restraint on your back can do for you!

I don’t really know how good of a play-caller Davidson would be were he allowed to fully exercise his creativity, but it’s pretty obvious from the continued conservative play-calling that it is Fox that wields the iron fist of control.

Fox has said as much himself that he is the master of the conservative call when calling himself a “dumb coach” for the 4th-and-goal decision to keep the offense on the field a few weeks back. The only deviation to that was when he decided to go for it again in a similar situation last week, the only difference being Kasay uncharacteristically missing two FGs and making the 4th-and-goal try an actually lower-risk play.

You see all these high-powered and highly-paid offensive weapons on the field, and you get the feeling that Fox would rather leave 5 bullets in the chamber than risk a mis-fire in any given offensive series.

by stryderusa on Oct 30, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I really dislike our eagerness to abandon the run. While down by two with half a game left to play, we’d rather give the ball away on multiple pass-oriented drives than make two solid run-oriented drives.

I understand not every situation is run appropriate and you’ve got to mix it up, but, wow, he goes all out “pass on yo @$$” and ends up “we’ll get’em next time, guys! Guys? Hey, where’d everybody go?”.

And whatever happened to play action?

by D-Ranged1 on Oct 29, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The first 2 INT's last week were thrown on play action...

…where the rush diminished because of the play action, and Jake had adequate time and protection — he simply overthrew his targets. Can’t fault the play calling, or anybody’s execution but Jake’s, on those 2 plays. Previous runs had set up the play action opportunity to go vertical both times — he just missed the throws.

by bigdavis on Oct 29, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Hence, I definitely believe there’s blame on Jake for many of this mistakes. It’s not all on the coaching staff. But I do blame the coaching staff for trying to make something happen in the passing game when the team isn’t built to do that…even if they are playing from behind.

by NSpicer on Oct 29, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Member of Canes Country and the Cat Scratch Reader

by Ivan459 on Oct 29, 2009 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Painfully obvious

Look up Jake’s interceptions too—an absurd percentage this year happen on plays over 20 yards. So maybe you dial down the number of passes, and if the opponents are stacking the box against the run throw around them with screens and slants.

I really believe that Davidson is out of his league.

by Cyberjag on Oct 29, 2009 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Past 20 yards, Jake just doesn’t have the accuracy. That’s why most of his downfield bombs require WRs like Steve Smith to go up and snatch them away from defenders. Thankfully, he’s had guys who can do that. But last week, there were a couple of plays where Gary Barnidge just clearly gave up on trying to finish his route or fight for the ball, at least one of which resulted in a pick.

Regardless, I completely agree that Davidson is out of his league. He looked golden last year, but that’s really easy to do when you get some new maulers on the O-line and have a 2-headed monster RB tandem who had a field day against weak run defenses in the AFC West and the Detroit Lions last year. This season, we’re seeing a more accurate measure of his game-planning and adjustment-making abilities as an offensive coordinator. And I’m afraid he’s not up to par.

—Neil

by NSpicer on Oct 29, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

AMEN!

Preach it brotha James. Seriously – how can Jeff not see the simplest of stats. I have daily conversations with people here in the office – all asking me the same thing. “Why the F%&# is Jake passing so much? Isn’t Carolina a power-rushing team?”

Interesting to note – that as soon as the new QB coach Rip joined his friend Jeff (and fellow ex-Browns coach), all of a sudden – the plays get ‘pass-happy.’

by boywonderncsu on Oct 29, 2009 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This stat can be looked at several ways...

When you get down by a couple scores you are forced to pass more than you would like. At least that is the belief of most OC’s in the league. But yes, Davidson is quick to abandon the run. If you look at all the QBs that started 100 games or more in the past decade, their stats would look very similar, aside from Brady and Manning and maybe Brees who play in unbalanced offenses.

by ERL on Oct 29, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

cards run d

The Cards run defense is giving up 67 yards a game to the tune of 3 YPC. Jake might throw it 47 times for 323 yds, 1 TD to smitty and 4 INTs. Of course, we could throw more screens and slants, but davidson doesn’t like that. all throws from now on must travel 55 yards in the air so they look more like punts.

by usana_gaines on Oct 29, 2009 8:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

What we’re missing is the screens and slants or perhaps some short yardage passes to TE’s finding the creases in the coverage. I can’t for the life of me figure out why we’re not doing that – especially since our OC, dearest Jeff, spent time in New England – where they do that sort of thing successfully. Now – yes, they have Tom ‘effin’ Brady – but the logic remains the same. Strong rushing attacks, a fair amount of short passing routes and then a few vertical shots down the field to keep the opposing defense honest.

Instead we’re running up the middle on 1st and 2nd down – then chunking it 40+ yds into double/triple coverage for Smith. I think we’ve already seen the recipe for disaster that usually makes.

by boywonderncsu on Oct 29, 2009 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs