1: VP of NFL Officiating Al Riveron says the call on Myles Garrett for roughing Big Ben was a bad call, but it looks like an honest mistake, as the zebras screwed the Steelers some too.
The rule against defenders "landing on" quarterbacks makes sense, but the zebras are calling it too often; ignoring intent and elementary physics.
These are usually 275 lb-plus guys running at top speed. These officials are expecting them to what...slow down to make sure they don't fall on the guy? Kinda turn sideways and use one arm?
Hopefully, these zebras will be taught by guys like Riveron that the rule is only to be enforced if the defender deliberately "pile-drives" the quarterback into the ground, and that we are not yet ready to have NFL quarterbacks wearing pink tutus.
Jim Miller, Brett Favre, and Brady Quinn agree, and I bet so would Aaron Rodgers. (By the way, the play that injured him in 2017 would not be illegal under the new rule).
2: In the wake of the Jets massacre of the Lions, a Jets defender said that the Lions were "giving away their signals" (or something).
First, this guy needs to shut tf up. Second, this reminds me of Joe Schobert.
Pat Kirwan spoke at length about how the best scouts (ie scouting upcoming opponents) can sometimes detect very strong tendancies in opponents' offenses, and actually say "when they line up like this, then do that on this down and distance, the ball is going here eighty seven point five percent of the time".
Pat says that some of these scouts are better than others, and that some offenses are harder to peg than others, but that in this Jets/Lions game, it did look like the Jets defense was reading the Lions offense like a book.
I mentioned Joe Schobert--Gregg Williams' secret weapon. As you know if you read this Blog, Joe is Gregg's Field General. Rather than try to dictate his defense from the sidelines, Gregg always tries to find a player capable of reading an offense and calling the defense in the moment based on what he sees.
Schobert has demonstrated a frankly amazing knack for almost always coming up with the correct calls.
His own film-study and consultation with the quality control coach (that's usually who the "scout" for upcoming opponents is) certainly gives him insight into the next opponent's offense, but (I believe; this is an opinion) that Joe himself, in the moment, just uses this advance intel as a foundation.
See, this week, Joe knows that Drew Brees won't hesitate to throw to Micheal Thomas, even if Denzel Ward is on him. Brees is extremely accurate, and Thomas has a huge catch-radius.
Joe knows how Payton and Brees will dissect his own defense, so he can mentally extrapolate whatever tendancies this offense has shown with this in mind.
Unfortunately, this is a deep, multi-dimensional offense with a future Hall of Fame quarterback, and there's nothing to "key" on. Joe and the scout have their work cut out for them.
Myles Garrett can make a difference here. He can put heat on Brees (and Kamara) without any blitzing. Brees is still a good (Mayfield-like) athlete, but not a serious running threat.
Kamara is another David Johnson/Ebineezer Bell/Todd Gurley swiss army knife guy, but...
I don't know enough here. Normal offenses often keep a running back in to block vs a blitze. That's why teams blitze sometimes: to prevent sneaky bastards like that from becoming receivers.
Well it's only tuesday and I'm about to get too deep in the weeds here.
I'm guessing that seven guys in coverage won't work against this super-accurate quarterback, so Gregg/Joe will have to blitze.
Genard Avery probably plays more, and there might be more three-man fronts. Gregg has no qualms about lining Garrett and Ogbah (etc) between the guards and tackles, with Collins and Avery at OLB.
Assuming at least one linebacker always attacking from the edge, and a smaller guy often shooting inside, even Drew Brees might have to take a dive or throw it away; even Kamara might get nailed before he can make a move.
It's the "you go or I go" defense (my personal default--I'm a huge Bud Carson fan).
The Browns' offensive game-plan is obvious: Run the ball.
Fitzpatrick lit this defense up last week, possibly exposing some weaknesses in coverage, but the Saints defense is more talented than it showed, and will anticipate a pass-heavy attack after that.
Fitzpatrick is a veteran gunlinger, and he had veteran receivers in a well-established offensive system, with an established offensive line.
The Browns have just installed a new offensive system. Tyrod Taylor hasn't integrated with Josh Gordon yet. Callaway and Harrison are rookies, and Hubbard just got here (and btw he will face the Saints' best passrusher).
And the 2018 Browns should be able to run on any defense!
And yes: Tyrod Taylor is not Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz is both better and worse than Tyrod, because he's more aggressive, and takes more chances.
Still, Tyrod will have had another week with Josh Gordon, and maybe (?) the Saints defense can't "solve" Njoku like the Steelers did, so Tyrod WILL go deep here in week two.
The Browns have a shot. They are frankly better than the Bucs, and maybe that Saints defense aint all it was cracked up to be.
Imagine the Steelers vs the Saints. The Browns just tied the Steelers. Yes, the Browns have a chance.
Now, Lord Insideous in New England just signed Corey Coleman.
I don't get it. I mean, Dez Bryant was right there!!! Perhaps Bill should have consulted with John Dorsey first! Fortunately, this means Dez is still available for Dorsey to underpay for one season!
Err...you know sarcasm when you read it, right?
More on the Browns: How tf can so many fans turn on Tyrod Taylor so fast? The Steelers were all over him, all the time! Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees couldn't have done much better under those conditions!
Look no further than across the field! Does Big Ben suck now? How can you GET what the Browns defense did to Ben, and ignore what the Steelers did to Tyrod?
And now I got it from Al Riveron that all your Garrett-bashing is bullshit too! YOU PEOPLE...
Also, by the way, the encroachment call on Garrett was probably bullshit too. I'm not sure:
Unless they've changed this rule, a defender can jump offsides (without making contact with an offensive player), but it's not a neutral zone infraction or encroachment if he can withdraw before the ball is snapped.
Garrett jumped early, but recovered immediately. Villanueva broke his stance to point at Garrett (before the snap), and got his flag.
I might have missed a rule change here, but based on the "old" rules, Villanueva should have been flagged for standing up!
I'm too lazy to dig into that rulebook. Somebody do that for me and tell me if I'm wrong. Until then, I reckon Myles Garrett is blemish-free.
No knock on Villanueva, even if he was wrong. That guy volunteered for the sand-box and is on my a-list permanently...but trust a war-vet not to miss an opportunity.
Desmond Harrison was not "up and down" (no offense Gribble) in his first NFL start at left tackle. Even in the first half, he wasn't bad. In the second half, he was downright good.
As I posted after the game, Tyrod took heat from his right side. I'll dig deeper here, but for now I'll go with what Hue said and say he gave up one "pressure".
Basicly, this means that he was beaten ONCE in pass-protection. I don't know how he did run-blocking yet, but he's a left tackle, so...
And the Steelers kept TJ Watt on the strong side (vs Hubbard). TJ is their best passrusher, and they saw Hubbard as his best mismatch.
I'm still not a Hue Jackson fan, but his decision to start Harrison was a smart move.
Josh Gordon was only targeted three times in sixty nine snaps (Callaway, the nominal starter, hardly played any).
I'm not worried about this. Tyrod has learned to trust Higgins, Landry, and Njoku simply because he's had the most reps with them.
Tyrod (as I'm learning) is very "systematic". He came out of college labelled a "gimmick" air-raid dual-threat guy, and dedicated himself to becoming an NFL guy, at first just to make a roster, and then to climb the ladder.
He's become risk-averse/conservative. The Ravens traded him to Buffalo, where he became the starter. Sammy Watkins STILL hasn't lived up to his lofty draft status, and Tyrod never had a great crew of receivers in Buffalo.
But he had LeShaun McCoy and decent pass-catching tight ends, and he made the most of them (and his legs).
He's still not super-accurate, but is above average there (with excellent "touch", as well).
He has a strong arm, and will go deep, but he's reluctant to make "stick throws" (bullets into tight windows).
I admire Tyrod Taylor, because he's fought his way up from nowhere, and made the most of what he's had, and knows his own limitations. He's intelligent, disciplined, and pragmatic.
He's worked hard to "refine" himself, systematically overcoming his weaknesses, and deliberately avoiding risk (a good thing, when you're a 6' tall dual-threat "nobody" in the NFL).
I expect Tyrod to become more aggressive in 2018. He's got one year to show the rest of the NFL that he's more than just a "game manager", and he has the experiential foundation and weapons to prove it.
I repeat: This guy is highly intelligent. He will make the most of Callaway, Gordon, and Duke. And I think he'll probably make those "stick"- throws too, to fill out his resume.
For 2018, this works perfectly for the Browns as well as Tyrod Taylor, and I suspect that John Dorsey had this in mind.
...but then there's this Dez Bryant crap, which makes Dorsey look so dumb...
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