If we take Etienne or Harris at 23 my head will explode. RB at 23 also doesn't sound like something Douglas would do.
Good analysis. Mahomes did that best of all, which is why I was convinced he'd succeed in the NFL (even on the Jets), but you're right all 3 adjusted their throwing motion and mechanics to make plays. The thing is that this was always a part of their game, not something picked up in the last couple of years. While this is a learned technique, it's so deeply learned over time that it's virtually instinctual.
I've been thinking more and more about Zach's selection with #2 pick because he truly produced at historical level this year in several important categories and just great in others: - Historically high tight window throwing - Historically high (#2 all time) pff ratings, which looks at all advanced stats. - Top play-action #s, and he did a lot of play-action - Leader of 20+ yard passes in the air completion %. Fields is second, but Zach also completed more overall. - #4 overall this season in rushing TDs for QB - Set BYU completion % record this year, beating out Steve Young. - Led BYU to best record and best rankings in 25 years To me this is a very impressive list, including the BYU records, because it shows he truly elevated his team to the level not seen in decades. He also showed mobility, rushing ability, and big arm. I reviewed the footage, and out of his 3 INTs this year, 1 was Hail Mary pass to end first half, and another where a receiver fell down on a perfectly thrown pass. Zach just didn't make too many mistakes this year. I am even less concerned now with level of competition, since looks like he faced several decent defenses and performed well, and was able to fit the ball into tight windows better than any QB. I think comparisons with Joe Burrow are warranted, and Zach actually has a much bigger arm than Joe, and his breakout season came in 3d year, while Joe's was in 5th. He is also pretty athletic as well with out of HS similar 40 dash speed as Lawrence (but below Fields) and actually higher vertical than Fields. The only real concern for me now is the injury and size. He was injured out of HS with labral tear in right throwing hand, but still played his first year out with injury, which bothered him, but not enough that he could not play through it. Ended up having a decent season. He decided to repair it after freshman year, but wasn't fully healed and struggled. At that time he mentioned he has same injury on right shoulder, and I don't know if he ever got a surgery for that. Then injured his right hand in season and had surgery there, but came back. Second year overall was pretty bad as far as performance, which could possibly be attributed to injuries. However, he was injury free last year and had a monstrous season. The questions still linger: are the injuries behind him now or can labral tear come back? Did he have a surgery on hos right hand, and is he able to work out fully and gain muscle?
If it sucked so bad why did he have such relatively clean pockets in most of the montage along with open receivers? Even the ones that weren't particularly open, they can be thrown open as the better QBs in the league did. Play action buys the quarterback a lot of time because it freezes the defense and allows the quarterback to get a deeper set as seen in the video. The video isn't the end all be all of course. But it makes sense why most of the down field throws were tossed out because they simply didn't work (even though I'd always keep them in a playbook to throw and keep the threat alive even if it burns a play every couple series).
It might as well be a year with the amount of nightly glans-pinching going on for the forum dreaming about the ultimate Jets bandaid.
This has been studied - a strong running game has a negligible effect on play action. The ball fake itself is what makes it effective, not running effectively prior to doing so.
Effectively selling the fake will freeze defenders or make them come up for the run. The new NFL offense is all about pre-snap motion and misdirection to confuse the defense. It feels good to actually have an OC that's coaching to where football is going.
I am terrified of Zach Wilson. I'm definitely judging a book by its cover here, but he doesn't exactly exude football player in his appearance, to me. I see zero toughness in this kid.
Hey now, Tom Brady was a skinny twink when he got drafted and look how he turned out. So Zach Wilson will either be Tom Brady, or the other 5 thousand backup QBs that never amounted to anything.
He also didn't scream douchebag out of college even though that's what he obviously turned into. Maybe Wilson has the opposite progression though.
Play Action can never be better than your run game. If the Line Backers don't respect the fake handoff to Gore, they won't run themselves out of position to open up a passing lane. You can't really say "Our running game SUCKED!!!" then complain about how bad Sam's PA game was.
His face actually reminds me of a little kid, like a dirty-faced kid. You know the kind, the little shithead brat whose mother would drag him over by the arm and lick a kleenex and start wiping his face down while he struggled to get away. Like that.
