
We've also seen the first rumblings that one team may need to move away from it's rookie quarterback to someone with more NFL experience, which we disagree with.
So let's get into these 4 games now, starting with someone I really didn't expect to see top the rankings this week...
1. Ryan Tannehill: Miami Dolphins vs. Arizona Cardinals
Welcome to the top of the pile Mr. Tannehill!
Another OT loss for Miami and you can only have so many moral victories before it starts getting old.
Another OT loss for Miami and you can only have so many moral victories before it starts getting old.
Ryan Tannehill threw for a whole bunch of yards in this one,
431 of them to be exact. With the majority going to new favourite target Brian
Hartline. But for all those yards Tannehill made some really bad throws and
made some poor decisions.
2 picks and a lost fumble, and beyond that he had 2 throws
that hit defenders in the hands and should have been picked off too. One was a
really off target throw to the left that hit Gregory Toler in the hands, the
other was again to the left that should never have been thrown as a diving
Adrian Wilson couldn’t quite hang onto it as he went to the ground.
The 2 interceptions Tannehill did throw weren’t overly
horrible. On the 1st it’s a deep outside curl to Hartline on which
the receiver falls out of his break. Not entirely his fault, but the throw was
to the inside part of the field, which would have given Toler, who was in tight
coverage anyway, a better play on the ball than Hartline even if he’d have kept
his feet. Now maybe Hartline is able to break it up or even make a play on it
himself, but it’s still a bad throw, the interception is an unfortunate
outcome.
The 2nd pick came in overtime and really damned
the Dolphins. It was almost instant inside pressure from Paris Lenon as Arizona bought a big
blitz. Tannehill tried to get it out of his hands but not in time as Lenon
clocks him and causes an awful, fluttery throw that is an easy interception.
It’s kind of a difficult one to call here, because while
it’s good that Tannehill is trying to make a play it’s certainly not a play
that a veteran QB would attempt, they’d take the sack, accept that the drive
was over and live to fight another day. Instead Tannehill takes a huge risk in
trying to force the throw out and he pays the price for it.
However, the majority of Tannehill’s play was very
encouraging. He doesn’t seem to use his mobility nearly enough in the pocket,
but his passing was largely good and given the defense he was against it’s a
very good sign for the future.
It’s pleasing to see that Tannehill is gaining a rapport
with his receivers, Davon Bess and Brian Hartline are giving him good options
at different levels of the defense. He trusts his arm and was throwing into
some tight windows in this game. It’s by far his best performance and one that
bodes well for the future.
2. Robert Griffin III: Washington
Redskins vs. Tampa
Bay Buccaneers
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Mark Barron's audition for the WWE went well |
This wasn’t Griffin’s
best game with his arm, the Buccaneers did a good job taking away big plays,
and but for some defensive ill-discipline they might have walked away with the
win. The Bucs committed multiple penalties that gave the Redskins another first
down and sustained drives, one was a field-flipping defensive pass interference
on one of the few long passes Griffin
attempted.
Griffin’s first half was a far better display than his
first, with Alfred Morris running hard again and Griffin twice getting his
number called on QB draws around the 5 yard line. If, and more likely when,
teams start taking away the QB draw in the red zone it will be interesting to
see how Griffin
and the Redskins adapt.
The 2nd half was much tougher for the ‘Skins to
move the ball, with Tampa really clamping down on the run game and starting to
be far more effective on offense themselves, and the Redskins were held
scoreless through the 2nd half until Griffin, feasting on underneath
completions against a prevent defense and a scramble was able to move them into
field position where the shaky Billy Cundiff could kick the game winner. At
2-2, and with 3 road games already under their belts, the Redskins will play
host to the undefeated Atlanta Falcons next week in a huge test of Griffin’s mettle.
3. Brandon Weeden: Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens
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Haloti Ngata and his buddies made life tough for Weeden |
He was under duress a lot in this game, as you'd expect to be against the Baltimore Ravens. The interception, on a speed-out by Travis Benjamin, was really a great jump by Carey Williams. Weeden got it out on time and on target but Williams was just too fast and got to the spot first. While the pass could have been a bit crisper and faster, sometimes there's just nothing you can do against a top level defensive play.
But largely this was a good day, Weeden stood in against some tough pressure and went through his progressions pretty well too. He still had some wild throws, including the final one of the game where he threw a hail mary out the back of the endzone. He did hesitate at times, failing to get the ball out of his hands on 3-step drops as the coverage was tight or simply confusing for him, but we can't be too harsh, even the best QB's and offenses struggle against Baltimore.
Weeden was pretty consistently on the money though, even if his receivers couldn't always haul it in. Greg Little continues to display shocking hands, which makes all his other physical tools worthless, and while Trent Richardson continues to perform well behind Weeden his receiving options are very limited.
4. Russell Wilson: Seattle
Seahawks vs. St. Louis
Rams
dAfter this game there was a lot of talk about Wilson not being fit for
the NFL. About how Matt Flynn would make this a better offense, like he can
suddenly improve the ability of all those around him, getting the line to block
better and the receivers to be faster, more agile and more able to get open.
Everyone knows I like Wilson,
and enjoy watching him play. He might never be an elite passer, but he’s
actually a good fit for an offense that, even with Flynn under centre, would be
a run-heavy outfit.
But putting all that aside for now, let’s look at just game:
Wilson
came out with an impressive first drive, hitting Sidney Rice on a designed
rollout and then a forced one. Moving well himself and letting Lynch do his
thing. But after that things didn’t really go the Seahawks, or Wilson’s, way.
In the 2nd quarter he had a ball tipped on 3rd down that
ended a drive, it was his first incompletion for the day. He ended the day with
just 8 incompletions, 3 of which were interceptions. So firstly let’s look at
those.
1st pick: Wilson
sits in the pocket and recognizes the open Doug Baldwin in the slot, but with
Eugene Sims clogging up the throwing lane Wilson
has to pump fake him, move and then throw, which allows the defense to converge
on Baldwin. Now the ball is still on target,
although a little behind Baldwin and should be
caught but it goes through his hands to Trumaine Johnson for interception
number 1. Some have pointed to this as evidence that a guy Wilson’s size simply
can’t play quarterback in the NFL but I certainly don’t see it that way. There
aren’t many good QB’s of prototypical size that would attempt that throw with
Sims sitting right in their throwing lane. Yes, a higher release point would help
increase the odds of making that pass, but it’s definitely not enough to start
up the “Bring in Matt Flynn” noise.
2nd pick: Again, the Rams are able to keep Wilson in the pocket,
this time by bringing 2 wide DB’s on the blitz. Both are initially picked up
but with no one open down field Janoris Jenkins is able to work free and hit Wilson as he throws, causing an easy interception for
Rocky McIntosh as the ball just loops up out of Wilson’s hand. Again, a tough one to put
entirely on the QB as he identifies the open Sidney Rice running down the right
sideline, but the play is just too long in developing and the blitz gets home.
Now Wilson
will need to better identify and get the ball out sooner, or just bail on the
play and try to find a way out of the pocket. That’s all rookie growing-pains
that everyone goes through, and it’s not like Matt Flynn is a veteran with 50
starts under his belt, Wilson
actually has twice the number of starts now.
3rd pick: This one is just plain unfortunate.
Wilson has his tight end Anthony McCoy running a deep out, and throws to him
coming out of his break but McCoy slips over and it’s an easy game-ending
interception for Bradley Fletcher.
Outside of these throws, Wilson did ok yet again. He struggled getting
the ball down the field, but that has as much to do with a weak WR corps as it
does with him.
Seattle’s
offense does struggle to score however, that much can’t be denied. The only
time they’ve gone over 20 points was because of a special teams touchdown. A
great defensive season might just go to waste if they can’t start to
manufacture more in the passing game.
- Toby Durant (@TDonSport)
- The Pulling Linemen
- Toby Durant (@TDonSport)
- The Pulling Linemen
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