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I’ve never been big
on second-guessing offensive play-calling.
I’ve seen so many offensive coordinators run out of town by armchair coordinators. I tend to stay out of it. This isn’t to say all the play-calling has been good, but it’s really easy to second-guess things after they don’t work. Also, so often OC’s are only as good as their quarterbacks.
But one pet peeve of mine, with coordinators at times, is that many of them try to force the ball to the high draft picks or high-priced free agents.
It’s almost like they think that the management wants them to do it to justify decisions.
Look, of course, you want to get the ball to very talented players like Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson and Corey Davis. I get that, I’m not stupid.
But here is my issue. If teams are rolling coverage to certain guys, I’m taking advantage of that by throwing a ton of passes to a guy like Braxton Berrios.
From what I could see looking over the game, Berrios was open repeatedly, but he wasn’t a top read for Flacco, so the ball was forced somewhere else.
I will give you a perfect example of what I’m talking about:
In the second quarter, the Jets had a third-and-four on the Baltimore 27. Joe Flacco went to his first read, and forced a pass to Moore on the right sideline where he was covered tightly by cornerback Brandon Stephen, who broke it up. Moore wasn’t open.
But if you look at the film, you will see Braxton Berrios cutting away from a corner in the middle of the field in single-coverage, and he would have gone for a nice gain if they hit him in stride.
My attitude has always been – who cares who the supposed #1 receiver is, or where somebody was drafted or how much they make, if you have a player like Berrios, and he’s consistently getting open, throw to him over and over and over again, until they adjust. Hell, throw it to him 15 times until they stop it. And remember, Berrios gets quick wins with his amazing short area quickness, so he’s actually a great guy to go to if you have some protection issues.
I will give you another example, just so you don’t think I’m making a big deal about that one play where I saw Berrios open.
On the Jets series that followed the Ravens making it 17-3 in the third quarter, on a third-and-two, Flacco overthrew Davis. Berrios ran a square out on the right side and would have been an easy first down. They ended up having to punt.
For goodness sake, throw to the open guy, don’t force to guys based on pedigree . . .
It’s well documented the Jets use a zone blocking scheme on their offensive line, and in this system, which requires linemen to block on the move a lot, teams often pick and sign lighter more athletic linemen. That is why some people wondered if 370-pound Mekhi Becton would fit this scheme. Remember, he was picked when Adam Gase was the Jets head coach and play-caller, and they played a different scheme.
But all systems have plusses and minuses to them. So while adding lighter, athletic linemen can help with blocking on the move, it can also lead to issues sometimes when you ask a lighter lineman to stay at home and anchor against a powerful defensive lineman.
Jets guard Laken Tomlinson is a perfect zone blocking guard with his excellent mobility. But two times in the first quarter, he got pushed back by powerful 3-4 defensive linemen.
In the first quarter, on the Jets’ first series, DE Justin Madubuike pushed him back into Flacco, forcing the QB to move right where he was hit by DE Calais Campbell. He threw the ball while being taken down by Campbell and was called for intentional grounding.
At the end of the first quarter, massive nose tackle Michael Pierce pushed Tomlinson into Flacco, who was able to dump to Garrett Wilson on the short right side (this was the play where Wilson made those nifty moves to turn a short pass into a nine-yard gain, just short of the first down on third-and-10).
Look, Tomlinson is a very good player, but sometimes when you go with the zone blocking scheme, you can have issues with power when the linemen are asked to stay home and anchor.
September 12, 2022
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