HAPPY FEET (and I ain't talkin' penguins)

[Sez.EJ]

Vegas. I agree to a point.. But last week I saw (on a few plays/not all) Colt on 3 step drops get the ball out of his hand on time "1,2,3 bang..ball is out".. .. and yet still have a guy in his chest and slamming him into the turf.. .. that can only be attributed to the OL..

Now when it's 5 or 7 step drops.. it's more in line with what you are saying.. Colt does need to get bettter. pre-snap reads or whatever the problem is. He needs to imiprove.. .but defenders are coming in like our Guards don't even exist on too too many plays.. Calling Pinkston and Lauvoa "guards" is an oxymoron. They are not guarding anything but their dinner plates.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Bronx Cheer

Fluges-

Agree about our Gs being generally terrible. Neither seem capable of dealing with a hefty DT alone. That monster in Seattle in particular consistently had them moving backwards. I'd be interested to see if Pinkston/Lauvao show improvement playing against 3-4 Ds where they'll be playing against NTs (with help from Mack) or 3-4 DEs?

Where I definitely disagree is regarding Pashos. Dude has been playing very well.

I didn't say Pashos played terrible - I said he was a journeyman. The reason I can use that descriptive term is, we weren't able to count on him to be healthy enough to start for us in 2010? And he's only started HALF our games in 2011. AND what's been the theme of his entire career to date along the same lines? If we're looking for reliability at RT - I don't want to keep looking to guys like Hicks and Cousins that were getting cut on other teams or in 2010 when we had to resort back to the same guy (St Clair) we felt so compelled to upgrade via Pashos in the first place. That's spinning our wheels IMO.

In the 3 games or so Pashos has been of use to us this year, he's played like a well paid veteran free agent RT should play. I'm just worried if he stubs a toe, catches a cold or gets a paper cut, we're back to looking at Hicks whiffing on Dunlap off the edge. Wasn't pretty. It's still a major priority to draft a young RT without the ewear and tear that's been slamming brakes on our right side in 2008, 2009, 2010 and the first 3 games of 2011.

I noticed the areas we are most vulnerable. 1 game our guards were too far from Center in replays of cup protection so the blitz came hot and heavy. Other games our OGs got thrown right back into the QB that needs to step INTO the throws of 3 step drops. I'm also seeing blitzes come inside our OTs as they engaged the DEs to ride them deeper than the QB outside leaving a seem between tackle and guards once our guards have tried to protect their inside gaps better - leaving perfect outside x-stunt blitz opportunities for the defense to have fun with. HUGE reason why I ALWAYS want us swing passing that outside to the LBerless flats. The good news is we started to do this a little more last week and it worked for us. Both RBs had some success catching the ball outside.

[Bronx Cheer]

Thanks, Fluges. What do you thing about the 3-4 point? I haven't seen much of the Gs being confused or missing assignments, just being outright physically outmatched whenever they have to deal 1 on 1 with a "load." Perhaps we'll see some improvement once we see some 3-4 teams instead of hefty 4-3 interior lineman.

Definitely agree on swing passes. Heck, a screen or two would be nice as well when the opposing D tries to pull that overload blitz crap, but I guess that would take a little bit of coaching.

[Greythan]

Good thread.

I think the notion that Colt doesn't have the physical tools to succeed is nonsense. If nothing else, I base this on the fact that Holmgren/Heckert drarfted him in the third round. While a third round pick isn't a first round pick, its still an important selection. Would you draft a QB there if you knew he had a major gap (i.e., arm strength) in physical ability? No way.

I do think its quite possible that Colt is still learning the game and that it hasn't really "slowed down" for him yet. This is probably the toughest part of being an NFL quarterback and the toughest part to predict/scout. So, is he missing pre-snap reads? Does he need to speed up his progressions? Does he need to recognize the NFL window and make more precise throws? Its probably yes to all of those things.

The tough part is determining how far off Colt really is at this stage. This is tough because there are 10 other guys out there with him who clearly impact Colt's effectiveness (as he does their's).

I remain hopeful that all 11 will continue to learn, gel and improve. As always, I'm excited for Sunday!!

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Bronx Cheer

Thanks, Fluges. What do you thing about the 3-4 point? I haven't seen much of the Gs being confused or missing assignments, just being outright physically outmatched whenever they have to deal 1 on 1 with a "load." Perhaps we'll see some improvement once we see some 3-4 teams instead of hefty 4-3 interior lineman.

Definitely agree on swing passes. Heck, a screen or two would be nice as well when the opposing D tries to pull that overload blitz crap, but I guess that would take a little bit of coaching.

Good point about the Guards as well as your point about facing the 3-4 alignments Bronx. I think our oline should matchup better vrs that front.

[Vegasdogg]

I have seen Colt do well at this level so I know he can make the throws. I think for some reason the WCO - an offense that is supposed to be suited for him because of his accuracy and smarts - is actually taking a while for him to grasp. I don't think any of his problems are physical, they are all mental.

We're going to start playing some upstart teams and nothing gets a team going like good play from the QB.

[Riffer X]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

I have seen Colt do well at this level so I know he can make the throws. I think for some reason the WCO - an offense that is supposed to be suited for him because of his accuracy and smarts - is actually taking a while for him to grasp. I don't think any of his problems are physical, they are all mental.

We're going to start playing some upstart teams and nothing gets a team going like good play from the QB.

What's funny is I gave Alo a bunch of shit everytime he brought up that Colty is a WCO guy. I was always kind of defensive about it. I was like always questioning him about it. To be completely honest, I have always thought of Colt as a great game managing, play action type of QB. Make plays with the feet if need be.

He's fucked up right now, this shit is way too complicated and he has zero help. Doesn't mean he won't be okay, and Heck and Homes know it..