1. Are finally "getting" the new blocking schemes? 2. Wanted to give Mallet extra protection because of his first start? 3. The Brown's defensive line was sub par? 4. Other?
4. With FitzMagic they were asked to block for 5 seconds a pop. That puts too much pressure on the line and wears them out throughout the course of the game. On sunday, Mallett was getting the ball out quick, easing the pressure and reducing the wear and tear leaving them able to finish the game strong.
Possibly all of the above. I think the Browns getting beaten so badly in the run game stopped the blitz and Mallett did a good job getting the ball out quickly. I hope the protection remains at this level.
Mallett was getting rid of the ball quicker. And the play book was extended to include longer routs that then made the running game more effective, which made it more difficult to simply tee off on the rush.
I knew someone would say that, but in every other game this season, there were at least a few plays where guys were entirely unblocked putting pressure on the QB in under 2 seconds, that never happened this most recent game. In this game the pocket held.
they used max protect with Mallett and never put him in a position to have to make that quick of a read. they will again. but as you said, that's usually only for a couple plays a game and that unblocked man usually means you've got a hot route. would you have asked mallett to throw the hot route on sunday?
Certainly not, I was just pointing out that the O line protected him a lot better than Fitz was protected. I hope the line keeps it up because it was nice to see the QB not get pressured immediately after the ball is snapped.
the thing is bobby, they didn't need the max protect even though they were calling for it. he really did that good of a job in releasing quickly. it's really a simple concept. if you are blocking less seconds per play on average, you are able to go at full speed longer. that really is what happened. we just didn't leave any exposed seams by design. over time, o'brien will trust mallet with those and you'll see them again.
and I get that his tendencies can be figured out, his accuracy could still be a huge problem, and his gunslinger mentality could make him interception prone - all resulting in him ultimately being a crappy quarterback..... HOWEVER, on sunday, he was nothing short of tremendous for his first outing.
Mallett definitely had a better pocket than Fitz has ever had. I think it was mainly due to Cleveland's bad D-line run defense against our run-heavy offense. It wasn't necessarily Mallett getting the ball out quicker, either. Yeah, he does have a bigger arm and faster release than Fitz, but pass rushers consistently were in the backfield at the start of the snap due to being unblocked. That never happened against the Browns.
I can remember it happening several times and Mallett climbing the pocket well or releasing it without being able to step into it. That happened on the first dropped andre johnson bomb pass that (should have been caught still) fell short.
think about it this way... what's more likely? Duane Brown suddenly becomes a crappy left tackle after being one of the best in the league and just had a flash. or Duane Brown's played regressed when blocking for quarterbacks that held onto the ball too long and for at least one game, he wasn't asked to do that allowing him to return to form.
It's a combination of many things. Most important is exactly what I predicted, much to many people here's denial. This offense is quarterback-centric. The quarterback has every option to audible into one of many plays on any given play call. I'm not trying to knock Fitz, but whatever the reason, be it his lack of experience in the system, or bad field vision, or anything, he just hadn't picked it up yet. Also, it seems he lacked the accuracy and strong arm to deliver on quick routes. O'Brien purposefully waited until Mallett proved to him he was ready, and he even mentioned that. On Sunday, it was evident, at the game at least, that Mallett had full control of the offense. He audibles several times into better plays, especially when the defense was showing blitz. He motioned people specifically to grasp whether the defense was playing a man or zone scheme. He got the ball out quickly. He made accurate throws, for the most part. These things have me excited about him. Long story short, part was game plan, part was improved o line play, but a large part was change at quarterback. Mallett simply put his team in a much better position to succeed than Fitzpatrick has all season. There's no argument to be had there. Yes he's immobile, but he climbs the pocket very well, has great awareness, can move a little, and most importantly has the ability to put his offense in great positions.
The whole team is going to play a lot better with Ryan Mallett. He is the right QB for their offense and for the team in general. So they feel better with him and they won't let him down. With Fitzpatrick they saw no hope, all they saw was struggles. If Fitzy started that game against the Browns it would have been the same old story where they struggle during the game, come up close to win but they lose. They see different in Mallett, the play better and they get better motivation out of him. This is going to be a fun season to watch. 9-7 is their final record and that is a heck of a fun season.
Quick release was certainly a factor though. I hope the kid can keep it up <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Ryan Mallett's average time per pass attempt was 2.06 seconds vs CLE. Off the charts fast, lowest in the league this week.</p>— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF/status/534770774457208832">November 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Helps when you get the ball off quickly and don't run around in the backfield like a blind chicken or a Case Keenum.
