At least Fitz nominally remembers he's a football player and will run for some yards if protection breaks down and there's open field in front of him. That's something.
Great arms are still very useful for a smart QB with accuracy in the short passing games. The problem with great arms is that the guys with them usually get by with making bad decisions throwing long balls in high school and college throwing.
Of course; I never said otherwise. I just no longer think it's a top priority. Manning does not have a good arm. But he's accurate; makes smart decisions; has little fear.
So . . . my dear offensive GURUs . . . . what about the offense . ..do you like . . what do you not like? [beyond the levels of success implementing it] Do you see what BO'B is trying to do? Do you like it? Rocket River
I mentioned this during the DEN game thread, but no one agreed. The plays are virtually the same, except we're executing better (and getting lucky passes weren't int'd). The o-line has improved and no dumb false start penalties. Coaching has already proven to be a huge upgrade.
The offense is being "dumbed down" for Fitz - he has trouble with passes over 20 yards. He can throw longer passes, but not very often. I think he should throw it out there a couple times at least every game in Johnsons direction, just to keep the bastards honest.
Look at Fitz and his last two seasons with the Bills...he was right at the average mark as far as completions for 20+ yards and completions for 40+ yards. Then factor in the offense he had around him. Then, look at Jay Cutlers numbers over the same time span. The offense doesn't have to be dumbed down for Fitz.
Honestly, I'm not sure Peyton is throwing bombs anymore. As he's gotten older, he's become more measured...he's just getting lots of yards after the catch and relying more on his receivers to make plays with the ball in their hands. But I see QB's take shots down field a lot now...with the way pass interference is called now, it makes sense. Even if the pass isn't completed you still have a decent chance of picking up the first down off a penalty. Hell, the Ravens won a Super Bowl that way year before last.
But not consistently, and certainly not enough to necessarily require that your QB have a cannon arm. They'll take a few shots downfield a game, sure. But the vast majority of NFL passes travel 7-10 yards. The league is all about creating space and letting these ultra-fast position players run. Defenses are too sophisticated and fast to let deep plays develop. Do you really think teams are going to let their QBs stand in the pocket while guys run 15-20 yards with JDC and JJ across the LOS?
Nah, deep passes are pretty consistent. Consistent doesn't mean every other play, but it normally happens once every 10 plays or so.. even with QBs who aren't great or good. Deep passes don't need to be caught to be effective. The threat of going over the top helps open things underneath.. running game and the shorter passes you mentioned. My only point was the offense looks very similar to Kubiak. Perhaps BOB is hiding his cards, maybe he doesn't trust Fitz. Either way it's cool, it just looks very similar to Kubes. We do seem to be executing better which is a good thing. Obrien has already shown he's a better coach than his predecessor. Texans' future looks bright.
I'm not suggesting teams *don't* throw deep; I certainly understand the viability of doing so. But offenses these days aren't built around deep passes (as you noted: completion isn't even terribly critical). If given a choice, I promise most coaches would prefer - and I'll get crucified for this but here goes - a guy like* Schaub (weaker arm but accurate and efficient) to a guy like Flacco (huge arm; wildly inconsistent and inaccurate). * Please, for the love of all that is sacred, note that I said LIKE... I recognize Flacco has a ring, blah, blah, blah... I'm not trying to stir it up - they just each perfectly represented where i believe the NFL is these days. I know Schaub sucks........
