I like Watson but he is lucky the Bengalss dropped those two pick six INTs he threw. Maybe it was three near pick sixs. Many NFL DBs are shrewd ball hawks. They study film, they watch a QBs every move. If a QB telegraphs where he is going with a pass they will make him pay.
We wont go anywhere with him running this much. Im not mad at him, hes doing his best to win right now, but I fear he may develop some terrible habits behind this line. Hes gonna have to keep his eyes downfield longer to be a difference maker.
That's the biggest knock on him, is that when the pocket breaks down, he drops his eyes as he's scrambling and shifting in the pocket to find open space. Then, he brings them back up and scans the field once he finds open ground. He's got to learn to do both things over time. Once we bought him time in the fourth quarter, though, he sure looked good. If we can surround him with competent line play, it will do a lot for his development.
I thought OBrien was teaching him to keep his eyes down field. Hopefully he's getting that in film room
Considering the pass rush and lack of receiving options, I've thought he's done a good job keeping eyes down field outside of a couple plays that he just looked timid. He's averaging about 1-1.5 more rushes per half than a pocket passer in a small sample size. That is probably a good spot for him.
Plenty of likes on your post, so I guess I'm in the minority on this, but his mechanics don't look right to me, and certainly not close to the motion I see from Brady, who I would consider to have the most fundamental mechanics in the league. I also thought it was a given that his release was slow, at least on maybe half of his throws. It allowed the DBs to get jumps on the ball a bunch in the first two games. Appreciate your thoughts, thanks for the dialog.
His release is pretty quick, actually. He'd probably be in the top third of the NFL in release time, if you measured it out. They did a little segment on it last night, actually. What is lacking, and allowing DBs to get a jump on his throws is footwork. Bad footwork leads to less velocity. Ultimately, if he improves his footwork, he'll improve his velocity. His arm strength is fine, he just needs to improve the footwork. This, and keeping his eyes downfield, are the two main flaws in his game. Once he gets those things down, he will probably make a few Pro Bowls, at the very least.
Much more accurate?Even arm strength is arguable if you judge by the eye test. Was a 64% passer his rookie year in the NFL(much worse his first few games) He was also only sacked 33 times in 2012 and had a better run game. Was a 61% passer in college compared to Watson's 67% with similar overall YPA. I see very similar players, with Watson taking more risk(more turnover prone through the air). We saw a much better passer in the second half and go figure the offensive line played much better in the second half in pass pro.
He's been noted for having a quick release, however, he does lack velocity on his throws and that sets him up for interceptions, particularly on those out routes where he has to hit the target before the defender gets there.
Wilson is a very good comparison to Watson. If O'Brien can manage Watson like Pete did Russ's rookie season, Watson will be just fine this year. I'm sure O'Brien is studying Seahawks tape in whatever free time he has. It's about as good a comparison you can make with any two starting QBs in the league, in my opinion.
