My understanding of Manning is that he got three plays from the OC, a run and two passes, and then walked to the line and made the final call himself. I could be misremembering.
I could be misremembering it as well; my understanding is that (for at least the past couple of years) call the play from the line based on how he read the defense. We may both be correct though!
Shadarr
2963
Regarding Alex Smith, his completion percentage is high and his yards per completion are low, because he is Captain Checkdown. Last week at the end of the first half when they had time for three plays and about 70 yards to go, he threw two of them to the RB, including the last play of the half. This is where statistics lie, because statistically he’s an accurate passer, but if you actually watch where he puts the ball is is not. And ultimately I think that’s what will prevent him from being an elite QB, he just doesn’t have consistent accuracy to complete passes against tight coverage. And he knows it, so he doesn’t try.
Regarding plays with multiple possible routes, I don’t know if it’s a Bill Walsh innovation but it was certainly a staple of his offense. It’s called a sight read and when the WR and QB are on the same page it makes the offense almost impossible to stop. If there’s a blitz, the WR breaks off the route and the QB throws the pass quicker. If it’s a zone or man-to-man defense the WR runs a route designed to beat that defense. I don’t know how wide-spread it is in the league, but I’m pretty sure Green Bay is running the full WCO including sight reads. I believe the Martz offense did not have sight reads. However, having a “hot” read when there’s a blitz is pretty much universal.
Thongsy
2964
You’re right, he is doing that and throwing away a lot of balls too. Which is something he didn’t do as often in previous years. He would try to thread the needle only to have it be incomplete or caught for an interception. Other times he would stay in the pocket much too long and take a sack or throw a bad pass. Now he’s moving around, throwing checkdown passes, scrambling and throwing the ball away if necessary. Instead of trying to do too much, he’s doing all the little things that will allow him to be successful. He isn’t going to turn into Aaron Rodgers but right now he’s not losing the Niners any games either by playing smart and knowing his own abilities and limitations.
Sarkus
2965
That’s true and its also important to note that sometimes QBs look good in those simplified systems but don’t make the transition to the more complicated approach they usually need for long-term success. Rick Mirer, for example, looked pretty solid his rookie year with the Seahawks way back when but never got any better, and arguably got worse when faced with more complicated offenses.
I went through my copy of Football Outsiders Almanac 2011, and their comment for Smith points out what you guys have – in 2008, 45% of his passes were thrown shorter than six yards from the line of scrimmage, but that’s increased to 52% (2009) and 60% (2010) since. That’s part of what has reduced his effectiveness in shotgun, as last year he was actually below average from the gun.
Early in his career this was true. Tom Moore would call in the three plays and Manning would pick one. As Peyton became more and more confident and as the Colts moved almost exclusively to running a no-huddle style offense playcalling shifted to using a smaller number of base plays that Peyton could manipulate as he saw fit. Of course he has almost always had the freedom to audible specific players or the whole offense into different plays. This is why Manning was the most vocal opponent to the limiting of OTA and pre-season activities. It takes so long to get each person in the offense to learn the entire scheme that Peyton attends every training session to work with everyone, including guys on the practice squad.
jeffd
2968
You’re correct afaik. Peyton is basically the OC for the Colts.
Shadarr
2969
He’s certainly playing better than he ever has in his career, but I think the worry with a QB with obvious limitations is that the defense can adjust and if he can’t complete some deeper routes, they’ll just smother the underneath stuff. He completes a lot of passes for under five yards that get no RAC yards, whereas someone like Brady can throw a WR screen to Welker and it’ll go for 15 yards because the corner is playing way off.
Yeah. I don’t give a shit about “elite.” I am taking “competent and practically error-free and still money in the red zone.” That works for me.
Depends on whether or not you consider Jim Kelly’s era part of the modern ear, as he used to do the same thing.
In my opinion there’s nothing wrong with building complexity into an offense provided the QB (and the rest of the talent) can prove they are ready for it. Some coaches fall so in love with their systems (coughMikeMartzcough) that they are blind to its shortcomings with wrong personnel.
Also everyone’s scheme looks great when you have an all-pro offensive line, not so much when it doesn’t. This is another place I give credit to Harbaugh. That offensive line is nowhere near rock solid. I don’t think they have much choice in running the offense they are running, all that matters is it works (although it needs to work better, especially in the first half).
All of the best QBs do this. It’s not unique to Peyton, although he may be the best at it.
Hammet
2972
Bah! Has everyone forgotten Warren Moon and the Run-and-Shoot Offense? Having receivers motion to reveal coverage and adjusting routes on the fly is hardly something new or unique to Manning.
But I’ll be damned if I’ve seen anyone as in command as he is. Like someone wrote above, it’s like having the OC as quarterback.
DT1
2973
CBS reporting that Al Davis has died.
Thongsy
2974
Got a link? A quick google search is not turning up anything for me.
Also up on the Raiders site.
The NFL site also saying Davis has died.
Has anyone heard about Al Davis!?
Lorini
2980
That’s just mean. You know I’m in shock and everything :)
