Originally posted by Marvin49:
2) Chryst: So this one is really about both Kap and Chryst...and the O in general. I know people hate Chryst and have hated him since the day one. I'm not going to defend him per se, but I think it should be pointed out that he's in a really rough spot. He's got a line that can't run or pass block, a QB who's completely shell-shocked, down his best WR who runs 4.8-4.9 on a good day, and yesterday was down to his 5th RB.
How do you call an offense under those conditions? You simplify for the QB, but then the D just sits on the routes. I see him dialing up the same simply plays time after time hoping for a better result and ordinarily that would drive me nuts...but what are his other options? So many parts not functioning correctly...at some point the players need to make the damn plays.
This.
I'm no football expert. But I've thought about this quite a bit. I'm just not sure how you scheme your way out of our situation.
O Line: It's just awful. There are times when I just can't believe what I am seeing. Again, I have far less knowledge than many folks here, but even I can clearly see that the line is just terrible. Even when the line isn't just immediately defeated and there's a "pocket," it's often immediately closing in on Kap. It's so common for the center to be nearly pushed into Kap that I've stopped noticing. Kap rarely has a "pocket" to climb because the top of the pocket just follows Kap during his drop. And it often fails-- quickly-- in multiple locations, so evading pressure is nearly impossible. And that's when we have a "pocket." Which we often don't.
The pressure comes so fast it's just laughable. How many screen passes were batted down yesterday? I remember one distinctly that was just ridiculous, as Kap had the ball out immediately after the snap. And it was still batted down. I've never been a QB-- nor did I play football in highschool-- but I cannot imagine what this oblong, messy, always nearly failing "pocket" must do to passing windows and vision-- as if the lack of time, threat of sack, and constrained field weren't enough for Kap to worry about. It's like he's playing a red zone offense against a blitz that magically dials up extra rushers without losing pass defense: There's so little time that the field is constrained, the routes are therefore simple and there's almost certainly little to separation, and the pocket sucks so bad that he's always worried about getting sacked, and defenses don't even need to blitz to make this happen.
It's disgusting.
Kap: Tunnel vision. Shell shocked. I agree. But... this isn't an over night product. This is a season and a half behind an O line that has gotten worse and worse. A season and a half for a QB who previously only had a season and a half as a starter in the NFL. For a QB who showed real promise, but definitely needed some work-- especially in pocket management. A season and a half for a QB who was able to manage a much more complex offensive prior to the O line collapse, but whose major weakness was being a bit slow and not throwing based on anticipated route breaks. If he's our project, and we want him to gain the confidence to make anticipation throws, then we need a decent O line and/or quick receivers who can create separation quickly. And we provided none of that. In fact, we provided the opposite.
Yeah. Sometimes the pocket holds well enough and Kap doesn't make some throws. Or he over or under throws. And that sucks. But... dude has been under siege for like a season and a half. It's not like he's going to forget about that history. If he sees the line struggling on any given Sunday, he knows what that means: They're out matched. And the pressure is probably coming any given second. And if he's not prepared, it could be a sack. Or fumble. Or injury. End of career. It's one thing if a QB plays behind a line that plays like s**t against a really tough defense. It's still not going to be easy to stand there and make some throws with the pressure coming, but it must be a completely different experience when the line just s**ts the bed almost every single game. That's gotta be a huge source of his tunnel vision: He does not trust the line.
And that tunnel vision at the safety when he didn't see/comprehend Torrey Smith? Totally sucks. He should have seen it. But he's backed up on the 1-yard line, and the coach has called a run up the middle. Kap's not an idiot. He knows that if there's any mistakes at all, it's a safety. He knows our line sucks-- probably better than anyone-- and he knows the defense is gonna be doing everything it can to get our dude in the back field. Yes, it would have been awesome if he had noted that uncovered receiver, but if you can't empathize with his tunnel vision right now, you aren't trying. He's over-focusing on his immediate task at hand because he understands that any slip up will cause a safety. I'm sure he'll learn from this. I'm sure it will be a good lesson for him.
Receivers: I don't have All22, so I can't see everything. But I just don't see anyone creating separation quickly. Not that I'd expect almost any receivers to be able to create enough separation quickly enough given our terrible O line and Kap's yet-developed trust and confidence in anticipation throws. I know Vernon runs sloppy routes, so I'm sure that doesn't help Kap with anticipation. And I know Bouldin isn't exactly that fast, so that doesn't help. And in general, I know we're typically running simple routes because we just don't have time for much of anything else, so I don't even think Kap should be making anticipation throws at this point because they'd probably just get picked off.
Running: Hahaha. Yeah. Line can't block. PS runners. It's just bad news.
Sum Total: Our system creates failure because that is the only real thing it can produce. This is the outcome of a season and a half long regression in the O line. Our line is now so bad that every competent defense knows it can just dial up the pressure-- even without blitzing, uggg--, and, statistically, they win. So what if we burn them a couple times a game?-- and Kap has burned a few defenses this season. It doesn't matter. The line is so bad that it doesn't matter. They can disrupt everything we want to do almost every time, which means that, aside from the exceptions where the stars align and we burn them for 40 yards, they completely castrate our offense.
There is no magic solution, aside from perhaps an expert, creative OC who can figure out some way to compensate for our terrible line. Again, I'm no expert, but just from a conceptual perspective, I don't see any way out of this. Other than fixing the O line. And maybe even getting a new QB. Kap may now be damaged beyond repair, and he very well may need new scenery to recover, though I'm more optimistic than most regarding Kap. When he faced terrible defenses, which resulted in receivers creating separation quickly enough relative to our O line, he quickly got in the groove and executed at an acceptable level.
Finally, thanks to Martin for these threads, and to thl408 and jonnydel for the after-game analysis and break downs. Win or lose, I always look forward to these threads, and as a relative newcomer to football, I've learned a great deal from all your efforts. I'm sure there are many other lurkers like me who appreciate your efforts. Thanks!
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