From the Athletic, this scares the poo out of me from him along with his size. He gets really uncomfortable in the pocket under duress. Can you coach that out of him? I dont know but its a huge concern as of right now:
Chris Burke: As you said, there are quite a few things to like – he’s got the arm to challenge all over the field, he’s dangerous with his feet, he’s tough. It’s strange, though, because I’ve come out of his film cut-ups wanting him both to speed things up and slow things down, if that makes any sense.
I’ll try to explain further, in case it doesn’t: His initial instinct on a lot of plays is to get out of the pocket and run, so an NFL coaching staff will need to get him to stick with his progressions longer. But, flip side, when he does hang in the pocket, it tends to get belabored. If you compare his footwork to that of, say, Matt Corral, everything happens a lot quicker with Corral.
So, I’m curious to see how he looks next week. Can he keep progressing as a passer? What do you think so far?
Baumgardner: His scrambling makes me nervous and his apparent instinct to bail early up the field – and not to find another space in the pocket to make a throw – also makes me nervous. I think he sees the field better than some give him credit for. Some of the offense he played in at North Carolina plays into that, as he ran a ton of RPOs and was asked to make a bunch of run reads that were tagged with pass concepts. So, he can process – it’s just a little bit different.
But … he is not comfortable in the pocket. That’s what I keep coming away with and I’m super curious to see if that, in 2021, was the result of a guy trying to do everything for a flawed team – or just something he has to overcome as a player.
I like his courage. I like his arm. All the good parts about Baker Mayfield are in there. A lot of the bad is, too. The inconsistency and lack of improv skills in the pocket from a passing sense are two things I have a hard time shaking. But I still think he’s talented. Can you tame a guy like this? That’s kind of what it feels like, right? Can you break some bad habits and get him into a good spot?
Burke: You’re gonna hear that Mayfield comparison a lot, and it’s because Howell legitimately looks like Mayfield in the pocket. The movements, the decision-making – it’s all familiar.
I’m glad you brought up the lack of improv skills, though. I pulled out this play from North Carolina’s game against Notre Dame in 2020 to touch on that point …
The first one in that video got called back by a hold, but ignore that. The bigger point is that it’s hard to find plays like this, in which Howell makes something happen out of structure with his arm. He’s usually off and running by this point, so – as you said – can you dial that back and teach him to be more patient?
The second play is what you want to see: Letting the pocket protect him, scanning through his options, delivering a strike for a big play.
Baumgardner: He’s a tricky one for me and I think the more I watch the more I land on the fact he needs to go somewhere with time. The Lions have time to offer. If they draft a quarterback this year (they don’t have to), that guy doesn’t have to start next season. Maybe even the year after, who knows. So from that standpoint, I like it – because I think, yes, in time you can adjust some of those instincts (because they come from a good place) to make that throw you just clipped far more regular than some of the bail-out runs we see where he wants to put a shoulder throw a 250-pound linebacker.
How much do I like it? That’s the ultimate question. Right now, there’s no way he’s in the conversation at No. 2 and I’m not sure where others slot him. Specifically with Detroit: Do you see a fit there?
Burke: No, not at 2. That said, I do think they could make Howell work with this offense, because he’s done a ton off RPOs and the pocket can roll wherever you’d want it to roll. Big week coming for him.
She is crazy
