Jonathan Jones With Interesting Breakdown of Cam's Incompletions

[Proudiddy]

Jonathan Jones ‏@jjones9 8m8 minutes ago

Of Cam's 18 incompletions: 6 were high and/or long. 3 drops. 6 PBUs/good plays by defense. 1 tipped by own WR for INT, 1 wrong route, 1 low.

 

My take?  6 to 7 bad throws seems a tad high, but if a guy throws 35 passes, I expect even the most accurate QBs to miss a handful (like 3 to 5).  Watch any of the greats and they have a handful of those "off throws" a game when they throw the ball that many times.  So, we've established, Cam had a few throws that were off.

 

Now, 3 drops + 6 PBUs + the 1 tip, which may as well go down as a drop...  To me those numbers are a lot higher than should be expected.  And I'm guessing our receivers are averaging 4 to 5 drops a game as a unit now.  KB has had two by himself each of the last two weeks and I KNOW Cotch and Avant have had too many to remember...  And honestly, I think JJ is being a bit generous with his designation of what was PBU versus a drop. 

 

Considering all of that, it suggests to me what I've been stating here ad nauseam - there is very little room for error with who Cam throws to because they lack the ability to get open on their own.  We have the slowest recieiving corps in all of the NFL.  What could help remedy that?  Well, getting the ball to your guys who create mismatch problems, i.e. Olsen.  Some of that is on coaches, some of it is on Cam.  But, the point is, the number of PBUs and drops is astronomical and is a huge reason for the horrible performance and numbers Cam put up last night. 

 

As I said, inaccurate throws happen when a QB throws it 35 times a game.  What can't happen is receivers dropping passes that hit them dead in the hands/chest repeatedly at the rate our guys are doing it, and the ridiculous amount of PBUs because our receivers struggle to get open and create space to catch the ball.  Avant comes to mind again for his inability over the season to basically maintain position and "box his man out" once he has established his position.  When we signed Avant and Cotch, I said those were great signings if they were the #3 and #4 guys, but we have them playing way out of their roles and the guys behind them aren't any better.  We have no speed at receiver and it limits what we can do.  It also ensures that Cam has way smaller windows to throw to. 

 

I'm not excusing his miscues...  But, the OL play does have to be considered when we know that a vast majority of his misthrows all start from the feet up...  He rarely has time to set his feet, and at this point, when he does, he still thinks he doesn't, so he "arm throws."

 

In summary, I think JJ's stats here illustrate how low we are on talent in the playmaking dept offensively, and that's a huge reason why Cam is having such a tough run as of late.  The number of drops and PBUs illustrates he is working with a subpar group of WRs as a whole, whom struggle to get open and can't be relied on to make plays when he gets the ball to them.

 

PS - This isn't about KB, as obviously he is our best WR and is a rookie...  but, being a rookie has little to do with catching a ball.  You either catch them or you don't - that part you've been doing your whole life.  But, route running and the little nuances of the position, he can certainly get a pass on those because it is unique to the pros and offense that you come into.  But, the rest of this group has no excuses, they are just lacking for talent and ability.

[TheMaulClaw]

We do need speed at wr, but not all the PBU's are on the receivers.  I'd like to see how many of those PBU's are a result of the ball being forced into tight coverage while other receivers were open.  It blows my mind how good Cam could be if he just let the game come to him and took what the D gives him instead of forcing the ball down field. 

[tondi]

That tip was clearly a drop.

[Snake]

Cam was off, anyone with a pair of eyes witnessed that. WRs were not getting open and Cam for sure was lasering in balls. I understand why he was and honestly cam just throws fast balls and WRs need to get use to. What worries me more is that no one is teaching him the little things about the game and he does not have a line to allow him to develope that.

[top dawg]

We do need speed at wr, but not all the PBU's are on the receivers.  I'd like to see how many of those PBU's are a result of the ball being forced into tight coverage while other receivers were open.  It blows my mind how good Cam could be if he just let the game come to him and took what the D gives him instead of forcing the ball down field. 

 

Fair point, but perhaps a cleaner pocket would help.

[LA_Panther]

Sorry Bro. 10 of 28 for 151 yards is atrocious for an NFL QB in his 4th year . No way to spin those #s. Only legit drop for me was the the KB drop in the endzone. Bersin should have caught that, but that was still a bad throw. I think the crazy catches our receivers make that bail out Cam's bad throws should at least cancel out their drops.

[stirs]

Of the completions Brees made, many of them hit the receiver in stride helping his YAC tremendously.  Our guys are usually jumping or reaching behind themselves even on the ones they don't miss.  This basically makes them easy targets for immediate tackles.

[CatMan72]

I don't care how bad Hill is, it's time to put him in so we can at least pretend to have a deep threat with enough speed to take it to the house.

[CarolinaSock]

Pass defenses need to be broken down into throws forced into coverage with other options open and being forced to try to squeeze it in. Many people have made the observation that cam overlooked dump offs numerous times to force it down the field into coverage.

[rodeo]

That tip was clearly a drop.

 

Seriously, calling that a tip is underselling that it bounced off the center of his freaking palms.

[TheMaulClaw]

Fair point, but perhaps a cleaner pocket would help.

 

It's true.  That's not entirely on Cam, but there are things that can be done to neutralize pass rush.  We had a lot of success with our short passing game yesterday the few times we did throw short. 

 

I'm done with my emotional reactions that always follows an ass whooping so.... here's an objective view.

 

What Cam is not responsible for:

 

Cam is not responsible for the putrid Oline when it comes to them winning their one on one battles.

 

Cam is not responsible for the ineptitude and predictability of Shula's play calling.  Every one knew we were going to try and force the ball to Benjamin in the redzone.

 

Cam is not responsible for a few of the drops made by the receivers though he did have a hand in a few of them.

 

What Cam is responsible for:

 

Cam is responsible for not hitting his check down receivers.  This does help a neutralize a pass rush.  If the D keys in on Cam always going down field it makes it twice as hard for an already suspect Oline to protect Cam.    The Saints gave us the underneath routes and the flats and Cam ignored it. If Cam hits his check downs on a regular basis it forces the D to be more honest and also spreads them out.  The more the D has to account for the better off we'll be.

 

Cam does need to develop more touch on his passes.

 

Cam is responsible for forcing the ball into double and sometimes triple coverage. 

 

Cam does have the ability to change the play based upon the look of the defense.  New Orleans utilized their timeouts when Brees didn't like how the defense was lined up.  We hardly ever use timeouts in that fashion.

 

Cam does have a say pre-snap to help guide protections. 

 

Cam does have the ability to get the ball out quickly.

 

 

It all works hand in hand.  The Oline needs to help Cam out and Cam needs to help them out.  Right now that's all being ignored and it's hard to pin down the reason for this.

[Proudiddy]

Of the completions Brees made, many of them hit the receiver in stride helping his YAC tremendously.  Our guys are usually jumping or reaching behind themselves even on the ones they don't miss.  This basically makes them easy targets for immediate tackles.

 

LOL...  so now all of his completions are bad throws too?  LOL, you guys...

 

So what about when he hit Cotch in stride between two defenders last night?  Cotch and his blazing speed got maybe another 10-15 yards before getting run down from behind.  Our receivers suck and almost all of them have NO YAC ability.  They lack athleticism.  It's hard to get YAC when they can't even get the catch part down because they can't get open unless Cam threads the needle.  The times they do get open (usually finding a soft spot in a zone), and he hits them accurately, AND they catch it, they are usually brought down immediately by an arm tackle anyway.  Our receivers and OL suck.  Combine those factors with horrible play designs and play calling by Shula and it's a perfect formula for a horrible passing game. 

 

"Here let me stand behind this swiss cheese, CFL-grade offensive line while I wait for my slow ass, unathletic receivers to get open on long-developing routes."

 

But yeah, Cam is the second coming of Ryan Leaf.

[TheMaulClaw]

LOL...  so now all of his completions are bad throws too?  LOL, you guys...

 

So what about when he hit Cotch in stride between two defenders last night?  Cotch and his blazing speed got maybe another 10-15 yards before getting run down from behind.  Our receivers suck and almost all of them have NO YAC ability.  They lack athleticism.  It's hard to get YAC when they can't even get the catch part down because they can't get open unless Cam threads the needle.  The times they do get open (usually finding a soft spot in a zone), and he hits them accurately, AND they catch it, they are usually brought down immediately by an arm tackle anyway.  Our receivers and OL suck.  Combine those factors with horrible play designs and play calling by Shula and it's a perfect formula for a horrible passing game. 

 

"Here let me stand behind this swiss cheese, CFL-grade offensive line while I wait for my slow ass, unathletic receivers to get open on long-developing routes."

 

But yeah, Cam is the second coming of Ryan Leaf.

 

No one is saying he's Ryan Leaf dude chill out. 

 

 

[top dawg]

It's true.  That's not entirely on Cam, but there are things that can be done to neutralize pass rush.  We had a lot of success with our short passing game yesterday the few times we did throw short. 

 

I'm done with my emotional reactions that always follows an ass whooping so.... here's an objective view.

 

What Cam is not responsible for:

 

Cam is not responsible for the putrid Oline when it comes to them winning their one on one battles.

 

Cam is not responsible for the ineptitude and predictability of Shula's play calling.  Every one knew we were going to try and force the ball to Benjamin in the redzone.

 

Cam is not responsible for a few of the drops made by the receivers though he did have a hand in a few of them.

 

What Cam is responsible for:

 

Cam is responsible for not hitting his check down receivers.  This does help a neutralize a pass rush.  If the D keys in on Cam always going down field it makes it twice as hard for an already suspect Oline to protect Cam.    The Saints gave us the underneath routes and the flats and Cam ignored it. If Cam hits his check downs on a regular basis it forces the D to be more honest and also spreads them out.  The more the D has to account for the better off we'll be.

 

Cam does need to develop more touch on his passes.

 

Cam is responsible for forcing the ball into double and sometimes triple coverage. 

 

Cam does have the ability to change the play based upon the look of the defense.  New Orleans utilized their timeouts when Brees didn't like how the defense was lined up.  We hardly ever use timeouts in that fashion.

 

Cam does have a say pre-snap to help guide protections. 

 

Cam does have the ability to get the ball out quickly.

 

 

It all works hand in hand.  The Oline needs to help Cam out and Cam needs to help them out.  Right now that's all being ignored and it's hard to pin down the reason for this.

 

I can get with that...but...in the end it comes down to your last three sentences.  It's hard to make an overall honest evaluation. We need drastic changes that just aren't going to happen before the season is over.  With Cam's contract year coming up, the whole situation is just a head-scratcher.