If you ever wanted to see how to beat the Seattle Seahawks Indianapolis showed the way. When the Colts went to the hurry-up in the third quarter of Sunday's game they systematically wore down Seattle's defense. The Seahawks pass rush disappeared, exposing the much-celebrated corners Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner as less than their hype. T.Y. Hilton appeared to have his way with the two, particularly Browner. Andrew Luck played a smart game behind center. Minus one critical third-down conversion by Trent Richardson in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks shut down the Colts running game.
With the game on the line and enough time on the clock to take his team to paydirt Russell Wilson failed to get the job done; certainly the defense let down in the second half, but so too did the Seattle offense, repeatedly settling for field goals. Marshawn Lynch had a big drop in the fourth quarter when he turned too late to see that Wilson's pass was already right on top of him. He was wide open and would've had a first down if not a touchdown and the game at that point would have been entirely different.
Well, you can't win them all. The Patriots figured that out, losing in Cincy to a streaky Bengal squad; if they ever get a solid running game and consistent play from QB Dalton could be a team to watch. Denver survived a bizarre game in Dallas that was like something you would play on the street with a few friends and a Nerf football. The final score was 51-48. For a while, Tony Romo looked like Brett Favre at his peak. I am now suspicious of the Broncos defense.
The Falcons are in free fall, losing to the lowly Jets last night. The Saints remained unbeaten, as do Andy Reid's Chiefs. Everywhere I see feet of clay and nowhere a clear king of the hill.
Showing posts with label Andy Dalton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Dalton. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Stellar Rookie QBs
Sunday morning of NFL Week 13 one of the things that stands out is all the amazing rookie quaterback play. Since I began following the NFL in 1975 I can't think of a season when as many first-year QBs not only started but won. I haven't read any of the coverage on this; what I'm saying is uninformed by the literature and dependent solely on my weekly devotional to the televisual.
The two marquee names are Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. I was able to watch closely the Redskins-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving. I had seen RG3 in the opener in New Orleans. And while he was impressive, I was focused more on the poor play of the Saints. But in Dallas RG3 amazed me. The heart and soul of his team, he ran his Shanahanian offense with proficiency; he made great throws, ran the option well and took some brutal hits. I am true believer.
I've yet to see an Andrew Luck game. But from what I can tell of the highlight reels, he plays with intensity and can throw the long bomb with accuracy. Most importantly, he has the Colts winning after last season's Manning-less meltdown.
Next up I would place the west coast rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson. As a Seahawks fan I'm a student of Russell Wilson's play. I was a skeptic at first. In the opening games of the season it seemed as if he couldn't see down the field to throw the bomb. I pined for Tarvaris Jackson who stood tall in the pocket and threw long. But then Wilson made huge throws to beat Green Bay and New England and I became a true believer. He is consistently excellent. A little jittery now and again, he always has Seahawks in contention.
The last two, Miami's Ryan Tannehill and Cleveland's Brandon Weeden, are big, strong, classic-type quarterbacks who in a normal year would be getting a lot more attention. I've seen Weeden a couple of times. And despite the tendency to throw interceptions, he is impressive for a rookie. To me he looks just as good as Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez. Last week I watched Tannehill beat the Seahawks with his arm.
So what's going on? There has been a trend in recent years of rookie QBs leading their teams to the playoffs. Think Roethlisberger, Flacco, Ryan, Sanchez, Dalton. The easy answer is that the college game, which I don't follow, is becoming more "professional." Reading a story, "The Hard Life of an N.F.L. Long Shot," in last week's New York Times Magazine I came across this: "I always heard that rookies are overwhelmed at first by the speed of the game at the pro level. But everyone I asked about this had the same response. 'It’s not the speed,' the third-year linebacker Robert James told me. 'It only seems like the game is a lot faster because you’re always trying to figure out what you’re doing and where you’re supposed to be. Once I began to learn the defenses, the game slowed down for me.' "
If this is true and success in the pro game is more mental than physical then the growing number of superlative rookie quarterbacks is proof that we are as a society getting smarter. If the election in November was a national referendum on public ignorance and enlightenment won, then the rise of RG3 and Russell Wilson is another victory for fiat lux!
The two marquee names are Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. I was able to watch closely the Redskins-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving. I had seen RG3 in the opener in New Orleans. And while he was impressive, I was focused more on the poor play of the Saints. But in Dallas RG3 amazed me. The heart and soul of his team, he ran his Shanahanian offense with proficiency; he made great throws, ran the option well and took some brutal hits. I am true believer.
I've yet to see an Andrew Luck game. But from what I can tell of the highlight reels, he plays with intensity and can throw the long bomb with accuracy. Most importantly, he has the Colts winning after last season's Manning-less meltdown.
Next up I would place the west coast rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson. As a Seahawks fan I'm a student of Russell Wilson's play. I was a skeptic at first. In the opening games of the season it seemed as if he couldn't see down the field to throw the bomb. I pined for Tarvaris Jackson who stood tall in the pocket and threw long. But then Wilson made huge throws to beat Green Bay and New England and I became a true believer. He is consistently excellent. A little jittery now and again, he always has Seahawks in contention.
The last two, Miami's Ryan Tannehill and Cleveland's Brandon Weeden, are big, strong, classic-type quarterbacks who in a normal year would be getting a lot more attention. I've seen Weeden a couple of times. And despite the tendency to throw interceptions, he is impressive for a rookie. To me he looks just as good as Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez. Last week I watched Tannehill beat the Seahawks with his arm.
So what's going on? There has been a trend in recent years of rookie QBs leading their teams to the playoffs. Think Roethlisberger, Flacco, Ryan, Sanchez, Dalton. The easy answer is that the college game, which I don't follow, is becoming more "professional." Reading a story, "The Hard Life of an N.F.L. Long Shot," in last week's New York Times Magazine I came across this: "I always heard that rookies are overwhelmed at first by the speed of the game at the pro level. But everyone I asked about this had the same response. 'It’s not the speed,' the third-year linebacker Robert James told me. 'It only seems like the game is a lot faster because you’re always trying to figure out what you’re doing and where you’re supposed to be. Once I began to learn the defenses, the game slowed down for me.' "
If this is true and success in the pro game is more mental than physical then the growing number of superlative rookie quarterbacks is proof that we are as a society getting smarter. If the election in November was a national referendum on public ignorance and enlightenment won, then the rise of RG3 and Russell Wilson is another victory for fiat lux!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)