inside slant routes

what do we do

Don't work

Stop throwing them to small receivers

It worked to Darboh when we tried it a couple weeks ago.

Not RW's strong suit. Russ doesn't really anticipate guys coming open, and his timing leaves a lot to be desired. He is a bit late on slant routes, I noticed. These traits are a recipe for disaster on the inside slant. I think this is one of my biggest critiques of Wilson. He doesn't really throw guys open, he waits for them to get separation or he uses his legs to buy time for his receivers to come open. The problem with this approach is it leads to Wilson throwing from less than ideal positions. This is when we start seeing poor accuracy from Russ. Quite frankly, I'm baffled that he has as much success as he does with how often he throws from his back foot.

The fade, and inside slant are two passes I never really want to Russ throwing.

He is late on both, slant has to be thrown where they are going to be and you have to see the route and when the break is, fade is one that you need to throw early so the receiver can run away from the defender and reach out for the ball, not a jump ball route which should be on the sideline or back of the end zone so the defender has no chance on it and it's high or our guy gets it.

Despite what some will tell you both are routes Rw can through adn early in his career did alot and was successful, however, both also require 2 things, 1 a Wr who can either go get it or can win off the line, and an oline that can block a little as both happen fast. Our Wr don't win off the line much, and our oline does not block well, as a result Rw is forced to throw early or late. Now sometimes it is Rw because he just does not trust the WR to win or the Olien to block so he throws early or late, but alot of times it is not. If you go back to the days of Golden Tate he would run both and Rw would throw it and it looked great but as the line as regressed so too has all the elements needed for that play to include Rw. The myth he can't is like the myth he can't throw over the middle a myth that has also been proven wrong. Just like the one were he cant throw people open, something he does a lot of but most don't really know what that means so they just assume he cant because they want to. In fact you can go back to 2nd half 2015 where he would throw a lot of slants, and they were successful, but that was after the oline started playing better something that still has not happened.

Anthony!":19l50ic9 said:

Despite what some will tell you both are routes Rw can through adn early in his career did alot and was successful, however, both also require 2 things, 1 a Wr who can either go get it or can win off the line, and an oline that can block a little as both happen fast. Our Wr don't win off the line much, and our oline does not block well, as a result Rw is forced to throw early or late. Now sometimes it is Rw because he just does not trust the WR to win or the Olien to block so he throws early or late, but alot of times it is not. If you go back to the days of Golden Tate he would run both and Rw would throw it and it looked great but as the line as regressed so too has all the elements needed for that play to include Rw. The myth he can't is like the myth he can't throw over the middle a myth that has also been proven wrong. Just like the one were he cant throw people open, something he does a lot of but most don't really know what that means so they just assume he cant because they want to. In fact you can go back to 2nd half 2015 where he would throw a lot of slants, and they were successful, but that was after the oline started playing better something that still has not happened.

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The inside slant in the traditional sense is supposed to be three steps and out. It is a quick hitter, a pass play that is meant to take advantage of on aggressive defense. The ball is supposed to be out of the hands in a matter of 2 seconds or less. The second element to the slant pass is throwing it to where your receiver is going to be, rather than throwing it to the receiver.

Your reasons as to why we haven't been doing slants, or why Russ is not good at them right now don't add up. First of all, this is the type of pass is supposed to be out of your hands almost as soon as the ball is snapped. The inside slant is often a pass that is dialed up to mitigate pressure. It is one of the more ideal plays for a struggling line. They don't have to hold their blocks for very long, and the ball is out of the hands almost immediately in theory.

Your assertion that we don't have the right talent for it is also wrong. Doug Baldwin is very good off of the line, he is very hard to get a hold of, and he is a phenomenal route runner. Lockett also runs precise routes, and is hard to get ahold of. Jimmy Graham was fed a lot of slant routes in NO as well. He is hard to knock off the route, and he is good at boxing defenders out even if he doesn't get much separation.

Even in 2015 whenever he threw a slant pass it was ugly. He didnt really throw to a spot, he was waiting to see if the receiver had a step or two. He also had the tendency to throw behind the receiver a bit even in 2015 on the slants. He got picked off a few times on the inside slant as well due to being late on the throw. Inside slants require a precise and methodical approach, and these two attributes have never been a huge aspect of Russ's game.

This doesn't mean he is a bad QB, it just means that the fade, and inside slant aren't particular areas he excels in. He can compensate quite nicely by buying time, and picking up yardage on the ground.

He completed a bunch of them in the win over Houston, so it's obviously something he can do.
We just have to be better disciplined so those 3rd-and-4s don't become 3rd-and-14 scenarios.