scutterhawk
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Like it or not, Hackett is going to have to borrow some of what Pete Carroll was HAVING TO DO to help get Wilson back up & running, and he's still not going to be the Russell Wilson of yesteryear.My opinion is a lot of QB can operate in this league if they find the right scheme. Is Baker Mayfield that bad with the Panthers? No but I also know that the Panthers thought they could have Mayfield will them to win games in the 4th quarter. Something that Teddy Bridgewater could not do.
Can Geno do that? I am not so sure but like Teddy B with the Panthers/Broncos he isn't the MAIN problem.
Having Geno play at such a high level within the system shows that the offense can have more depth and complexity. And it is easier to judge the true talent level of all players on offense. I suspected that the TE group wasn't as bad as they look and I don't think Fant's arrival is the catalyst that ignited this productivity from the TE room alone all of a sudden. It is a team effort with the TEs, Geno and Waldron scheming them to succeed.
With RW situation here is what I see. Hacket like his father and Jon Gruden like old school horizontal WCO. Sure they will run an occasional go route or down the seam to counter cover 2/3 coverages.
But Gruden and Hackettt (Sr. And Jr). strongly believe in mismatches with slot WR running crossing routes in the middle of the field lined up against a nickel/dime defender or LB. That requires timing and anticipation which is NOT RW's strength and to recognize this PRE SNAP. Which is also NOT RW's strength.
What RW is very good at still is timing and rainbow throws downfield over the top of even double coverage. Most QBs can't make those type of throws but RW is still accurate. But asking RW to throw a timing route that is horizontal is a no go with him.
If Denver is smart they increase the amount of running play diversity, keep the screen game going and run more vertical concepts that isolate boundary receivers. Right now Wilson is struggling to throw in the middle of the field whether short, intermediate or deep. This is because teams are going to continue to play cover 2 and cover 3 until Denver can show they can move the chains with a short ball control WCO offense.
That should be right up Hackett's alley except that is not RW strength. So the alternative is to pound the rock as much as possible and then run play action deep passes to utilize RW strength. Basically RW is a more athletic and seasoned version of Baker Mayfield at this point of his career. But also more costly too in terms of cap resources.
Even if Russ can still read Defenses AFTER the snap, he doesn't have the 'Get After it' he once had to beat the speedsters on Defenses.
He still has TONS of Arm Talent, but that by itself, that's not enough to get the job done anymore.