Interesting video breaking down the offense/Russ

[keasley45]

Kind of comes around to what a few of us think and feel, that Russ is being Russ for the most part with some added confidence issues making it even worse

https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles ... wsource=cl

This is a great post. It breaks down the Achilles heal of our passing game and lately our offense in a black and white, xs and os, fact based way that has zero to do with opinion or bias.

FF to 24:30 to get an idea of the technical failures that are leading to why our offense is stuck. They break it down really well. And the issue, like may have said, stem from Russ being limited in the reads he makes and the routes he will throw and that defenses are getting to the point where he has little left to go to within the game he is comfortable with. And as has been said, even when Waldron introduces a play to beat what the defenses are doing, Russ won't make the throw.

Our offense is stuck in large part because since 2 years ago really, and especially last year and this, defenses have gradually clamped down on what Russ does as a passer. The playbook has gotten smaller and smaller to the point where the plays that now work are largely just boom plays that rely on the wr having lots of open space to work with over the top.

The vast majority of the rest of Waldrons playbook that is being called to actually get us out of the funk we are in, Russ isn't pulling the trigger on.

FF to 31:00 or so and they talk about the plays that we were running in preseason with backups and finding success with, Russ isn't running or executing... or even looking to throw. Schottenheimer tried some last year and Russ didn't take them and Waldron is calling more of it and Russ is failing at them.

Around 39 minutes in they also talk about what to do next because if this is Russ... and STATISTICALLY, WITH REAL NUMBERS REFERENCED BACK TO 2013, it seems it is, then what do we do? They note that Waldron is seeing the same rejection of playcalls that Schotty did from Russ. And that Waldron is calling more Rams styled route concepts, but that Russ is reluctant to throw them.

To those that think we are trying to run too much, they dispell that, referencing stats that show that on neutral downs, we are passing 57% of the time.

Also that we've become a pure PA team with Russ under center. In other words, no short developing routes that would add to the type of plays that would keep defenses off balance.

And finally, they dispell the notion that the uptempo 2 minute offense is the key to making us work. It worked against WTF because of a broken play. And, in an indictment of how poor our pass offense is and has been from the beginning of the Russ era (my assessment based off of what we've all come to see) with the 3 OCs now ( but the same qb) the uptempo game backs the defense off so that they play soft against those routes that Russ refuses to throw over the regular course of the game. In other words, our offense only works well not when our QB executes it, but when defenses play off enough because they're tired and can't substitute and give us certain plays.

They also talk about the liability that Pocic is and the line in general because of injury. But mention that statistically they are average ( i think somewhere around the 45 minute mark he references that we are 12th in pass pro metric)

Yes, we can run block better, but we're running at a better than avg clip as it stands.

Yes we can scheme better. There are still plays and schemes that we can go to to shake things up.
Yes our wrs need to catch the ball when they get it.

But the stick in the mud of our offense is #3. And it's been that way for a longbtime. Measure by something other than the rainbow ball or scramble, and that's who we really are in terms of our passing ability and diversity.

Not hate.

Not bias.

Just xs and os fact.

I find it kind of funny how in week 1, Russ and the offense played like gangbusters with great tempo and motion and then Carroll says that Waldron is onboard with the way things are done around there and suddenly the offense regresses to what its been since last season. Did that article say anything about that by chance?

We saw a handful of things but it wasn't as if the offense was entirely different. If I remember correctly, 2 of Russ's TDs came off of the same play action passes he's always hit. The third, on a cross to Everett.

But we stopped using the TEs after that game AND stopped running. Was that Pete too?

 

[LTH]

Kind of comes around to what a few of us think and feel, that Russ is being Russ for the most part with some added confidence issues making it even worse

https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles ... wsource=cl

This is a great post. It breaks down the Achilles heal of our passing game and lately our offense in a black and white, xs and os, fact based way that has zero to do with opinion or bias.

FF to 24:30 to get an idea of the technical failures that are leading to why our offense is stuck. They break it down really well. And the issue, like may have said, stem from Russ being limited in the reads he makes and the routes he will throw and that defenses are getting to the point where he has little left to go to within the game he is comfortable with. And as has been said, even when Waldron introduces a play to beat what the defenses are doing, Russ won't make the throw.

Our offense is stuck in large part because since 2 years ago really, and especially last year and this, defenses have gradually clamped down on what Russ does as a passer. The playbook has gotten smaller and smaller to the point where the plays that now work are largely just boom plays that rely on the wr having lots of open space to work with over the top.

The vast majority of the rest of Waldrons playbook that is being called to actually get us out of the funk we are in, Russ isn't pulling the trigger on.

FF to 31:00 or so and they talk about the plays that we were running in preseason with backups and finding success with, Russ isn't running or executing... or even looking to throw. Schottenheimer tried some last year and Russ didn't take them and Waldron is calling more of it and Russ is failing at them.

Around 39 minutes in they also talk about what to do next because if this is Russ... and STATISTICALLY, WITH REAL NUMBERS REFERENCED BACK TO 2013, it seems it is, then what do we do? They note that Waldron is seeing the same rejection of playcalls that Schotty did from Russ. And that Waldron is calling more Rams styled route concepts, but that Russ is reluctant to throw them.

To those that think we are trying to run too much, they dispell that, referencing stats that show that on neutral downs, we are passing 57% of the time.

Also that we've become a pure PA team with Russ under center. In other words, no short developing routes that would add to the type of plays that would keep defenses off balance.

And finally, they dispell the notion that the uptempo 2 minute offense is the key to making us work. It worked against WTF because of a broken play. And, in an indictment of how poor our pass offense is and has been from the beginning of the Russ era (my assessment based off of what we've all come to see) with the 3 OCs now ( but the same qb) the uptempo game backs the defense off so that they play soft against those routes that Russ refuses to throw over the regular course of the game. In other words, our offense only works well not when our QB executes it, but when defenses play off enough because they're tired and can't substitute and give us certain plays.

They also talk about the liability that Pocic is and the line in general because of injury. But mention that statistically they are average ( i think somewhere around the 45 minute mark he references that we are 12th in pass pro metric)

Yes, we can run block better, but we're running at a better than avg clip as it stands.

Yes we can scheme better. There are still plays and schemes that we can go to to shake things up.
Yes our wrs need to catch the ball when they get it.

But the stick in the mud of our offense is #3. And it's been that way for a longbtime. Measure by something other than the rainbow ball or scramble, and that's who we really are in terms of our passing ability and diversity.

Not hate.

Not bias.

Just xs and os fact.

I find it kind of funny how in week 1, Russ and the offense played like gangbusters with great tempo and motion and then Carroll says that Waldron is onboard with the way things are done around there and suddenly the offense regresses to what its been since last season. Did that article say anything about that by chance?

Let's just say for a second that your right and the offense regressed to what it was doing last year. If that is the case, then how do you know why that is happening? is it Carroll? is it Waldron? is it Russ? You don't have the information to blame anyone. you can speculate which is fine, but the media has asked all three and they have not given a specific answer that indicates exactly what is going on. Thats just a fact.

LTH

 

[keasley45]

...

I almost think I now understand what Richard Sherman was talking about in his rants afterwards. Russell wasn't being expected to read defenses, but rather just to continue to work his sandlot magic. It was sure magical when it still worked.

I truncated the quote but think you make a ton of great posts.

The last play of the Owl... I think it's indicative of who Russ is. He reads a play, but is easily fooled. Usually, when the defense shows that they're onto him, he just bails and doesn't go to the 2nd read, which I wish he'd done on that play. But it was typical of the presnap, one read, hit the drop and ball is out.

But what you said about the Sherm comment I think is exactly right. I think Pete's assessment of Russ this entire time has been that he has limitations in the traditional QB, xs and os game, but worked around it to the team and Russ's benefit. AndI think he's had to know after now working with Bevell, Schotty and now Waldron that Russ is who he is. But rather than push a Boulder up hill, and expect that Russ could be different,
he let Russ do Russ and has been in search of a defense and runnung attack to offset his shortcomings. Sherm and the defense were pissed for having to constantly bail the team out in part because the QB could do the spectacular play that he created on his own, but not the other 80% of them over the course of the game that would sustain success.

And today we see that same resentment beginning to surface. But this time its because Russ is actually failing at pushing to do the thing that Pete has known the entire time he's not capable of. And he's bringing L's along with him.