Quote:
Originally Posted by milkman
There were a number of passes that Cassell attempted to throw that he just didn't have the arm strength for.
To me, that game just illustrated how much the defense in the NFL has been neutered by the rules.
If you can't consistently get QB pressure, then even mediocre QBs with weak arms can put up yardage.
I wouldn't want to have to rely on Cassell to win games.
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All true. But on Thigpen's potential game-winning drive, he was absolutely bailed out on three plays by a hall-of-famer at his best.
Gonzales went back to pick up an errant throw off his shoetops and still managed to back up for more yardage to keep the drive alive early.
He boxed out perfectly to draw PI on the goal line (note to NFL coaches - ALL receivers should get off-season coaching in basketball).
And he stole a risky pass into high traffic away from the defenders for the touchdown. That final drive was ALL Gonzales.
He even set up the potentially winning play on the conversion - breaking away from a mugging and making himself available deep in the endzone if Thigpen could have got the ball there. But Thigpen COULDN'T get the ball there - he didn't have the arm strength to muscle it there falling backwards as he tried, and he didn't have the savvy to set and step into the throw and take the hit, nor the elusiveness to juke the pass rusher and buy an extra half-second. He just didn't have any of the "specialness" that sets the great ones apart.
Don't tell me Thigpen is not the beneficiary of his teammates' excellence like Cassel is.