Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins
They drop in short zones because he can't take the top off the defense. That's also why he's so efficient on those early downs. They guard against the deeper pass, giving up the shorter routes as a concession.
Unless he can consistently make the passes he made against the Saints in 2011 he'll face the same issues that Chad Pennington did.
|
I'm really curious to see what he can do with a 'run under' deep threat.
I said it in another thread, but I was really surprised by how often he overthrew deep passes. He doesn't throw a 'hard' deep ball at all - he has to throw one that his WR runs under. Crabtree doesn't get separation; he's not a guy that's going to do that. Avery, on the other hand, can be that guy.
And another interesting element would be something as simple as Jamaal Charles on a wheel route. We forget how dynamic Charles was downfield when he was backing up LJ. If you send him up the field, he can create pretty massive mismatches.
I agree with you - he needs to do something to make teams respect the deep halves. And no, I don't think someone like Bowe would've been the answer. However, a burner that can run under the lofted deep balls that Smith throws
might be.