So I went back and watched the game this morning. It didn't take long once I skipped past all the Panthers possession.
Three things I noticed.
1. Kyler is playing really poorly. His technique is off, lots of back foot throws etc but mainly just really bad decisions and not reading the field.
2. He isn't helped by bad play calling. In every set of downs there is always a terrible play call. Usual something that has already proven not to work.
3. If 1 or 2 doesn't get him them bad penalties will. There were 2 or 3 times we had 3rd and 7 turn into 3rd and 12 due to false starts.
These were the 4 worst plays he made, baring in mind there weren't may passing plays that weren't predetermined quick releases.
1. This was the play you might remember was under thrown and nearly intercepted early on and Kirk had to bat it down.
Kyler decides to throw to Kirk in tight coverage with Drake in motion underneath for an easy 1st down. Boston is caught going the wrong way and in the next few frames Boston gets nowhere near him.
Arnold is also wide open, 50/50 whether he gets the 1st there as there is a linebacker sat on the 1st down line.
Also notice how deep he is. He's a full 11 yards behind the LOS. I went and checked others and the most I could find was 9.
2. This one was poor from Kyler. He has time in a clean pocket but never goes through his reads. Keys on Nuk very quickly for a throw behind the LOS (Nuk behind the 7) for a 3 yard gain.
Mean while he has Fitz in acres of space sat on the 1st down line with a wide open throwing lane.
3. This was a terrible one. It might be his worse decision just because it's so simple. Again he has a clean pocket. He's tucked in there nice and snug but takes the quick dump off to Edmonds.
I took this shot a half second after his release so I could fit everyone in but not of these other receivers have been abandoned because of ball direction. They were open before the throw because these DB's took a huge cushion on this play.
Isabella is wide open for the first down on an easy throw and both Nuk and Fitz have nobody anywhere near them. Both defenders are a good 10 yards away off the screen.
A good QB here would sell the pass to Andy with his eyes, draw the safety down and then throw it to Kirk over the top. But I'll settle for average and just hit Andy for the 1st.
4. The other contender for worst decision of the day. Down 14 with 47 left in the half and he goes with the worst option. Again he is clean, no pressure at all but doesn't give the right side of the field a chance, he's already decided this is going to Nuk even though Nuk has a CB tracking him just off the screen.
This is the one where Nuk was forced out of bounds and tried the one hander.
I've circled Isabella on the 35 yard line because he has a bunch of space. A laser here and Andy should be able to turn at get the 1st despite the CB heading his way from wide.
Edmonds is also open but uncircled on the 36 because there's no clear throwing lane and a floater to him probably doesn't get 1st down.
Kirk however at the top of the screen is just planting his foot to turn into a dig route which completely loses the CB and he becomes wide open for the 1st down in half a second.
And I circled Fitz in Orange which is a tough but NFL level throw because he is in motion, the 2 linebacker near him are bearing down on the underneath and half a second he has a huge window around the 29 yard line for a 1st down and more. And Murray has a clear lane to see that.
If we get the 1st down here and score before the half maybe it's a different game in the 2nd.
It's not the receivers. The receivers are getting open when they are given the chance to get open. With a different QB yesterday (even Teddy B) it would have been a different story.
But on saying all that he's also not getting any help. Kliff's run plays suck this year, or his calling does, or both. Kliff calls way too many bubble screens. I think about 15% of our pass plays were screens behind the LOS and not one of them worked, yet he didn't stop calling them.
So much of our passing is underneath that teams are keying most of the defense on that and leaving a couple of guys deep to cover the big shot while not worrying about anything in between.
The scary thing is, the offense has got worse every game and Kliff isn't learning.
Three things I noticed.
1. Kyler is playing really poorly. His technique is off, lots of back foot throws etc but mainly just really bad decisions and not reading the field.
2. He isn't helped by bad play calling. In every set of downs there is always a terrible play call. Usual something that has already proven not to work.
3. If 1 or 2 doesn't get him them bad penalties will. There were 2 or 3 times we had 3rd and 7 turn into 3rd and 12 due to false starts.
These were the 4 worst plays he made, baring in mind there weren't may passing plays that weren't predetermined quick releases.
1. This was the play you might remember was under thrown and nearly intercepted early on and Kirk had to bat it down.
Kyler decides to throw to Kirk in tight coverage with Drake in motion underneath for an easy 1st down. Boston is caught going the wrong way and in the next few frames Boston gets nowhere near him.
Arnold is also wide open, 50/50 whether he gets the 1st there as there is a linebacker sat on the 1st down line.
Also notice how deep he is. He's a full 11 yards behind the LOS. I went and checked others and the most I could find was 9.
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2. This one was poor from Kyler. He has time in a clean pocket but never goes through his reads. Keys on Nuk very quickly for a throw behind the LOS (Nuk behind the 7) for a 3 yard gain.
Mean while he has Fitz in acres of space sat on the 1st down line with a wide open throwing lane.
You must be registered for see images attach
3. This was a terrible one. It might be his worse decision just because it's so simple. Again he has a clean pocket. He's tucked in there nice and snug but takes the quick dump off to Edmonds.
I took this shot a half second after his release so I could fit everyone in but not of these other receivers have been abandoned because of ball direction. They were open before the throw because these DB's took a huge cushion on this play.
Isabella is wide open for the first down on an easy throw and both Nuk and Fitz have nobody anywhere near them. Both defenders are a good 10 yards away off the screen.
A good QB here would sell the pass to Andy with his eyes, draw the safety down and then throw it to Kirk over the top. But I'll settle for average and just hit Andy for the 1st.
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4. The other contender for worst decision of the day. Down 14 with 47 left in the half and he goes with the worst option. Again he is clean, no pressure at all but doesn't give the right side of the field a chance, he's already decided this is going to Nuk even though Nuk has a CB tracking him just off the screen.
This is the one where Nuk was forced out of bounds and tried the one hander.
I've circled Isabella on the 35 yard line because he has a bunch of space. A laser here and Andy should be able to turn at get the 1st despite the CB heading his way from wide.
Edmonds is also open but uncircled on the 36 because there's no clear throwing lane and a floater to him probably doesn't get 1st down.
Kirk however at the top of the screen is just planting his foot to turn into a dig route which completely loses the CB and he becomes wide open for the 1st down in half a second.
And I circled Fitz in Orange which is a tough but NFL level throw because he is in motion, the 2 linebacker near him are bearing down on the underneath and half a second he has a huge window around the 29 yard line for a 1st down and more. And Murray has a clear lane to see that.
If we get the 1st down here and score before the half maybe it's a different game in the 2nd.
You must be registered for see images attach
It's not the receivers. The receivers are getting open when they are given the chance to get open. With a different QB yesterday (even Teddy B) it would have been a different story.
But on saying all that he's also not getting any help. Kliff's run plays suck this year, or his calling does, or both. Kliff calls way too many bubble screens. I think about 15% of our pass plays were screens behind the LOS and not one of them worked, yet he didn't stop calling them.
So much of our passing is underneath that teams are keying most of the defense on that and leaving a couple of guys deep to cover the big shot while not worrying about anything in between.
The scary thing is, the offense has got worse every game and Kliff isn't learning.