Favre Regresses to Bonehead Passes Again

[oregonpackfan]

Except for the poor decision in throwing the interception against the Chicago Bears, Favre has displayed excellent decision-making in the types of passes he has thrown in the first 5 games. His decision-making with regard to passing is a huge factor in the Packers success this year.

This leads me to the disappointment in Favre I saw in today's game. There were several times he threw the ball downfield is a desperation type of bonehead play. A number of those long passes were underthrown. Two of them were intercepted and a third should have been intercepted.

I trust McCarthy will confront Brett about those passes. Brett has been very accurate with his short and mid-range passing. I would like to see him stick within that range.

[Lurker64]

From what I saw, on a few of those Favre deep balls, the receiver was running free and had Favre not underthrown the ball, we would have had a long completion if not a touchdown. It's troubling that he was missing though. I saw more of a "failure in execution" than "a mental error."

[Jimx29]

Except for the poor decision in throwing the interception against the Chicago Bears, Favre has displayed excellent decision-making in the types of passes he has thrown in the first 5 games. His decision-making with regard to passing is a huge factor in the Packers success this year.

This leads me to the disappointment in Favre I saw in today's game. There were several times he threw the ball downfield is a desperation type of bonehead play. A number of those long passes were underthrown. Two of them were intercepted and a third should have been intercepted.

I trust McCarthy will confront Brett about those passes. Brett has been very accurate with his short and mid-range passing. I would like to see him stick within that range.I really don't see a need to ever go way downfield unless their is absolutely no choice in the matter. The short route dink and dunks, along with the crossing patterns are much to Bretts advantage

[Patler]

I think those were part of the game plan. McCarthy indicated they thought there would be openings on deep passes, and there were. On both interceptions, the receiver was open, the ball was either late or underthrown, and the safety made great plays on both.

Sometimes its not what you "need" to do in a given situation, its what the defense makes available to you. Both interceptions could have been completed with earlier or better passes.

I don't look at either as bad decisions. Poor execution, maybe.

[Little Whiskey]

on the two picks...(I'm tring to recal the near int.) is a throw any qb would have taken. the WR was wide open. the ball hung up a bit and was under thrown. those should have been long completions. their safety made up a bunch of ground to come up with the pick.

[Badgepack]

On both of the picks, the WR needs to turn into a defensive back and knock that ball down, something our receivers seem to have a hard time with.

The Packers need to chuck the longball every now and again so the defense can't just sit on the short stuff.

[3irty1]

I think the Issue is more the timing than the under thrown part. Favre should have hit those guys earlier.

[superfan]

The receivers were definitely open earlier on the two Taylor picks. Looked to me like the ball took a long time to get there - almost like Favre was throwing high touch passes instead of rifling the ball out there. I disagree that those were poor decisions. I either didn't see or don't remember the near interceptions.

Lob pass + no help from the receiver + nice play by Taylor = INT x 2

[FritzDontBlitz]

Except for the poor decision in throwing the interception against the Chicago Bears, Favre has displayed excellent decision-making in the types of passes he has thrown in the first 5 games. His decision-making with regard to passing is a huge factor in the Packers success this year.

This leads me to the disappointment in Favre I saw in today's game. There were several times he threw the ball downfield is a desperation type of bonehead play. A number of those long passes were underthrown. Two of them were intercepted and a third should have been intercepted.

I trust McCarthy will confront Brett about those passes. Brett has been very accurate with his short and mid-range passing. I would like to see him stick within that range.

you're right. brett favre has lost it. he should retire.

dumbass.

[Patler]

This could however bring up another concern.

The last two full seasons (2005 & 2006) Favre has seemed to start strong and finish somewhat erratic, with more TDs early than late in the season, and less consistency in his throws. My concern is that he wears out physically, especially since he has thrown more passes in each of the last two seasons than during any other season in his career. The drop backs, throws and hits can take their toll in his ability to perform over the long season, at his "ancient" age.

This year he is on pace to exceed his attempts the last two season by quite a bit. Can he hold up for the season?

[HarveyWallbangers]

The last two full seasons (2005 & 2006) Favre has seemed to start strong and finish somewhat erratic

I've noticed that also, but I'm hoping being in a playoff race will change that. We were 4-8 last year. Somehow managed to reel off 4 straight to give ourselves an outside shot at the playoffs. To me, 2005 was an aberration. Top 3 RBs injured, 2 of the top 3 WRs, top TE, horrible interior OL play.

[cpk1994]

This could however bring up another concern.

The last two full seasons (2005 & 2006) Favre has seemed to start strong and finish somewhat erratic, with more TDs early than late in the season, and less consistency in his throws. My concern is that he wears out physically, especially since he has thrown more passes in each of the last two seasons than during any other season in his career. The drop backs, throws and hits can take their toll in his ability to perform over the long season, at his "ancient" age.

This year he is on pace to exceed his attempts the last two season by quite a bit. Can he hold up for the season?BUt on the other hand, he isn't throwing as many deep balls as he was in 2005.

[Noodle]

Excellent points Harv and Patler.

Look, the book on the Pack is going to be clear -- get to Favre and whack him, early and often. That, coupled with the normal effects of age, are going to start showing up big.

The smart thing to do is to keep Favre out of situations where he has to make deep, downfield throws, because (1) those are the times he's most vulnerable to getting hit and (2) those are the throws he's most likely to miss.

The last 6 or 8 games of last year were staggeringly bad for Favre. His QB rating didn't go much beyond 60 in that stretch. MM needs to keep him out of situations where he can get himself and his team hurt.

And maybe, just maybe, it's time to give A-Rod two or three series/game. Tell me one good reason why not. It'll be good for the kid and it'll be good for the hyper-competitive Favre.

And I call a HALT to any crap about receivers not breaking up picks. The Pack receivers are all-out warriors and put it on the line for this team. They did what they could with absurdly underthrown (and late) balls. Favre's picks today were on him alone. Not the receiver.

[cpk1994]

Excellent points Harv and Patler.

Look, the book on the Pack is going to be clear -- get to Favre and whack him, early and often. That, coupled with the normal effects of age, are going to start showing up big.

The smart thing to do is to keep Favre out of situations where he has to make deep, downfield throws, because (1) those are the times he's most vulnerable to getting hit and (2) those are the throws he's most likely to miss.

The last 6 or 8 games of last year were staggeringly bad for Favre. His QB rating didn't go much beyond 60 in that stretch. MM needs to keep him out of situations where he can get himself and his team hurt.

And maybe, just maybe, it's time to give A-Rod two or three series/game. Tell me one good reason why not. It'll be good for the kid and it'll be good for the hyper-competitive Favre.

And I call a HALT to any crap about receivers not breaking up picks. The Pack receivers are all-out warriors and put it on the line for this team. They did what they could with absurdly underthrown (and late) balls. Favre's picks today were on him alone. Not the receiver.This suggestion always comes up and it is as stupid now as the forst time it was brought up. The team is 5-1 with Favre as he is and throwing Rodgers in there for 2-3 series will wreck any rythm the offense has. With all the young skill guys it would be suicide to do so. IF throwing in the backup for 2-3 series is such a good idea, wehy hasn't one coach in the histroy of the NFL ever done that?

[Noodle]

No, the team is not 5-1 as Favre was today. It is 5-1 as Favre was in weeks 2-5.

If you've got Manning or Brady, then you're right, you don't change things up. But we don't. We have a guy at the end of his career who has shown that he trends badly toward the end of the year. Have you looked at his year-end stats? Is that what you want?

Are you saying that our receivers are so un-professional that they can't adjust to A-Rod for a couple of series? That Wynn will have his development slowed because he's getting the ball from A-Rod instead of Favre? That our first-round draft pick is incapable after years in the league of handling 8-10 snaps a game?

Sure, I may be stupid. But one thing I know is that banging your head against the wall and ignoring history is not a solid long-term strategy. Even if everyone else is doing it.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I wouldn't even remotely suggest playing Rodgers over Favre. Favre has been average in one game, solid in one game, exceptional in three games, and horrible in one game. That's better than most QBs. Heck, Tony Romo is probably a top 5 QB, and he's had a similar amount of good, bad, average games.

[run pMc]

IF throwing in the backup for 2-3 series is such a good idea, wehy hasn't one coach in the histroy of the NFL ever done that?

Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals.
Warner-Leinart (pre-injury)

Didn't some teams in the 60's & 70's pull that stunt? Somebody like Earl Morrell or Don Strock or some nonsense like that? Did I just invent that and it stands as proof that I need more coffee this morning?

Having said that, I think A-Rod would benefit from the snaps, but I don't know that the team would benefit(this season). I can't imagine A-Rod would have done much better than Favre yesterday. Interesting idea, though. Favre is the clearly better QB, so you gotta play him. I am concerned about the # of attempts Favre has thus far...I don't want his arm to go dead and fall off in week 15. Heaven forbid that happen, but if it did maybe they play A-Rod.

[Carolina_Packer]

Righto. They shouldn't consider it. They'd be tripping over themselves. What they NEED to do is figure out how to successfully run the ball to get defenses out of playing back all the time. We have smart football folks at the controls. I think they will figure something out.

[Merlin]

From what I could tell it looked like the ball was sailing on Favre all day. There were a few of those deep balls that if he fired a rocket it would have been completed. I am not sure why he threw the way he did, but he definitely had an off game. The past few games McCarthy has worked in the play action and that only works if you can run the ball. There is no reason to take that time to make the fake because the defense isn't buying it. The whole idea of draw, run, draw fake dump pass isn't resulting in first downs for us. In some cases they are making two fakes before throwing it. I think that has thrown all of the timing off. When you can sit there in your QB chair at home and know what play is coming, you can sure bet the defense knows it. The play calling over the past 1.5 halves has been predictable and poor.

[The Leaper]

In some cases they are making two fakes before throwing it. I think that has thrown all of the timing off. When you can sit there in your QB chair at home and know what play is coming, you can sure bet the defense knows it. The play calling over the past 1.5 halves has been predictable and poor.

I agree. Stop with the fakes. Just put Favre in the shotgun and give him 4 targets to throw to. Someone will get open if you use creative routes and Favre utilizes pump fakes effectively to take advantage of defenses that are keying on the slants.

[Merlin]

It's apparent that teams know we are dangerous with the slants. Yesterday I noticed that all of the slants (the few that were thrown) were all late. The first 4.5 games Favre would hit the slant at about 2-3 yards and it would go for a 7 yard gain giving us a short 2nd down. Then we could run the draw or screen or dump off. It's like we have abandoned what was working for us. Against Chicago, the middle was wide open for slants the entire game. Against Washington, they blitzed enough that it would have worked as well. I just don't understand the play calling.

[fan4life]

Favre rolled his ankle and had trouble planting... hence the poor push on his long balls.

But once the ball is in the air, the WR has to get it or to defend it. The WRs have to do better.... go back to the ball or fight for it; that's what separates good receivers from bad ones. Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, Randy Moss, Plaxico Buress, TO, JWalk and even our own Donald Driver may not catch those balls, but they don't watch defenders intercept them, either.

James Jones runs good routes and he's got good hands, but he's a rookie. Getting stripped last week and beat out for jump balls are things that he probably didn't have to face much at San Jose State. He'll get better as he plays more.

Having Koren Robinson as a target for those long balls will help Favre and the offense, too.

[Patler]

It's apparent that teams know we are dangerous with the slants. Yesterday I noticed that all of the slants (the few that were thrown) were all late. The first 4.5 games Favre would hit the slant at about 2-3 yards and it would go for a 7 yard gain giving us a short 2nd down. Then we could run the draw or screen or dump off. It's like we have abandoned what was working for us. Against Chicago, the middle was wide open for slants the entire game. Against Washington, they blitzed enough that it would have worked as well. I just don't understand the play calling.

I think you have to give Washington some credit for taking away the inside routes, which is why we saw more throws on outside routes. Now it will be up to GB to make some of the outside routes work as effective as the slants have, if the DBs continue to play as the Redskins did.

It's not so much the call, as the route adjustments made by the WRs and Favre depending on how the DBs play the coverage.

[PackerBlues]

The further we get into the season, the more opposing teams will be able to game plan against the Packers. By now, most opposing teams realize that the Packers do not run the ball well, and that the Packers do a lot of dink and dunk passes combined with slants. The scoring is going to get harder, and it is up to M3 to change-up the game plan each week to play against opposing teams weaknesses.


As for Favre and his two interceptions.... probably the same as Crosby and his two missed field goals, slick field and rain. Anyone know what the wind conditions were like during the game? Favre's intercepted passes just seemed to hang. The defenders reacted to the ball a hell of a lot better than our rookie recievers did.

[Bossman641]

The reason we're not seeing as many slants is that for the past 6 quarters they have been taken away. The Bears and Redskins played basically Cover 2, and then pinched their safeties further into the middle of the field. This closes the gap where the slant is normally thrown.

Our next adjustment is to throw more routes up the sidelines. With the safeties closer to the middle of the field, the outside routes are open. MM definitely had what he wanted yeserday on the outside a few times. Favre just threw horrible balls that hung in the air too long and were throw way too late.

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor.

[The Leaper]

Having Koren Robinson as a target for those long balls will help Favre and the offense, too.

I think Martin is helpful in this regard as well because of his size. His play on the sidelines is clearly better than Jennings or Jones at this point in time. Too bad he hasn't put much else together yet.

[The Leaper]

Our next adjustment is to throw more routes up the sidelines. With the safeties closer to the middle of the field, the outside routes are open. MM definitely had what he wanted yeserday on the outside a few times. Favre just threw horrible balls that hung in the air too long and were throw way too late.

There are there...but those are tight throws, and Jennings and Jones don't have the size/speed to run the sideline stuff as effectively as other WRs.

That has always been my problem with those guys. They seem to be good receivers...guys you need on your team to win. Teams are still focusing on taking Driver away. We need Jennings and Jones to step up for this offense to continue being successful enough to win consistently.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Jones has plenty of size on those routes. In fact, that's one of his strengths. Jennings usually does a good job of knocking balls down, but he seemed to be off this game. Perhaps because the throws were so horrible that he had a hard time adjusting. If you'll notice on one of the interceptions, Jones did in fact go up to get the ball at it's highest point and made a tremendous effort to get the ball, but Taylor did the same and he's just a little bigger. Good play by Taylor.

[Patler]

Having Koren Robinson as a target for those long balls will help Favre and the offense, too.

I think Martin is helpful in this regard as well because of his size. His play on the sidelines is clearly better than Jennings or Jones at this point in time. Too bad he hasn't put much else together yet.

That does seem to be the one area he can get open in, doesn't it?. With more experience Jones should be able to, too, I hope. Drive the DB back, and use his bigger body to screen the DB from the ball.

If KR is reinstated, I wonder if Martin might not be the odd man out. Bodiford gives them more on ST I think than Martin does.

[Patler]

I should clarify my last post.
Not that I think Martin would be released, but if all WRs are healthy he could very well be a game day inactive, with Bodiford playing instead.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I should clarify my last post.
Not that I think Martin would be released, but if all WRs are healthy he could very well be a game day inactive, with Bodiford playing instead.

I think it's more likely that Bodiford would get released, and you'd see Robinson on kickoff returns.

[fan4life]

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor. That's not how the coaches see it. Here's what MM had to say in his post-game conference:

(Did you see anything wrong with Jennings' and Jones' route running?)
I know on one third down I wish James would have kept going. He saw something, whether it was a zone or man situation, on the one third down. There was nothing too glaring. There were some competitive throws down the field that you'd like to see your guy come down with it or nobody come down with it. I think we had one or two of those. The specifics of it, I can't answer that question right now.

[Patler]

I should clarify my last post.
Not that I think Martin would be released, but if all WRs are healthy he could very well be a game day inactive, with Bodiford playing instead.

I think it's more likely that Bodiford would get released, and you'd see Robinson on kickoff returns.

Except they keep mentioning what a great "wedge buster" Bodiford is. I think the only reason he was released at the start of the season was because he had tweaked a knee. I think his value is more on the kicking teams than on the receiving teams at this point.

I do wish they would find someone other than Woodson to return punts. He's always banged up anyway, and I would like to see his exposure reduced if possible. It's not like he is a great punt returner anyway!

[Patler]

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor. That's not how the coaches see it. Here's what MM had to say in his post-game conference:

(Did you see anything wrong with Jennings' and Jones' route running?)
I know on one third down I wish James would have kept going. He saw something, whether it was a zone or man situation, on the one third down. There was nothing too glaring. There were some competitive throws down the field that you'd like to see your guy come down with it or nobody come down with it. I think we had one or two of those. The specifics of it, I can't answer that question right now.

It will be interesting to see what MM has to say after reviewing the game tapes. On at least the last interception, it looked like it was underthrown enough that the safety was able to run to it and get better position than the receiver having to stop and come back. It really was a very good play by Taylor. I wish our safeties would go after interceptions as aggressively as that. Especially Collins seems to be focused on batting it away more than trying to catch it.

[gbgary]

the one in the bear game WAS a boneheaded (bad decision) pass but the ones yesterday were not. the guys were wide open, the passes were just underthrown due to whatever reason but the decision to pass the ball was a good one.

[Bossman641]

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor. That's not how the coaches see it. Here's what MM had to say in his post-game conference:

(Did you see anything wrong with Jennings' and Jones' route running?)
I know on one third down I wish James would have kept going. He saw something, whether it was a zone or man situation, on the one third down. There was nothing too glaring. There were some competitive throws down the field that you'd like to see your guy come down with it or nobody come down with it. I think we had one or two of those. The specifics of it, I can't answer that question right now.

Of course he's going to say that, I still don't buy it though.

It's like a box out in bball. The balls were so underthrown that Taylor easily had inside position. Jones made a good effort on the first INT, but Taylor is one of the most athletic safeties in the league, it's no surprise he came down with them.

[jramsey495]

The reason we're not seeing as many slants is that for the past 6 quarters they have been taken away. The Bears and Redskins played basically Cover 2, and then pinched their safeties further into the middle of the field. This closes the gap where the slant is normally thrown.

Our next adjustment is to throw more routes up the sidelines. With the safeties closer to the middle of the field, the outside routes are open. MM definitely had what he wanted yeserday on the outside a few times. Favre just threw horrible balls that hung in the air too long and were throw way too late.

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor.

this makes a lot of sense. we're not too hard to figure out and if we don't do something about the running game these next few games on the road are gonna be tough.

does anyone think the weather had anything to do with those balls hanging up? i'm in NC, but it looked like it was raining when I was watching it.

[LEWCWA]

Except for the poor decision in throwing the interception against the Chicago Bears, Favre has displayed excellent decision-making in the types of passes he has thrown in the first 5 games. His decision-making with regard to passing is a huge factor in the Packers success this year.

This leads me to the disappointment in Favre I saw in today's game. There were several times he threw the ball downfield is a desperation type of bonehead play. A number of those long passes were underthrown. Two of them were intercepted and a third should have been intercepted.

I trust McCarthy will confront Brett about those passes. Brett has been very accurate with his short and mid-range passing. I would like to see him stick within that range.I really don't see a need to ever go way downfield unless their is absolutely no choice in the matter. The short route dink and dunks, along with the crossing patterns are much to Bretts advantage


Dumbass post of the week, maybe even the year! If the wr is running free you have to make the throw. Thing is you have to make the throw, not a moon ball!

[The Shadow]

Except for the poor decision in throwing the interception against the Chicago Bears, Favre has displayed excellent decision-making in the types of passes he has thrown in the first 5 games. His decision-making with regard to passing is a huge factor in the Packers success this year.

This leads me to the disappointment in Favre I saw in today's game. There were several times he threw the ball downfield is a desperation type of bonehead play. A number of those long passes were underthrown. Two of them were intercepted and a third should have been intercepted.

I trust McCarthy will confront Brett about those passes. Brett has been very accurate with his short and mid-range passing. I would like to see him stick within that range.

Be careful, oregon : sometimes even hinting at such a mistake(s) could bring the Cult after you with pitchforks.
Favre, overall, has played far better this year than in recent seasons; McCarthy seems to be demanding better decision-making - and voila! - we are 5-1. We can only hope that Sunday's back-foot underthrows were a temporary reversion to the bad old days & and not a harbinger of things to come.
I'm sure McCarthy has already had a little chat with # 4 on the subject.

[BEARMAN]

Good farve, ... Bad farve ? :twisted:

[Iron Mike]

Good Favre, ... Bad Favre ? :twisted:

If I were you, I'd give up my Lord Favre obsession and start wondering why it is that Girlacher can't seem to make more than 5 tackles a game lately.

[4and12to12and4]

My god, let this post slide to page ten please. This is complete bullshit. He threw a couple of ducks against a great defensive team in the friggin rain yesterday. Big friggin' deal. I don't hear anyone talking about the 30 yard pass he threw right on the money to JJ that got called back due to a bullshit holding call. His arm was fine there. His arm was fine the LAST play of the Bears game after had thrown 40 passes last week right on the money 40 yards down the field into the endzone that DD had a chance to catch if he outjumps his guy. Brett's arm is fine. Last year, after a long, difficult season, in which he threw for over 3800 yards, he was throwing 100 mile an hour darts all over the field as we kicked the shit out of the Bears, so, what's all this crap about the "decline" at the end of the season. This is a non issue. Let's please let it die. Brett's arm is fine. He's always had some trouble with accuracy in the long ball department. That's why Javon was so needed. Not to mention Moss.

[MadtownPacker]

Good Favre, ... Bad Favre ? :twisted:I think bearman knows what he is talking about.

But....

Bad Favre was not as bad as in recent times. He was due for an off-game and that is what it sounds like happened yesterday. I did not get to see the game (first time in several years) so I'm basing it on what all of you have said. The big thing to me is that he had his bad game and the Packers still won. Doesnt sound like a bad deal at all. Almost 5 weeks at an MVP level is not tarnished by 1 bad week IMO.

[Merlin]

The further we get into the season, the more opposing teams will be able to game plan against the Packers. By now, most opposing teams realize that the Packers do not run the ball well, and that the Packers do a lot of dink and dunk passes combined with slants. The scoring is going to get harder, and it is up to M3 to change-up the game plan each week to play against opposing teams weaknesses.


As for Favre and his two interceptions.... probably the same as Crosby and his two missed field goals, slick field and rain. Anyone know what the wind conditions were like during the game? Favre's intercepted passes just seemed to hang. The defenders reacted to the ball a hell of a lot better than our rookie recievers did.

What is really concerning is that our screen passing is horrible. I can understand defenses lining up against the slants but I can't understand why our screens are so obvious. We used to be the best in the league at it, now we're lucky that Favre doesn't get killed trying to throw one.

[Merlin]

Good Favre, ... Bad Favre ? :twisted:I think bearman knows what he is talking about.

But....

Bad Favre was not as bad as in recent times. He was due for an off-game and that is what it sounds like happened yesterday. I did not get to see the game (first time in several years) so I'm basing it on what all of you have said. The big thing to me is that he had his bad game and the Packers still won. Doesnt sound like a bad deal at all. Almost 5 weeks at an MVP level is not tarnished by 1 bad week IMO.

I thought Favre played a very good game against the Eagles. He was on the run constantly and made a couple of those plays for the highlight reel that made a difference in the game. His stats didn't show it but he was one tough mofo out there. Then he had 3.5 great games. I still think that argument on the sideline before halftime against the Bears has something to do with the play calling since. I only say that because it's the only thing that stands out to me as to what could affect the play calling so much. Doesn't mean there is anything to it but you have to admit that after all of these years watching Favre, when have you ever seen him go off on a head coach like that (even though it wasn't that bad)?

[deake]

The reason we're not seeing as many slants is that for the past 6 quarters they have been taken away. The Bears and Redskins played basically Cover 2, and then pinched their safeties further into the middle of the field. This closes the gap where the slant is normally thrown.

Our next adjustment is to throw more routes up the sidelines. With the safeties closer to the middle of the field, the outside routes are open. MM definitely had what he wanted yeserday on the outside a few times. Favre just threw horrible balls that hung in the air too long and were throw way too late.

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor.

I think what we are seeing is the CBs playing the inside route, knowing they have the safeties to cover any routes up the side lines. I think the way to beat that is to hit the WR quicker on the sidelines routes than we did Sunday. Just didn't seem to have our timing down pat.

[superfan]

I think what we are seeing is the CBs playing the inside route, knowing they have the safeties to cover any routes up the side lines. I think the way to beat that is to hit the WR quicker on the sidelines routes than we did Sunday. Just didn't seem to have our timing down pat.

I agree. On the two interceptions to Taylor, Jennings and Jones were wide open earlier in their routes. By the time the ball was thrown, the safety was in position to make a play.

[Bossman641]

The reason we're not seeing as many slants is that for the past 6 quarters they have been taken away. The Bears and Redskins played basically Cover 2, and then pinched their safeties further into the middle of the field. This closes the gap where the slant is normally thrown.

Our next adjustment is to throw more routes up the sidelines. With the safeties closer to the middle of the field, the outside routes are open. MM definitely had what he wanted yeserday on the outside a few times. Favre just threw horrible balls that hung in the air too long and were throw way too late.

I don't buy blaming the WR's on those interceptions. They were terrible passes. It's not like on a go route where the QB purposely throws the ball to the back shoulder and the WR has the advantage. Those balls just floated in the air, and with the inside angle and being able to track it in the air the whole time they were easy picks for Taylor.

I think what we are seeing is the CBs playing the inside route, knowing they have the safeties to cover any routes up the side lines. I think the way to beat that is to hit the WR quicker on the sidelines routes than we did Sunday. Just didn't seem to have our timing down pat.

Right, the safeties are playing more toward the middle of the field to take away the slants. Corners may or may not be playing inside coverage, I haven't really noticed that. As you said, those routes up the sideline were open. Favre just threw too late and missed the window, as well as underthrew the balls.