JT-forpresident
Believe In Miami
Hello Fins Fans ! For those who haven't seen my first analysis of jake, i recommend you read my introduction in that post before you read this, in order to know a little more about my background and what is being done here.
I'll go over it a little bit anyways, Jake will be rated by Good, bad and neutral plays. For quick readers, the most interesting plays will be bolded
I've done the whole 1st half, it's pretty long to write and probably to read also, so i'm giving you the first part and stay tuned for the 2nd, it should be available thurday, friday at worse. Enjoy once again brothers!
1st quarter:
drive # 1 - 7:35
1-10: pass. one on one with the OLB, i'm not sure here if it is #97 or 57 (wilhelm) but either way, it looks like a speed rusher and jake does an excellent job blocking him. Good play
2-3: Run. Wildcat formation, jake is lined up at TE on the right. He has castillo in front of him and pounds him back 3-4 yards. Very good play on a stellar run defender.
3-1: Pass. Jake faces Tucker, the new starter for merriman, and does a very good job, handling the speed rusher. Good play
1-10: Run. Wildcat formation, Jake is lined up at TE on the right. He and vernon carey "scoop-block" oshlansky, jake has to help vernon there and get up to the linebacker, which is the essence of a "scoop block". Jake gets to the linebacker but when he comes to block him the play whistles dead because the tackle was made by another defender. I'll give a good play grade because he and carey took their man out of the play and jake was about to take another one down if the play went on. Good play.
2-9: Run. Wildcat formation, jake is at LT for a change. The run is designed to go off tackle, between jake and david martin who is pulling to the left to block the EMOL (end man on the line). the O-line completely dominates the front on this play, so does jake and david, but ronnie goes elsewhere because he sees there's too many defenders to the left and finds a crease to the right. So jake does a terrific job, blocking his guy back 3 yards and opening a lane, but at the end of that lane was another defender, ronnie found a better opportunity. still a very nice block. Good play (by everyone up front BTW).
1-10: Pass. Very good pass protection, chad scrambles on this play because he feels the three rushers in his face (he is looking to throw on the right) while jake is offering very good protection on the left. Good play.
2-5: Run. Wildcat formation, Jake is lined up at TE on the right side. Ronnie runs it up the gut and jake doesn't really have much to do because his assignment is to block the EMOL but #92 really just runs upfield to contain ricky williams, so he takes himself out of the play. Jake still follows the guy and while he came back to hit ronnie, it was moreso because the play got stomped at the LOS pretty early and jake couldn't expect that. I'll give a good play because if the other linemen had made their blocks, jake's guy wouldn't have had that opportunity as ronnie would've been 4-5-6 yards downfield.
3-4: Pass. I'm very VERY pleased by this play. For those who read my report last week, remember when i mentionned smiley and jake got fooled by a "stunt" between the DE and the DT ? they totally blew that one. Well this right here is the same darn thing and this time, they played it perfectly. The DE engages jake and releases inside to attack smiley while the DT tries to engage both smiley and jake in order to create a lane. they switch players like they coach you to and made wonderful blocks, jake on the DT and Smiley on the DE. This just goes to show you that those guys are improving and learning from their mistakes every week. Chad had nothing to throw to, it was not the pressure that blew that play. A ++ .
Drive #2: 0:39
1-10: Run. This play goes to the right side. Jake blocks oshlansky and does a very good job, driving him back. Good play.
2-2: Run. Another play to the right side. Jake makes a very good block on what seems to be a linebacker, and a pretty fast one too. Very good play.
2nd Quarter:
1-10: Run. Wildcat with Jake at TE on the right. The play goes in the middle, but jake still makes a very effective block. good play
2-6: false start, antony fasano
2-11: Run. Draw play. Again, i see improvement from jake's part. Last week, i didn't like jake's technique on draw plays, because he didn't sell the pass enough to his player. He still managed to do a good job, but this week, you can see improvement, being confident in his abilities and his speed. He made it look perfect and when the damage was done, #92 of the chargers was way upfield and jake had position on him to make the block. The play didn't create much but jake couldn't have done any better. Very good play.
3-12: Pass. Wow, just wow. This play is just about the worse thing jake could face and he did a perfect, i mean, perfect job here. the chargers bring a late blitz to jake, 5 man front and just before the snap, shaun phillips comes from the left side and lines up to the right. The play is on, jake makes the adjustment and engages phillips. But now, Ronnie has an assignment, he has to make it look like he is a pass blocker and then release, so ronnie makes a little push to phillips and then squeezes between jake and the charger to make his route. Now, jake has to start all over and he does a very good job again, re-engaging phillips and keeping him way out of reach of pennington. This is one of the best plays i've seen from jake, considering every aspect of the play (late blitz, ronnie disturbing the pass protection, and the quality of the pass rusher)
VERY good play.
Drive #3: 10:38
1-10: Pass. Screen play to the right, jake has absolutely nothing to do other than stepping to the left to sell the fake toss to ronnie, he didn't even have to touch someone... i won't grade that play
2-7: Pass. Jake faces applewhite (?? remember the name if you're into it, because he'll face jake often and i probably won't remember his name so i'll say #90 haha) and gives excellent protection. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces applewhite again and offers once again tremendous protection. good play
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92 LB harris, and this is a bad play by almost everyone. 6 blockers, 5 rushers, and the pocket completely collapses. By the looks of it, it was a 3 three step drop and throw, but chad saw pressure and no one open (from the looks of it), tuck it tried to scramble. Chad ran right into Jake's man. While his man made the sack, jake actually looked like the second best blocker out there, but he let his guy go at the very end and it cost a sack. He didn't got flat out burnt, i wanted to make that clear for those who noticed he allowed the sack. It was a mix of the pocket collapsing, blanket coverage and jake not finishing his block. i still have to give a bad play grade.
2-15: Pass. Quick hitch to williams who goes in motion. Jake doesn't have a lot to do here because the ball comes out quickly but he still makes his block. Good play
3-15: Pass. Jake faces #92 again and does a good job blocking him. Good play.
4-1: Run. Critical play here! Jake long's assignment is to block the EMOL, # 90, who is lined up 2 yards to his left. Jake delivers a great block, driving him 2-3 yards back. Very good play.
1-10: Run. Jake has Oshlansky lined up to his outside shoulder. Osh will "slant" inside to attack jake's inside shoulder, While this might look like Jake blew him off, it was osh's duty to crash in, and jake's assignment, well, was to do just the same thing. So it turned out to be a good situation for jake who makes a good block on the big guy. Good play.
2-8: Pass. Jake faces #90 again. The charger player looks like he's trying to run around jake, but this just doesn't work. Jake follows him and shows great technique and speed, keeping him out of chad's range. Playing defensive end, i can tell when i was at the point of trying to outrun the tackle, it was because my power-moves weren't as effective as usual. You can clearly read in the pass rusher that during the last plays he hasn't found a way to beat jake and he's down to last resorts. I like it. Touchdown, Good play.
Drive #4: 4:21
1-10: Pass. Jake faces Oshlansky and does a great job in pass protection. Good play.
2-10: Pass. Screen pass to the right, great job by jake blocking oshlansky. good play.
3-2: Run. Wildcat formation with jake as a TE on the right side. Jake Blocks Jacques Cesaire 1-on-1 back 2-3 yards and paves the way for a first down. Great play.
1-10: Pass. Jake makes a bad play here. He faces #90. what happens is that he turns his shoulders too quickly, those things occur when an Otackle gives too much respect to the pass rushers ability to go upfield fast. Here, jake does just that. They are coached to turn the shoulders when the defender is on the same yard as they are but jake turns them a little too quickly. #90 reacts to the opportunity, makes a swift move inside using his hands to get jake out of the way and hit chad who hurries his throw that results in an incompletion. It's a bad play, BTW #90 has played, he's attacked upfield all game long so far and jake kinda bit into it, he anticipated the upfield speed rush and got caught. It's nothing to worry about, he'll learn about this mistake. Bad Play.
2-10: Run. I really like this play. It's a toss to the left side. Jake blocks olshansky inside and when he sees that he is out of the play, he goes to the second level. He looks there and sees no linebacker or safety is in his reach so he runs back towards the line to block olshansky who was coming in pursuit. Even if Olsh obviously wouldn't have made the play, it's a nice and effective effort he put out there. Good play.
3-2: Run. Jake pounds olshansky 1-on-1 back 2-3 yards. Nasty, mean, effective block, first down. A++ play.
1-10: Pass. Jake initially engages the DE but then he notices the OLB, marques harris, isn't dropping in coverage like he was showing. Jake quickly step back and blocks the OLB. Nice play on the mental part, he also showed good quickness to redirect and block another guy. Good play.
1-10: Run. Draw play. Very good play. Jake initially intends to block Olshansky who is lined up in front of him. When he notices Olsh slanting inside, engaging smiley, jake quickly reacts and attacks the next defender which happens to be the OLB. Great reaction, great play.
2-4: Pass. Talk about learning, and fast. Remember that bad play where jake got beat inside? #90 isn't dumb, he knows the only success he's had so far is inside, there he comes. Jake uses great technique, keeping his shoulder parallel to the LOS and that seals the fate of #90's rush, because he intended to do the same thing, rushing upfield and cutting inside of jake. He quickly notices jake isn't flinching so the defender makes a 3rd cut to go back outside. Jake now seals the deal, crushing the defender's hips with his right arm (great technique, A+++, i hated it when an OLine did that, it hurts like hell when they do it right and you can't get out of it) and taking him out of the play. Anyways, nice to see Jake quickly made up for his earlier mistake. Good play
1-goal: Pass. Nothing much to say, 2 man rush and they are not on jake's side. usually i wouldn't rate this play but i like seeing jake alert out there. He's looking around, in case a late blitz shows up. He turns back and sees chad run off so he follows him. Good mental play.
2-goal: Run. Wildcat with jake lined up at TE on the right. Jake blocks Olshansky 1-on-1 and bulls him back 2-3 yards. Looks like a probowler out there, wow. Touchdown, great play.
CONCLUSION AFTER 1ST HALF:
30/32 Good plays, 2/32 bad plays and no neutral plays.
Jake long is for real, his run blocking is almost perfect, i see him pounding guys and some of them are not small, Olshansky, Cesaire and castillo among others were manhandled every play they went up against Jake and those are big, physical guys. It's pretty amazing.
In the pass protection business, he looks good. The 2 bad plays were on passes where he allowed a sack (that was in fact, a coverage and a pocket collapse sack) and pressure on the other. this may seem like a problem to some but i've noticed something that will change your mind. So far this game, i've never seen a Running back, Tight end, or any offensive player helping jake in pass protection. This goes a long way to show you how much this coaching staff and pennington have confidence in Jake's ability. If my memory serves me right, in the pats game, he didn't have a lot of help also. This is a big positive, it's a vote of confidence and a great way for jake to learn the position.
Great first half, stay tuned for more. Like i did last week, i'll post another thread to notice everybody the 2nd half is done.
EDIT: Here it is, the second half folks, i've made a little adjustment, if it is a run play, i'll write LS or RS for left side or right side:
3rd Quarter:
Drive #5: 14:56
1-10: Pass. This is a quick hitch to Ted Ginn. Jake's man is lined up outside and he drops immediately in the flat, where ted is. Jake makes sure the pass is gone and then sprints to the left to try blocking somebody. Not a hard play but you've got to love the effort. Good play.
2-7: Run LS. Jake has Olshansky lined up on his inside shoulder. He blocks him to the right really well, opening a lane (he drives him sideways about 3-4 yards). Good play.
3-8: Pass. Excellent one on one protection against #92. Good play.
Drive #6: 12:11
1-10: RunRS. It's a draw play that's clearly designed to go left but it ends up to the right because ronnie sees a crease and knows the backside LB was offside, and gets blocked, therefore out of the play, so if you get past the first level, there's nothing to the right (and that's what happens...10 yard gain). Jake makes a good block but he didn't sustain it. I won't judge the play because it looks as though he knew the flag was thrown and didn't know if the play would go on... so no rating here.
1-10: RunLS. Good battle between him and olsh. Jake wins the first round, he gets position and seals him to create a lane, but Olsh wins the second round. Olsh didn't get manhandled the way he did in the first half, he doesn't get driven back a whole lot and once the RB chooses the inside, Olsh pulls an easy rip move on jake to cut back inside. I'll give a neutral play... good first contact, seals the guy, but he doesn't drive his feet (thus he doesn't drive olsh back a whole lot) and he didn't sustain the block. Neutral play.
2-7: Pass. Jake steps to block Olsh who is lined up on his inside shoulder. Love that play, he makes that first agressive step to the right, engages Olsh and delivers a good block. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92 again and does another perfect job. On a sidenote, this play is pretty amazing. 5 blockers, 5 rushers. Vernon carey takes care of shaun phillips (wow), Samson satele takes care of jamall williams (WOW) and Ikechuke Ndukwe handles Luis Castillo one on one (WOOOW) ... the ball doesn't take long to come out but chad had all the time in the world to throw that and nobody near him to disturb, very impressive play by the whole offensive line. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92, again, and does a very good job. Here's another 5 blockers, 5 rushers play, and the most noticeable block is samson satele who literally pancakes Shaun Phillips that comes on a late blitz. That was a great read and an AWESOME pancake, delicious. Good play.
1-10: RunLS. Jake blocks the OLB #90 and does a goob job once again, driving him back 3 yards back. Good technique, agressive, drives his feet, finishes the play. Good play.
2-9: RunRS . Wildcat with jake at TE on the right. This is a sweep to Ricky. Jake runs upfield and his assignment is to block ILB Wilhem. He does a pretty good job, he shows very good speed and seals off the ILB very well, keeping him away from the play. Good play.
1-10: RunRS. Wildcat with jake at TE on the right. This is the sweep to ricky that was suposed to be a pass. Good pass protection on #74(?). I really question the design of the play here... the ONLY receiver downfield is Chad pennington. Cornerbacks and safeties aren't dumb, they will read jake and if he steps sideways or doesn't crosses the line, there's a high possibility that it will be a passing play. So now, you're asking your not-so-athletic quarterback to outrun a CB lined up 10 yards back when the corner's read will actually be done by the time chad is 6-7 yards upfield? ... either ricky didn't play it like he should, and coaches told him as soon as you see the corner coming down, you throw, and in the other case, you run it, or it was a poor play... my guess is ricky didn't play it right. I put up that observation because many talked about that play and may have wondered what my thoughts were on it. Good play by jake nonetheless.
2-10: Pass. Screen pass to the left. Some might've thought jake busted the play here but it's a designed play. They fake a sweep to ronnie to the right side and usually, when they do so, they will leave the EMOL unblocked. When you fake that play and you block that guy, intelligent safeties and linebackers will know something's up. There are other keys to unfold and read the play but the dolphins are giving the least they can give. So jake double teams jamall williams with smiley, and the pass goes off. Good play by jake.
3-11: Pass. Another hitch pass to ginn. Jake gives good protection once again against the OLB. Here is the play on 3rd down that ted ginn ran out of bounds and got flamed for it by some fans... well i saw it again and again and again... Eric weddle pushed him OB, 2-3 yards short, ginn could've had 1 or 2 yards more at MOST because cromartie was waiting there at the first down marker, ready to deliver what would've been a HUGE blow. Ginn did the smart thing, don't risk an injury, don't risk a turnover also, you got your team in field goal range and couldn't do much more, Good job.
4th Quarter:
Drive #7: 14:55
1-10: Run in the middle. Jake makes a scoop block on the OLB with TE david martin. They do a very good block and once he's taken completely out of the play, jake runs upfield to block cromartie, but the plays whistles dead. Good play.
2-9: Pass. Jake faces #92 and does a very good job once again 1-on-1. Good play.
3-9: Pass. Jake faces #97 and does an excellent job, 1-on-1. Good play.
1-10: RunLS. Jake blocks #97 and pounds him back 3 yards, taking him out of the play. Another great play by our first overrall pick.
2-7: Pass. Jake faces #92 and he tries a speed rush. The guy is fast, real fast. But jake, with great speed and technique follows him upfield and when the defender notices no door is open, he makes a spin move inside but jake is in total control of his footing, so he steps in his face and completes a flawless pass protection (1-on-1 again). Very good play.
1-10: RunMiddle. Jake has OLB #90 to his outside. He makes a good sidestep and then rushes towards the defender to pound him 2-3 yards back. Technically sound and agressive. Very good play.
2-5:RunRS. Jake has TE david martin next to him. His assignment is to scoop block OLB #90 with the TE and then go upfield, that's just what he does. He doesn't find anyone to block upfield because they were all at the ball, but he did his job and that's what you ask for. Good play.
3-2: RunRS. Wildcat formation with Jake at TE on the right. On what seems to be Jacques Cesaire, Jake makes a good block. I would've liked him to get better push but he still managed to drive him 1 yard back. The play went nowhere because of a brilliant blitz by the defence. They thought they had enough of the wildcat and found a crack in the wildcat. Like i initially thought, if you blitz the backside safety inside Anthony fasano, he could have a clear shot at ronnie brown to at least slow him down... anwyays, good play by jake.
Drive #8: 9:07
1-10: RunRS. Jake blocks olshansky and even if the play is not on that side, he makes a nice block on the edge. good play.
2-8: RunRS. Draw play. Jake lets #92 go and gives him a good punch on the shoulder to shove him upfield. While i don't really like the footing here, i like the agressiveness and the arm strenght. Good play.
3-4: Pass. Jake faces #90 and it's an interesting play. Jake has faced speed rushes all game long. Two times, the rusher made a move inside, beating jake once. #90 tries a new strategy, the famous bull rush. Jake is not expecting that at all and struggles at the beginning but you know the guy is strong, and about a yard or 2 before he collides with pennington, he holds ground and stops the rusher's progression. Bad play turned good play, good job.
Drive#9 : 5:55
1-10: RunLS. Jake and smiley scoop-block Olshansky. They pancake him and when he gets down, smiley goes upfield to block a LB. Very good nasty play here.
2-6: Pass. Jake faces #92. Once again, jake holds firm with one on one blocking, jake had his number all day long (#90 gave him a liiiiittle trouble but nothing much). Good play.
3-2: RunLS. Jake and fasano must scoop block Olsh. What happens is the first block was good but none of the two dolphins got to the second level. Olsh made a helluva job to occupy both players and since i have to grade the play, i'd give a bad play grade to fasano because he should've been the one going upfield, he had the best opportunity. Jake will receive a neutral play because he made a good first block but didn't really take position on Olsh's outside shoulder in order to convince Fasano the scoop was complete... EDIT: after seeing the play again further down, i've changed the play to a good play and you'll soon know why.
I also noticed a GREAT block by david martin on the edge against Shaun phillips... i've seen 2 or 3 plays this game where i've really been impressed by Martin's blocking ability, he's improving a lot and it's a good thing.
1-10: RunMiddle: Jake faces #90 and once again pounds him back 2-3 yards. Good job !
2-7: RunRS. Wildcat formation with Jake as a TE on the Right. This is a sweep to ricky. Very good play by jake, like he did earlier on a sweep, he got upfield in a hurry to block the ILB (this time it was #54, not wilhem). He keeps him out of the play. Good play.
3-4: Pass. Jake faces #92 and wow does he get out of that stance quickly. Great technique, shuts down the rusher on a 1-on-1 battle. Good play.
On a sidenote, people bashed Ginn again because he "went" out of bounds on that play... this can't be serious, i mean, i'm watching it right now and ginn did a HELLUVA catch, keeping both feet inbounds with a player on his back, i can't believe people were mad at ted for this, even IF he wanted to stay inbounds there was no way he could have.
1-10: RunLS. Jake makes a good double team block with fasano. Basically the same play they did on the critical 3rd&2 .... they do a good block on him and here i saw a little better how the play was designed and i have to give jake a good play grade. It's designed to go outside of TE david martin, and what they're being asked inside is obvious: don't let blitzes or pursuit come through the gaps, let the puller make the key block and Ronnie hit that hole. Good play, and i have to take back the neutral play i gave him earlier.
2-6: Pass. Short pass to ginn to the left. Good protection by jake, even if it was a very quick release. Good play.
On another sidenote lol ginn ran OB here, and that's probably another play he was criticized for... but the chains guy actually stepped back not to get hit and also stepped a little sideways, giving the illusion to ted that he had crossed the spot.
3-1: RunMiddle. Critical play and Jake pounds olshansky back 2 yards, for the first down. Way to go jake, good play.
1-10: Run RS. Jake has to double team the OLB, when he's out of the play, jake looks to the right and runs to try and block another guy. Good effort, good play.
2-5: RunRS. The exact same play, jake does a good job again. Good play.
3-2: RunLS. Jake pounds olsh 2-3 yards back on what is a critical play, and ultimately, the last one of the game (if you don't count the kneels..) good play.
CONCLUSION OF SECOND HALF
34/35 plays are good. 1/35 plays is neutral and no bad plays in the second half.
Believe it or not the second half was even better and it was pretty impressive. When it was a running play, he almost always pounded guys back and opened lanes.
On pass protection, jake got no help of all the 14 second half pass plays. 2 were wr screens where he didn't really have to pass protect so out of 12 pass plays, he didn't allow a sack, not even a hint of pressure on chad.
CONCLUSION OF WEEK 05:
64/67 plays were good, 1/67 being neutral and 2/67 being bad.
Jake played a little better than against new england and it was one helluva game for him. There's no denying, he's a mauler and he doesn't take a rep off. He blew out seymour, warren, green last week and this past sunday, it was olshansky, cesaire and castillo at times that got a taste of his medicine ... three real big fellas.... jake also took care of some OLBs out there.
The concern for some though is the pass protection, and in this game, well, he allowed one sack that could've gone to any defender (chad coughed the ball and let himself to the ground in a foetal position because of the pocket collapsing from everywhere). Jake had a very good game, he quickly learned from a mistake he made in the game. In the end, jake allowed zero pressure on 29/31 pass plays (nfl.com says 29 pass attemps, but remember the chargers made two sacks, so, 31 passing plays in total...) that's good, real good.
The last thing i have yet to see from jake is a long sustaining pass protection. This pasing offence revolves around short passes or quick ones. When henne hits the field next year (hopefully...) , we'll see longer passing plays that require more time. Jake is doing an excellent job at what he's asked so far (remember, this guy is a rookie and he almost never has help on pass protection with TEs or RBs) but even if he has games like he had today, i won't be ready to call him an all around, probowl caliber, HOF, "whatever you want", Left tackle until i see those long plays (not saying he's not heading to the probowl, i actually believe he has a good shot if he plays like this all 14 remaining games). All signs point towards success, jake always seems in control of his man and when the passes are thrown, he's still in position and fully in control of the situation so yeah i'm pretty optimistic.
To sum this up, 77 once again provided the dolphins with a first overrall performance IMO. stay tuned as the biggest test so far is coming up next week: Jake Long Vs. Mario Williams
I'll go over it a little bit anyways, Jake will be rated by Good, bad and neutral plays. For quick readers, the most interesting plays will be bolded
I've done the whole 1st half, it's pretty long to write and probably to read also, so i'm giving you the first part and stay tuned for the 2nd, it should be available thurday, friday at worse. Enjoy once again brothers!
1st quarter:
drive # 1 - 7:35
1-10: pass. one on one with the OLB, i'm not sure here if it is #97 or 57 (wilhelm) but either way, it looks like a speed rusher and jake does an excellent job blocking him. Good play
2-3: Run. Wildcat formation, jake is lined up at TE on the right. He has castillo in front of him and pounds him back 3-4 yards. Very good play on a stellar run defender.
3-1: Pass. Jake faces Tucker, the new starter for merriman, and does a very good job, handling the speed rusher. Good play
1-10: Run. Wildcat formation, Jake is lined up at TE on the right. He and vernon carey "scoop-block" oshlansky, jake has to help vernon there and get up to the linebacker, which is the essence of a "scoop block". Jake gets to the linebacker but when he comes to block him the play whistles dead because the tackle was made by another defender. I'll give a good play grade because he and carey took their man out of the play and jake was about to take another one down if the play went on. Good play.
2-9: Run. Wildcat formation, jake is at LT for a change. The run is designed to go off tackle, between jake and david martin who is pulling to the left to block the EMOL (end man on the line). the O-line completely dominates the front on this play, so does jake and david, but ronnie goes elsewhere because he sees there's too many defenders to the left and finds a crease to the right. So jake does a terrific job, blocking his guy back 3 yards and opening a lane, but at the end of that lane was another defender, ronnie found a better opportunity. still a very nice block. Good play (by everyone up front BTW).
1-10: Pass. Very good pass protection, chad scrambles on this play because he feels the three rushers in his face (he is looking to throw on the right) while jake is offering very good protection on the left. Good play.
2-5: Run. Wildcat formation, Jake is lined up at TE on the right side. Ronnie runs it up the gut and jake doesn't really have much to do because his assignment is to block the EMOL but #92 really just runs upfield to contain ricky williams, so he takes himself out of the play. Jake still follows the guy and while he came back to hit ronnie, it was moreso because the play got stomped at the LOS pretty early and jake couldn't expect that. I'll give a good play because if the other linemen had made their blocks, jake's guy wouldn't have had that opportunity as ronnie would've been 4-5-6 yards downfield.
3-4: Pass. I'm very VERY pleased by this play. For those who read my report last week, remember when i mentionned smiley and jake got fooled by a "stunt" between the DE and the DT ? they totally blew that one. Well this right here is the same darn thing and this time, they played it perfectly. The DE engages jake and releases inside to attack smiley while the DT tries to engage both smiley and jake in order to create a lane. they switch players like they coach you to and made wonderful blocks, jake on the DT and Smiley on the DE. This just goes to show you that those guys are improving and learning from their mistakes every week. Chad had nothing to throw to, it was not the pressure that blew that play. A ++ .
Drive #2: 0:39
1-10: Run. This play goes to the right side. Jake blocks oshlansky and does a very good job, driving him back. Good play.
2-2: Run. Another play to the right side. Jake makes a very good block on what seems to be a linebacker, and a pretty fast one too. Very good play.
2nd Quarter:
1-10: Run. Wildcat with Jake at TE on the right. The play goes in the middle, but jake still makes a very effective block. good play
2-6: false start, antony fasano
2-11: Run. Draw play. Again, i see improvement from jake's part. Last week, i didn't like jake's technique on draw plays, because he didn't sell the pass enough to his player. He still managed to do a good job, but this week, you can see improvement, being confident in his abilities and his speed. He made it look perfect and when the damage was done, #92 of the chargers was way upfield and jake had position on him to make the block. The play didn't create much but jake couldn't have done any better. Very good play.
3-12: Pass. Wow, just wow. This play is just about the worse thing jake could face and he did a perfect, i mean, perfect job here. the chargers bring a late blitz to jake, 5 man front and just before the snap, shaun phillips comes from the left side and lines up to the right. The play is on, jake makes the adjustment and engages phillips. But now, Ronnie has an assignment, he has to make it look like he is a pass blocker and then release, so ronnie makes a little push to phillips and then squeezes between jake and the charger to make his route. Now, jake has to start all over and he does a very good job again, re-engaging phillips and keeping him way out of reach of pennington. This is one of the best plays i've seen from jake, considering every aspect of the play (late blitz, ronnie disturbing the pass protection, and the quality of the pass rusher)
VERY good play.
Drive #3: 10:38
1-10: Pass. Screen play to the right, jake has absolutely nothing to do other than stepping to the left to sell the fake toss to ronnie, he didn't even have to touch someone... i won't grade that play
2-7: Pass. Jake faces applewhite (?? remember the name if you're into it, because he'll face jake often and i probably won't remember his name so i'll say #90 haha) and gives excellent protection. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces applewhite again and offers once again tremendous protection. good play
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92 LB harris, and this is a bad play by almost everyone. 6 blockers, 5 rushers, and the pocket completely collapses. By the looks of it, it was a 3 three step drop and throw, but chad saw pressure and no one open (from the looks of it), tuck it tried to scramble. Chad ran right into Jake's man. While his man made the sack, jake actually looked like the second best blocker out there, but he let his guy go at the very end and it cost a sack. He didn't got flat out burnt, i wanted to make that clear for those who noticed he allowed the sack. It was a mix of the pocket collapsing, blanket coverage and jake not finishing his block. i still have to give a bad play grade.
2-15: Pass. Quick hitch to williams who goes in motion. Jake doesn't have a lot to do here because the ball comes out quickly but he still makes his block. Good play
3-15: Pass. Jake faces #92 again and does a good job blocking him. Good play.
4-1: Run. Critical play here! Jake long's assignment is to block the EMOL, # 90, who is lined up 2 yards to his left. Jake delivers a great block, driving him 2-3 yards back. Very good play.
1-10: Run. Jake has Oshlansky lined up to his outside shoulder. Osh will "slant" inside to attack jake's inside shoulder, While this might look like Jake blew him off, it was osh's duty to crash in, and jake's assignment, well, was to do just the same thing. So it turned out to be a good situation for jake who makes a good block on the big guy. Good play.
2-8: Pass. Jake faces #90 again. The charger player looks like he's trying to run around jake, but this just doesn't work. Jake follows him and shows great technique and speed, keeping him out of chad's range. Playing defensive end, i can tell when i was at the point of trying to outrun the tackle, it was because my power-moves weren't as effective as usual. You can clearly read in the pass rusher that during the last plays he hasn't found a way to beat jake and he's down to last resorts. I like it. Touchdown, Good play.
Drive #4: 4:21
1-10: Pass. Jake faces Oshlansky and does a great job in pass protection. Good play.
2-10: Pass. Screen pass to the right, great job by jake blocking oshlansky. good play.
3-2: Run. Wildcat formation with jake as a TE on the right side. Jake Blocks Jacques Cesaire 1-on-1 back 2-3 yards and paves the way for a first down. Great play.
1-10: Pass. Jake makes a bad play here. He faces #90. what happens is that he turns his shoulders too quickly, those things occur when an Otackle gives too much respect to the pass rushers ability to go upfield fast. Here, jake does just that. They are coached to turn the shoulders when the defender is on the same yard as they are but jake turns them a little too quickly. #90 reacts to the opportunity, makes a swift move inside using his hands to get jake out of the way and hit chad who hurries his throw that results in an incompletion. It's a bad play, BTW #90 has played, he's attacked upfield all game long so far and jake kinda bit into it, he anticipated the upfield speed rush and got caught. It's nothing to worry about, he'll learn about this mistake. Bad Play.
2-10: Run. I really like this play. It's a toss to the left side. Jake blocks olshansky inside and when he sees that he is out of the play, he goes to the second level. He looks there and sees no linebacker or safety is in his reach so he runs back towards the line to block olshansky who was coming in pursuit. Even if Olsh obviously wouldn't have made the play, it's a nice and effective effort he put out there. Good play.
3-2: Run. Jake pounds olshansky 1-on-1 back 2-3 yards. Nasty, mean, effective block, first down. A++ play.
1-10: Pass. Jake initially engages the DE but then he notices the OLB, marques harris, isn't dropping in coverage like he was showing. Jake quickly step back and blocks the OLB. Nice play on the mental part, he also showed good quickness to redirect and block another guy. Good play.
1-10: Run. Draw play. Very good play. Jake initially intends to block Olshansky who is lined up in front of him. When he notices Olsh slanting inside, engaging smiley, jake quickly reacts and attacks the next defender which happens to be the OLB. Great reaction, great play.
2-4: Pass. Talk about learning, and fast. Remember that bad play where jake got beat inside? #90 isn't dumb, he knows the only success he's had so far is inside, there he comes. Jake uses great technique, keeping his shoulder parallel to the LOS and that seals the fate of #90's rush, because he intended to do the same thing, rushing upfield and cutting inside of jake. He quickly notices jake isn't flinching so the defender makes a 3rd cut to go back outside. Jake now seals the deal, crushing the defender's hips with his right arm (great technique, A+++, i hated it when an OLine did that, it hurts like hell when they do it right and you can't get out of it) and taking him out of the play. Anyways, nice to see Jake quickly made up for his earlier mistake. Good play
1-goal: Pass. Nothing much to say, 2 man rush and they are not on jake's side. usually i wouldn't rate this play but i like seeing jake alert out there. He's looking around, in case a late blitz shows up. He turns back and sees chad run off so he follows him. Good mental play.
2-goal: Run. Wildcat with jake lined up at TE on the right. Jake blocks Olshansky 1-on-1 and bulls him back 2-3 yards. Looks like a probowler out there, wow. Touchdown, great play.
CONCLUSION AFTER 1ST HALF:
30/32 Good plays, 2/32 bad plays and no neutral plays.
Jake long is for real, his run blocking is almost perfect, i see him pounding guys and some of them are not small, Olshansky, Cesaire and castillo among others were manhandled every play they went up against Jake and those are big, physical guys. It's pretty amazing.
In the pass protection business, he looks good. The 2 bad plays were on passes where he allowed a sack (that was in fact, a coverage and a pocket collapse sack) and pressure on the other. this may seem like a problem to some but i've noticed something that will change your mind. So far this game, i've never seen a Running back, Tight end, or any offensive player helping jake in pass protection. This goes a long way to show you how much this coaching staff and pennington have confidence in Jake's ability. If my memory serves me right, in the pats game, he didn't have a lot of help also. This is a big positive, it's a vote of confidence and a great way for jake to learn the position.
Great first half, stay tuned for more. Like i did last week, i'll post another thread to notice everybody the 2nd half is done.
EDIT: Here it is, the second half folks, i've made a little adjustment, if it is a run play, i'll write LS or RS for left side or right side:
3rd Quarter:
Drive #5: 14:56
1-10: Pass. This is a quick hitch to Ted Ginn. Jake's man is lined up outside and he drops immediately in the flat, where ted is. Jake makes sure the pass is gone and then sprints to the left to try blocking somebody. Not a hard play but you've got to love the effort. Good play.
2-7: Run LS. Jake has Olshansky lined up on his inside shoulder. He blocks him to the right really well, opening a lane (he drives him sideways about 3-4 yards). Good play.
3-8: Pass. Excellent one on one protection against #92. Good play.
Drive #6: 12:11
1-10: RunRS. It's a draw play that's clearly designed to go left but it ends up to the right because ronnie sees a crease and knows the backside LB was offside, and gets blocked, therefore out of the play, so if you get past the first level, there's nothing to the right (and that's what happens...10 yard gain). Jake makes a good block but he didn't sustain it. I won't judge the play because it looks as though he knew the flag was thrown and didn't know if the play would go on... so no rating here.
1-10: RunLS. Good battle between him and olsh. Jake wins the first round, he gets position and seals him to create a lane, but Olsh wins the second round. Olsh didn't get manhandled the way he did in the first half, he doesn't get driven back a whole lot and once the RB chooses the inside, Olsh pulls an easy rip move on jake to cut back inside. I'll give a neutral play... good first contact, seals the guy, but he doesn't drive his feet (thus he doesn't drive olsh back a whole lot) and he didn't sustain the block. Neutral play.
2-7: Pass. Jake steps to block Olsh who is lined up on his inside shoulder. Love that play, he makes that first agressive step to the right, engages Olsh and delivers a good block. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92 again and does another perfect job. On a sidenote, this play is pretty amazing. 5 blockers, 5 rushers. Vernon carey takes care of shaun phillips (wow), Samson satele takes care of jamall williams (WOW) and Ikechuke Ndukwe handles Luis Castillo one on one (WOOOW) ... the ball doesn't take long to come out but chad had all the time in the world to throw that and nobody near him to disturb, very impressive play by the whole offensive line. Good play.
1-10: Pass. Jake faces #92, again, and does a very good job. Here's another 5 blockers, 5 rushers play, and the most noticeable block is samson satele who literally pancakes Shaun Phillips that comes on a late blitz. That was a great read and an AWESOME pancake, delicious. Good play.
1-10: RunLS. Jake blocks the OLB #90 and does a goob job once again, driving him back 3 yards back. Good technique, agressive, drives his feet, finishes the play. Good play.
2-9: RunRS . Wildcat with jake at TE on the right. This is a sweep to Ricky. Jake runs upfield and his assignment is to block ILB Wilhem. He does a pretty good job, he shows very good speed and seals off the ILB very well, keeping him away from the play. Good play.
1-10: RunRS. Wildcat with jake at TE on the right. This is the sweep to ricky that was suposed to be a pass. Good pass protection on #74(?). I really question the design of the play here... the ONLY receiver downfield is Chad pennington. Cornerbacks and safeties aren't dumb, they will read jake and if he steps sideways or doesn't crosses the line, there's a high possibility that it will be a passing play. So now, you're asking your not-so-athletic quarterback to outrun a CB lined up 10 yards back when the corner's read will actually be done by the time chad is 6-7 yards upfield? ... either ricky didn't play it like he should, and coaches told him as soon as you see the corner coming down, you throw, and in the other case, you run it, or it was a poor play... my guess is ricky didn't play it right. I put up that observation because many talked about that play and may have wondered what my thoughts were on it. Good play by jake nonetheless.
2-10: Pass. Screen pass to the left. Some might've thought jake busted the play here but it's a designed play. They fake a sweep to ronnie to the right side and usually, when they do so, they will leave the EMOL unblocked. When you fake that play and you block that guy, intelligent safeties and linebackers will know something's up. There are other keys to unfold and read the play but the dolphins are giving the least they can give. So jake double teams jamall williams with smiley, and the pass goes off. Good play by jake.
3-11: Pass. Another hitch pass to ginn. Jake gives good protection once again against the OLB. Here is the play on 3rd down that ted ginn ran out of bounds and got flamed for it by some fans... well i saw it again and again and again... Eric weddle pushed him OB, 2-3 yards short, ginn could've had 1 or 2 yards more at MOST because cromartie was waiting there at the first down marker, ready to deliver what would've been a HUGE blow. Ginn did the smart thing, don't risk an injury, don't risk a turnover also, you got your team in field goal range and couldn't do much more, Good job.
4th Quarter:
Drive #7: 14:55
1-10: Run in the middle. Jake makes a scoop block on the OLB with TE david martin. They do a very good block and once he's taken completely out of the play, jake runs upfield to block cromartie, but the plays whistles dead. Good play.
2-9: Pass. Jake faces #92 and does a very good job once again 1-on-1. Good play.
3-9: Pass. Jake faces #97 and does an excellent job, 1-on-1. Good play.
1-10: RunLS. Jake blocks #97 and pounds him back 3 yards, taking him out of the play. Another great play by our first overrall pick.
2-7: Pass. Jake faces #92 and he tries a speed rush. The guy is fast, real fast. But jake, with great speed and technique follows him upfield and when the defender notices no door is open, he makes a spin move inside but jake is in total control of his footing, so he steps in his face and completes a flawless pass protection (1-on-1 again). Very good play.
1-10: RunMiddle. Jake has OLB #90 to his outside. He makes a good sidestep and then rushes towards the defender to pound him 2-3 yards back. Technically sound and agressive. Very good play.
2-5:RunRS. Jake has TE david martin next to him. His assignment is to scoop block OLB #90 with the TE and then go upfield, that's just what he does. He doesn't find anyone to block upfield because they were all at the ball, but he did his job and that's what you ask for. Good play.
3-2: RunRS. Wildcat formation with Jake at TE on the right. On what seems to be Jacques Cesaire, Jake makes a good block. I would've liked him to get better push but he still managed to drive him 1 yard back. The play went nowhere because of a brilliant blitz by the defence. They thought they had enough of the wildcat and found a crack in the wildcat. Like i initially thought, if you blitz the backside safety inside Anthony fasano, he could have a clear shot at ronnie brown to at least slow him down... anwyays, good play by jake.
Drive #8: 9:07
1-10: RunRS. Jake blocks olshansky and even if the play is not on that side, he makes a nice block on the edge. good play.
2-8: RunRS. Draw play. Jake lets #92 go and gives him a good punch on the shoulder to shove him upfield. While i don't really like the footing here, i like the agressiveness and the arm strenght. Good play.
3-4: Pass. Jake faces #90 and it's an interesting play. Jake has faced speed rushes all game long. Two times, the rusher made a move inside, beating jake once. #90 tries a new strategy, the famous bull rush. Jake is not expecting that at all and struggles at the beginning but you know the guy is strong, and about a yard or 2 before he collides with pennington, he holds ground and stops the rusher's progression. Bad play turned good play, good job.
Drive#9 : 5:55
1-10: RunLS. Jake and smiley scoop-block Olshansky. They pancake him and when he gets down, smiley goes upfield to block a LB. Very good nasty play here.
2-6: Pass. Jake faces #92. Once again, jake holds firm with one on one blocking, jake had his number all day long (#90 gave him a liiiiittle trouble but nothing much). Good play.
3-2: RunLS. Jake and fasano must scoop block Olsh. What happens is the first block was good but none of the two dolphins got to the second level. Olsh made a helluva job to occupy both players and since i have to grade the play, i'd give a bad play grade to fasano because he should've been the one going upfield, he had the best opportunity. Jake will receive a neutral play because he made a good first block but didn't really take position on Olsh's outside shoulder in order to convince Fasano the scoop was complete... EDIT: after seeing the play again further down, i've changed the play to a good play and you'll soon know why.
I also noticed a GREAT block by david martin on the edge against Shaun phillips... i've seen 2 or 3 plays this game where i've really been impressed by Martin's blocking ability, he's improving a lot and it's a good thing.
1-10: RunMiddle: Jake faces #90 and once again pounds him back 2-3 yards. Good job !
2-7: RunRS. Wildcat formation with Jake as a TE on the Right. This is a sweep to ricky. Very good play by jake, like he did earlier on a sweep, he got upfield in a hurry to block the ILB (this time it was #54, not wilhem). He keeps him out of the play. Good play.
3-4: Pass. Jake faces #92 and wow does he get out of that stance quickly. Great technique, shuts down the rusher on a 1-on-1 battle. Good play.
On a sidenote, people bashed Ginn again because he "went" out of bounds on that play... this can't be serious, i mean, i'm watching it right now and ginn did a HELLUVA catch, keeping both feet inbounds with a player on his back, i can't believe people were mad at ted for this, even IF he wanted to stay inbounds there was no way he could have.
1-10: RunLS. Jake makes a good double team block with fasano. Basically the same play they did on the critical 3rd&2 .... they do a good block on him and here i saw a little better how the play was designed and i have to give jake a good play grade. It's designed to go outside of TE david martin, and what they're being asked inside is obvious: don't let blitzes or pursuit come through the gaps, let the puller make the key block and Ronnie hit that hole. Good play, and i have to take back the neutral play i gave him earlier.
2-6: Pass. Short pass to ginn to the left. Good protection by jake, even if it was a very quick release. Good play.
On another sidenote lol ginn ran OB here, and that's probably another play he was criticized for... but the chains guy actually stepped back not to get hit and also stepped a little sideways, giving the illusion to ted that he had crossed the spot.
3-1: RunMiddle. Critical play and Jake pounds olshansky back 2 yards, for the first down. Way to go jake, good play.
1-10: Run RS. Jake has to double team the OLB, when he's out of the play, jake looks to the right and runs to try and block another guy. Good effort, good play.
2-5: RunRS. The exact same play, jake does a good job again. Good play.
3-2: RunLS. Jake pounds olsh 2-3 yards back on what is a critical play, and ultimately, the last one of the game (if you don't count the kneels..) good play.
CONCLUSION OF SECOND HALF
34/35 plays are good. 1/35 plays is neutral and no bad plays in the second half.
Believe it or not the second half was even better and it was pretty impressive. When it was a running play, he almost always pounded guys back and opened lanes.
On pass protection, jake got no help of all the 14 second half pass plays. 2 were wr screens where he didn't really have to pass protect so out of 12 pass plays, he didn't allow a sack, not even a hint of pressure on chad.
CONCLUSION OF WEEK 05:
64/67 plays were good, 1/67 being neutral and 2/67 being bad.
Jake played a little better than against new england and it was one helluva game for him. There's no denying, he's a mauler and he doesn't take a rep off. He blew out seymour, warren, green last week and this past sunday, it was olshansky, cesaire and castillo at times that got a taste of his medicine ... three real big fellas.... jake also took care of some OLBs out there.
The concern for some though is the pass protection, and in this game, well, he allowed one sack that could've gone to any defender (chad coughed the ball and let himself to the ground in a foetal position because of the pocket collapsing from everywhere). Jake had a very good game, he quickly learned from a mistake he made in the game. In the end, jake allowed zero pressure on 29/31 pass plays (nfl.com says 29 pass attemps, but remember the chargers made two sacks, so, 31 passing plays in total...) that's good, real good.
The last thing i have yet to see from jake is a long sustaining pass protection. This pasing offence revolves around short passes or quick ones. When henne hits the field next year (hopefully...) , we'll see longer passing plays that require more time. Jake is doing an excellent job at what he's asked so far (remember, this guy is a rookie and he almost never has help on pass protection with TEs or RBs) but even if he has games like he had today, i won't be ready to call him an all around, probowl caliber, HOF, "whatever you want", Left tackle until i see those long plays (not saying he's not heading to the probowl, i actually believe he has a good shot if he plays like this all 14 remaining games). All signs point towards success, jake always seems in control of his man and when the passes are thrown, he's still in position and fully in control of the situation so yeah i'm pretty optimistic.
To sum this up, 77 once again provided the dolphins with a first overrall performance IMO. stay tuned as the biggest test so far is coming up next week: Jake Long Vs. Mario Williams
