ckparrothead
Premium Member
Without going into too much detail, I just wanted to clue everyone in to one of the underlying themes of this season and the nature of our offense.
Our offense is at its absolute best when it goes no-huddle or hurry-up. Everyone always wants to go no-huddle but not a lot of teams can really operate it and heck we've just barely lost as many games as we've won because of the no-huddle.
@ Buffalo: We're driving in the no-huddle offense deep into Buffalo territory about to possibly take the lead 21-20 with probably less than 2 minutes remaining, and Ronnie Brown fumbles the ball (and the game) away.
Atlanta: No-huddle gets us all the way to the 6 yard line for a potential game-tying TD. Questionable play call, and then Gus Frerotte throws the pick that ends the game.
New England: No-huddle gets us a potential game-winning TD drive, only to have the effects of it wiped out when the defense forgets to show up onto the field and the Patriots jaunt a leisurely 3 play drive for a touchdown. No-huddle gets us BACK to the goal line to tie the game, and Chambers drops a well-placed pass in the end zone on the final play.
Buffalo: No-huddle takes us down the field and caps off the most incredible come-back in franchise history.
Our offense was built for the no-huddle/hurry-up:
Chain movers: Randy McMichael, Wes Welker, Ronnie Brown, and Ricky Williams are all excellent chain movers. Not just good chain movers, EXCELLENT ones. McMichael is one of the top TEs in the league. Ronnie is one of the most talented pass catching RBs in the league. Ricky ain't no slouch and has always caught a lot of passes and now in his slimmed down form seems even more fluid out there. Wes Welker has a presence of mind that is second only to Zach Thomas on this team. It is no coincidence that Welker had a controversial game-winning TD taken away questionably before the actual game-winning TD. He's that good.
Protection: The offensive line has been excellent this season, and really only had probably their first bad game of the year yesterday. Carey was built for pass protection rather than run blocking. The interior has solidified well. But the real story is in that both Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are excellent quarterback protectors on blitzes. That gives the QB the time he needs to get the ball out.
Play-makers: Chambers is the best play-maker in these situations because he really can do it all at this point. His drops are maddening, and they will persist through his career. But, his talent is undeniable. Whoever calls him "average" is really deluding themselves. In this Buffalo game he showed an ability to take over a game a la Steve Smith...and in the no-huddle this is a guy that is always freaking open and can get into a rhythm that makes a CB trying to cover him helpless. Marty Booker isn't near as big a play-maker, but he is a pretty capable guy and not just as a chain mover.
Play-caller: Scott Linehan is a gifted no-huddle/hurry-up play caller. His problems have always been related to having too much faith in the passing game relative to turning the ball over and making stupid mistakes. When he gets to the no-huddle, he is very much a fish in water.
The only thing missing, is a guy who can tie it all together and execute the no-huddle and make the right choices, place the ball in the right areas. It isn't as hard a job as you'd think, considering the weapons at his disposal and the fact that on any given no huddle play there are probably two places he could go with the ball that are open. I have to see the game but it certainly seemed like Sage was a bit of a fish in water in that situation. I am still skeptical though. Frerotte has operated it well at times, but he is still Gus and he'll still end up turning the ball over or screwing us in some way a decent percentage of the time. Chambers will still drop balls, which means we have to get it to where we win the game on 2nd down, not on 4th down.
But it seriously almost makes you want to start running the old K-Gun Jim Kelly style.
Our offense is at its absolute best when it goes no-huddle or hurry-up. Everyone always wants to go no-huddle but not a lot of teams can really operate it and heck we've just barely lost as many games as we've won because of the no-huddle.
@ Buffalo: We're driving in the no-huddle offense deep into Buffalo territory about to possibly take the lead 21-20 with probably less than 2 minutes remaining, and Ronnie Brown fumbles the ball (and the game) away.
Atlanta: No-huddle gets us all the way to the 6 yard line for a potential game-tying TD. Questionable play call, and then Gus Frerotte throws the pick that ends the game.
New England: No-huddle gets us a potential game-winning TD drive, only to have the effects of it wiped out when the defense forgets to show up onto the field and the Patriots jaunt a leisurely 3 play drive for a touchdown. No-huddle gets us BACK to the goal line to tie the game, and Chambers drops a well-placed pass in the end zone on the final play.
Buffalo: No-huddle takes us down the field and caps off the most incredible come-back in franchise history.
Our offense was built for the no-huddle/hurry-up:
Chain movers: Randy McMichael, Wes Welker, Ronnie Brown, and Ricky Williams are all excellent chain movers. Not just good chain movers, EXCELLENT ones. McMichael is one of the top TEs in the league. Ronnie is one of the most talented pass catching RBs in the league. Ricky ain't no slouch and has always caught a lot of passes and now in his slimmed down form seems even more fluid out there. Wes Welker has a presence of mind that is second only to Zach Thomas on this team. It is no coincidence that Welker had a controversial game-winning TD taken away questionably before the actual game-winning TD. He's that good.
Protection: The offensive line has been excellent this season, and really only had probably their first bad game of the year yesterday. Carey was built for pass protection rather than run blocking. The interior has solidified well. But the real story is in that both Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are excellent quarterback protectors on blitzes. That gives the QB the time he needs to get the ball out.
Play-makers: Chambers is the best play-maker in these situations because he really can do it all at this point. His drops are maddening, and they will persist through his career. But, his talent is undeniable. Whoever calls him "average" is really deluding themselves. In this Buffalo game he showed an ability to take over a game a la Steve Smith...and in the no-huddle this is a guy that is always freaking open and can get into a rhythm that makes a CB trying to cover him helpless. Marty Booker isn't near as big a play-maker, but he is a pretty capable guy and not just as a chain mover.
Play-caller: Scott Linehan is a gifted no-huddle/hurry-up play caller. His problems have always been related to having too much faith in the passing game relative to turning the ball over and making stupid mistakes. When he gets to the no-huddle, he is very much a fish in water.
The only thing missing, is a guy who can tie it all together and execute the no-huddle and make the right choices, place the ball in the right areas. It isn't as hard a job as you'd think, considering the weapons at his disposal and the fact that on any given no huddle play there are probably two places he could go with the ball that are open. I have to see the game but it certainly seemed like Sage was a bit of a fish in water in that situation. I am still skeptical though. Frerotte has operated it well at times, but he is still Gus and he'll still end up turning the ball over or screwing us in some way a decent percentage of the time. Chambers will still drop balls, which means we have to get it to where we win the game on 2nd down, not on 4th down.
But it seriously almost makes you want to start running the old K-Gun Jim Kelly style.