NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football?! - 08/09 Season

[ramseya]

Thomas Howard: 4.47
Ernie Sims: 4.54
Manny Lawson: 4.43
Kamerion Wimbley: 4.61
Shawne Merriman: 4.65

compare:

Brian Westbrook: 4.57
Frank Gore: 4.65

Now I know 40 time doesn't mean much but my point is that top LB's drafted the last few years are fast enough to make heavy use of screens impractical.

[snoopy369]

That does nothing to negate my point, though.

Two scenarios:

1. LT running around the right end, with Patrick Willis playing cover 2 and following him.

2. LT running around to the right, Patrick Willis blitzes. Rivers tosses LT the ball, five or six yards past Willis to the outside. LT starts running, Willis five yards behind him.

Which scenario does Willis catch him first?

The point is, no matter what the LB's speed/other qualities are, blitzing always puts him in a weaker position relative to the screen. It may not be as useful as before, but that doesn't mean it's not helpful.

[ramseya]

Snoopy:

you have to look at it as strategy over the course of the game... kind of like in the aggregate if that makes sense with football plays. My point is traditionally, a defense couldn't blitz on every down because the offense would adjust and use screen passes on every down. Once the defense plays off, the screen passes become uneffective, but playing off allows the QB more time in the pocket. It forces balance.

Now, with these quick LB's, the screen pass doesn't become particularly attractive as it'll generate less yardage than it would have in the past, even against the blitz. It becomes less risky for defenses to blitz and less attractive for offenses to use screens as a counter to the blitz.

Instead, offenses turn to shotgun offenses, which was the original point about shotgun becoming incredibly popular the last few years.

Sloww's apparent disappointment of the decline of the screen pass is the result of incredibly fast LB's, especially running out of 3-4 sets, a development which has probably contributed to the spread of the shotgun formation.

[snoopy369]

The eagles blitz on every other play, roughly (in the 40%s )... hence why screens can be very effective against them.

Certainly the screen is less effective as teams blitz less, and are more able to recover from the blitz; but it is certainly not ineffective entirely, and some teams (the Bears among them) would do well to take advantage.

Realize that screen does not mean a pass to the RB necessarily; in fact, some of the most effective screen offenses are WR screens. No LB can make up that sort of distance.

[Lord Avalon]

It's not just LBs, it's defensive linemen, too. Either one's dropping into coverage while a LB blitzes, or they recognize the screen and stop their rush to cover the back. On rare occasions they even intercept the screen pass.

[ramseya]

Speaking of the Eagles, I seem to remember Trent Cole, yes, big 270 lb DE Trent Cole, picking off a screen pass thrown by Eli Manning two years ago and taking it back to the house.

Also, if what you say is true than screens should have been used heavily against the blitzing Giants last year. Even though Kawika Mitchell, Kiwanuka, and Pierce were hardly the quickest LB's in the league, we didn't see this. Probably because even DE's like Umenyiora and Tuck were both fast enough to react quickly to a screen pass.

I think the screen pass is a dead play. Certain teams like the Redskins NEVER throw screens.

[SlowwHand]

All that means is one less thing the defense has to spend time preparing for the week before the game. The Redskins haven't been creating any dynasties recently.

[Jaguar]

Screens can work if they aren't sniffed out, but there's no guarantee that won't happen.

If a guy is blitzing all-out, and the quarterback unloads the ball correctly, the guy is out of the play for good, 4.37 forty or no. You can't turn around on a dime if you're a 250 pound linebacker running at near full speed.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Of course screens can still be effective. The Pats won two Superbowls with screens and quick slants just this decade. It's just about execution and player selection...most teams don't have the offensive linemen to be good at screens any more.

[-Jrabbit]

The screen pass has been a vital tool for the Packers throughout the Favre era.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Koyaanisqatsi
Of course screens can still be effective. The Pats won two Superbowls with screens and quick slants just this decade. It's just about execution and player selection...most teams don't have the offensive linemen to be good at screens any more.

If not, it's becauses they're fatasses that move at the speed of most erosion.

[SlowwHand]

By the power vested in Broward County, Florida, Chad Johnson's name is now legally "Chad Javon Ocho Cinco,"

He's such a dip****.

[SlowwHand]

Warner gets staring nod over Leinart for Cardinals

Bengals release RB Johnson, RT Anderson


CINCINNATI (AP)—Offensive tackle Willie Anderson and running back Rudi Johnson lost their starting jobs with the Cincinnati Bengals during training camp. Now, they’ve lost their roster spots, too.

The Bengals released Anderson and Johnson on Saturday as part of their moves to get to the 53-man roster limit.

Cornerback Deltha O’Neal, who also had lost his starting job, and linebacker Ahmad Brooks were among the players waived or released. Jeff Rowe was waived, leaving Jordan Palmer—the younger brother of starter Carson Palmer—as the No. 3 quarterback.

The 33-year-old Anderson was the most tenured Bengal, having played 12 seasons in Cincinnati. Injuries limited him to seven games last season, ending his streak of four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. He became a backup to Stacy Andrews in training camp, and declined to take a pay cut Saturday to stay with the team.

The 28-year-old Johnson missed most of camp because of a hamstring injury, making him expendable. Chris Perry, a first-round pick in 2004, moves into the starting job after having a healthy preseason.

Johnson ran for a club-record 1,458 yards in 2005. Hamstring problems limited him to nine starts and a 2.9-yard average last season.

[snoopy369]

Hmmmmmm, wonder if a certain team a few miles from where I live might not need another RB ...

[Jaguar]

The cut Bengal you want is Anderson, not Johnson.