Here's the Problem With the Passing Game

[westexSMU]

In order to have alot of yards after the catch, the QB needs to put the ball in the WR's hands in stride. Padron did a great job of this in the Tulsa game, but has not been on target as well the last few games. Still Padron has played really well and will get better and stronger. Our 2010 recruiting class is loaded with great potential WR's.......The problem at Marshall really was in the SMU secondary. How many TD's and long passes were caught with Thomas defending ? Sure SMU has alot of injuries there, but I kept thinking 5' 7" Benny could have used some help against a 6' 3" receiver. I thought Marshall coaches did a great job of getting that receiver one on one with Benny Thomas.

[San Antonio Mustang]

Stallion you have hit on one of our Offensive problems - yards after the catch. I don't think your reason is correct. I have seen some very well thrown long passes from Padron. The problem is our receivers so often either drop the ball or fail to break a tackle. Sanders makes his yards after the catch by breaking the first tackle. This is the same thing we see other teams do to our Defense. Our receivers are not strong enough or have to concentrate so much on catching the ball that they can't get by that first tackle. At this stage of the rebuilding the receivers we are recruiting are fast but have not perfected the art of catching the ball, particularly in traffic. That is why they are 2 and 3 stars and not 4 or 6 stars.

We don't have a problem. We are going to 7-5. Then Hawaii. ND, has a problem. USC has a problem. SMU does not have a problem.

Good Point Phxfan

[Charleston Pony]

Stallion you have hit on one of our Offensive problems - yards after the catch. I don't think your reason is correct. I have seen some very well thrown long passes from Padron. The problem is our receivers so often either drop the ball or fail to break a tackle. Sanders makes his yards after the catch by breaking the first tackle. This is the same thing we see other teams do to our Defense. Our receivers are not strong enough or have to concentrate so much on catching the ball that they can't get by that first tackle. At this stage of the rebuilding the receivers we are recruiting are fast but have not perfected the art of catching the ball, particularly in traffic. That is why they are 2 and 3 stars and not 4 or 6 stars.

We don't have a problem. We are going to 7-5. Then Hawaii. ND, has a problem. USC has a problem. SMU does not have a problem.

He may have been refering to the "other" USC coached by Steve Spurrier. They have to win their rivalry game against Clemson at Death Valley to finish 7-5 and assure themselves of a bowl game.

[PoconoPony]

Let face it, you do not get yards after the catch unless the pass is thrown very accurately hitting the receiver in stride allowing him to maintain his balance, speed, field vision and angle on a defender. Only a small percentage of our QB passes this season have had the accuracy to allow the receivers to make yardage after a reception. This accuracy issue is a fundamental requirement of the R & S offense ( any pass for that matter) and has been well publicized in JJ quotes and his requirements for QBs he recruits. A successful completion on the stat sheet is frequently misleading as it does not reveal what really could have happened if the pass had been even more accurate and the receiver allowed the opportunity to run. I view our lack of yards after reception more of a QB accuracy issue than the inability of the receivers.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Hey poconopony, it was good visiting with you at the Special Delivery camp last week.

[smuuth]

The problem or perceived problem with the passing game is the athleticism of defenses nowdays. So many teams run the spread or variations like the runandshoot that the defenses have recruited guys to stop it. Size on defense has given way to fast guys with athleticism. Referees allow linebackers, safeties and corners to be a lot more physical, especially in the first 10 yards. Nowadays, a receiver can't be just a route runner or fast. He has to be the whole package of speed, hands, toughness, work ethic and route runner and it doesn't hurt to have a little deception in those moves. Most of our guys have some but not all of these attributes. I think E Sanders has run every offensive play this season and maybe even been on punt coverage and punt returns most times. Amazing durability for a guy with a muscular but smaller build.I think that is why a lot of coaches drool over the taller, physical receiver who can just outjump the smaller cb's and less athletic safeties. It takes a lot less coaching to just tell a QB to throw it high and underthrow it a little so the receiver can outjump the db. I am sure they will add variations to update the package.

[Stallion]

not really the correct answer-see Houston. The passing game is not close to reaching its potential under either QB

[expony18]

I agree our YAC is not what it should be in this offense, but I think it has drastically improved with Padron under center. Too often the wr's had to make diving catches for BLM.

And while Stallion suggests that Padron's arm is not strong enough to stretch the field, I respectfully disagree. I don't think Padron has the same velocity as BLM, but he has thrown some very nice deep balls (tulsa and rice). I do think that BLM has the stronger arm of the two, but I think that Padron has a better conditioned arm. How many games did BLM's arm burn out in the 2nd half?

[mustang musashi]

alright guys some of you are sort of correct... here we go, JJs offense is complex and not very often do you have a 4 year starter but once you do wow, look out, cuz that guy most likely will be a good one... The key to making the rns work is a good rb who can block and assist the oline as well as run when given the opportunity... I see mcneal can run, how is his pass blocking? now for the WRs, i havent seen many games on tv as im from hawaii but do your receivers catch the ball with their hands and NOT their body? do they make crucial block even when theyre not in the play, and are they athletic enough to make the first guy miss??? those are the main thing you gotta ask yourself when dealing with wrs in the rns... JJ likes converting speedy RBs to slot because theyre deadly after the catch, JJ cares more about quickness then overall top end speed... illl show you some vids here, so take a look it might help you understand JJs rns a little better...

JJs 2007 campaign where he had Bess/RGM/Rivers/and hawthorne who were aka the dreadheads, with Colt Brennan slinging it to them... Bess and RGM were starters since their freshman year, and watch how on almost every play the WRs catch the ball with their hands allowing them to catch the ball in stride... thats very important for yac in the rns.... and you can see that colt brennan didnt have the strongest arm but his passes were crisp, accurate, and very catchable...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4kyKPnuKjE

Nate Ilaoa is actually the perfect RB for this system, effective blocker because he was 250lbs at 5'9, yet he could break tackles and make people miss...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JMq0FLpb9I

JJ likes his big RBs who can block AND run... Keliikipi, mauia, ilaoa...
keliikipi and mauia were 285bls...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-8m1T3oYqM

[mustang musashi]

btw padron is a freshmen and it usually take a full season to learn the rns where it becomes natural.. the way padron is playing should be getting everyone whos a mustang fan really, and i mean really excited...

[mustang musashi]

not really the correct answer-see Houston. The passing game is not close to reaching its potential under either QB

sorry but the WRs you have currently are not the answer... look at my videos and you'll see the difference in the type of WRs that make JJs offense really run...

[gforce021]

Saying that USC has a problem is a very bold statement. While having consistently one of the best recruiting classes in the nation is a bold statement. Granted, they had two disappointing losses, but you have to take in the fact that they had multiple key losses on defense. The only problem that USC has had of late is Oregon schools, just because they will not be making the annual Rose Bowl doesn't put them in the situation of teams as dismal as Michigan and Notre Dame.

If someone would have told me that we were going to have a potential 7-5 season I would have definitely had my doubts at the beginning of the season. We are making moves in the right direction and in time will improve our YAC, but definitely an inciteful comment.

[EastStang]

Also, it will help that by going to a bowl, we get an extra month of practice time. Many coaches say that is a huge advantage and with an offense as complex as the run n' shoot, that extra month coupled with spring ball and 2 a days next summer should make this team much better prepared for the first two or three games of the season. I also think that the extra month of practice tends to create a haves and have nots kind of a pecking order. It makes it harder for lower win teams to climb out of the losing column, when they face teams in the early part of the season that played in bowls the previous year. We lucked out in that we did not have a 2008 bowl eligible team until week four this year.