Week 3 GDT: Titans @ Jaguars TNF

[titans0021]

I guess to give my final thoughts on that play, possibly my biggest criticism of Mariota this year is that he hasn’t had the confidence to throw it to a covered receiver when pressure is coming and give his playmakers a chance to create a play. I’m not going to turn around and then criticize him when there’s a rare example of him doing just that because it wasn’t completed.

[KingTitan]

I think this is one of the faults of automatically blaming the QB for misses. It is almost impossible most the times to know if a WR is at fault.

If he runs a route to deep causing a sack...
If he runs the wrong route...
If the WR makes a wrong read...
If the WR gets bullied in the route and allows one man to guard two.
If a WR doesn't clear out the zone and causes an INT (thinking of that KC game when Davis didn't clear it out and allowed the DB to undercut a throw to Walker causing an INT).  That looked like a bad throw by Marcus but it was really the right read and proper throw.

All those can cause misthrows that look like it's the QB's fault. Unless it's an obvious drop or lazy attempt to catch the ball it is going to be hard to spot WR error. 

To say Marcus is at fault for that throw to Brown isn't accurate to me. Marcus got it out and threw in a spot where only the WR could catch it. Hopkins was mentioned, this type of throw is routine for Watson and Hopkins. Difference is Hopkins make the play, normally a crazy acrobatic catch. 

As has been said a million times, Marcus has blame to be had, but I think in reality it isn't as much of it as people think. 

[TitanSS]

30 minutes ago, titans0021 said:

I think we just disagree on what that route was supposed to be. The Jags rush six and Mariota has to get the ball out quick, he throws to the sideline, which is where the ball should be. AJ is too far from the sideline and wasting time with the corner while the ball is in the air. It’s a terrible OPI call but he didn’t need to engage anyways, the corner was inside of him and the ball was to the outside. It’s one of those timing things that obviously happen with a rookie receiver, but there’s a play to be made there if he’s in the right position.

The ball is out of Mariota’s hand with AJ only five yards off the LOS and the corner inside running step for step, if the route is to the sideline, you can’t expect him to lead him up the field away from the line, which would bring the corner directly into the play if AJ is actually running along the sideline. And really, there was probably still a play to be made if AJ recognized that he could fully extend and get his feet in instead of thinking he was going to need to toe tap, which is another indicator that the route was supposed to be closer to the sideline.

Too far from the sideline? The CBs job is to force him as close to the sideline as possible on an outside release. I don't know why a WR would willingly give up green grass on that route, but I don't know what was called in the huddle.

Looking at the behind view, to say he should have ran further outside would make some goofy looking route. If he needed to be further outside he should have probably been lined up further outside.

[titans0021]

4 minutes ago, TitanSS said:

Too far from the sideline? The CBs job is to force him as close to the sideline as possible on an outside release. I don't know why a WR would willingly give up green grass on that route, but I don't know what was called in the huddle.

Looking at the behind view, to say he should have ran further outside would make some goofy looking route. If he needed to be further outside he should have probably been lined up further outside.

Mariota threw the ball to the sideline, AJ reacted to the ball as though he was closer to the sideline than he was, I feel like the logical conclusion is that it was drawn up to be along the sideline.

[titans0021]

Beyond that, the back shoulder is supposed to be sold as a streak with a late turn to make a play on the ball, not a play where you engage a corner and then make a choppy turn to keep your feet in while reaching with one hand while still having three yards of grass to your outside. It was just not well executed by AJ, which happens with rookies.

[TitanSS]

6 minutes ago, titans0021 said:

Mariota threw the ball to the sideline, AJ reacted to the ball as though he was closer to the sideline than he was, I feel like the logical conclusion is that it was drawn up to be along the sideline.

We can speculate that all we want, but nothing about his route suggests it should have been ran further outside. On an outside release you're trying to get a quick release and get straight upfield. Running further to the outside doesn't force the CB off balance like he does and create that separation.

Really nothing suggests he should have been further outside other than ball placement. It does kind of look like he's toe tapping, but I don't know if I'd say that means he ran a bad route.

Also, if you're selling it as a streak, running closer to the sideline is absolutely not doing that. That's ehat the CB wants you to do. Textbook. He was running straight upfield as he should. The choppy turn came from the ball being underthrown. It doesn't look underthrown when you freeze it, but he's completely stopped trying to get to the ball.

We just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. Just looks like a poor throw to me.

[Andrei01]

2 hours ago, TitanSS said:

We can speculate that all we want, but nothing about his route suggests it should have been ran further outside. On an outside release you're trying to get a quick release and get straight upfield. Running further to the outside doesn't force the CB off balance like he does and create that separation.

Really nothing suggests he should have been further outside other than ball placement. It does kind of look like he's toe tapping, but I don't know if I'd say that means he ran a bad route.

Also, if you're selling it as a streak, running closer to the sideline is absolutely not doing that. That's ehat the CB wants you to do. Textbook. He was running straight upfield as he should. The choppy turn came from the ball being underthrown. It doesn't look underthrown when you freeze it, but he's completely stopped trying to get to the ball.

We just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. Just looks like a poor throw to me.

I honestly believe that's on AJ all the way. He's either late to react to the throw or just doesn't turn enough for the ball. Either way, with Ramsey sitting on top of his route, the only place Marcus could've and should've put that ball is backshoulder, which he did.

[TitanSS]

2 hours ago, Andrei01 said:

I honestly believe that's on AJ all the way. He's either late to react to the throw or just doesn't turn enough for the ball. Either way, with Ramsey sitting on top of his route, the only place Marcus could've and should've put that ball is backshoulder, which he did.

If it was on his back shoulder and not outside of his reach I think you could make the argument. Back shoulder throws are made in anticipation of the CB sitting on the route. That's expected. The throw is just outside of his catch radius. 

[ragevsuall17]

Just to add my .02 on that route... I really think its a late look from AJ.  He needed to turn around and locate the ball a split second earlier.... and broken for the ball a split second earlier.  He's a rookie and he's far from a finished product... I think this route shows that he needs some work on his route running at times:

 

[titans0021]

If I remember correctly (I’ve mostly spent nine days trying to forget this game, this was a terrible call that the NFL is unsurprisingly doubling down on.