Mason Rudolph's play thus far

[kurgan]

I may be in the minority, but I am still waiting to see if he is the guy.  I am willing to give him an extended look here and see if he is the guy or not.  To be honest, I am leaning to NOT the QBOTF, but I want to give him more time before I know he is not the guy.

Got off to a good start, got knocked out, had some decent games, won some games in spite of odds... by the end of the season I think that I will know.

I see the issues, and i know they exist.  The next step is seeing if they get better.  If they do not, then that is on him/coaching and both should be looked at.

[MOSteelers56]

54 minutes ago, kurgan said:

I may be in the minority, but I am still waiting to see if he is the guy.  I am willing to give him an extended look here and see if he is the guy or not.  To be honest, I am leaning to NOT the QBOTF, but I want to give him more time before I know he is not the guy.

Got off to a good start, got knocked out, had some decent games, won some games in spite of odds... by the end of the season I think that I will know.

I see the issues, and i know they exist.  The next step is seeing if they get better.  If they do not, then that is on him/coaching and both should be looked at.

Yeah, I agree with this. He doesn't look good now but the team is patient and that has served it well in the past. Not saying he will ever turn into anything but he's got a better chance to be the QBOTF than Hodges. 

[kurgan]

23 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

Yeah, I agree with this. He doesn't look good now but the team is patient and that has served it well in the past. Not saying he will ever turn into anything but he's got a better chance to be the QBOTF than Hodges. 

+1

[Chieferific]

I don't get the "heavy legged" criticism. I've seen him with smooth 5 step drop backs. I've seen him be allusive. I've seen him scramble out of the pocket and run for 10 yards. Granted these were pre-concussion but it's not as if he lost those skills. I think he can get it back. 

[oksteeler]

If we drafted a high pick QOTF and made him play behind this line, with these backup running backs and wide receivers, he would suck and lose confidence and get hurt. Most of us would be tempted to doubt his skillset. And frankly, if the situation were bad enough it could wreck is career before it got started.

The best defense has always been a great running game. We don't have it. If we had a second high end back to pair with Conner then we would be vastly improved.

The best friend of a quarterback is a great TE or a pair of elite wide receivers. We don't have it. I'm thankful for JJSS and for the young DJ and for the recent improvement in JW, but we need one more elite WR or one stud receiving TE.

The OL is problematic, but as many have said multiple OL changes in one offseason can cause serious problems. We have a few answers (Finney) already on the roster. The best next step looks to be adding a couple of talented prospects (maybe draft one and find another UDFA).

Hopefully, we can look back in 12 months with satisfaction having made huge progress on these issues. If we can, then our quarterback play could be a pleasant surprise.

[jebrick]

3 hours ago, Chieferific said:

I don't get the "heavy legged" criticism. I've seen him with smooth 5 step drop backs. I've seen him be allusive. I've seen him scramble out of the pocket and run for 10 yards. Granted these were pre-concussion but it's not as if he lost those skills. I think he can get it back. 

Heavy legs means he does not move well in the pocket.  Watch the Browns game.  Just the 1st quarter you will see Mayfield step up to avoid a rush and Rudolph just stand there while the pocket collapses. 

 

I was laughing because someone pointed out to me that he doesn't move left in the pocket.  He will turn right 3 times ( 270 degrees ) to get a left but he does not turn to his left.  Again watch the Browns game.  i think he does it 3 times

[Dcash4]

Yeah, Rudolph just really has no presence in the pocket. He can escape it and is athletic enough to do some nice things to evade or pick up yardage with his feet, but he has no feel for pressure around him, where to move to find clean space, or how to control his body when things fall at his feet. It seems like he is too focused on whats going on in front of him, but its not computing fast enough for him to make all the decisions he needs to make. 

Something troubling I keep noticing, is when things come to his feet (usually from him just standing there), his "evasion" move to avoid bodies and people is to try to get taller and just raise his arm higher and throw over the trouble. That's.....not great.

All the things Rudolph really struggles with are fixable or get better with experience. Problem is that we are now getting to the point where he has had enough snaps to determine if we are seeing improvement or not. His feet/use of his legs while throwing will probably take the off-season, but his pocket awareness and ability to read defenses faster should be improving. It honestly seems like we are moving backwards with those. 

Its been tough to gauge fully because of the issues at receiver and the oline not being very good (though not nearly as bad as twitter/online wants you to believe), but I think we are seeing enough things that he is in control of to understand that he needs to play much better. 

Still young, its in no way, shape, or form Duck time yet...but if Mason doesnt turn some corners, even just small, gentle curves....we can start making solid determinations. 

 

[Chieferific]

1 hour ago, jebrick said:

Heavy legs means he does not move well in the pocket.  Watch the Browns game.  Just the 1st quarter you will see Mayfield step up to avoid a rush and Rudolph just stand there while the pocket collapses. 

 

I was laughing because someone pointed out to me that he doesn't move left in the pocket.  He will turn right 3 times ( 270 degrees ) to get a left but he does not turn to his left.  Again watch the Browns game.  i think he does it 3 times

Pre-concussion he moved not only good but very well in the pocket. If I'm not mistsken the play he got hit was a scramble out to his left. 

[3rivers]

1 hour ago, Chieferific said:

Pre-concussion he moved not only good but very well in the pocket. If I'm not mistsken the play he got hit was a scramble out to his left. 

sadly agree. Maybe he got such a concussion/scare that it changed the way he will play from now on. Anyways, I think if he plays poorly again this week especially vs the bungles, then it's time to put Duck in there and move forward for this season anyways.  Mason just doesn't seem the same since the thomas cheapshot .

Maybe I should rewatch the game vs the chargers again, Duck and the OL had a solid game.  It's a reminder of what this team is capable of but won't be like until the changes are made.  At least pouncey is out for 3 weeks, time to see if Finney can replace him.  I can't see why not, pouncey has been terrible PFF has him rated 45 if you can believe that.