Tarik Cohen reality check

[AZBearsFan]

4 hours ago, topwop1 said:

Yes I agree that Cohen should have been out there in the last 2 mins.  That he does not know the 2 minute offense by now is more of an indictment of the coaching staff than it is Cohen.

Like you said if they want Cunningham out there as the RB because he's the best pass blocking/receiving back they have that's fine, but that doesn't mean that Cohen still shouldn't be out there split out wide or used as a decoy of some sort.

This team just has no imagination sometimes.

I mean, you could put both in the backfield, one to either side of MT. Especially if you’re not using Shaheen why not go 3WR/2RB? It’s at least an option. In a true hurry up how much blocking is your RB doing anyway though? That’s different than just your middle of the first quarter 3rd and long passing situation where the RB is more likely to be doing blitz pickup. In the 2-minute he’s probably chipping or a dump off outlet. Him being a threat on a 5-yard circle route opens up the middle depth middle of the field for the outside WRs. I don’t see why he can’t fill that role. They aren’t going to just not account for him. He’s drawing a safety or LB, and possibly both. I do think the argument that he’s a tiny target 15 yards down the field makes a lot of sense in the hurry up for him not being split out wide though. 

[51to54]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I mean, you could put both in the backfield, one to either side of MT. Especially if you’re not using Shaheen why not go 3WR/2RB? It’s at least an option. In a true hurry up how much blocking is your RB doing anyway though? That’s different than just your middle of the first quarter 3rd and long passing situation where the RB is more likely to be doing blitz pickup. In the 2-minute he’s probably chipping or a dump off outlet. Him being a threat on a 5-yard circle route opens up the middle depth middle of the field for the outside WRs. I don’t see why he can’t fill that role. They aren’t going to just not account for him. He’s drawing a safety or LB, and possibly both. I do think the argument that he’s a tiny target 15 yards down the field makes a lot of sense in the hurry up for him not being split out wide though. 

In a two minute situation I'd say it's a major win if we can get a guy like Cohen isolated against safeties or OLB as a quick hot read outlet 3 or 4 times and let any Cohen blocking considerations be danged.

[Superman(DH23)]

8 hours ago, IronMike84 said:

One of the big stories yesterday was the revelation that Cohen isn’t in the two-minute offense. There’s a little to be said about that.

Benny Cunningham is obviously the two-minute back because Howard can’t catch anything, Cohen may not physically be the best pass blocker, and BC can both catch and block reasonably well. I’m fine with that. Put the best guy out there for the job.

Post-game, Cohen said he wasn’t in the two-minute offense because he was learning the playbook at running back, receiver, and returner, and therefore didn’t know the plays.

Here’s the issue: Cohen is their best offensive weapon. He’s also their leading receiver. John Fox himself touted both of those things just last week. He’s also not a good returner. He’s not making people miss, he doesn’t have a long stride, and he’s making very poor decisions. Cunningham, on the other hand, was signed in part because he’s a decent returner.

All of this being said, wouldn’t it make the most sense to have best offensive weapon and leading receiver Tarik Cohen out on the field in the two-minute offense, even if it’s only in the capacity of being a receiver and not a running back, while also relieving him of his kick return duties and letting Cunningham handle those?

The problem with your suggestion is that he is a good returner.  Can he be better?  Sure, he can start not taking the ball out from 5 yards deep and costing himself a couple yards but hes already broken a couple big returns and as biggs himself said today you can see from the press box how close he is to really breaking one.

[IronMike84]

1 hour ago, Superman(DH23) said:

The problem with your suggestion is that he is a good returner.  Can he be better?  Sure, he can start not taking the ball out from 5 yards deep and costing himself a couple yards but hes already broken a couple big returns and as biggs himself said today you can see from the press box how close he is to really breaking one.

Must be one hell of a view from the press box, because it certainly doesn’t show on TV.

[Superman(DH23)]

10 hours ago, IronMike84 said:

Must be one hell of a view from the press box, because it certainly doesn’t show on TV.

The camera is zoomed in pretty far into the play.  If you can find the all 22 (or pay for it) you get a better look at what they see in the press box.  At least on the krs the biggest problem is he takes the ball out of the endzone all the time and ends up a few yards short of the 25.  He needs to recognize where he is and just take a knee.  Id have to look at nfl.com but just eyeballing it id say hes probably averaging around 25 ypr.  But he has to get 31 to gain positive yards

[RJ_11]

1 hour ago, Superman(DH23) said:

The camera is zoomed in pretty far into the play.  If you can find the all 22 (or pay for it) you get a better look at what they see in the press box.  At least on the krs the biggest problem is he takes the ball out of the endzone all the time and ends up a few yards short of the 25.  He needs to recognize where he is and just take a knee.  Id have to look at nfl.com but just eyeballing it id say hes probably averaging around 25 ypr.  But he has to get 31 to gain positive yards

I don't mind him taking them out from a few yards deep to be fair, like between about one and five yards deep, if it's a returner with genuine elusiveness and a chance to break a big one - which I think describes Cohen - I'm good with them taking it out. When it was Deonte Thompson running fairly slowly in a straight line and getting stuffed at the 15 then I was begging for him to take a knee every time.