dead_poet wrote:Thought this was a good writeup. Essentially what Jim's been doing an excellent job at pointing out recently.
Thanks for the link! Good article...
I remember the last play Mark Craig describes well, although in my effort to go through the offensive plays last week, I see that I and forgot to transcribe that 3rd quarter possession. I
watched it a bunch of times but forgot to write it down.
It was another ugly 3 and out so it was pretty typical of the game but I still feel bad. I apologize for the mistake. I tried to be thorough but was squeezing all that play-by-play analysis into lunch breaks and such, while I dealt with a heavy workload. Still dealing with it...
Anyway, here's Mark Craig's description of the play:
5. Third quarter, first-and-10 from the Vikings 31.
The Bucs sent a game-high eight rushers on this particular play. By then, they were blitzing as much or more to stop Peterson as to rattle Ponder.
If you freeze the tape, there's a split second that might define what being a young QB in the NFL is all about. Ponder had defenders all around him and was about to get sacked by linebacker Mason Foster. But right before Ponder ducked to accept the sack, he appeared to see Kyle Rudolph waving his arms in the middle of the field.
There was nothing between Rudolph and the end zone but fake grass and one single-high safety off in the distance. It would have been a huge gain, but Ponder didn't pull the trigger.
Hmm... let's freeze that tape, shall we? In the first shot, we see Ponder at the top of his dropback. Rudolph is visible at the lower right but Ponder's eyes are downfield and his first read is clearly to the right. Foster (#59) is already on his way, unblocked.
Here's the play a brief moment later, in two still shots. The second is the TV view and this is almost the exact same moment from two different vantage points. It's as close as I could get. Ponder seems to see Rudolph but he hasn't set his feet due to the unblocked rusher. To me, it looks like he'd have to throw almost directly into the rush to properly lead Rudolph. Keep in mind these are still shots but the players in motion and all of this takes place in about two seconds (if that).
Here's it's too late. Rudolph's open but Ponder is about to go down.
Could Ponder have pulled the trigger on this play? I honestly don't know. It looks possible but all of this happened
fast. He would have had to make the choice to throw at basically the same moment he locked eyes on Rudolph because that moment was all he had left. As M. Craig wrote, that moment might define what being a young QB in the NFL is all about.
Maybe Peyton Manning or Tom Brady makes that throw but I'm inclined to think it would take that kind of experience and confidence to make the choice as quickly as it was required. It's a shame because it could have been a huge play.
), I used to run track. I can tell you right now that proper technique and fundamentals can help one beat the stopwatch. I see it all the time during the combines when guys using the proper running fundamentals clock surprising times. That's partly why some 4.4/40 RBs and WRs have 4.6/40 LBs and DBs catch them from behind on a football field. And speaking of DBs and LBs, keep in mind that proper fundamentals includes picking angles for closing distance on the ball carrier.
