Bledsoe Holds on to the Ball a long time - But I am ok with it.

[smashmouth]

I honestly don't believe Bledsoe hold onto the ball too long. That's really not his problem. His problem is that his footwork sucks.

There are plenty of bad QB's in the league that will get rid of the ball too soon and not give the play a chance or force a throw into coverage.

The good ones, (i.e. Brady, Manning) have exceptional footwork. Watch Brady and he'll sidestep a converging D-Lineman and then make the throw. Brady is the best I've seen at actually taking a step and a half up the field in the pocket to make the throw. Essentially, he's holding onto the ball just as long as Bledsoe, but he has the footwork to buy himself more time.

Bledsoe looked good against SD, but it's clear he doesn't have the ability or willingness to sidestep the rush.

It appears that Parcells is trying to counter that with giving him effective safety valves at receiver (Witten and Crayton) and telling him that he needs to get rid of quicker or take off running because he doesn't have the footwork to buy himself the time needed to make a play.


Rich.......

He side steps, but how long do you expect linemen to hold their blocks.

These rushers are trying like a dog to kill him, and after a certain amount of time when you feel the pocket collapsing, their's nowhere to side step too.

So simply get it to a receiver or throw it deep out of bounds.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

IMO, QBs getting sacked and that its a negative, is way overrated. If it happens on 3rd down, big deal. Punt the ball, its no different than an incompletion or failed run attempt.

Statistics show that giving up sacks typically devestate your team. The main reason is not only do you lose yardage, but you also increase your chances of fumbling the ball.

It's a bit overrated in the sense that scrambling QB's typically get sacked more because they have more plays designed to roll them out of the pocket. But for a pocket QB like Bledsoe, it's an important stat.

Rich.......

 

[Yakuza Rich]

He side steps, but how long do you expect linemen to hold their blocks.

He doesn't side step. Did very little of it in the SD game. Watch his footwork and then go watch Brady's footwork. It's like night and day.

These rushers are trying like a dog to kill him, and after a certain amount of time when you feel the pocket collapsing, their's nowhere to side step too.

Funny because guys like Brady, Marino, and Manning are able to avoid those rushers with relative ease. Sometimes there's nowhere, but there are plenty of times where there is room.

So simply get it to a receiver or throw it deep out of bounds

Sounds easier than it is. I'd rather have Bledsoe with his poor footwork throwing the ball than a QB like Joey Harrington that goes to the checkdown too quickly or throws it away and doesn't give the play a chance.

It's a fine line and one of the many reasons why it's so hard to be a good NFL QB.

Rich........

 

[smashmouth]

When Bledsoe backs up, and in 2 secs or less he throws the ball, he's DEADLY.

After 2 seconds, he holds the ball - now I don't have a problem with that because you have to give the play time to work.

But continuing to hold the ball when you see the pocket closing on you is a very bad thing to do. Sometimes the play is just not going to work out for you, so get it out of your hand, and live to play another down.

Sometimes, you have to give up on a play.

 

[smashmouth]

He doesn't side step. Did very little of it in the SD game. Watch his footwork and then go watch Brady's footwork. It's like night and day.

Several times Bledsoe stepped up into the pocket, in which bought him some time to throw, and that to me would be considered a side step.

The difference in these QB is the receivers getting opened quicker. And that is why Crayton is going to be the go to guy and then Glenn, and then Key and the others.

Crayton seems to get seperation really fast, until Jammer started holding onto him. I'll bet you that Jammer held him wayyyyyy more than the refs called.

 

[Mike 1967]

I honestly don't believe Bledsoe hold onto the ball too long. That's really not his problem. His problem is that his footwork sucks.

There are plenty of bad QB's in the league that will get rid of the ball too soon and not give the play a chance or force a throw into coverage.

The good ones, (i.e. Brady, Manning) have exceptional footwork. Watch Brady and he'll sidestep a converging D-Lineman and then make the throw. Brady is the best I've seen at actually taking a step and a half up the field in the pocket to make the throw. Essentially, he's holding onto the ball just as long as Bledsoe, but he has the footwork to buy himself more time.

Bledsoe looked good against SD, but it's clear he doesn't have the ability or willingness to sidestep the rush.

It appears that Parcells is trying to counter that with giving him effective safety valves at receiver (Witten and Crayton) and telling him that he needs to get rid of quicker or take off running because he doesn't have the footwork to buy himself the time needed to make a play.


Rich.......

I agree with you to a point. His footwork and pocket presence are not that good. This is one of the reasons why I like Romo. I think he exhibits good footwork and presence in the pocket.

But I would still say that he holds onto the ball to long.

The guy would sit there looking intently for an open receiver. There would be traffic all around him and the pressure would be closing in...and he would just seem oblivious to it.

And it became clear to me that he was going to keep looking for that receiver until he either took a sack or attempted a pass.

There were a few occasions where he felt the pressure and reacted to it. Like that nice rush up the middle.