Did teams Blitz Marino like Drew?

[jcblanco22]

No but I do remember how the Bills were his daddy.

More and more teams increasingly became temporary male parental figures for him from 1996 to 1999, but his legs were in really bad shape by then, not to mention the nerve-related shoulder injury he suffered in '99 that really sapped his arm strength.

The Bills did do well against him in the early to mid-90s, but the really impressive team against him, since they did pretty well against him in his heyday of the mid -to-late 80s, was the Patriots squads that featured Ronnie Lippett and Raymond Clayborn at the corners, with Fred Marion and Roland James at safety. Those guys regularly gave him fits, even as he was able to light up the rest of the league.

 

[StevenOtero]

Bledsoe can't make quick reads nor does he have a quick release. That is why pressure on Bledsoe is so successful. Even a youth league coach could call up those blitz packages.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

Bledsoe can't make quick reads nor does he have a quick release. That is why pressure on Bledsoe is so successful. Even a youth league coach could call up those blitz packages.

You forgot to add that Bledsoe's slower than most in setting up. It's only a fraction of a second but all time matters.


I don't know how many remember Kosar setting up square with the center on running plays but with one foot back on passing plays just to save himself that fraction.

 

[theebs]

Blitzing Marino was suicide. Too accurate with too quick a release. He was blitzed, but nothing like what we saw Sunday.

Exactly, I remember watching him live in buffalo in december back during the big rivalry of the bills and dolphins and man, he was the most impressive qb I have ever seen play live.

Seeing him later on with jimmy johnson at the helm when his skills were diminished playing in buffalo in cold weather he was still extremely impressive.

The problems marino had to face were defenses never respecting the run. He had no security blanket. If he had ever come across a terrel davis, marcus allen, emmit smith or barry sanders the dolphins would have had a few trophies.

Teams never respected the run in all his years of being there and because of it they schemed to stop marino at all times.

In my opinion he was the best ever.

 

[Joe71]

I will never understand how Shula could never get a decent running game to go with the passing attack he had with Marino.

 

[joseephuss]

Namath's may have been quicker than Marino's.


Someone mentioned Bernie Kosar. He may have been the most slow afoot of any skill player in NFL history. He'd have lost a footrace to Aaron Gibson carrying Nate Newton, but he only needed to slide a foot or two one way or the other to buy time. That's something Bledsoe's never had.

Bledsoe's mobility reminds me of Randall Cunningham in a sense. I can't think of two other players who didn't make any effort to avoid a sack or when they did move in the pocket they more often than not stepped into the sack rather than avoiding it.

Cunningham was a terrific runner and I've always said that Bledsoe is very underrated as far as scrambling goes but that's a far cry from pocket presence and in-pocket mobility.


Bledsoe has said himself that he can beat Tom Brady in a race, but Brady's another who moves well in the pocket.

Danny White was similar. He had very little pocket presence and in-pocket mobility.

Anybody ever re-watch the 1985 MNF game when the Bears went to play the Dolphins. Miami moved the pocket around. Marion made several throws from the numbers. They were downfield passes because rolling him out so far really slowed down the pressure from the Bears.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

It was difficult to blitz Marino, because he would kill you with the quick release.......he was a slow runner......but, he could get rid of the ball better and faster then anyone I can remember

 

[MichaelWinicki]

To tell you the truth I dont think the blitz was as big of a part of playing defense then as it is now. So I dont think Marino got blitzed nearly as much as Drew not because of his quick release but because it just wasnt a big thing then as it is now. I honestly dont remember much blitzing from anyone back then. Most of the time it was just 1 extra guy going in and now its like 3 or more.

It seems the defense is getting better while the offenses are still living in the past.

Defenses also knew if they blitzed Marino they weren't going to get to him. His ability to read a defense was much superior to Bledsoe's.

 

[es22]

combine a great pass blockng OL, along with a quick release meant that Marino didnt get sacked much.

Also, Marino was used exclusively in the shotgun on obvious passing situations.

 

[Tobal]

What QB beat the 86 Bears?

 

[juck]

combine a great pass blockng OL, along with a quick release meant that Marino didnt get sacked much.

Also, Marino was used exclusively in the shotgun on obvious passing situations.

We need the shotgun more.And Bledsoe stated they are working on this more.

 

[joseephuss]

combine a great pass blockng OL, along with a quick release meant that Marino didnt get sacked much.

Also, Marino was used exclusively in the shotgun on obvious passing situations.

Don't forget that Shula sat on the rules committee. His teams were always the least penalized each year. The refs knew better than to call holding on the offensive line.

 

[ravidubey]

Contrary to popular myth, Marino DID move around, it just wasn't much. He moved just enough to avoid the pass-rusher but was able to do so while still keeping his eyes downfield. He was NOT a scrambler, but he had excellent footwork and moved as much as he needed to.

As others have said, Marino had a VERY quick release but he also had incredible pocket presence and awareness of the pass rush.

Bledsoe, and others like him, tend to focus on the rusher and not keep their eyes downfield or else they look downfield and are completely unaware of the pass rush.

It is a VERY difficult trick to master (I know, I've tried and failed for the most part). You have to keep your eyes downfield, absorbing everything in your view without focusing on anything close to you. It allows you to see the pass rush, the receivers in their patterns, your blockers, even the game clock, without completely focusing on any of them. Being able to take in all of that input and make decisions on it is the difference between a great QB and a guy with talent.

Marino was the best I've ever seen at this, Bledsoe is one of the worst, at least of the better QBs, Chad Hutchinson was probably the worst I've ever seen. Bernie Kosar was another guy who was pretty good at it and needed to be since he was as much of a statue as Bledsoe but he had a better feel for the rush the Drew does.

Nice post. In essence, you have to develop a feel for the rush so your view downfield stays uninterrupted.

Bledsoe combines a lack of mobility, lack of pocket presence, false confidence, and a slow trigger. Not the best traits for avoiding a serious pass rush. But the man is tough, no doubt, and is a good passer when he has chemistry with his receiver. He doesn't have this with either TO or Witten. TO I understand, but why not Witten?