I hope the offense exploits a two tight end scenario with Oliver and Hokenson lining up at the same time.. They both appear to be healthy and this set up may be very difficult for the opposition to defend according to the KFAN experts. Darnold has some good tools to work with.
Awesome write-up on Sam, Matthew. I'm sure you, like many of us, were thinking of Kirk when Phillips said his line about "extremely accurate, but if they get moved a bit...that route is gone." Credit to Kirk for his dedication in getting every ounce out of his physical talent, but there's no coaching arm talent like Sam has and there are plays he makes for this team that Kirk simply couldn't because the pressure threw off his fundamentals. Actually, maybe there is coaching, to your point about KOC maybe dialing it back just a little on his penchant for 15-20 yard routes. Always interesting to look at the data and see how it matches the eye test. Sam likes to through it further downfield than most, so does KOC, that means longer time to hold the ball like you laid out, it also means higher averages on the throws. Sam's 6th in the league at 8.2, with Lamar first at 8.7 and Kirk 11th at 8.2. Whatever it all adds up to, for me it's more fun to watch a quarterback like Sam make those 20 yard throws and who can make plays with his feet than a pure pocket passer who needs nearly everything fundamentally sound to be successful. Tomorrow is all about the Vikings and the Falcons, but conventional wisdom says the the game within the game how Sam and Kirk handle getting "moved a bit" or making plays when things aren't "on time" will be the difference between winning and losing. Here's to Sam handling it, and to Flores dialing up a couple things he hasn't shown much of with Smith, Metellus, and Murphy to disrupt Mr. Fundamentals.
Fantastic article Matthew. I appreciate all the insights you gathered. Now if Sam can just perfect tosses back to halfbacks on run plays!
I hope the offense exploits a two tight end scenario with Oliver and Hokenson lining up at the same time.. They both appear to be healthy and this set up may be very difficult for the opposition to defend according to the KFAN experts. Darnold has some good tools to work with.
Awesome write-up on Sam, Matthew. I'm sure you, like many of us, were thinking of Kirk when Phillips said his line about "extremely accurate, but if they get moved a bit...that route is gone." Credit to Kirk for his dedication in getting every ounce out of his physical talent, but there's no coaching arm talent like Sam has and there are plays he makes for this team that Kirk simply couldn't because the pressure threw off his fundamentals. Actually, maybe there is coaching, to your point about KOC maybe dialing it back just a little on his penchant for 15-20 yard routes. Always interesting to look at the data and see how it matches the eye test. Sam likes to through it further downfield than most, so does KOC, that means longer time to hold the ball like you laid out, it also means higher averages on the throws. Sam's 6th in the league at 8.2, with Lamar first at 8.7 and Kirk 11th at 8.2. Whatever it all adds up to, for me it's more fun to watch a quarterback like Sam make those 20 yard throws and who can make plays with his feet than a pure pocket passer who needs nearly everything fundamentally sound to be successful. Tomorrow is all about the Vikings and the Falcons, but conventional wisdom says the the game within the game how Sam and Kirk handle getting "moved a bit" or making plays when things aren't "on time" will be the difference between winning and losing. Here's to Sam handling it, and to Flores dialing up a couple things he hasn't shown much of with Smith, Metellus, and Murphy to disrupt Mr. Fundamentals.