Jump Ball Plan Is Simple
May 14th, 2014
A reporter asked Bucs starting quarterback Josh McCown yesterday whether it was “too simplistic” to say the Bucs could now throw a bunch of high passes to their gargantuan receivers and doing that is simple and easy.
McCown said it was just fine to make that simple characterization.
How will the Panthers cover Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and say, Tim Wright, on 2nd-and-5 on opening day?
That’s hardly a pretty picture for a defensive coordinator.
“That’s one of the edges that you get with those guys, is their catch radius and their ability to put balls in certain spots because of that,” McCown said. “I don’t know how much you design necessarily plays around it, as much as it is, you know, you just take advantage of the 1-on-1 stuff that happens with them. It certainly is an advantage.”
Bucs fans sure should have fun watching the passing game evolve, especially if the Bucs can develop a dangerous slot receiver.
Somewhat interesting amidst this clear desire for receivers who have basketball skills and can out jump opponents and win body control battles is that blade-in-the-thigh, mattress-in-the-yard Mike Williams was excellent at just that. And he actually played college basketball for Syracuse before devoting himself fully to football.
Regardless, the Bucs should have serious weapons on the field this season. Joe just hopes Jeff Tedford and McCown can get this all to come together quickly behind a thin offensive line in a brand new system.
The Bucs open at home against Carolina followed by another home game against the Rams. Those are two nasty front-7s that will put a load of pressure on the offense.
May 14th, 2014 at 10:41 am
2nd and 5? I can only dream.
May 14th, 2014 at 11:00 am
M Williams had great body control, but a big contract and blown hamstring are a bad combo in the NFL. Hope Evans lives up to his potential
May 14th, 2014 at 11:00 am
Will be interesting to the see the Skyline Crew go up for balls. Will definitely make ball placement less complicated. I hope our redzone offense will double their production from last years run-run-pass and go to run-pass-pass. The matchups will be great. Can’t wait until the preseason to get a taste.
May 14th, 2014 at 11:00 am
Tell the “cannon” to aim high.
May 14th, 2014 at 11:02 am
Both Freeman and Glennon were pretty pathetic at utilizing Jackson’s height in the red zone with their uncatcheable lobs of passes that ended up out of bounds. Hopefully McCown is an upgrade.
May 14th, 2014 at 11:06 am
I wonder how many pass interference calls our receivers draw this year?
May 14th, 2014 at 11:11 am
JMac will throw lots of TDs and then the cannons will be go off!
May 14th, 2014 at 11:32 am
I’m still pinching myself…
I can’t believe we got VJax’s carbon copy in Mike Evans and Antonio Gates 2.0 in ASJ to go along with what we already had offensively…What a difference a year makes; This offense has managed to stockpile play-makers at all skill positions (TE included)…we should be able to put a lot of stress on opposing defenses for a looong time…
Overall I was happy with all of guys we drafted, they all have tremendous upside…The sleeper picks everyone’s gonna love is Sims and Herron…Day 1 Telford mentioned “speed in space”…these 2 were specifically targeted to provide Telfords offense with that element…I’m excited to see how he uses them…This team could be scary good…Lovie’s traditionally had great defenses, if we can pair his defense with an Offensive Juggernaut WoW!
May 14th, 2014 at 11:41 am
Look at the evolution of the Offensive Depth Chart
Start 2013>>>>>>>>>End of 2013>>>>>>>Start of 2014
QB: Freeman/G >>>>>>>> Glennon/O >>>>>>>?McCown/Glennon
WR: VJax>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>VJAX
WR: Williams >>>>>>>>> Underwood >>>>>>>>> Mike Evans
WR3: ?????? >>>>>>>>> Owusu/Dawson?>>>>>> ?Tim Wright/Sims/?
TE: Crabtree/Byham>>>>>>Tim Wright>>>>>>>>ASJ/Wright/Meyers
RB: Martin>>>>>>>>>>James/Rainey>>>>>>>>Martin/Sims/James/Rainey
OL: Released or traded 3 of 5 starters>>>>>>Dotson, Meredith, 3 FA’s, two picks, plus future FA signings, ?Nicks
HC and OC: you get the picture.
How can we not be better. LOTS better.
Last two points:
1) our overall schedule should be easier than last, where we faced the 2nd hardest schedule in the league.
2) of those 51 QBs drafted in the first round over the last twenty years, nearly three out of four IMPROVED their career QB rating compared with their rookie rating. MG8 should improve too with more coaching and experience.
tickrdr
May 14th, 2014 at 11:57 am
Its not just jump balls that gives the advantage. The QB can also lead his receiver a lot more because they can reach out and grab it on short quick routs which makes it harder for defenders to get their hands on it. This creates a bigger throwing window for the QB. I am absolutely excited to see our new offense. We only need one true speedy receiver and we have about 6 including the RBs. Demps and Heron alone are fast enough to stretch the field and the minute you leave one of the 4 towers alone in single coverage we got ya. I wouldn’t exclude Tim Wright from this equation.
May 14th, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Theodore Says:
May 14th, 2014 at 10:41 am
2nd and 5? I can only dream.
Rimshot for you Theodore! That’s the funniest line of the day so far.
May 14th, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Fans are about to see why I wanted them to take Evans so badly. Evans is a gift.
May 14th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
I just hope Greg Hardy is suspended that game for his arrest this week.
May 14th, 2014 at 12:42 pm
“2) of those 51 QBs drafted in the first round over the last twenty years, nearly three out of four IMPROVED their career QB rating compared with their rookie rating. MG8 should improve too with more coaching and experience.
tickrdr”
Is this about Glennon? He was a 3rd round draft pick, not 1st. Of the 24 3rd round draft picks at QB in the past 20 years, only 2 have been a primary starter for more than 3 years in the NFL (Schaub and Griese). Schaub was pretty consistent for several years after sitting on the bench for 3 years in ATL. Griese was always up and down inconsistent. He’d give you a 90+ rating one year and then a sub 70 the next. Recently, Russell Wilson has been excellent, and Nick Foles had one good season, although he didn’t begin either season as the starter. Time will tell if he’s anything special or just another Griese.
May 14th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
As to the article, and the jump ball… the major advantage is that even if our WRs are covered, they’re open. If they can’t get separation, they’re open. May not lead to a lot of YAC, but moving the chains is important. And I do believe that any of these guys, hit in stride with an accurate pass they don’t have to contend for, can take it to the house. People always talk about VJ getting caught from behind, but remember, he was injured when the Saints caught him and most of the rest he had to come back for the ball… I still think VJ can get the job done.
May 14th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Joe if we are going to dream, what about the four receivers plus Simms as either a back or in the slot, now they are all big enough to block on their way out, but who is and who isn’t and who is going where and how fast?
Your thoughts?
May 14th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
There was a guy in the draft that was almost a Mike Williams clone except a little faster I believe… I can’t remember his name now(Think it was Davante Adams) but man he reminded me so much of him… The way Mike was able to control his body in the air and come up with catches most receivers wouldn’t be able to do… Would have loved to have him on this jump ball team. They played the rookies highlight reel on ESPN but can’t seem to find it anywhere oh well…
May 14th, 2014 at 2:36 pm
That game is going to smack a lot of fans with a reality stick. A great defensive team with a FRANCHISE QB. That should settle the arguement pretty quickly, right out of the gate.
May 14th, 2014 at 2:41 pm
Phillip Says
“Davante Adams”
I wanted us to draft that kid, but I really cannot complain with the picks made, except I think the RB was not needed…but may have been BPA.
May 14th, 2014 at 2:42 pm
btw, this draft taught me, I’m never doing a mock draft again. At most, I might do player rankings, but predicting picks is a huge waste of time.
May 14th, 2014 at 2:53 pm
A Bonzai…it took Cam Newton three years to create consistency with all of his receivers and now they are all gone. If that is the game you are referring to. I think we will have a pick 6 or two in that game alone.
May 14th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
Ditto Cody
I’m a member of that club too. We are holding that vision for our team. It even makes me grateful for last years nightmare. All seems to be falling in place. And we should have professional game plans with hopefully good second half adjustments.
May 14th, 2014 at 4:30 pm
tickrdr I know your whole point was look at Glennon being put back in his place but has it dawned on you the wisdom and kindness of a coach to take a guy he values out of the battle where he was being wounded by snipers every day by the media and Freeman supporters? I like what I see with L&L so far and can’t wait till we can see our new team in action.
May 14th, 2014 at 10:43 pm
Of course all those passing jump balls are predicated on having an offensive line that can give the QB time to hold the ball while the pass route develops. Otherwise it will be dump off city or sack town for McCown. As I remember it Cutler took a beating with Lovie’s last offensive line in Chicago. He was the most sacked QB in Chicago Bears history and most were earned under Lovie Smith years. Got OL?