I hate to make a complaint thread after a win, but if y'all bare with me, I think you'll see it's something more. As some have noticed, I've grown a bit frustrated with Sammy over the past few weeks due to his mental miscues. There was one specific play today that I griped about earlier, and I wanted to explain what I saw in hopes people will understand.
On our first drive after half, we had a 3rd and 6 from the Arizona 16. Goff lofted a pass into the end-zone, and unfortunately, nobody was there. It was clear the pass was intended for Watkins. The replay showed Watkins beating Peterson off the LOS badly with a great move when Peterson tried to jam him. Watkins then attempted to run a stutter-and-go while Goff threw the fade. This play forced us to settle for a FG.
I am not privy to the play-call on the play, so this is solely my opinion based on what I know of passing schemes and NFL offenses. It is my belief that Watkins ran the wrong route on the play. The route originally did call for Watkins to run a stutter-and-go, but that was if Peterson played off coverage. If Peterson pressed, my educated (or uneducated) opinion is that Watkins was supposed to convert his route to a fade. This is a pretty typical read that NFL WRs (and college WRs) are asked to make. If the defender comes down and presses you, you convert your route to a go route or a fade route (depending on where you are on the field). Goff threw it as if that was what he expected. It only makes sense because a double move just isn't that effective against a defender in press coverage.
My frustration stems from my belief that if Watkins had run that route based on how badly he beat Peterson off the LOS, he's got an easy TD. I think Sammy still hasn't gotten the offense down fully. I am hopeful that after the bye, he will have everything down and be comfortable.
I do want to make clear that I'm not frustrated with Sammy because I think he's a bad player. It's much the opposite. I have high expectations for him. I think he's one of the five most talented WRs in the NFL. I think he can be a true #1 and difference-maker for us if he gets it all together. He has a rare skill-set. I want to see that guy in our offense. That's why I'm so frustrated he hasn't appeared except for the SF game. I wasn't as high on Sammy coming out of college as a few on the board (*cough* RFIP *cough*), but I still thought he was one of the top talents in that stacked class (I just thought Evans and OBJ were closer in terms of talent to Sammy than some of his biggest fans did).
I still think Sammy is that same guy. He has blazing speed, he can win 50/50 balls, he runs like a HB with the ball in his hands, and he has the strength and agility to be a lethal route runner. I think if he catches up mentally, he can be a game-changer for us over the second half of the year. My hope is that during the bye, Goff and two reliable WRs (Kupp and Woods) will work with Sammy on the offense, and Goff will work with Sammy on building up some chemistry. Our offense is already dominating. Imagine what we could do with Sammy Watkins playing up to his potential. That will open up the deep ball and give us a major target in the red-zone. Also, I'd love for us to get Gerald Everett more involved in the offense in the second half of the season. He's such a talent.
