Why do YOU think our passing offense is terrible?

[BriansRams]

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion.
There is no doubt that our passing offense is simply terrible. The stats prove it. What we see on game days proves it. My question to the football gods is ... why? What is the main problem, and the other little problems?

Is it Nick Foles?
Is it pass protection?
Is it play call?
Is it that our receivers cannot get open very often?

What's your take on this?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Foles not knowing the offense well enough and is still thinking, maybe.

The inconsistent pass blocking.

Receivers aren't always where they should be.

And finally.......Cook being a major piece to the plan but not producing.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Is it that our receivers cannot get open very often?

If i had to single out just one reason this would be my answer. IMO we don't have a single WR on the roster who changes the gameplan for the opposition from week to week in terms of a defensive coordinator saying things like...
"We're going to have to give safety help all day for that guy"
"We need to put our best cover man on him"
"We're going to have to get really physical with him to get him off his game"
"We can only hope to keep him in front of the coverage"
"He creates a match up problem"

We need one of those guys. Quick is the only one who maybe could be that guy. He has the physical tools, but most of the good receivers and ALL of the great WR's have that killer instinct or ultra competitive attitude that makes them great. They are gamers. The concentration, the ability to make a good play out of a play gone wrong. Consistency from week to week. Fighting for balls. I don't see that aspect of development in Brian Quick's game.


edit: I love what Tavon is doing this year. He's a weapon/decoy/team guy but i don't believe that defenses are worried about giving up 8-10 catch and 100+ yrd games to him from week to week because they can't cover him. They just want to know where he is pre-snap and not give up the trick plays and also the big returns on special teams.

JMO

 

[RamzFanz]

"We're going to have to give safety help all day for that guy"
"We need to put our best cover man on him"
"We're going to have to get really physical with him to get him off his game"
"We can only hope to keep him in front of the coverage"
"He creates a match up problem"

His name is Tavon Austin. Go tell Fisher!

 

[Mojo Ram]

His name is Tavon Austin. Go tell Fisher!

I don't think so man. Read my edit at the bottom

 

[RamzFanz]

I don't think so man. Read my edit at the bottom

Give him the ball, then we can talk.

 

[SuperMan28]

I think it's terrible because we don't take enough deep shots. Period.

We threw three balls over 15 yards last game.

First- Quick stepped out AND there was a holding penalty.

Second- Second, pass interference. The ball was to Britt. (big gain). Next play...

Third- a bomb to Britt-completed. Ball on the one inch line. Gurley walks in next play.

We HAVE to take our shots when the safeties cheat up. Seems we only throw deep when we have to.

Seems we struggle with the short patterns but fair better when we go deep. IDK why that is. All I'm saying is we don't give defenses reason to back off. They're cheating up to unload on Gurley and Foles. The little short routes play right into their hands.

Speaking of hands, Jared seems to have never have found his. Is our jugs mashine broke? WTH is going on with him! Same goes for Britt. He's had his share of drops but has also had some big plays.

Rest of the Season

Here's the beauty of it, fellas. We are at the midway point of the season after this game. If our pass catchers catch some consistency then all will be written off to early season woes. I'm finally getting over the WAS game because that was pre-Gurley.

So we have time, we can make mistakes today and still win. However, we gotta start catching our stride starting with MIN. Minnesota is a HUUUGE game for us. I mean huge. This is our first Playoff game in my mind because we will be competing with them for a Wild Card. Head-to-Head is the first tie breaker to conference play.

WAS beat us. But I'm not worried because they play a PO'ed Dallas team twice in December. Romo and Bryant are on schedule to be healthy at that time. They'll be strong spoilers.

 

[shaunpinney]

Good question...

Is it Nick Foles?
Yes & No, he's obviously still learning the system, he will get there.

Is it pass protection?
Yes, most definitely the inconsistency is an issue, but I think the guys WILL get there, I have a lot of faith in our young guns and have a lot of hope for the future. I think once NF get that extra split second our aerial attack becomes dangerous.

Is it play call?
No, I think this area has improved this year. But I would throw less to Cook (see below)

Is it that our receivers cannot get open very often?
Yes. This is a big issue in my mind, but in saying that, why not bring in Bailey on more plays? he seems to get that separation and if he doesn't the guy just seems to be able to catch the ball. I also have to point my finger at Cook (again) - he seems to be a main part of the aerial offensive plan, but his catching ability is just damn poor. I'm more inclined to swap Kendricks and Cook going forward, I know Kendricks has dropped a couple, but he seems to give and offer far more on the playing field.

So moving forward I'd like to see more of the Austin & Bailey combination at WR and less of Cook. I think this will increase the number of successful catches and yards gained. I also agree with @SuperMan28 go deep more often - take Gurley closer to the goal line

 

[Ballhawk]

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion.
There is no doubt that our passing offense is simply terrible. The stats prove it. What we see on game days proves it. My question to the football gods is ... why? What is the main problem, and the other little problems?

Is it Nick Foles? A little but he isn't the biggest problem.
Is it pass protection? Yes Definitely!
Is it play call? Also Some, Too many runs on first down. The defense is waiting for it.
Is it that our receivers cannot get open very often? Yes and no. Some are open and are dropping the ball. Other times the pass protection doesn't give the play enough time.

What's your take on this?

 

[rhinobean]

I think that Foles needs more time and the team need to run more post and fly patterns! Maybe no one is fast enough for those so they don't run them more!

 

[V3]

Is it Nick Foles?
Is it pass protection?
Is it play call?
Is it that our receivers cannot get open very often?

Yes. All of them.

I'm still not sold on the OC. He's better than Schotty but still takes a while to make adjustments, doesn't seem to make the best use of the WRs and their abilities, and is still pretty bland in the creativity department(does a lot of the same plays over and over).

Foles has his ups and downs. He can take too long to get rid of the ball or miss WRs.

The WRs aren't getting open as much as they should.

And our pass protection is among the worst in the NFL.

 

[fearsomefour]

Hard to answer really.
Do our receivers fail to get separation? Do most teams run man or zone agains us?
The passing games to be missing a lot of things that are standards for most teams. The intermediate passing game. That consistent 10-15 yard pass.....crosses ect. Maybe it is not apart of the passing game, maybe the coaches don't rust Foles. WR screens and isolated deep patterns (one on one match ups throwing deep vs man coverage) can reveal the same thing a lot of roll out passes do....the coaches don't trust the QB to stand in the pocket, read and find open guys. That may be the case it may not.
A LOT of routes with a WR cutting out, running outs, WR screens. The passing game is lateral in a lot of ways....running a six yard out instead of a slant or a cross. Simplifying the option for the QB, minimizing risk.
I don't think the coaches trust Foles. The passing game is about managing risk not attacking. I want to see more deep attempts too, but, I really want to see the mid range passing game that sustains and helps create drives.
Watching the play calling with Foles is like watching Leinart with the Cardinals (minus the rollouts....thank God).
The biggest problem with the passing game in my opinion is it is not a full passing game. The brakes are on. It's about avoiding risk and that has everything to do with a young line, a limited QB and a naturally conservative coach.

 

[snackdaddy]

I don't think you can pinpoint it to one thing. Its a breakdown between all 3 key areas of the passing game, IMO.

1. The quarterback's decision making and accuracy throwing the ball has been an issue at times.

2. The most obvious is the protection beginning with the line. Thats an easy one to figure out why, but not so easy to fix. They're young and need more time. And honestly, when you have this many first and second year guys you really don't know if they're going to be quality NFL linemen. Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

3. The receivers are just not getting open enough. Too many times the QB either has to throw it away or take a sack because he can't find someone. Thats been an issue for several years now. Inconsistency with the hands is a problem too.

Throw in the problems we have on 3rd down and its no wonder the offense is bad. Last week's win was nice, but Cleveland was not known for defense. Yet, it took a TD return and a FG off a fumble recovery to manage 10 points through 3 quarters. Basically our offense was shutout for 3 quarters against a lesser defense.

 

[bwdenverram]

20% predictability- Sometimes during games we just get vanilla and don't keep defenses on their toes
20% lack of experience in a new system-Don't think Foles always knows where he wants to go and rushes or rolls INTO pressure.
60% execution- It's obvious the OL doesn't always block well and guys like Cook don't always block well on the end. Plus, how many drops have we seen already?

Look at the 2nd half against the Browns- We went no huddle, shotgun and really stressed the D. Plus, we executed. I mean, those two things are a recipe for success, IMO.

 

[…..]

Having a gadget player in Tavon Austin as a focal point rather than a chess piece is not helping.

 

[goosekilla]

If it's our receivers, why did Austin Davis make Brian Quick look excellent early last season? Not saying I know which problem it is, but I think it's a combination of Foles, and Cignetti.

 

[Picked4td]

I think it's terrible because we don't take enough deep shots. Period.

We threw three balls over 15 yards last game.

First- Quick stepped out AND there was a holding penalty.

Second- Second, pass interference. The ball was to Britt. (big gain). Next play...

Third- a bomb to Britt-completed. Ball on the one inch line. Gurley walks in next play.

We HAVE to take our shots when the safeties cheat up. Seems we only throw deep when we have to.

Seems we struggle with the short patterns but fair better when we go deep. IDK why that is. All I'm saying is we don't give defenses reason to back off. They're cheating up to unload on Gurley and Foles. The little short routes play right into their hands.

Speaking of hands, Jared seems to have never have found his. Is our jugs mashine broke? WTH is going on with him! Same goes for Britt. He's had his share of drops but has also had some big plays.

Rest of the Season

Here's the beauty of it, fellas. We are at the midway point of the season after this game. If our pass catchers catch some consistency then all will be written off to early season woes. I'm finally getting over the WAS game because that was pre-Gurley.

So we have time, we can make mistakes today and still win. However, we gotta start catching our stride starting with MIN. Minnesota is a HUUUGE game for us. I mean huge. This is our first Playoff game in my mind because we will be competing with them for a Wild Card. Head-to-Head is the first tie breaker to conference play.

WAS beat us. But I'm not worried because they play a PO'ed Dallas team twice in December. Romo and Bryant are on schedule to be healthy at that time. They'll be strong spoilers.

Tavon is arguably the fastest player on the field whenever hes on it. He should be getting at least 2 deep passes a game imo. At the very least it will back safeties up

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Poor pass blocking due to our young Oline. And average at best WRs. I don't put too much blame on Foles when he's getting clobbered back there.

 

[Rams43]

It's a combination of many things.

Cigs needs to call more 1st down passes.
Hell, he needs to call more passes, period. It can jumpstart our O while giving it balance.
OL needs to give Foles an extra half second.
Cook needs to catch the danged ball.
Kendricks' hand needs to heal.
Foles needs to go through his progressions more quickly.
How about executing in the 1st half and building a big lead for a change?
Quick needs to become a threat, not just a decoy. This is his contract year, dammit!
Get Bailey more targets. Foles should know where Bailey is at all times.
Maybe more and better executed screens would slow the rush.
A middle screen could be devastating to the Niners, yet I never see them.
Foles should be looking for Britt. Two late deep passes to Britt resulted in a one inch TD run. We should rinse and repeat.

Let it hang out more in the passing game this week, Fisher. Niners have worst pass D in the league. Let our guys get reps, have some success, and build confidence for the future.