State of passing game

[haydensly]

#4 from MN had a rough film session yesterday.

I think they said during the broadcast that he and the other safety were both filling in for injured starters.

 

[trj]

As a team, I agree. I was referring specifically to the offensive skill players, who are still adjusting to a new system with a QB that hasn't had hardly any meaningful snaps in two years.

That said, I'm not giving any kind of pass to the OL. There are no excuses for the players or Barnett this season. Zero. Thus far, I would say we have seen improvement in run blocking, albeit inconsistent. Technique in pass-pro has been terrible at times, especially along the interior. There's no excuse for getting overpowered physically over and over at this point. Barnett has had more than enough time to get these players prepared physically and mentally.

I will be the bad guy in this thread. Given the current state of o-line play in general, this o-line is good and Barnett deserves credit for that. This o-line is 2015 good except CJB was much better than CM. Shedeur Sanders would kill to have the Iowa o-line right now.

Iowa is basically rolling out 5 guards as their o-line, which 95% of Power 4 teams and 90% of NFL teams are doing. There are only so many 320 lbs. humans with the athleticism to do this. You guys are nitpicking over bullshit. Is the pass protection perfect? No. Gawd forbid you get a quarterback that can make a play with his arm or legs or maybe both.

 

[HuckFinn]

I will be the bad guy in this thread. Given the current state of o-line play in general, this o-line is good and Barnett deserves credit for that. This o-line is 2015 good except CJB was much better than CM. Shedeur Sanders would kill to have the Iowa o-line right now.

Iowa is basically rolling out 5 guards as their o-line, which 95% of Power 4 teams and 90% of NFL teams are doing. There are only so many 320 lbs. humans with the athleticism to do this. You guys are nitpicking over bullshit. Is the pass protection perfect? No. Gawd forbid you get a quarterback that can make a play with his arm or legs or maybe both.

Yup

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

I will be the bad guy in this thread. Given the current state of o-line play in general, this o-line is good and Barnett deserves credit for that. This o-line is 2015 good except CJB was much better than CM. Shedeur Sanders would kill to have the Iowa o-line right now.

Iowa is basically rolling out 5 guards as their o-line, which 95% of Power 4 teams and 90% of NFL teams are doing. There are only so many 320 lbs. humans with the athleticism to do this. You guys are nitpicking over bullshit. Is the pass protection perfect? No. Gawd forbid you get a quarterback that can make a play with his arm or legs or maybe both.

Is the line better than the last two seasons? Absolutely. The point is they should be better - meaning that health and experience by itself was destined to translate into better play (ideally). Improvement was bound to happen organically, regardless of the coach.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not hating on the line or the players. Just pointing out that fundamental errors are still happening primarily in pass-pro, which have nothing to do with scheme, and reflect on coaching. Fans are jumping all over McNamara. I get it, but no quarterback is going to have a great stat line when an interior defensive lineman is immediately in his face over and over.

McNamara definitely has his faults, and honestly hasn't shown much, but we have to remember the quarterback doesn't play in a vacuum - Protection, route running, reads in RPO, etc., are all factors in his play. He may well end up not being the answer, but there's a lot to take into account before the torches and pitchforks come out.

 

[trj]

Is the line better than the last two seasons? Absolutely. The point is they should be better - meaning that health and experience by itself was destined to translate into better play (ideally). Improvement was bound to happen organically, regardless of the coach.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not hating on the line or the players. Just pointing out that fundamental errors are still happening primarily in pass-pro, which have nothing to do with scheme, and reflect on coaching. Fans are jumping all over McNamara. I get it, but no quarterback is going to have a great stat line when an interior defensive lineman is immediately in his face over and over.

McNamara definitely has his faults, and honestly hasn't shown much, but we have to remember the quarterback doesn't play in a vacuum - Protection, route running, reads in RPO, etc., are all factors in his play. He may well end up not being the answer, but there's a lot to take into account before the torches and pitchforks come out.

I dunno, man. In a perfect world Richman and Dunker would be playing inside, but so many teams have to throw guards out there to be tackles, it makes it hard for me to shit on Barnett.

Jones, Colby and Stephens…I think we know what these guys are at this point . I’m not going to get mad at those guys because Cade doesn’t have 5 seconds to throw the football.