Finally got around to giving the game a second viewing. Kind of interesting the second time around because I wasnt screaming at the TV and had a chance to really look at some of the details of the Offense and Defense. Anyway, not some full detailed review, but just some things I noticed.
- The Oline actually blocked pretty well. Im not kidding, this might have been their best game from a pure blocking perspective. They were really opening up holes into the Stanford Defense, and consistently, and Max had very clean pockets for most of that game. They still had a few breakdowns, but overall, this was actually a pretty well blocked game.
- Unfortunately, penalties killed pretty much every drive. We already know that. But honestly, without those bonehead false starts, I think Stanford has a really tough time stopping the Offense. But alas, the penalties did occur, over and over and over.
- One interesting thing I picked up with Nico Falah snapping in the shotgun. He absolutely telegraphs every snap count, and a smart Dlineman will figure this out on film fast. He essentially stares back at Max between his legs, until the last possible second before the snap, almost like a long snap, then pops his head up quickly and immediately snaps it. He does this EVERY time, like clockwork. No variation at all. Anyone could get a jump on the snap by going when his head pops up. Stanford didnt take advantage, but look for that this week.
- Stevie T was manhandling the Stanford Center. He really had a good game getting push and penetration. There was one play where he absolutely blew up the Center into McCaffery on 3rd down, but McCaffery is so patient, he hits the guy in the back, gathers himself, and just lunges ahead for a couple yards and the 1st down.
-Speaking of McCaffery, boy, he really is great at waiting for his block, showing patience, then getting forward quick for 3-4 yards. Even when the play is defended well, he rarely loses yards. Also, he should have had another TD on a stop and go against Chris Hawkins where he absolutely killed Chris with that move. Burns overthrew him badly, but it was a TD easily.
- If JuJu doesnt start going up with two hands and bringing down balls, he's gonna really hurt his draft stock. Both one handed attempts could very easily have been caught had he gone up with two hands. His hand wasnt even being held badly like I thought on one of them, he should have gone up with two. He just didnt. Not sure how he could do that twice in one game.
- That dumb trick play we ran that looked so bad, well, if Max doesnt overthrow it, its a huge gain. Lots of blockers in front of it and all Burnett had to do was catch it and go inside and there was tons of yards. It looked so bad on my first view, but as clumsy as it was, it was going to work. Still an awful call in that situation.
- So on to Max. On first view, I really thought he played a decent game, no reason to lose his job after that game. But I have to say, after the second view, where I really took the time to look at his reads and decisions, I think he missed a lot of opportunities. As stated earlier, he had a lot of clean pockets, and he rushed into a couple of check downs, but that's not what really stood out. He's just not delivering the ball fast enough, and he rarely is getting guys out of their breaks. Don't underestimate the importance of this, because there are timing plays we are simply missing because he's not delivering the ball quick enough. He also missed a couple of deep balls I know he wishes he had back, but he missed them. Big play opportunities that were there.
On the flip side, Darnold is making quick decisions and throwing guys right out of their breaks. There wasnt a massive sample size in this game, but its very evident that he does this much better than Max. It would not surprise me if Helton saw this in the film, because it really stands out as a difference between the two. Sam really gets the ball there in a hurry.
One play that stood out for me with Sam was a Read Option that he actually kept on that last drive, that got stuffed. Man, if he had pitched it, Ronald Jones might score, there was nobody on the outside. So this was a bad example of a decision he made, but it shows you what can be there with him running the Offense. If he can learn to pitch and keep properly, we might have something a few times a game there.
- The Oline actually blocked pretty well. Im not kidding, this might have been their best game from a pure blocking perspective. They were really opening up holes into the Stanford Defense, and consistently, and Max had very clean pockets for most of that game. They still had a few breakdowns, but overall, this was actually a pretty well blocked game.
- Unfortunately, penalties killed pretty much every drive. We already know that. But honestly, without those bonehead false starts, I think Stanford has a really tough time stopping the Offense. But alas, the penalties did occur, over and over and over.
- One interesting thing I picked up with Nico Falah snapping in the shotgun. He absolutely telegraphs every snap count, and a smart Dlineman will figure this out on film fast. He essentially stares back at Max between his legs, until the last possible second before the snap, almost like a long snap, then pops his head up quickly and immediately snaps it. He does this EVERY time, like clockwork. No variation at all. Anyone could get a jump on the snap by going when his head pops up. Stanford didnt take advantage, but look for that this week.
- Stevie T was manhandling the Stanford Center. He really had a good game getting push and penetration. There was one play where he absolutely blew up the Center into McCaffery on 3rd down, but McCaffery is so patient, he hits the guy in the back, gathers himself, and just lunges ahead for a couple yards and the 1st down.
-Speaking of McCaffery, boy, he really is great at waiting for his block, showing patience, then getting forward quick for 3-4 yards. Even when the play is defended well, he rarely loses yards. Also, he should have had another TD on a stop and go against Chris Hawkins where he absolutely killed Chris with that move. Burns overthrew him badly, but it was a TD easily.
- If JuJu doesnt start going up with two hands and bringing down balls, he's gonna really hurt his draft stock. Both one handed attempts could very easily have been caught had he gone up with two hands. His hand wasnt even being held badly like I thought on one of them, he should have gone up with two. He just didnt. Not sure how he could do that twice in one game.
- That dumb trick play we ran that looked so bad, well, if Max doesnt overthrow it, its a huge gain. Lots of blockers in front of it and all Burnett had to do was catch it and go inside and there was tons of yards. It looked so bad on my first view, but as clumsy as it was, it was going to work. Still an awful call in that situation.
- So on to Max. On first view, I really thought he played a decent game, no reason to lose his job after that game. But I have to say, after the second view, where I really took the time to look at his reads and decisions, I think he missed a lot of opportunities. As stated earlier, he had a lot of clean pockets, and he rushed into a couple of check downs, but that's not what really stood out. He's just not delivering the ball fast enough, and he rarely is getting guys out of their breaks. Don't underestimate the importance of this, because there are timing plays we are simply missing because he's not delivering the ball quick enough. He also missed a couple of deep balls I know he wishes he had back, but he missed them. Big play opportunities that were there.
On the flip side, Darnold is making quick decisions and throwing guys right out of their breaks. There wasnt a massive sample size in this game, but its very evident that he does this much better than Max. It would not surprise me if Helton saw this in the film, because it really stands out as a difference between the two. Sam really gets the ball there in a hurry.
One play that stood out for me with Sam was a Read Option that he actually kept on that last drive, that got stuffed. Man, if he had pitched it, Ronald Jones might score, there was nobody on the outside. So this was a bad example of a decision he made, but it shows you what can be there with him running the Offense. If he can learn to pitch and keep properly, we might have something a few times a game there.
