RG3 on Record Pace

[IndyTrav]

Just browsing and noticed Griffin is on track for 170 rushing ATT this season. I haven't found the exact #s but I believe that will be a record for att by a qb. Cam had 123. Vick 126. Cunningham had 118. RG3 is on pace to blow those #s away.

Can he withstand that?

[RGIII]

As I said in one of the other threads, he can withstand the attempts but he can't withstand the attempts AND all of the hits he's taking when he doesn't have the ball. Gotta pick one or the other for him to stay healthy.

He's also on pace to have more rushing and total TDs than Cam did last year, isn't far off the pace for passing yards (although that one will go to Luck at this rate), and his completion percentage has been better so far than Ben Roethlisberger's rookie year despite having a far more substantial burden as a passer than Ben did. Not very likely he keeps all that up but it's been quite the start through three games.

[coltsfanatic24]

shannahan is gonna get rg3 injured, too many designed runs.

[RGIII]

shannahan is gonna get rg3 injured, too many designed runs.

To be fair, I'd say that RGIII is going to get RGIII injured before I'd place the bulk of the blame on the Shanahans. I'd agree that the pitch option portion of what we've run is terrible and needs to go... but that's a very small percentage of the plays we run. Most of the designed QB runs that you see aren't actually designed specifically for Griffin to run, they are packaged plays that give Griffin multiple options based on what he sees in the defense. He can hand off, he can pass, or he can run it himself. All those screens that we threw to start the game against the Saints were packaged plays where RGIII read the D correctly and opted to throw the short ball instead of hand it off, take off with it, or hit the route on the other side of the field.

Griffin would take a heck of a lot less hits if he'd step out of bounds a yard or two earlier instead of allowing defenders to get the hard shove on him every time or would learn to slide.

[chad72]

Note that all the teams that have beaten the Saints have the win vs the Saints as their only win in the season.

[The Fish]

It's kinda telling that they are designing runs for RG3. He needs to (for his health) become a better pocket passer. Seems like his game plan is primarily scripted, so it will be interesting to see if he improves in that area if he's notvasked to do it.

[RGIII]

It's kinda telling that they are designing runs for RG3. He needs to (for his health) become a better pocket passer.

You're reading it wrong if you think the runs are designed to cover up for poor pocket passing. Griffin has looked great when he's had a clean pocket and when he hasn't had a clean pocket, he's used his feet to make plays.

Seems like his game plan is primarily scripted, so it will be interesting to see if he improves in that area if he's notvasked to do it.

I'm not even sure what this is supposed to mean.

[The Fish]

A majority of his passes seem to be short check downs or designed passes that are scripted, ya know, called in a certain order. I'm saying that I'm not seeing that great pocket passer, that's what I want to see him get better at, becaue he hasn't looked good in that context. Designed runs aren't a good indicator for my dollar.

[stat2883]

Gotta say that I think Griff so far has been a fine pocket passer for what you'd expect from a highly drafted rookie. Of course he's not quite as polished as Luck is at this point, but he's been pretty accurate, smart with the ball (with a couple excpetions), and delivers under pressure. Its just that they haven't been calling a lot of straight drop-backs because Shanahan has been trying to keep the defenses off balance. I think as the year goes on, you'll begin to see more straight drops as teams get better at stopping the triple option etc.

It looked to me like the Bengals approached him the right way. Essentially the first one to him gets the QB, the rest of them go after the pitch man. It also didn't help that the starting LT went down early and the replacement was abused horribly for 3 sacks and a stalled rushing attack. Their offensive line needs help, and has for a while now. Forget what you guys saw in the preseason - a big reason the running game has been working the way it has so far is Griff's presence on the field and having to account for that. The running game did finish strong last year though, however I'm not entirely convinced that wasn't just an abberhation (sp?).

Hopefully the kid can stay healthy - he's fun to watch.

[RGIII]

Kudos for that post, stat. You summed up everything just about perfectly.

A majority of his passes seem to be short check downs or designed passes that are scripted, ya know, called in a certain order. I'm saying that I'm not seeing that great pocket passer, that's what I want to see him get better at, becaue he hasn't looked good in that context. Designed runs aren't a good indicator for my dollar.

Like many WCO coaches, Shanahan does script the first 15 plays of each half. Same for RGIII as it was for Elway in that respect. However, what confused (and continues to confuse) me is how you could possibly apply the notion of scripted plays as a strike against RGIII's ability as seemed to be the implication of your original statement. You can't script an entire game and you honestly make it sound like your perception is based solely on the first drive of the Saints game.

I've been really pleased with Griffin's pocket play. The only knock on him is that he likes to escape around the tackles instead of stepping up into the pocket when he feels pressure. It's gotten him into trouble a few times but other than that he's looked awfully good.

[stat2883]

A majority of his passes seem to be short check downs or designed passes that are scripted, ya know, called in a certain order. I'm saying that I'm not seeing that great pocket passer, that's what I want to see him get better at, becaue he hasn't looked good in that context. Designed runs aren't a good indicator for my dollar.

the check downs are him going through his reads - yes there is a script of a sort, but every team uses them. Many of the screen passes etc aren't decided until right before the snap when Griff reads the number of defenders in the box. For example, Griff walks up to the line. On his left, the 2 WRs will run a bubble screen, the WR and TE on his right may some kind of route combination like a post and quick out. The other 2 options are QB keeper, and handoff to the RB. Griff will narrow out a couple options just based on defensive alignment. The rest is decided after the snap based on a given key defender, such as the play-side DE. So, while the play may be "scripted", it could be up to 4 different plays. For the most part, Griff has properly read the defense and made the correct choices, as evidenced by them averaging almost 30 pts a game on offense.

The problems with the hits come from him waiting until the last second to pitch the ball, or trying to get those extra yards, or his blockers just getting beat.