tsiguy96

im a bronco fan, and we are seeing a TON of short throws. yesterday like 80% of ortons yards were on screens, which is strange. how did mcdaniels progress cassel last year, start off everything short with the occasional deep bomb? i didnt see all the games but i remember seeing a stat that like nearly all of his passes were within 10 yards, a few between 10-20 and almost no passes over 30 yards the entire season. any insight would be good.

jmt57

In addition to Cassel having no NFL experience other than preseason games, the Pats offensive line was in really tough shape at the beginning of the season in 2008. So McDaniels started off Cassel with primarily short passes, but that should have been expected. It's not as if he never threw long; for example Cassel connected with Moss on a 3rd & 10 from the Pats 1-yard line on a 50-yard pass on his third play of the game in week one against the Chiefs. On the other hand I also believe he threw only one other deep ball in that entire game.

As the year progressed Cassel ended up being sacked far less often; now whether that was due to the offensive line getting healthy mid-season or Cassel becoming used to the speed of an NFL game, or both, I'll leave that to others to debate. But to answer your question - yes, McDaniels did have Cassel throwing more deep passes as the season progressed.

Keep in mind that prior to trading for Moss, the Pats offense consisted of a whole lot more slants and bubble screens than what you are used to seeing with the Mike Shanahan Elway/Plummer/Cutler offenses too. In other words the offense is probably going to be designed to put those who are playing in the best position to succeed. The Patriots offense in 2006 was different from that in 2007, and also differnet from that in 2008. If McDaniels thinks his roster can win with a deep vertical threat then you'll see longer passes - but personally I would expect more of the short passing game if I were you.

farn

The disparity between 07 and 08 (deep vs short) was quite noticeable.

For Denver, with Orton, it seems like the short passes would be thew way to go. I think he is known much more for decision making than gunslinging. I think he'll be OK. To be honest, I figure he'll have a better year than whiny Cutler.

captain insano

i have some insight for you. orton sucks big time. what else is there left to say. going from cutler to orton is a huge drop off no matter how much of a baby cutler is.

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tsiguy96

very good, productive, insightful football talk there. let me guess, all your posts are equally good. recent patsfans.com poll showed that overwhelming majority of members here thought broncos made out like bandits on that trade.

yesterday, broncos threw so many screens it was crazy, just trying to decipher where mcdaniels is working out the kinks in the offense in preseason vs actually using techniques and gameplans we will see in actual games.

Box_O_Rocks

The timing on those short passes are actually more difficult to achieve than on intermediate or long routes, that is one reason to work on them so much in preseason.

The offense McDaniels brought you is as much a Belichick creation as it is a Weiss/McDaniels baby. Brady's first couple years earned him a reputation as a game manager, take what the defense gives you and keep the gunslinging to a minimum. With Orton working to get on the same page as his receivers, Josh is going to keep it short - but there's a run game element in WR screens, they force the defense to cover the entire width of the field, it's much harder to pack the box against the run if your Outside Linebackers and Safeties have to play a little wider to defend WR screens.

I also believe Seattle showed a very aggressive defense in their first preseason game, those screens would be one way to slow them down. A Belichick offense is going to morph for each opponent, one week short passing game, the next a power run game with lot's of play action and intermediate routes. Expect things to change week to week, once Orton settles in you'll be having some fun.

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captain insano

considering how dumb the thread is my response is perfect. but ya lets talk kyle orton .lmao it doesn't matter what McDaniel's does. at the end of the day orton will still suck. cassel was in the pats system with mcdaniels for years. orton not even full training camp. there is no comparison to be made.

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Synovia

Yeah, real insightful.

captain insano

eat me. is that insighful enough for you?

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Synovia

I'm confused as to how this relates to Matt Cassel.


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