APB: Gardner, McCants, Betts, Johnson, Jacobs officially missing

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

OK, the thread title is a joke, but it begs an unanswered question from the game: what happened to these guys? (Total catches for the group: 2 by Gardner.)

We read all week that the Patriots were going to try to remove Coles from the game and make us beat them another way. Obviously we ran a lot today, but the passing game was spectacularly unproductive. Total of 10 catches, 45% completion, 147 yards, with a 5.6 YPA. (By contrast, Brady was 25 of 38 (66%), 289 yards, 7.2 YPA.)

I'm not sure where the fault lies -- with execution, with playcalling, or simply superb defense by the Patriots. Or maybe it's a mixture.

I did have two troubling thoughts about Ramsey during the game. One was that Spurrier had seen too many bad passes (an errant pass toward McCants was nearly intercepted right before Spurrier shifted to run-heavy calls) and he decided to shut down Ramsey and just run out the game.

The other thought was that Ramsey hurt himself during the game, and Spurrier was protecting him. At one point late in the game, Ramsey was clearly grimacing on the ground, holding his left shoulder. It occurred to me that he had actually re-injured that non-throwing shoulder earlier in the game, and Spurrier tried to avoid passing plays from there on out.

(I can see a situation where they don't want to admit to Ramsey being too hurt to play effectively -- it hands an advantage to the defense, and invites further hits to Ramsey's shoulder.)

Obviously this is speculation, but Spurrier's playcalling was decidedly peculiar -- he stopped allowing Ramsey to throw much more than little dinks, either out of lack of confidence or to protect him physically. Maybe it's as simple as Spurrier not having a passing strategy to answer the way Belichick was attacking our pass protection and covering our receivers. If he couldn't fix it, he could still run.

This seems like a game we were lucky to win. We got timely turnovers on defense, and Canidate's fumble bounced right to Gardner. After the first six points, which were earned, much of the rest of the game seemed just to fall in our lap -- with a little assistance of some playmakers on defense.

[Tarhog]

I think we all saw the 'grimace' you refer to ASF. I chalked up the run-heavy conservative playcalling to the fact that we had a big lead, and trying to run as much time off the clock as possible. And it essentially worked, although Edwards 'semi-prevent' on the next to last drive certainly made it look like dubious logic there for a bit.

Ramsey's a man-child. I'm convinced they'll have to rip one of his arm's off to keep him out of a game this year. But I was surprised that we didn't lay more points on the Pats, particularly in the first half.

[phishhead]

Betts didn't have any catches, but he did have a TD run. So he wasn't completely quiet or anything.

BTW, did Jacobs even get on the field?

[CBMGreatOne]

We had some bad breaks with penalties that also contributed to our stalling on offense in the first half. As for the second half, once we were up by 17 we definitely went into a shell on offense and defense, and I suppose there'e some merit to that, but on ESPNews after the game, Spurrier said that he thought they ought to throw it more with the lead, so I expect that will improve the offensive part of that at least.

We definitely have to play tighter on defense in these situations however.

On the plus side though, didn't you love the screen to Morton in the first quarter? Or are you still writing him off on offense?

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

Originally posted by phishhead

Betts didn't have any catches, but he did have a TD run. So he wasn't completely quiet or anything.

Of course, but to be clear, my focus in this thread is on the passing game and on the guys who are supposed to pick up the slack when the defense keys on Coles.

It's possible that what we were witnessing was the Wilbert Brown factor. Maybe the Patriots nailed our protection schemes and our passing play strategies, with a little help from Benedict Arnold. If Spurrier felt outfoxed, he might have felt safer with the run.

[Prosperity]

well we were doing fine until we got the big lead.

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

Originally posted by CBMGreatOne

On the plus side though, didn't you love the screen to Morton in the first quarter? Or are you still writing him off on offense?

It was a great play, and I've never doubted Morton's talents as a receiver or as a guy who can turn on the speed.

Morton's a bit one-dimensional as a RB, because he's really just a quick little receiver. He's not going to block anyone, and he looks poor on running plays compared to Candidate and Betts. If Spurrier just started using him as a receiver on 3rd down plays, I'd be quite happy. We actually have a major need for a quick, short-range receiver on offense, especially one like Morton who can turn short passes into long gains. McCants and Gardner are too slow for this role.

As much as I like McCants, I'd rather have Morton in the game on 3rd and 5. He's more dangerous than McCants for the short stuff outside the red zone.

So, for 3rd and 5, if we could have Betts lined up at RB and Coles/Gardner/Morton at WR, that gives us a versatile back (Betts) for protection and outlet passes, and two quick receivers (Coles/Morton) as primary targets.

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

I'm with ASF on this one; I do like Morton as a backfield receiving option. I think he's always a poor option for the run. I'd like to see Canidate get more receiving action - it's amazing how this guy just finds and creates seams and lanes while he's tearing up the turf in front of him.