MTK
03-16-2012, 12:09 PM
Good stuff as always from John Keim's Redskins Report, sign up for it here
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Q&A With: Greg Cosell
Cosell watches as much game tape as anyone, save for coaches perhaps. And as the executive producer of “NFL Matchup,” and the senior producer of NFL Films for 33 years, he’s learned how to judge talent. He’s also the co-author of “The Games That Changed The Game.” And he’s a tough guy: He called back after seeing the doctor for a sinus infection. Follow him on Twitter @gregcosell.
By the way, though he listed Robert Griffin III as the top QB in the draft, he has Alabama RB Trent Richardson as the top player.
Q: You rated Robert Griffin III ahead of Andrew Luck as the top QB in the draft. Why?
A: Andrew Luck was not asked to do an awful lot in terms of throwing. I’m told he was asked to do a lot at the line, and he’s phenomenal in that area, but when you watch film it’s a lot of short, safe well-defined throws. I won’t say he’s not capable of making better throws, but when you watch tape of RG3 there’s a number of wow throws every game. I’m a believer in arm strength. I’m a believer in making difficult throws. I’m a believer in being able to drive the ball down the field. I think if you didn’t know who each guy was and you just put in tape you would say RG3 throws the ball better than Andrew Luck. Because I don’t know [what they were being asked to do], there might be people that tell me I’m a moron. I’ve been called a lot worse.
Q: Are you surprised you came to the conclusion you did?
A: I was surprised I didn’t see more big-time throws by Luck. Don’t take that out of context. I’m not saying he’s not capable of that. I think Luck can throw. But you don’t see it.
Q: When you watched RG3, what jumped out at you?
A: He throws a great deep ball. That jumps off the film. I would say what impressed me most is that for the most part he stayed in the pocket. I thought he was fairly patient. I heard what a great athlete he was and I guess maybe prejudicially I thought I’d see a guy who ran around a lot, and I didn’t see that. Did he do that on occasion? Yeah, but he may have been told to run around.
Q: Does he remind you of anybody?
A: The obvious would be Vick, but he’s a far better passer than Vick was at an equivalent stage and Vick was more focused on being a runner. I don’t sense watching RG3 that his focus is running.
Q: Onto the receivers. What has changed in the game that it perhaps makes having a defined No. 1 receiver unnecessary?
A: Teams play with more receivers now and better tight ends. It’s not the old days where you line up with an X and a Z and you have two runningbacks and a tight end who’s on the line of scrimmage in a conventional position. Those days are over. Now you’re playing with three receivers. A lot of teams do that as base personnel. And now with the tight ends. … Fred Davis can run vertical routes so you have a guy you can move around in the formation. What you do now is look for matchups. You’re not putting Pierre Garcon out wide and matching him up to Darrelle Revis and saying, ‘OK, win.’ Of course he’s not going to win, but if you move him around and put Davis out wide and Revis is out there and Garcon is in the slot and he’s matched up against Eric Smith, you feel good about that. That’s what the game has become. This notion of No. 1 receivers … there’s not a lot of Andre Johnsons or Calvin Johnsons. Justin Blackmon isn’t one of those guys.
Q: Do the Redskins get players open more through scheme as much as talent?
A: That’s what every team is now doing. That’s the game. It’s all matchups. Believe it or not a lot of it started when Mike Martz was with Norv [Turner], and they decided to run third-down packages on first down, and when Mike moved to the Rams he decided if we put four wide receivers out there. We’ll have Ricky Proehl and Az Hakim on the other team’s fourth corner, and they can’t match up. Now, if you put Isaac Bruce in the slot against a fourth corner that’s good. That’s the way the game has become for everybody now.
Q: What do you think of Josh Morgan?
A: He’s one of those big physical wideouts who needs the scheme to help him. But he moves better than people think. He’s a good player. If you use him in a multidimensional passing game, he’ll be a productive receiver. We’re in a passing league now. A lot of guys catch a lot of balls. That doesn’t make them great receivers. The scheme makes them great receivers.
Q: What about Pierre Garcon?
A: He’s a more vertical receiver than anything. He’s a guy who tends to run vertically first. He can run in breaking routes, digs, he can run posts and get vertical over the top. He’s big and he can be physical. He’s a quality receiver. A lot of people get focused on the money. But it’s the market in a given year. If you want Garcon, you sign him for that. The same people who bitch that they paid too much for him, if you don’t get a receiver will bitch that you didn’t get a receiver.
Q: Will he help the Redskins?
A: Assuming they get RG3, what they’re gearing up for is having multiple receiver weapons in spread offense. He won’t run a pure spread on every snap because Mike [Shanahan] believes in the run game. But he’s also going to be in shotgun with Griffin. That’s why I’m not sure if Moss is gone. He’s an intriguing element. He’s a great move guy, and he’s a tough matchup. … But if you draft RG3 No. 2, you’re expecting him to be a quality player, theoretically an All-Pro at some point. Look at the Patriots, they have nothing on the perimeter. So the notion of a No. 1, that’s falling by the wayside a little. Granted, if there’s a guy who’s like that then that’s great. But there aren’t a lot of those guys.
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Q&A With: Greg Cosell
Cosell watches as much game tape as anyone, save for coaches perhaps. And as the executive producer of “NFL Matchup,” and the senior producer of NFL Films for 33 years, he’s learned how to judge talent. He’s also the co-author of “The Games That Changed The Game.” And he’s a tough guy: He called back after seeing the doctor for a sinus infection. Follow him on Twitter @gregcosell.
By the way, though he listed Robert Griffin III as the top QB in the draft, he has Alabama RB Trent Richardson as the top player.
Q: You rated Robert Griffin III ahead of Andrew Luck as the top QB in the draft. Why?
A: Andrew Luck was not asked to do an awful lot in terms of throwing. I’m told he was asked to do a lot at the line, and he’s phenomenal in that area, but when you watch film it’s a lot of short, safe well-defined throws. I won’t say he’s not capable of making better throws, but when you watch tape of RG3 there’s a number of wow throws every game. I’m a believer in arm strength. I’m a believer in making difficult throws. I’m a believer in being able to drive the ball down the field. I think if you didn’t know who each guy was and you just put in tape you would say RG3 throws the ball better than Andrew Luck. Because I don’t know [what they were being asked to do], there might be people that tell me I’m a moron. I’ve been called a lot worse.
Q: Are you surprised you came to the conclusion you did?
A: I was surprised I didn’t see more big-time throws by Luck. Don’t take that out of context. I’m not saying he’s not capable of that. I think Luck can throw. But you don’t see it.
Q: When you watched RG3, what jumped out at you?
A: He throws a great deep ball. That jumps off the film. I would say what impressed me most is that for the most part he stayed in the pocket. I thought he was fairly patient. I heard what a great athlete he was and I guess maybe prejudicially I thought I’d see a guy who ran around a lot, and I didn’t see that. Did he do that on occasion? Yeah, but he may have been told to run around.
Q: Does he remind you of anybody?
A: The obvious would be Vick, but he’s a far better passer than Vick was at an equivalent stage and Vick was more focused on being a runner. I don’t sense watching RG3 that his focus is running.
Q: Onto the receivers. What has changed in the game that it perhaps makes having a defined No. 1 receiver unnecessary?
A: Teams play with more receivers now and better tight ends. It’s not the old days where you line up with an X and a Z and you have two runningbacks and a tight end who’s on the line of scrimmage in a conventional position. Those days are over. Now you’re playing with three receivers. A lot of teams do that as base personnel. And now with the tight ends. … Fred Davis can run vertical routes so you have a guy you can move around in the formation. What you do now is look for matchups. You’re not putting Pierre Garcon out wide and matching him up to Darrelle Revis and saying, ‘OK, win.’ Of course he’s not going to win, but if you move him around and put Davis out wide and Revis is out there and Garcon is in the slot and he’s matched up against Eric Smith, you feel good about that. That’s what the game has become. This notion of No. 1 receivers … there’s not a lot of Andre Johnsons or Calvin Johnsons. Justin Blackmon isn’t one of those guys.
Q: Do the Redskins get players open more through scheme as much as talent?
A: That’s what every team is now doing. That’s the game. It’s all matchups. Believe it or not a lot of it started when Mike Martz was with Norv [Turner], and they decided to run third-down packages on first down, and when Mike moved to the Rams he decided if we put four wide receivers out there. We’ll have Ricky Proehl and Az Hakim on the other team’s fourth corner, and they can’t match up. Now, if you put Isaac Bruce in the slot against a fourth corner that’s good. That’s the way the game has become for everybody now.
Q: What do you think of Josh Morgan?
A: He’s one of those big physical wideouts who needs the scheme to help him. But he moves better than people think. He’s a good player. If you use him in a multidimensional passing game, he’ll be a productive receiver. We’re in a passing league now. A lot of guys catch a lot of balls. That doesn’t make them great receivers. The scheme makes them great receivers.
Q: What about Pierre Garcon?
A: He’s a more vertical receiver than anything. He’s a guy who tends to run vertically first. He can run in breaking routes, digs, he can run posts and get vertical over the top. He’s big and he can be physical. He’s a quality receiver. A lot of people get focused on the money. But it’s the market in a given year. If you want Garcon, you sign him for that. The same people who bitch that they paid too much for him, if you don’t get a receiver will bitch that you didn’t get a receiver.
Q: Will he help the Redskins?
A: Assuming they get RG3, what they’re gearing up for is having multiple receiver weapons in spread offense. He won’t run a pure spread on every snap because Mike [Shanahan] believes in the run game. But he’s also going to be in shotgun with Griffin. That’s why I’m not sure if Moss is gone. He’s an intriguing element. He’s a great move guy, and he’s a tough matchup. … But if you draft RG3 No. 2, you’re expecting him to be a quality player, theoretically an All-Pro at some point. Look at the Patriots, they have nothing on the perimeter. So the notion of a No. 1, that’s falling by the wayside a little. Granted, if there’s a guy who’s like that then that’s great. But there aren’t a lot of those guys.