Falcons postgame positives and negatives

One thing that's alarming about kirk is his 10+ yard passing accuracy. It seems like he misses alot of throws downfield. Let's just remember this is an audition for him it's not like he's guaranteed the spot for the future.

Very alarming. But then he leads drives like the one to tie it up at end of regulation and looks great. Very inconsistent. Each time he throws a pass I literally have no idea what to expect.

...
1st int - inaccurate ball, unfortunate bounce, nothing more to it imo.

2nd int - cousins makes a blind throw. Im guessing pre-snap he reads pressure and reads Grant as his hot route. But .... post-snap, cousins just throws it out there. i dont think he got to read the play post snap, i dont think he saw anything expect some big guys coming free towards him and he just throws it out there and hopes for the best. He just threw it out there hoping his pre-snap coverage read was accurate and Grant would be where he was supposed to be.

I know I am asking a lot, but it was 2nd and 8, not 4th down.

you just dont make a blind throw like that.Your whole post was well said. And I agree.

Ideally I want Kirk to turn that throw down and either throw it away or scramble or just pull a Peyton Manning self-sack and throw yourself on the ground to avoid getting blown up.

A hitch is like a mini-curl/come-back route. And those aren't thrown against a CB sitting on the route. And to compound it Kirk was under pressure and didn't see the throw.

Lesson learned. Turn that route down next time this situation or similar occurs.

Protip: You can't wait until the receiver stops and sits on a route before throwing the ball. You have to anticipate. He was definitely hurried on the throw but for those of you who insist that you don't throw until the receiver is where he is supposed to be know nothing about playing QB. You throw at the instant he cuts. Sometimes guys fall and sometimes DB's get good jumps (That didn't happen on that last play, just stating that it happens). Jason Campbell was a guy who liked to sit and wait for a receiver to be in the right place. He didn't throw a lot of picks but he also didn't do much else. Aaron Rodgers is praised for knowing where he's going to throw the ball for the snap and I can assure you he doesn't wait until the receiver is sitting on a route. That doesn't mean Kirk is playing lights out but he's playing above average and certainly is capable of leading this team as starting QB for the foreseeable future. There are teams with huge money QB's who aren't getting the quality of play at the position that we are.

Your whole post was well said. And I agree.

Ideally I want Kirk to turn that throw down and either throw it away or scramble or just pull a Peyton Manning self-sack and throw yourself on the ground to avoid getting blown up.

A hitch is like a mini-curl/come-back route. And those aren't thrown against a CB sitting on the route. And to compound it Kirk was under pressure and didn't see the throw.

Lesson learned. Turn that route down next time this situation or similar occurs.

See post #59. According to Cooley, it was more than a simple hitch.

Based on the analysis, he threw it where the CB would have to come through Grant's body to get the ball.

In other words, he threw it to the one place his guy could get the ball and the defender couldn't. It's either a completion or an incomplete on a hot route if Grant hadn't fallen down.

Agree on the anticipation.

If he would have waited to see the throw he would have been sacked and the guy would have been covered.

Sometimes people fall down.

Protip: You can't wait until the receiver stops and sits on a route before throwing the ball. You have to anticipate. He was definitely hurried on the throw but for those of you who insist that you don't throw until the receiver is where he is supposed to be know nothing about playing QB. You throw at the instant he cuts.

if you are referring to my post ...

Agreed as to what you said on a basic level for any timing/anticipation pass play call but that has nothing to do with with what I was talking about. i am a kirk fan, he is playing well but he certainly deserves criticism where criticism is deserved. hes the redskins starting QB, the most over analyzed dude in the land.

Kirk still needs to confirm coverage post snap for a split second before letting the ball go.

he just cant throw the ball out there in that situation trusting his pre-snap read will remain correct. thats classic kirk of last year. feel pressure = feel pressure to get rid of ball no matter = int.

bad decision, bad execution, bad result.

Kirk broke 2 of Rodger's 3 rules for not throwing a pick.

Rodgers described the three rules as "senses," saying:

"One: No premeditated decisions.

"Two: Don’t make a blind throw. And that was a blind throw, meaning I didn’t look inside to see where the next coverage element was—that will get you sometimes. It got me against Conte.

"Three: Don’t throw it late down the middle."
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D jelly - i agree that looking at it, the corner appeared to have outside position which means that if grant had stayed up, the corner would have had to go through him vs being inside position and able to cut he route and step in front ..... but im not a fan of the decision regardless of corner back position.

the ball was too early anyway. had grant not fallen the ball would have hit him in the face the second he turned his head to locate the ball.

the protection was FUBAR, like 30gut said, just peyton manning the thing and live to see 3rd and 15 from the 50 yard line or so.

kirk needs to not try to make every play a positive one. gruden has been hammering the "no negative plays" thing since TC but you need to know score, down, distance, time. maybe kirk is too afraid to take a sack thinking we were in field goal range or close to it? idk but i do know that kirk would pay a million bucks to go back and just take the sack if he could.

it wasnt an all or nothing play. kirk needs to realize sometimes the D will out scheme or beat a skins on a 1 on 1 play, but dont compound it.

dont force the play.

the falcons won that play but they didnt have to win the game on it. avoidable. lesson hopefully learned for a young promising QB.

Couldnt agree more. Everytime the floodgates open it is rite up the middle. We need to draft a C this offseason. Its very high up there on my team needs list.

I'd like:

2 OL, 1 veteran, 1 drafted
2 TE, 1 veteran, 1 drafted
1 WR, Drafted, 1st/2nd round big play type receiver
1 LB Drafted
2 DB, Drafted, 1 1st/2nd round caliber, 1 late/mid round steal

I think we have 8 picks as of now for 2016 so this is very do able and I think with Scot this would put us in very good shape and leaves him a few picks to play with as well.

Anyone know if Keenan Robinson is playing banged up, had an awful game.

if you are referring to my post ...


Not explicitly no.. That was a general statement for a wide range of fans but to your point, he was rattled on that play, no doubt about it. I do think that's something that he can get over by playing more and getting more confidence in actual games. He needs a little work but I really think he's been trending up with the exception of a few games last year that made me question if he'd get it straightened out. I'd love to see him keep improving and play 5-7 years. We could do a lot worse, and we have, than Kirk Cousins but for some reason there are a lot of fans waiting for him to fail.

kirk needs to not try to make every play a positive one. gruden has been hammering the "no negative plays" thing since TC but you need to know score, down, distance, time. maybe kirk is too afraid to take a sack thinking we were in field goal range or close to it? idk but i do know that kirk would pay a million bucks to go back and just take the sack if he could.

it wasnt an all or nothing play. kirk needs to realize sometimes the D will out scheme or beat a skins on a 1 on 1 play, but dont compound it.

dont force the play.

the falcons won that play but they didnt have to win the game on it. avoidable. lesson hopefully learned for a young promising QB.

On your points here, I totally agree. That would be my only big complaint with Kirk is that he needs to take the game off his shoulders. You don't have to win the game for us. Just make the throws as expected and take what the defense is giving you. Will you lose a bunch of games this year, your damn right unfortunately, but just stick to the plan and be consistent so we can build around you. Robert had the same issue but Kirk's not quite as bad about it. A lot of that is the result of not having that 100% confidence of the organization. I think he feels that he has to force the ball in there if he's going to keep that job. Just do what you do. He's solidifying his position, even in losses, as long as he isn't throwing picks at the end of games that make people weary of him. He needs to be Alex Smith right now. He can be Brett Favre when they get the roster right.