Breaking down that 4th & 1 play..

[JawnyBlaze]

 

Not open.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

what's needed is an overall screenshot right before newton releases the ball, not something downfield after everyone has reacted to the throw.

[JawnyBlaze]

The second screen shot is milliseconds after he releases the ball.  You can see the ball right above the top side 24 yard hash mark, which means the ball is in the air probably right over the 1st down line.

[JawnyBlaze]

You can see Olsen hasn't even turned to look yet.

[CelibatePimp]

what's needed is an overall screenshot right before newton releases the ball, not something downfield after everyone has reacted to the throw.

 

Exactly, Olsen had a step on his defender. The safety was lurking but at the point where Olsen was a yard or two from the safety throwing the ball towards the end of the end zone will mean only Olsen gets it because there is no way the safety who was static, can accelarate to catch up with Olsen running past him.

[JawnyBlaze]

Exactly, Olsen had a step on his defender. The safety was lurking but at the point where Olsen was a yard or two from the safety throwing the ball towards the end of the end zone will mean only Olsen gets it because there is no way the safety who was static, can accelarate to catch up with Olsen running past him.

 

As the second screen shot shows, milliseconds after the ball is thrown the defender behind Olsen is in arm's reach and the safety above Olsen is 1 step away, easily in reach to break on the pass if it's thrown to Olsen.

 

[CelibatePimp]

As the second screen shot shows, milliseconds after the ball is thrown the defender behind Olsen is in arm's reach and the safety above Olsen is 1 step away, easily in reach to break on the pass if it's thrown to Olsen.

 

 

That is why I said throw it towards the end of the end zone, aka lead him with the throw.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

As the second screen shot shows, milliseconds after the ball is thrown the defender behind Olsen is in arm's reach and the safety above Olsen is 1 step away, easily in reach to break on the pass if it's thrown to Olsen.

the shot still shows the safety already reacting.

in order to see what newton saw when he made his decision, the shot needs to be right at his release.

it may not seem like that big a deal, but a live game moves very quickly.

[TonyN]

Who cares if Olsen was open in the end zone???

 

You get the first down on the wide open slant to Avant and move on. And Avant is seriously wide open, about as open as a wide receiver can possibly be in this situation.

[JawnyBlaze]

That is why I said throw it towards the end of the end zone, aka lead him with the throw.

 

Yea, that probably would have been the better decision but my only point is that Olsen wasn't open.  Not even close, he was double covered.  Cam probably saw the two guys on Olsen, one on Cotchery so he figured he'd go with the single coverage.  If we're going to complain about anything on this throw it's not that he should have gone to Olsen, it's that he should have gone to Stewart.  But it's obvious that the right side of the field was where the play was designed to go and he's grown accustomed to not having time to go to the 3rd or 4th reads so what we got is what we got.

 

[JawnyBlaze]

the shot still shows the safety already reacting.

in order to see what newton saw when he made his decision, the shot needs to be right at his release.

it may not seem like that big a deal, but a live game moves very quickly.

 

You're right, the safety is already reacting, which means he would have already been reacting if he threw it to Olsen too...and he would have been reacting to a pass coming his way, not a pass going 10 yards away from him so his reaction would have been more accurate to the ball.

 

[Gucci Mane]

Whoever is saying Olsen is even remotely open has no clue what they are looking at.

[teeray]

One thing is sure... Had he thrown to Stewart and he would have got hit behind LoS.. The huddle would have exploded

 

That is the thing about this play, everyone said :"Stewart was WIDE open".  He actually wasn't.  the safety (I think) had coverage on him, and even if Cam went there he would have had to turn his head and shoulders and thrown the ball to the flat and the safety would have broken on the ball.  Also Stewart may have not been anything but a decoy to occupy a man.

 

Having said that, I think Stewart would have been the right play for Cam to make once he saw everyone covered up, and you just have to hope that Stewart can make a man miss and get that first down.

[teeray]

I think people underestimate how FAST NFL players are and how quickly they can break on the ball.  I always hear people say "He was open" and even use a still frame to try and prove it, but often times those guys aren't as open as people think they are