A positive spin on Clausen

[Cyberjag]

I would probably have to also include QBs in a worse position b/c few had a combo of the ground game, D, WR talent Jimmy was given. How many starts? There were even some this year who showed better basics/grasp than Clausen THIS year and were more productive in games(not named Bradford/Colt).

Ok, I forgot how totally awesome our ground game was this year. And those rookie receivers, envy of the league! :eyeroll:

Lame duck coaching staff, including an inept OC.

Rookie receivers (although they were the envy of the league).

Backs who had down years (Stewart -0.8 ypc, Williams -1.0).

Offensive line shuffling and inconsistent play.

Minimal work with the ones in Training camp.

No running game, consistent third and long situations.

Veteran receiver with a case of the drops (Smitty among NFL leaders, despite far fewer opportunities).

It's all Clausen's fault of course. Bradford would have come in here and won the south in this situation.

Do I get it now?

[Cyberjag]

without crunching the numbers...I would guess his 4th Q yardage was pretty similar to what he did in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd combined.

Interestingly enough, his worst ratings were in the third quarter. His best were in the second. Most of his passing yards were in the fourth, but then so were most of his attempts. Highest YPA was in the second.

Last two minutes of a half were 72.4, first half rating was 65.3, and second half rating was 54.2.

I wish there were better data available that showed his progress through the season. I was happily surprised to see the improvement I did when I ran the numbers myself. The kid definitely got better as the season progressed.

The question is, can he make a good leap between his rookie year and next year. And will his supporting cast make a similar leap under a coaching staff that cares, and which is building for the future?

[SCP]

George: "HEY! JIMMY!!! ha ha ha........Great game."

Jimmy: "OH yeah.......Jimmy played pretty good."

George: "Hey you know , I felt we had like a synergy out there,you know, like we were really helping each other."

Kramer: "What d'you got there?"

Jimmy: "These?"

Kramer: "Yeah"

Jimmy: "These are Jimmy's training shoes."

George: "Yeah,yeah yeah yeah! I've seen these.....they sorta ..they make your legs..stronger."

Jimmy: "Oh yeah! Jimmy couldn't jump at all before he got these. Jimmy was like you.

Kramer: "They're Plyometric."

George: "Plyometric?"

Kramer: "Yeah! They isolate the muscles. The muscle has to grow....or die."

George: Wh...Where d'you get'em?"

Jimmy: "Jimmy sells'em."

George: "You sell them?"

Jimmy: "Oh yeah! But Jimmy's all out right now. Moving to Manhattan set Jimmy back a bit."

George: "Hey listen ,let me give you my card. It's got my home number on it. I want to buy the first pair when the next shipment comes in."

Jimmy: "All right"

George: "All right Jimmy Good talking to ya."

Jimmy: "Jimmy'll see you around."

Don't mess with The Jimmy.

[TheRealDeal]

Ok, I forgot how totally awesome our ground game was this year. And those rookie receivers, envy of the league! :eyeroll:

Lame duck coaching staff, including an inept OC.

Rookie receivers (although they were the envy of the league).

Backs who had down years (Stewart -0.8 ypc, Williams -1.0).

Offensive line shuffling and inconsistent play.

Minimal work with the ones in Training camp.

No running game, consistent third and long situations.

Veteran receiver with a case of the drops (Smitty among NFL leaders, despite far fewer opportunities).

It's all Clausen's fault of course. Bradford would have come in here and won the south in this situation.

Do I get it now?

You know that for more than a month we had the leading rusher in the league on our team?

[CRA]

Interestingly enough, his worst ratings were in the third quarter. His best were in the second. Most of his passing yards were in the fourth, but then so were most of his attempts. Highest YPA was in the second.

Last two minutes of a half were 72.4, first half rating was 65.3, and second half rating was 54.2.

I wish there were better data available that showed his progress through the season. I was happily surprised to see the improvement I did when I ran the numbers myself. The kid definitely got better as the season progressed.

The question is, can he make a good leap between his rookie year and next year. And will his supporting cast make a similar leap under a coaching staff that cares, and which is building for the future?

well, I am not a big fan of going over QB ratings as they don't always reflect play well.

I am more of a fan of talking about production......talking production I fail to see where this improvement was. Nor did I see improvement/growth in how he played. I get the QB rating shows a difference. I just think he played exactly the same and gave the same production consistantly........QB rating moving imo doesn't show that to be untrue.

[Cyberjag]

You know that for more than a month we had the leading rusher in the league on our team?

Did you know that Clausen had a rating of over 100 versus Arizona? That means just as much in the context of the entire season.

[TheRealDeal]

Did you know that Clausen had a rating of over 100 versus Arizona? That means just as much in the context of the entire season.

Yes, they mean the same thing. Having 1/3 of your games be great games and having 1/16 of your games be not total f*ck ups is the same thing.

No wonder you see improvement :hurray:

[Cyberjag]

well, I am not a big fan of going over QB ratings as they don't always reflect play well.

I am more of a fan of talking about production......talking production I fail to see where this improvement was. Nor did I see improvement/growth in how he played. I get the QB rating shows a difference. I just think he played exactly the same and gave the same production consistantly........QB rating moving imo doesn't show that to be untrue.

Rating is a a useful indicator of performance, not the definition. When Anderson went to the pro bowl he had something like an 82 for the season. And they indicate that he was, at the very least, better at protecting the ball, or better at scoring, or it suggests he became more accurate. In his case, it was all three. And his YPA went up too.

He's not an all-pro. But he got better. Saying he didn't is just an exercise in denial, and it avoids the real question.

Will Jimmy improve enough in his second year to actually be effective?

[koolkatluke]

Rating is a a useful indicator of performance, not the definition. When Anderson went to the pro bowl he had something like an 82 for the season. And they indicate that he was, at the very least, better at protecting the ball, or better at scoring, or it suggests he became more accurate. In his case, it was all three. And his YPA went up too.

He's not an all-pro. But he got better. Saying he didn't is just an exercise in denial, and it avoids the real question.

Will Jimmy improve enough in his second year to actually be effective?

Dude IDK??? I was on the Jimmy bandwagon but he look so scared out their 2 take a risk. Sometimes you have 2 throw wr open. Sometimes you have 2 throw it up and let your playmaker make plays for you.

He was so scared 2 make a mistake.

Now he not only has 2 rebulid his own confidence but the confidence of the rest of the offense in him. Big hill to climb for Jimmy.

[CRA]

Will Jimmy improve enough in his second year to actually be effective?

I honestly hope he does. Depsite what is probably taken from my posts (or bashing)....I want him to be good.

His size, mechanics, and motion all have him in a much larger hole then I think most of us were prepared for. Not sure how he can get better on the field until he works on those first. A lot of that I think plays into why he ignores the majority of the field and just plays the sideline (and of course being a rookie).

at this point, it just wouldn't be fair to anyone (Jimmy included) to put him back into the starting role anytime soon. Not fair to the WRs, OL, or defense. He needs to work on his basics w/ a good coach before getting back out there. Jimmy needs to get his money back from whoever this lifelong QB coach was........he needs everything reworked about his throw. A QB his size can't survive in the NFL w/ it.

[chef17]

I've seen some positive flashes from Clausen. He takes excellent care of the football, not forcing anything (although he needs to take some shots on 3rd down). He has thrown a few rocket passes (not consistently). But I believe his throws will improve with an increase in confidence/personnel surrounding him/and good coaching.

He doesn't turn the ball over too much, but he doesn't move down the field. Most of his drives end in punts. I thought we were getting rid of the John Fox "a punt is a good play" attitude.

[mav1234]

No running game, consistent third and long situations

We finished with the 13th ranked rushing offense. Pretty good considering the following...

These numbers don't tell the whole story, and are not just when Clausen was QB. They are shown here to illustrate how dramaticall your running game improved after the StL game.

NYG, Week 1: 89 net rushing yards, 3.7 ypc

TB, Week 2: 119, 3.6

Cin, Week 3: 87, 3.6, 53.6 (Clausen rating)

NO, Week 4: 118, 5.1, 90.6

Chi, Week 5: 85, 3.4, 29.7

SF, Week 7: 76, 2.2

StL, Week 8: 25, 1.5 (LOL)

NO, Week 9: 127, 5.3, 28.5

TB, Week 10:118, 3.8, 75.5

Blt, Week 11: 120, 5.5

Cle, Week 12: 151, 5.6, 63.8

Sea, Week 13: 131, 4.4, 54.7

Atl, Week 14: 212, 7.6, 51.9

Ari, Week 15: 177, 3.9, 107.6

Pitt, Week 16: 74, 3.4 (Steelers, ouch), 33.2

Atl Week 17: 132, 7.2, 70.5

Jimmy starts in bold, also includes games he didn't finish. Now, tell me again. How bad was our rushing game??

Seriously, the idea that our entire offense was terrible ALL YEAR is just not true. We probably had one of the top rushing games in the second half of the season... and while Jimmy's QB rating did improve and he did slightly, it's not like he was forced to "do it alone"... he just plain wasn't able to do it at all.

[Cyberjag]

Those numbers say that when the rushing game got better, so did Jimmy. And if you want to take the entire list of things working against him that I posted and throw everything out but my comment on the ground game, go ahead. It says a lot about how desperate you are to make a point, and little else.

[Cyberjag]

Dude IDK??? I was on the Jimmy bandwagon but he look so scared out their 2 take a risk. Sometimes you have 2 throw wr open. Sometimes you have 2 throw it up and let your playmaker make plays for you.

He was so scared 2 make a mistake.

Now he not only has 2 rebulid his own confidence but the confidence of the rest of the offense in him. Big hill to climb for Jimmy.

I think the taking a risk part may have been a function of working in a John Fox system. Zod said much the same in another thread, based on comments made by players.

Hopefully, if he wins the job next year, the coaching staff will give him reason to actually take a few chances. The worst that could happen is he blows up and ends up on the bench, which is where half the crowd here wants him anyway.