A non sugar-coated look at Jimmy's season

[CRA]

Against Seattle he completed over half his passes. I guess those are all the ones you forgot to list, huh?

Let's not cherry-pick things either, that first series was our last possession of the first half, and it was after the drive where he completed a long one to get us in scoring position.

The second one you note was our first in the second half. And in the second half, if you recall, the Seahawks completely changed the complexion of the game with a 96 yard drive to start the half, then they played some inspired defense with unbelievable crowd noise behind them. Now I'm not saying it was smart to throw on third and one, but that's what was called and Jimmy chose the worst possible time to throw an interception. That's the one that was run back for a TD, making the score 17-14.

And yeah, the rest of the game got worse, and louder, and no one stepped up and made a difference for the Panthers on offense. That big running game couldn't even get us into field goal range. Meanwhile, the defense allowed another touchdown after a long punt return, and then another to effectively ice the game.

And in the end a rookie QB couldn't lift the team on his shoulders and beat a division champion on their home field when they were playing for a spot in the postseason.

Shocker.

Yeah, I broke down what happened. Why the score went from 14-0 to 31-14. The final game stats you are wanting to talk about take into account things like the last 4 mintues of the game when Seattle was up 31-14 and let Clausen accumulate some garbage and slowly eat the remaing time. Pure garbage yards that impacted his final stats.

the stats I listed start from once we gained the 14-0 lead. I stated that in the post. It explains how Carolina got blownout despite putting a rookie QB in a great position. He literally did nothing.

[CRA]

You're describing the Rip Scherer effect on a quarterback's mechanics. Hopefully Shula will get Jimmy to quit thinking and just throw the damn ball again.

So you think none of that will make a difference, huh? That's a pretty amazing thing to think, IMHO. Under those circumstances, it seems like most NFL quarterbacks would have to TRY to suck.

A ton depends on Shula, maybe the only place we disagree is on how long it will take JC to undo the damage that Scherer and Davidson may have caused.

I didn't say it wouldn't make a difference. I think with average QB play.....all that would make the offense much better than a Fox offense. That would make the team better.

Doing all that isn't going to magically fix Clausen and his variety of issues. A lot of Clausen's issues have nothing to do w/ playcalling and play of his teammates.

I mean, if you put David Carr in the Patriots offense.....Carr's issues aren't going to go away and thus it is going to play against everything. You can put Carr on any NFL team and you will see the same things occur.

[mav1234]

You're describing the Rip Scherer effect on a quarterback's mechanics. Hopefully Shula will get Jimmy to quit thinking and just throw the damn ball again.

It's funny you mention that.

I found this image that talked about Clausen's mechanics, primarily his elbow. (apparently from here for ESPN Insiders: http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/notebook?id=5064748)

Here's what it says:

Throwing Elbow: 7/10

The good news is he's only off by a few degrees here. His elbow is slightly below his shoulder and just barely ahead of the ball. The bad news is that at 6-3(My note; He's 6'2" and 5/8ths), and with NFL defensive linemen good at batting down passes these days,Clausen can't afford to let his shoulder or release point slip by even an inch.

All-in-all, though, his throwing arm still has the strong, stable look of a hammer. And that was plenty good enough for former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis. "At Notre Dame, they didn't really care what my throwing motion was," says Clausen. "They just wanted me to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible."

These days, it seems like there is nothing about Clausen's current release that is quick. I wonder if Scherer did really try to change his mechanics or lift his release and it screwed things up.

edit: Is Aaron Rodgers small? Sanchez?? Height is no excuse for what we see from Clausen and doesn't doom him to being terrible just because he's 6'2"

[Cyberjag]

I didn't say it wouldn't make a difference. I think with average QB play.....all that would make the offense much better than a Fox offense. That would make the team better.

Doing all that isn't going to magically fix Clausen and his variety of issues. A lot of Clausen's issues have nothing to do w/ playcalling and play of his teammates.

I mean, if you put David Carr in the Patriots offense.....Carr's issues aren't going to go away and thus it is going to play against everything. You can put Carr on any NFL team and you will see the same things occur.

I think you see far more issues than are actually there. If Clausen did have all the problems you think you see, then you wouldn't have heard Rivera basically say he's still got the job until he loses it to competition.

When the team as a whole does as bad as ours did, then everything is magnified, especially in the minds of fans. He's going to look a ton better than you think, just watch.

[calipanther]

For me clausen is the best option next year. Fox and co never developed him or let him ease into the position. All I ever saw from him was 5 step drops. Are you kidding me? As poor as our running game was early, you are calling 5 step throws? Gives the frequent blitzers that much more time. I am also certain that our coaching staff must have tried to change up his mechanics. His release was one of his best tools if the scouts are to be believed. That and him playing in a west coast offense at ND.

I'd like a vet to be brought in for no more than a back up. Someone to help mentor Jimmy. We bring in aj green a vet qb and a fresh outlook from the coaching staff, I think jimmy will get better.

[mav1234]

You and I got different impressions from the presser. I got "we're bringing in competition to improve the position", not "Clausen is our starter until he loses the job," but it's clear even Rivera isn't sure what to make of what happened on offense last year.

[CRA]

I think you see far more issues than are actually there. If Clausen did have all the problems you think you see, then you wouldn't have heard Rivera basically say he's still got the job until he loses it to competition.

When the team as a whole does as bad as ours did, then everything is magnified, especially in the minds of fans. He's going to look a ton better than you think, just watch.

Rivera isn't going to come to new job and in his press conference introducing himself to the team really say anything different than what he did.

Jimmy is #1 on the depth chart he recieved. Rivera won't have a hard time getting people who can beat Jimmy.

I hope he proves me wrong. I just don't see it happening. It ain't like the kid is loaded w/ the physical tools or intangibles.....who just happened to have a rough year.

Just curious......You don't his throwing motion and release are problems? You don't think his habit of bailing early on plays is an issue? I don't think those are issues created by "haters".

[Ricky Spanish]

I've decided that i want this thread to die. after 12 pages, no one has changed their opinions on him, and no one will until he proves one of the sides right. clausen talk bores me.

he sucks but he was a rookie, let's just leave it at that and talk about other things because i just realized how much it depresses me that our QB situation is so poor that we have to either poo on, or defend a rookie QB in order to mention the position.

[CRA]

I've decided that i want this thread to die. after 12 pages, no one has changed their opinions on him, and no one will until he proves one of the sides right. clausen talk bores me.

he sucks but he was a rookie, let's just leave it at that and talk about other things because i just realized how much it depresses me that our QB situation is so poor that we have to either poo on, or defend a rookie QB in order to mention the position.

true. might as well put this topic on the shelf until we know what our QBs sitution looks like going into camp. At that point, talking about the position should be more than the same old he sucks vs. he sucks major donkey balls.

[Sandy Claws]

I agree with the last 2 posts and had bowed on out of the discussion. I do have a question for the 2 of you though. If you really wanted this thread to die,

[Cyberjag]

Rivera isn't going to come to new job and in his press conference introducing himself to the team really say anything different than what he did.

Jimmy is #1 on the depth chart he recieved. Rivera won't have a hard time getting people who can beat Jimmy.

I hope he proves me wrong. I just don't see it happening. It ain't like the kid is loaded w/ the physical tools or intangibles.....who just happened to have a rough year.

Just curious......You don't his throwing motion and release are problems? You don't think his habit of bailing early on plays is an issue? I don't think those are issues created by "haters".

I think that when he gets rattled and rolls out, he forgets his mechanics and tends to throw low. When he steps up into the pocket and gets set before throwing, he looks pretty good. Fixable problem.

[TheRealDeal]

The line isn't a big deal to a QB?

What game are YOU watching?

In the context of my post, which was about timing with skill position players, no.

The whole point of the post was to point out that they both didn't have "starters" in the preseason and that he probably got more reps with the guys he ended up throwing to than Moore did.

[Cyberjag]

Judging by the snap exchange alone, maybe he could have used more work with Kalil, at the very least.

[carolinanimal]

i wonder what his percentage of throws were to the middle of the field were?