Jaws: "I wouldn't give up on Jimmy"

[riddel]

the fact he made the comment about a defense that realistically overachieved and was on the field all day b/c of lack of the offense just shows Jaws didn't watch anything but ESPN highlights of Carolina this year.

I agree.

[rayzor]

if we are going with any young/rookie/green QB, we will most likley be doing a lot of ball control and a heavy amount of running. passes will for the most part be short and safe passes to eliminate mistakes and build the QBs confidence.

no doubt the offensive gameplan is going to take into account the QBs limitations or skill level and will be adusted to fit it, unless it's like foxball where you did whatever you wanted to regardless of the cast on the field.

rivera and chud may want to stretch the field with their offense. but until clausen or whatever young QB gets their legs under them, stretching the field is going to have to rely on receivers getting a lot of YAC.

[countryboi]

i hear what your saying jaws but your still not giving any reason why jimmy will ever be a decent QB.....what are we waiting around for?

[rayzor]

not sure jaws is going to be reading this.

[twylyght]

the fact he made the comment about a defense that realistically overachieved and was on the field all day b/c of lack of the offense just shows Jaws didn't watch anything but ESPN highlights of Carolina this year.

Defense gave up too many points early in games, especially towards the end of the year. They were soft up the middle. Anyone with a power rushing attack had their way with us. We weren't the worst D in the league, but we were far from the best.

That said, there were a few key turnovers on the wrong side of the field to hurt our D, but those were just as much the fault of our vaunted RBs as they were Clausen's. Either way, the points racked up in the first half of games should tell us most of what we need to know about our D.

I think if we get a lot stouter in the middle of the line, a lot of our ills will correct themselves.

[Gin and Juice]

Any solution that the FO comes up with at the QB position this year would be short term and costly....screw it. Let Clausen and Moore have one more year in a system that cares about their success before we(the fans) write them off.

We are just a couple positions away from having a shut down/elite defensive unit that will be young and here for a long while! I would so much rather see FO put in the last few pieces to make our defense GREAT, over trying to pry away carson palmer or sign alex smith to anything!

Only thing I can see done this year on the offensive side of the ball, OL depth, play-making TE, and keep the guys healthy! Major moves should be made on the defensive side and give us an elite unit for the next 8 years.

[CRA]

Only if you look at the end game stats. Break it down a little and you will find how wrong you are. FOr example, look at both Atlanta games. In both games, we went into half time down 3 scores and having accumulated < 50 yards running in the half. Despite being down that much, we still came out and ran while the Falcons sat back preventing the quick scores and let us burn the clock for them. I think you'll find that same theme a few times. <50 yards in the half and bunches of yards running while way down doesn't fit my definition of a top tier running attack.

Not true. I didn't say every game.....I said the majority of his starts. They were statiscally a top attack and they simply were a good attack in the majority of his starts (the biggest thing that limited their production was the fact Clausen couldn't aid them in picking up first downs.....not opposing defenses).

[Gin and Juice]

Accept it, we are rebuilding! And as a fan, I will be tickled pink if Rivera walks away from his first year with at least 7 wins and a top-ten defense!

At that point, as a fan, I would expect offensive woes addressed next offseason. I would also at that point, as a fan, expect nothing but playoffs yearly and both off. and def. units in the top ten! hahaha! Whether I get it or not is a different story!

[mav1234]

You guys have no idea what you are talking about.

A ball control offense does not mean that we will run the ball all of the time. It means that you will attack the opposing defense with a combination of running and passing. We will not be a chuck it down the field every pass play offense. We will utilize the running game....the TE...short to medium passes...with taking strategic shots down the field.

The lack of understanding of football on this board is amazing.

Ball control offenses are not always on the attack. They usually seek to shorten the game by controlling the time of possession, and obviously, every team will try to milk out the clock at times. I have no doubt he will utilize that, but I don't think he's going to tailor his offense to that concept the way John Fox has in the past. He wants a defense and offense that are both constantly attacking... at least, if we are to believe what he said. Rivera said he wanted to control the game basically on both sides of the ball by not letting the opponents dictate what they had to do.

What Jaws is saying is that Rivera isn't going to have an offense that relies on the quarterback quite so much, because it's ball control, so Clausen could have time to grow into it still (or at least, that's how I read it). This is exactly the opposite of what Rivera himself has said.

[csx]

Of course they will be more ball control given they don't have a qb who has shown the ability to do any more than that. Rivera is a strong defensive coach so it's pretty obvious that until they are confident in whichever unknown we have at QB that they will be relatively conservative. He's not stupid.

[LiQuiD]

Let's hope Clausen doesn't have a sophomore slump. Hey, do you think it's even possible for him to "slump" after last year's performance?

[csx]

The thing is, they really don't have a QB suitable for the new offense at the moment. It's pretty much predicated on having an arm and some pocket presence.

[Dorian Gray]

I wouldn't give up on him either. I'd sign a vet who can start the next year or two and let Jim stand on the sidelines and learn...which is what he should've been doing the whole time.

[Ricky Spanish]

I have never wanted to be more wrong about a player assessment than I do with my opinions on Jimmy, problem is, I don't think I will be, and that he will suck for years to come.