Johnathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer: Impressions after Day 3

[CRA]

or no person that actually watched the games.

 

i'm trying hard to not point out that this would be a good time to sit back and listen to the adults and learn a thing or two, but i won't because i don't want to come across as demeaning.

 

I mean, seriously....or go to you tube and watch a Steve Smith highlight film that shows his career.  His splash reel is so good b/c it doesn't consist of him running a route, beating a man, and simply catching an open pass to run into the endzone.  He made plays on balls that would be incompletions for your standard WR routinely.

 

I mean how Saints games especially can you recall Smitty literally catching balls that had no business being completed.  Jake would throw balls that literally some how went inbetween oceans of defenders and somehow into Smitty's hands.

[Navy_football]

Jake was mediocre at best. I honestly didn't realize this until the Seattle debacle in 2005 I think. The Seahawks swallowed their pride and double/triple covered Smitty and Jake couldn't complete a pass to anyone else. Add that with the fact that we were down to the 5th string RB and the route was on.

 

I've always described Smitty as a better football player than Moss/Fitz/Calvin, but they're better WRs because of their ability to go up and get the ball. Smitty had/has the ability to bring the ball down in a crowd, just not as well as Calvin/Moss/Moss. But none of those players have the ability to take a smoke screen to the house like Smitty can.

[rayzor]

Jake was mediocre at best. I honestly didn't realize this until the Seattle debacle in 2005 I think. The Seahawks swallowed their pride and double/triple covered Smitty and Jake couldn't complete a pass to anyone else. Add that with the fact that we were down to the 5th string RB and the route was on.

 

I've always described Smitty as a better football player than Moss/Fitz/Calvin, but they're better WRs because of their ability to go up and get the ball. Smitty had/has the ability to bring the ball down in a crowd, just not as well as Calvin/Moss/Moss. But none of those players have the ability to take a smoke screen to the house like Smitty can.

 

the seattle debacle happened because our RBs had all fallen apart and we had no other receiving option worth a crap aside from smitty because that's the way fox wanted to play football. their perception was we didn't need any WRs other than smith. the rest of the guys were just guys they threw out there. TEs were used to block and our number 2 WR was keary frikkin colbert. who else was jake going to throw to? the game plan for years had been "feed the stud" and that was smith. keep on running and throwing the ball to smith downfield. once the RBs broke all there was was smitty. it was a gameplan bound to fail and it did.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

the seattle debacle happened because our RBs had all fallen apart and we had no other receiving option worth a crap aside from smitty because that's the way fox wanted to play football. their perception was we didn't need any WRs other than smith. the rest of the guys were just guys they threw out there. TEs were used to block and our number 2 WR was keary frikkin colbert. who else was jake going to throw to? the game plan for years had been "feed the stud" and that was smith. keep on running and throwing the ball to smith downfield. once the RBs broke all there was was smitty. it was a gameplan bound to fail and it did.

 

i'm still dumbfounded by the gameplan we used in that game.  seattle knew that the entire offense ran through so smith so they just threw the kitchen sink at him and it worked.

 

seriously if we would have sent some TEs out on pass patterns it probably would have blown ray rhodes' mind.  i get the feeling that most other teams in the league would have anticipated seattle trying to take away their top offensive weapon and would at least install a new package or two or throw some different formations at them.  but no, we lined up two tights all night like it was 2003 and we were just going to run over them.

[Frizzy350]

the seattle debacle happened because our RBs had all fallen apart and we had no other receiving option worth a crap aside from smitty because that's the way fox wanted to play football. their perception was we didn't need any WRs other than smith. the rest of the guys were just guys they threw out there. TEs were used to block and our number 2 WR was keary frikkin colbert. who else was jake going to throw to? the game plan for years had been "feed the stud" and that was smith. keep on running and throwing the ball to smith downfield. once the RBs broke all there was was smitty. it was a gameplan bound to fail and it did.

 

Going to have to disagree with that.  Fox and Hurney always saw our lack of depth at receiver as a huge weakness and did alot to attempt to fix that problem.  Colbert was a second round pick, so was Dwayne Jarret.  We brought in guys like Keyshawn Johnson and DJ Hackett - brought Moose back at the end of his career.  We swung at this problem for years, we just happened to strike out every time.

[MadHatter]

Not even discussing post Tommy John Jake. Different man, injury made him a different QB.

2003-2007 - he was a poor man's Favre...approached the position the same.

Exactly.

The guy made throws that he should have never even tried...and somehow they were successful.

2 min to go in the game and down by 4.... Jake was a magician.

[rayzor]

Going to have to disagree with that.  Fox and Hurney always saw our lack of depth at receiver as a huge weakness and did alot to attempt to fix that problem.  Colbert was a second round pick, so was Dwayne Jarret.  We brought in guys like Keyshawn Johnson and DJ Hackett - brought Moose back at the end of his career.  We swung at this problem for years, we just happened to strike out every time.

who was on the roster in '05? that's what i was talking about. we had proehl, but he was at his end and just wasn't doing much either. colbert and proehl both had 25 recps compared to smith with 103...and of course foster had 34 that year.

 

the recievers after smith were pretty much an afterthought that year.

[OneBadCat]

Exactly.

The guy made throws that he should have never even tried...and somehow they were successful.

2 min to go in the game and down by 4.... Jake was a magician.

 

I disagree with that. Jake was the same QB post tommy john surgery. He just couldn't get away the same things anymore. He never adapted and he couldn't fit the ball in places he used to. After that, all of his flaws were exposed.Mentally I think he was the same old Jake. He also had a tendency to lock on Smith. Some of his best games were when Smith was injured and Jake was forced the spread the ball around.

 

 

If Jake lost his confidence it was the ARZ playoff game. Fox buried Jake Delhomme that day. He should have benched him at half time yet he left him out there to destroy his own team. That was one of the worst decisions, or non decisions I think Fox ever made. Moore should have played the 2nd half.

[CRA]

I disagree with that. Jake was the same QB post tommy john surgery. He just couldn't get away the same things anymore. He never adapted and he couldn't fit the ball in places he used to. After that, all of his flaws were exposed.Mentally I think he was the same old Jake. He also had a tendency to lock on Smith. Some of his best games were when Smith was injured and Jake was forced the spread the ball around.

If Jake lost his confidence it was the ARZ playoff game. Fox buried Jake Delhomme that day. He should have benched him at half time yet he left him out there to destroy his own team. That was one of the worst decisions, or non decisions I think Fox ever made. Moore should have played the 2nd half.

His arm was never the same.

His on field persona was never the same.

He was a different QB. No QB has ever successfully comeback from it

[Frizzy350]

who was on the roster in '05? that's what i was talking about. we had proehl, but he was at his end and just wasn't doing much either. colbert and proehl both had 25 recps compared to smith with 103...and of course foster had 34 that year.

 

the recievers after smith were pretty much an afterthought that year.

 

Ohhhhh '05....yea we tried to remedy that issue BECAUSE of 05.

 

To be honest I don't think Fox really had many plans for the passing game that year and wasn't expecting to see what Smith did.  We had a really good defense that year and were pretty well built to run the rock.

[OneBadCat]

Jake was mediocre at best. I honestly didn't realize this until the Seattle debacle in 2005 I think. The Seahawks swallowed their pride and double/triple covered Smitty and Jake couldn't complete a pass to anyone else. Add that with the fact that we were down to the 5th string RB and the route was on.

 

I've always described Smitty as a better football player than Moss/Fitz/Calvin, but they're better WRs because of their ability to go up and get the ball. Smitty had/has the ability to bring the ball down in a crowd, just not as well as Calvin/Moss/Moss. But none of those players have the ability to take a smoke screen to the house like Smitty can.

 

Another way of saying it is that Smith is pound for pound the best there ever was.. the best there is,... and the best there ever will be.

 

[Razeyfingers]

Trent Dilfer.

 

Rex Grossman/Caleb Hanney/Kyle Orton (I dont remember who actually played QB in that game... but the chicago qbs were all pretty god awful that year)

 

hmmmm pie but, I still think that this is an exception and there arent too many others.

[Car123]

Steve Smith deserves to be in the HOF because he changed the way people looked at small WRs.

Every time there's a wr with speed coming into the NFL he gets compared to Smith. No one else.

[Gucci Mane]

LOL....okay, let get this straight.

 

1.  Jake wasn't a gambling gunslinger but a game manager

2.  He didn't force a lot of throws that weren't there.

 

Okay, good job.  You got us.  Good job.  Nice trolling.  No sane person would say that.

 

Dude, you are a complete dumbass lol...

 

I said he was bred as a "game manager" however, he lacks the ability to be decent at the QB position, as evidenced by his uncanny abiltity to throw the ball to the other team [the team not wearing our jerseys to break it down further for you]... This is unlike favre because favre would try and fit balls into windows that should never be thrown into, yet jake wouldnt see a window because he would throw it to the corner on a 1 on 1.

 

You starting to learn a little bit here? or do you want to keep straw manning?