The play was in the first quarter on the Cardinals' 30. Third and eight. Eli was in the shotgun at the 35. Based on the routes I could see, Cruz was the hot read.
Kelly was well-blocked at the time. He was going nowhere. Pugh had stood him up, which usually sounds great, but hurt us on this play.
• Unfortunately, no one besides Pugh blocked especially well. Jerry attempted to block no one. He might have been there to provide support for Pugh, who clearly didn't need any.
• The next closest pass rusher was blocked by Walton, who was in between him and Eli but giving up ground fast (defender was already three yards in the backfield).
• Beatty's man was at the 35 and Beatty was blocking his side when Eli released the pass backpedaling at the 38.
• The Cardinals showed blitz from three linebackers and one corner (Powers). Two of the LBs (Acho and Keiser) backed into coverage. One LB (Foote) and Powers blitzed.
• Foote burst through the gap between Richburg and Beatty, and Richburg didn't touch him (didn't block anyone after that). Jennings had a chance to pickup Foote, who slid right past him. He was at the 36 and closing when the ball was released.
• Powers, who came untouched, was at the 37 and hit Eli as soon as he released the football.
Doing a highly scientific study of starting a stopwatch when Eli caught the snap in the shotgun and stopping it when he released the ball... 1.43 seconds. Add that to Eli backpedaling, and Pugh standing Kelly up, and the ball hit Kelly's shoulder pad, and went straight to Acho.
Think of that for a moment. If Pugh was as shitty blocking on that play as the rest of the line... the ball probably doesn't get tipped at all (although it might have gone straight to Acho regardless, just waist-high instead of shoulder-high).
Even then, had Cruz not stumbled coming out of his cut (Eli had started his throwing motion when Cruz slipped), there's a good chance he's able to get a hand on it. Don't think he would have come down with the catch, but would have at least changed the ball's trajectory (although with the amazing amounts of tipped passes that go straight at defenders, it very well could have gone straight at Keiser instead).
1.43 seconds. Less than a second and a half. That's the amount of time the offensive line gave him.
The pass looks like the closest dumpoff receiver might have been Cruz.
Donnell should have chipped the blitzer; he just shook his hand on the way by.
Taking a sack also takes him out of field goal range since the ball would have been downed at the 38 or 39 yard line. Brown hasn't hit a 55 yarder since 2009 at home with the Rams.
If Cruz catches the ball, it becomes a 45 yard field goal attempt.
Matt, yeah I know.....I was kinda just throwing that out there becuase I hadn't seen it mentioned.
Throwing the ball away in that situation likely would have resulted in intentional grounding.
He threw it into a DLs shoulder. Just read that again. Not a leaping DL. Not an outstretched arm. Just the shoulder of a guy at the LOS.
I didn't say he was near Eli, but he didn't hold his block at all and that was where the pass was going. He got pushed back five yard in the direction of Eli which took away that passing lane.
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Walton's guy is nowhere near Eli when he throws that ball into a defenders shoulder pads.
I didn't say he was near Eli, but he didn't hold his block at all and that was where the pass was going. He got pushed back five yard in the direction of Eli which took away that passing lane.
He got "pushed" 2 yards and was still 5 yards in front of Eli. I fail to see any point that you are attempting to make. Some people just try too hard to remove any or some blame from Eli.
If he picks him up Eli can roll away from the pressure to his right..
Yup
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are running free at the QB?
Because it takes bad decision-making and poor technique to throw it to no one in particular instead of taking the sack?
The Giants won Super Bowls because of QBs doing dumb shit because they were getting hit often. Eli has been getting hit by guys like that nearly every game for a season and a half now. I'm not surprised he's making bad decisions, using poor mechanics, and throwing picks when guys are running free at him.
Articles have been written about QB pressures being more important than sacks. They lead to mistakes like the one we saw from Eli.
Tired of watching him make poor decisions under pressure. I get that the line is awful but come on, he's a vet, GET RID OF IT! Overthrow someone out of bounds, don't just dump it..
He played well yesterday....that's good sign for the Giants.
It was on the OL, TE, and RB who were supposed to block on the play..
blue42 : 1:48 pm : link : reply
had an entire off season being taught to eliminate stupid throws.
I don't think they spent the offseason "teaching him how to eliminate stupid throws". He spent the offseason being taught a new offense.
Guys don't think about making a stupid throw or not. They go through a process in their mind, make a decision, then act on it.
I don't know how you can teach somebody to just weed out and eliminate stupid throws.
No room for error. And this team makes a lot of errors.
They have 14 games. 14 games to shore up the mental aspects and play some fucking NFL football. 14 games or it's curtains for Coughlin, Fewell and the OC who shall remain nameless until his offense actually plays like an NFL offense.
Excellent analysis. Until the OL blocks it correctly, this type of stuff is going to happen whether it's the QB or the backs.
If he takes more sacks like Aaron Rodgers, we don't have this discussion.
Again, he had absolutely no time to throw and tried to readjust his throw to Cruz when he tripped and the lower throw riccocheted off a lineman's shoulder for an interception.
I would argue that an interception in that case was unlikely, and so in such a short time, I don't even mind trying that throw (for an incompletion or a short catch). It was the only chance the Giants had to put points on the board.
Fixed.
1. Donnell missing the chip on the DB
2. Jennings whiffing on his block
3. Beatty get beat
Eli did not want to take the sack because it would have taken the team out of FG range.
Also, I don't like a hot read that has the WR breaking off the route inside and the TE running down field. It should be the opposite. Put Cruz one on one with a DB. That way you potentially make them pay for blitzing. Even if Cruz catches that ball, it's a three yard gain.
So I would place the blame as follows (in order):
1. OL
2. Play design
3. Cruz
4. Eli
Note that it was 1.43 seconds from getting the snap to releasing the ball. The time he had to assess the pressure and start his throwing motion was probably closer to one second.
Not saying Eli was 0% at fault here. It's a tough situation to be in, but we pay him to make those kind of throws. But it's hard to not assign most of the blame to the blocking.