It appears to me that Daboll's offense is difficult to pick up. I base this on a couple of factors. Our best receiver (slayton) didn't start last year. Our most talented receiver got traded. Sills, who really can't be mistaken for having NFL talent earned a starting role. Hodgins, again a marginal NFL talent, was great in this offense, but largely because he knew it. The other thing that I learned this off season is that Daboll uses codenames rather than standard playcalling. The example given was that the playcall would be "James Harden" (which I assume means the QB falls back, throws the ball up, pretends to get hit in the head by a DL who might not touch him, and still puts the ball right in the bread basket). So rather than learn certain patterns and formations that are called out, they have to learn a specific play.
I have no idea if this is a a good idea or what the tradeoffs might be, but it certainly implies that the "smart" part of STD (maybe not the best acronym of all time) is critical.
I think this limits us at WR especially for in season trades. Hodgins came in and succeeded in part because he knew the language. I could see us making a push towards the trade deadline, and really needing a #1 receiver. Last year that was definitely the conversation. But I think if we want to get the #1, we would really need to do it now. I would have low expectations of anyone coming in and helping without a pretty good previous handle on Daboll's system.
Seriously.
The players all admitted that learning the playbook was a challenge. Eric also warned us throughout the year that this would be an issue for any wr who didn’t already have a grasp on our system.
There. The simplified version for you snarky morons who lack either the intelligence or patience to handle complete sentences and a full paragraph.
There. The simplified version for you snarky morons who lack either the intelligence or patience to handle complete sentences and a full paragraph.
Smart, tough and dependable. Smart is about intelligence and ability to learn. The giants are not bringing in anyone that they feel lacks the intelligence to grasp the playbook, calls and schemes. This is exactly why they targeted hodgins late last year.
Also, I will point out that this coaching staff has displayed a tremendous ability to coach players up and have them ready to play. Do you think wink Martindales defense is easy to grasp?
The giants are bringing in a lot of wide receivers to OTA'S/ training camp and some will be cut, but may be brought back if necessary because of their knowledge with the offense.
As a larger point the extra complexity has advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that some players will lack the brains or will to handle the complexity.
As a larger point the extra complexity has advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that some players will lack the brains or will to handle the complexity.
Ok, so given 2 options..,
A) we can simplify the offense for the intellectually challenged, which we become more predictable and easier to defend
Or option
B) bring in the right players that have the intelligence to learn the offense and be relied upon to run the plays as called, which makes the offense less predictable and diverse with options.
Last year was a great case in point. The giants were exploring the options of adding a wide receiver late in the season. They could have traded for Claypool or Ridley, but decided against it for any number of reasons. In exploring their options, they felt hodgins was the best option for them because of his familiarity to the offense and daboll knowing what his strengths were and how it could fit what we were looking for.
The smarter we are as a team, the better we are. If it limits our options, good. We have been down the road of just bringing in players and they ran the wrong route or missed a read or blitz pick up.
Give me hodgins over a kadarius Toney every time.
There. The simplified version for you snarky morons who lack either the intelligence or patience to handle complete sentences and a full paragraph.
Going back to your opening paragraph, which uses the fact that teams sometimes call plays with a one word name instead of having the QB run through the entire play progression including routes and blocking scheme as an example of difficulty. It's been my experience that named plays are easier to remember especially since they are either the most routine to-go plays in the playbook or something special installed for the game. But what do I know, I'm just a snarky moron who doesn't take treads on a message board so seriously
Quote:
find difficult to learn in middle of season.
There. The simplified version for you snarky morons who lack either the intelligence or patience to handle complete sentences and a full paragraph.
Going back to your opening paragraph, which uses the fact that teams sometimes call plays with a one word name instead of having the QB run through the entire play progression including routes and blocking scheme as an example of difficulty. It's been my experience that named plays are easier to remember especially since they are either the most routine to-go plays in the playbook or something special installed for the game. But what do I know, I'm just a snarky moron who doesn't take treads on a message board so seriously
It was not my thought that the codename usage by Daboll is unusual and especially difficult to learn. It was Jeremiah Sirles. Who was an offensive lineman. Who played for Daboll. But what does he know?
Let's just assume that marginal NFL talent, by definition, includes a guy who can't make the roster for the first three years of his career. He was great last year. I hope he turns out to be a legitimate #2. But so far in his career he has been a marginal NFL talent. For nearly 3 & 1/2 years every team passed him up, every week. Also pretty clear that the Giants don't view him as a solid #2 or they would sign him to a long term deal now. Loved how he played. Hope he has every success. But his likely top end is still WR 5 or 6.
LOL, that's not remotely clear.
LIttle Bill instructed his D-linemen to to nudge the ball once the refs set it against the Bill's K-gun offense to slow it down.
That said, I don't think it is that big a deal. Smart may be more important in this offense, but good coaches find a way to teach guys what they need to know to get on the field - even if it means they play selectively due to a limited knowledge of the playbook.
Also keep in mind that I expect that any mid-season pickups are typically taught game to game based on the gameplan for that week's opponent.