Nitrofish
Let The Big Fish Eat!
Detach yourself from your emotions and watch these cutups with a non biased eye. What you will discover is that you did not see what you thought you did IMO. It was a terrible team loss, and the QB is always an easy target, especially with our history with the position. That said, Mallett played well and would have had a 77% --give or take-- completion percentage had WR's done their jobs and caught the balls he threw.
I noted in the video when I counted a drop. You may disagree with a few, but to be fair, if the ball hit's your hands, as a professional NFL receiver, you have to catch the damn ball, or at least that's my take on it. Even our best receiver was struggling to hang on to the ball. I counted 9 drops while Mallett was playing, and 2 more while Hoyer was in there. You are not going to win many games with 11 drops and 4 turnovers. FTR, I counted the early INT as a drop by Hopkins. However, later in the game when Hopkins dropped a similar pass I did not count it because luckily Polk was nearby and caught the ball before it could hit the ground. It's cost us a first down however that would have kept Mallett's final drive alive.
As much as I hate to mention officiating, one thing is obvious watching these cutups, and that's how physical the Falcons were allowed to be with our Receivers. Plenty of missed calls that could have been game changing. That said, they are still obligated to catch the damn balls when it hits their hands IMHO.
You will see the O Line played pretty well in regards to pass protection. Of course there are some terrible plays as well, but you cannot win every play. The defense wins sometimes. No way around that. Mallett had a clean pocket to operate from for the most part. He moved well in the pocket when there was pressure to get the pass off. Yes, some of those passes were in the dirt, but both O'Brien and Mallett himself have confirmed many of those balls are being thrown away to protect the football. To be fair, there are some that are bad throws of course. But too many fans do not understand the idea of protecting the football when there is nothing there. They want to see a big scramble to keep the play alive and make something happen. While that might be exciting for some, it's not a winning formula in the NFL with few exceptions. Most people are used to seeing a QB throw it out of bounds when throwing it away, and Mallett does that sometimes too. But have a look at some of Brady's throws. They are in the dirt and clearly a throw away. Ask yourself this. Would you rather see an INT, or ball thrown in the dirt to live to play another snap?
Someone mentioned in another thread that Mallett only has a handful of wow throws. I disagree and this cutup alone has 4 or 5 throws that made me say WOW! Including the throw to Fiedo before he took the big hit and coughed up the ball. Very few QB's could make these throws, including Hoyer. I will note some of those throws with time codes below.
With every cutup I do, I come away with the feeling that our WR's are not holding up their end of the bargain. Some will say it's because Mallett throws to hard and has no touch. These cutups destroy those myths if you watch every throw. Be that as it may, these men are paid good money to catch the ball, and they are just not doing it consistently, even Hopkins. If they were getting more separation, perhaps Mallett would not have to try to fit everything into such small windows.
When Hoyer enters the game, the Falcons made wholesale changes mostly in their secondary leaving only 4 starters in the game. 3 DL's and 1 LB. The rest were 2nd and 3rd stringers. I make note of it in the cutup when Hoyer enters the game. The remaining starters were pulled shortly thereafter, but I did not highlight it when it happened. It was garbage time and it was all of our 1's against their scrubs, so keep that in mind while watching Hoyer operate. They played mostly zone as well once Hoyer entered and were content with keeping everything in front of them. I am not going to be commenting on any of Hoyer's throw's in this post.
WOW Throws
00:37: First throw of the game. Scrambling to his left --hardest throw for a right handed QB-- got his hips turned and fired an accurate ball to Foster crossing the middle, both on the run. If this throw did not wow you, nothing will. Especially from a guy who is 6'6" and runs like a giraffe, this was a great throw and catch.
5:48: This throw was incredible and a great catch by Fiedo for a big gain! Unfortunately a crushing hit by the safety forced Fido to cough up the ball. Possibly best throw of the game by Mallett as he buzzed it right passed the LB's ear who was clearly holding Fido.
6:47: From his own end zone on a rope to Mumphery for a big first down and some breathing room.
8:00: This is a bullet on the deep out that few QB's in the league can throw with that kind of velocity.
10:52: Gutsy throw on his 3rd progression on a rope to Mumphery for a 27 yard gain! Great catch by Mumphery absorbing the big hit! Only an arm talent like Mallett has could complete this pass. look at the footwork on this throw. It's perfect. No problems with his mechanics on this throw at all. This is the Mallett we need to see more often.
Drops
01:17: Hit Hopkins in the hands, and was accurate, but caused an INT when popped off of Hopkins chest. Questionable throw into a tight window as Mallett was locked onto Hopkins from the snap. That said, it was a catchable ball.
2:53: Perfectly thrown ball with tight coverage dropped by Hopkins
3:24: Perfectly thrown ball dropped by Graham after hitting hands in stride
3:54: Mallett is late with the ball IMO as he resets for some reason. Tight coverage but ball hits Graham's hands and is catchable. Possibly knocked away by defender but still a drop IMO as it was in Graham's hands who failed to pull it in. (Washington injures hammy on play)
5:14: Hopkins with tight coverage drops ball that hits him in hands. Possibly knocked away by defender. IMO the throw should have gone to Mumphery in the slot as there was no safety help on him crossing the field and he had a step.
8:27: Shorts drops a short pass with tight coverage. Ball looks completed, but it hits the ground.
10:26: Foster drops a perfectly thrown ball for a 6+ yard gain and acknowledges it when it gets up.
11:30: Hopkins drops another. Ball slightly behind him, but clearly catchable.
12:00: Foster drops one thrown behind him, but catchable IMO. (Disputable drop IMO)
***12:50: This is the one by Hopkins I did not count as a drop, but probably should have since it was the same as the INT only our guy caught the pop up instead of theirs. If you count this as a drop, it's 10 drops, 9 if not. 5 drops by Hopkins! He is our go to guy. He needs to be making these catches, no excuses.
Throw Away Balls
1:50: Two players in the same space. One of the guys screwed up here, and Mallett had just been picked off the previous series on a similar play. Two defenders in close proximity that could cause a pop up and another possible INT. Mallett does the smart thing and throws it away. Watch Shorts at the end of the play point over his shoulder while talking to Fido.
9:11: Looks bad to some fans, but in my eyes this is just Mallett protecting the ball and throwing it away. Perhaps Graham was supposed to run a hook or a hitch there?
There are a few others that may or may not be balls getting thrown away, but you can make up your own minds.
When commenting, please include time codes for reference.
If you did not know the score of this game, and you saw these cutups. Would you still think Mallett played terribly after seeing these all 22 plays?
Does Mallett have things still to get better at? Of course, but from I what I saw, he looked good most of the time. Great foot work, pretty accurate on most throws. Just not getting help from his receivers, especially Hopkins in this game.
What say you?
I noted in the video when I counted a drop. You may disagree with a few, but to be fair, if the ball hit's your hands, as a professional NFL receiver, you have to catch the damn ball, or at least that's my take on it. Even our best receiver was struggling to hang on to the ball. I counted 9 drops while Mallett was playing, and 2 more while Hoyer was in there. You are not going to win many games with 11 drops and 4 turnovers. FTR, I counted the early INT as a drop by Hopkins. However, later in the game when Hopkins dropped a similar pass I did not count it because luckily Polk was nearby and caught the ball before it could hit the ground. It's cost us a first down however that would have kept Mallett's final drive alive.
As much as I hate to mention officiating, one thing is obvious watching these cutups, and that's how physical the Falcons were allowed to be with our Receivers. Plenty of missed calls that could have been game changing. That said, they are still obligated to catch the damn balls when it hits their hands IMHO.
You will see the O Line played pretty well in regards to pass protection. Of course there are some terrible plays as well, but you cannot win every play. The defense wins sometimes. No way around that. Mallett had a clean pocket to operate from for the most part. He moved well in the pocket when there was pressure to get the pass off. Yes, some of those passes were in the dirt, but both O'Brien and Mallett himself have confirmed many of those balls are being thrown away to protect the football. To be fair, there are some that are bad throws of course. But too many fans do not understand the idea of protecting the football when there is nothing there. They want to see a big scramble to keep the play alive and make something happen. While that might be exciting for some, it's not a winning formula in the NFL with few exceptions. Most people are used to seeing a QB throw it out of bounds when throwing it away, and Mallett does that sometimes too. But have a look at some of Brady's throws. They are in the dirt and clearly a throw away. Ask yourself this. Would you rather see an INT, or ball thrown in the dirt to live to play another snap?
Someone mentioned in another thread that Mallett only has a handful of wow throws. I disagree and this cutup alone has 4 or 5 throws that made me say WOW! Including the throw to Fiedo before he took the big hit and coughed up the ball. Very few QB's could make these throws, including Hoyer. I will note some of those throws with time codes below.
With every cutup I do, I come away with the feeling that our WR's are not holding up their end of the bargain. Some will say it's because Mallett throws to hard and has no touch. These cutups destroy those myths if you watch every throw. Be that as it may, these men are paid good money to catch the ball, and they are just not doing it consistently, even Hopkins. If they were getting more separation, perhaps Mallett would not have to try to fit everything into such small windows.
When Hoyer enters the game, the Falcons made wholesale changes mostly in their secondary leaving only 4 starters in the game. 3 DL's and 1 LB. The rest were 2nd and 3rd stringers. I make note of it in the cutup when Hoyer enters the game. The remaining starters were pulled shortly thereafter, but I did not highlight it when it happened. It was garbage time and it was all of our 1's against their scrubs, so keep that in mind while watching Hoyer operate. They played mostly zone as well once Hoyer entered and were content with keeping everything in front of them. I am not going to be commenting on any of Hoyer's throw's in this post.
WOW Throws
00:37: First throw of the game. Scrambling to his left --hardest throw for a right handed QB-- got his hips turned and fired an accurate ball to Foster crossing the middle, both on the run. If this throw did not wow you, nothing will. Especially from a guy who is 6'6" and runs like a giraffe, this was a great throw and catch.
5:48: This throw was incredible and a great catch by Fiedo for a big gain! Unfortunately a crushing hit by the safety forced Fido to cough up the ball. Possibly best throw of the game by Mallett as he buzzed it right passed the LB's ear who was clearly holding Fido.
6:47: From his own end zone on a rope to Mumphery for a big first down and some breathing room.
8:00: This is a bullet on the deep out that few QB's in the league can throw with that kind of velocity.
10:52: Gutsy throw on his 3rd progression on a rope to Mumphery for a 27 yard gain! Great catch by Mumphery absorbing the big hit! Only an arm talent like Mallett has could complete this pass. look at the footwork on this throw. It's perfect. No problems with his mechanics on this throw at all. This is the Mallett we need to see more often.
Drops
01:17: Hit Hopkins in the hands, and was accurate, but caused an INT when popped off of Hopkins chest. Questionable throw into a tight window as Mallett was locked onto Hopkins from the snap. That said, it was a catchable ball.
2:53: Perfectly thrown ball with tight coverage dropped by Hopkins
3:24: Perfectly thrown ball dropped by Graham after hitting hands in stride
3:54: Mallett is late with the ball IMO as he resets for some reason. Tight coverage but ball hits Graham's hands and is catchable. Possibly knocked away by defender but still a drop IMO as it was in Graham's hands who failed to pull it in. (Washington injures hammy on play)
5:14: Hopkins with tight coverage drops ball that hits him in hands. Possibly knocked away by defender. IMO the throw should have gone to Mumphery in the slot as there was no safety help on him crossing the field and he had a step.
8:27: Shorts drops a short pass with tight coverage. Ball looks completed, but it hits the ground.
10:26: Foster drops a perfectly thrown ball for a 6+ yard gain and acknowledges it when it gets up.
11:30: Hopkins drops another. Ball slightly behind him, but clearly catchable.
12:00: Foster drops one thrown behind him, but catchable IMO. (Disputable drop IMO)
***12:50: This is the one by Hopkins I did not count as a drop, but probably should have since it was the same as the INT only our guy caught the pop up instead of theirs. If you count this as a drop, it's 10 drops, 9 if not. 5 drops by Hopkins! He is our go to guy. He needs to be making these catches, no excuses.
Throw Away Balls
1:50: Two players in the same space. One of the guys screwed up here, and Mallett had just been picked off the previous series on a similar play. Two defenders in close proximity that could cause a pop up and another possible INT. Mallett does the smart thing and throws it away. Watch Shorts at the end of the play point over his shoulder while talking to Fido.
9:11: Looks bad to some fans, but in my eyes this is just Mallett protecting the ball and throwing it away. Perhaps Graham was supposed to run a hook or a hitch there?
There are a few others that may or may not be balls getting thrown away, but you can make up your own minds.
When commenting, please include time codes for reference.
If you did not know the score of this game, and you saw these cutups. Would you still think Mallett played terribly after seeing these all 22 plays?
Does Mallett have things still to get better at? Of course, but from I what I saw, he looked good most of the time. Great foot work, pretty accurate on most throws. Just not getting help from his receivers, especially Hopkins in this game.
What say you?
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Thank you for pointing this out. That started out as a decent drive after the defense forced a 3 and out to start the game. That hold was a bad noncall. I don't think Mallett should have thrown it with that said, but Hopkins would have had more separation without the hold.
