10-13-2021, 09:08 AM
(10-13-2021, 01:22 AM)Whatever Wrote: Who are the 4 offensive weapons?
Chase, obviously.
Mixon is good, if healthy, but rarely is anymore.
Boyd is a good slot/possession guy, but only 1 TD to 4 Int's on 35 targets this year.
Higgins has struggled outside the red zone this year and isn't even Top 100 in yards/target. Folks had high hopes on him developing into a WR1 or 1b, but he hasn't shown it this year.
You look at Tampa, they have Godwin, Evans, AB, Gronk, and Fornette. Plus their depth guys are guys like Ronald Jones, OJ Howard, and Tyler Johnson.
Or Zac is a McVay disciple. McVay had Cooks, Kupp, Woods, and the best RB in the game in Gurley when he went to the SB. He currently has 4 WR's with 200+ receiving yards with Kupp, Woods, Van Jefferson, and DeSean Jackson. We have 2.
You can get by with 3 weapons if 2 of them are elite, not guys like Boyd who had a couple of seasons where he barely got 1000 yards because there was nothing around him and they force fed him targets.
This past week is a perfect example. We have nobody currently like Devonta Adams who can just go out there and take a game over. Chase could very well become that guy, but it's very early to annoit him that.
Not to mention Trey Hopkins has been abysmal this year.
I will admit they have not looked the best so far aside from Chase who is well on his way to being that kind of player, he has been the majority of the scoring offense and explosive plays this year. Alot of his big plays fades vs press isolated on the outside or outside of structure which shows the scheme is struggling to generate those . However, Higgins played well last year and I believe he should be able to replicate that. Boyd can definitely be a weapon, hell Edelman was out of the slot(Without him the Patriots had a worse record than without Brady). The biggest issue with Boyd is Burrow forcing the ball to him and them being too predictable with route concepts(Running alot of choice routes/juke routes without a counter off of them. The Packers had the same issue vs the saints. ). Mixon has played very well this year although I think his touche rate is catching up to him. Evans could also be a depth piece. They could be missing another deep threat but how many do you need?
The issue here is just a lack of schematic advantage and creativity. The numbers display they are incredibly predictable and that matches the eye test. Hell look at how good the panthers have been with Darnold at QB and CMC injured. Do you think Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, and Terrance Marshall are better than our top 3? Is Chuba Hubbard better than Mixon? Obviously not, the issue is a lack of schematic threat.
