Everyone seems to wonder why we struggle so much in the early portion of games. I have as well. It is almost like they stole the other team's fake playbook (a la Jerry Rogers in the Brady Bunch) only it is a fake, designed to fool them.

Once ZT and company bag their plan and turn if over to Burrow, they roll.

Look around the league and you see the exact opposite. Baker starts almost every game with a flawless TD drive. Ditto Darnold at Carolina. I will throw in guys like Garapolo and Mac Jones as well. But then when the game settles in and they are no longer on a play-scripted drive, they often struggle.

I hate to sound negative to the coaches again, but maybe they need to include Joe in the scripting of the opening drives, a la Peyton and Brees.

Our first drive Thursday night went straight down the field and faltered only due to a questionable offensive PI and a missed FG.

(10-05-2021, 08:26 AM)LebanonFan Wrote: Our first drive Thursday night went straight down the field and faltered only due to a questionable offensive PI and a missed FG.

Good point, and they had a couple misdirection plays designed to catch Jax in overpursuit.  That was the first game this season that was like that, though....so I guess you could say they are at least pointed in the right direction.  But their subsequent drives in the first half were poop on a stick.  

(10-05-2021, 08:30 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Good point, and they had a couple misdirection plays designed to catch Jax in overpursuit.  That was the first game this season that was like that, though....so I guess you could say they are at least pointed in the right direction.  But their subsequent drives in the first half were poop on a stick.  

No doubt about that, the rest of the first half looked like they went in a shell

(10-05-2021, 08:03 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Everyone seems to wonder why we struggle so much in the early portion of games.  I have as well.  It is almost like they stole the other team's fake playbook (a la Jerry Rogers in the Brady Bunch) only it is a fake, designed to fool them.

Once ZT and company bag their plan and turn if over to Burrow, they roll.

Look around the league and you see the exact opposite.  Baker starts almost every game with a flawless TD drive.  Ditto Darnold at Carolina.  I will throw in guys like Garapolo and Mac Jones as well.  But then when the game settles in and they are no longer on a play-scripted drive, they often struggle.

I hate to sound negative to the coaches again, but maybe they need to include Joe in the scripting of the opening drives, a la Peyton and Brees.

Funny how foorball played into the plotlines
Of the Brady Bunch...Jerry Rogers...Bobby faking
A illness to meet Joe Namath....or Carols ex boyfriend
Visitng and reliving his glory days...Who by the way 
Played the surfer guy in Gilligans Island...
And then I recall the Brady Bunch episode when
O.J Simpson took Marsha on a date, but Carl Nassib
And the Brady dad Mike intervened and stopped it...

Oh back to scripted plays. 
I noticed so many teams on the 1st play 
Fake that stretch play to the left 
Then the QB rollout to the right and hits the TE
Dragging across for a 8 yd gain. 
Simple catch and throw. Sets up a makeable 2nd down.

I think Zac struggles to come up with a good gain 
On 1st down play 1. He slams Mixon into a loaded box
For 2...all of a sudden 3rd down is a obvious passing
Down after another minimal gain on 2nd down

I think on that 1st drive, Zac makes everything too easy for the defense read. He rarely sends a WR
Across the formation. 
Even the routes the WRs run on 1st down they are
Well covered. The best routes to run to free up WRs
Are the rub routes , pivot, comeback, 

Maybe ZT.gets more creative on that initial drive. 
Heck he even called a play action to Auden Tate
That netted  15 yds vs the Jags But yet we never saw Tate again.
Sometimes targeting the guys under the radar
Equates big gains on that 1st drive.
Mayfield hit Schwartz on a 40 yd bomb vs the Chiefs
Caught them sleeping. 

Ah, the old Brady Bunch stories. Loved that show, loved Marcia. Watching the first half of the Jacksonville game, though, it wasn't the Brady Bunch I was reminded of. Not sure how many of you are as old as I am and remember the drive in days of the R rated "The Cheerleaders" movies. The thought going through my mind was Jacksonville sent the cheerleaders to our defense pre-game.....

It is impossible to be wrong when criticizing play calling. The fan can never be wrong. Just complain about the plays that don't work, ignore the ones that do, and swear that the play you would have called would always work. No way to be proven incorrect.

The fan does not even have to have a clue what the defense was showing. Doesn't matter. His play would always work when the coach's call does not.

It’s an interesting observation but a few things working against this theory.

1. They came out driving the ball very well on Thursday. It was a Jamar Chase penalty they ended the drive, not a faulty play script.

2. Joe Burrow is certainly involved in the creation of the scripted portion of the game plan…

3. I’ve heard of coaches holding their scripted portion until certain moments in the game (after half, 4 min drill, etc.) and there is really no way to tell what is scripted and what isn’t….

Scripted plays... Sounds like a Bill Walsh thing.

I thought the penalty on Jamarr was legit... Wouldn't consider it questionable.

(10-05-2021, 11:13 AM)jj22 Wrote: I thought the penalty on Jamarr was legit... Wouldn't consider it questionable.

Chase even said it was legit after he watched the replay. Says he needs to be less obvious in his push offs lol.

(10-05-2021, 11:57 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Chase even said it was legit after he watched the replay. Says he needs to be less obvious in his push offs lol.

Little less hands, more elbow

(10-05-2021, 08:03 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Everyone seems to wonder why we struggle so much in the early portion of games.  I have as well.  It is almost like they stole the other team's fake playbook (a la Jerry Rogers in the Brady Bunch) only it is a fake, designed to fool them.

Once ZT and company bag their plan and turn if over to Burrow, they roll.

Look around the league and you see the exact opposite.  Baker starts almost every game with a flawless TD drive.  Ditto Darnold at Carolina.  I will throw in guys like Garapolo and Mac Jones as well.  But then when the game settles in and they are no longer on a play-scripted drive, they often struggle.

I hate to sound negative to the coaches again, but maybe they need to include Joe in the scripting of the opening drives, a la Peyton and Brees.

Some of the plays they came out running during the Jacksonville opening driver were actually pretty impressive, especially the very first play of the game.  

Burrow would have the same ability to audible out of the play even if it was scripted.

And having the ability to call an audible at the line of scrimmage is nothing like calling the plays. The QB can only audible based on what the defense shows.

(10-05-2021, 02:00 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Some of the plays they came out running during the Jacksonville opening driver were actually pretty impressive, especially the very first play of the game.  

That first play was wonderful. Great design, great time to call it and it worked perfectly.

(10-05-2021, 09:30 AM)fredtoast Wrote: It is impossible to be wrong when criticizing play calling.  The fan can never be wrong.  Just complain about the plays that don't work, ignore the ones that do, and swear that the play you would have called would always work.  No way to be proven incorrect.

The fan does not even have to have a clue what the defense was showing.  Doesn't matter.  His play would always work when the coach's call does not.

Welcome back, Fred.  For a while you were almost tolerable

I can't say I know what ZT is doing wrong because I never know what he is going to do.