What Joe can do to help himself

[kevin]

(10-14-2020, 01:47 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: The reality is that this line is just bad and that it's probably not going to get much better any time soon, with the interior of this line is especially bad. The pressures are going to continue, but Joe can do his part in helping cut down the sacks.

I realize he's a rookie and he's still learning every week, but there are times he holds onto the ball way too long in attempts to make something happen, even when being swarmed by pressure. Gutsy and admiral, but given how bad our receivers are at creating separation...it's probably better to just throw it away on most of those occasions, avoiding the sack, possible interception or even fumbling because he's getting chased / hit from behind while trying to extend a play or create something out of nothing. 

This line and receiving corps is not really set up to be successful with plays that take time to develop. Joe has to be willing to check down more often as well. He has said himself he needs to be better at taking what's there, and I couldn't agree more. Overall, I think Joe has done a helluva good job, given his situation and circumstances around him. While I don't want to necessarily take away his natural inclination to be creative and never give up on a play, I do want him to realize he may need to reign that in a bit for now and it's OK to just throw it away and move onto the next one if the play isn't there.

What can Joe do ?   NOTHING.   If the Blocking does not improve,  there is nothing the QB can do.   UNLESS do as Fitzpatrick behind awful Bengals 2008 line.  After the got Carson killed,  Fitzpatrick knew there would be no blocking, so he just took off running as soon as ball was snapped.  He wasn't trying to pass, or win, he was just trying to live through season. So like Forrest Gump, He Just Ran For His Life as soon as he got the ball.  Turns out Fitzpatrick was a good quarterback,  so neither Carson or Fitzpatrick could do anything behind the awful 2008 line.  Neither Dalton or Burrow able to do anything behind the Bengals 2017 to 2020 line until it improves. 

You have to have Blocking or none of the X's and O's of the playbook work.  After 52 years of watching Bengals and seeing some great Blocking years, but also some of the worst Blocking years in the history of NFL,  you learn that none of the plays work if the O Line stinks. 

I laugh, because I remember a tackle football pick-up game. This guy who was a starting high school quarterback would call out these plays in huddle. He got killed on every play. He never got to run the play he called. He quit and left because it wasn't like his high school team. I had played some organized football too, and I knew that without practices, there can be no blocking. So as QB, I just looked for where the biggest D guys were, and when ball snapped I rolled out like Ken Anderson as fast as I could go away from them, and hit the first person I saw open. There are no plays in pick-up football of no blocking, and darn few plays of Bengals football of no blocking. This is when Football turns into Rugby, you just run for your life like Fitzpatrick in 2008, and he lived to see better days on other teams.