(06-12-2019, 10:05 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: With any luck, the new offense should take some pressure off of AJ to have to be the go to man, on every down. I'd like to think that spreading the ball around could only extend AJ's playing days. Personally, I'd be much happier with AJ getting 60-70 catches with good endings, as opposed to 30-40 more with crushing results.
Dead on, Sunset. And shouldn't this be the case anyways if we are not "force-feeding" AJ the ball when he is in double coverage? I know he is "always open", but if you look back at the high-powered Colt's offenses under Manning, I don't remember feeling like Marvin Harrison was force-fed the ball. It was always a mix of TEs, Reggie Wayne, Harrison, and Faulk/James getting a lot of targets out of the backfield. And those Indy teams didn't have the run-pass balance I think we will see out of ZTs club this year.
If everything is going well, we will see all 3 TEs get targets (Sample, Uzo, and Eifert), the main WRs (Ross, Boyd, AJ, and Erickson), and a stable of backs (Gio, Joe, and the two rookies). The less they rely on just AJ Green in the receiving game and the more they attack the other team's lesser defenders, the better off the overall offense will be.
Look no further than Andy's interception's while targeting AJ. I think that is a product of force-feeding him the ball. Take some deep shots with him on play-action. Move him around (he was excellent when in motion or out of the slot...I'm sure ZT knows that) and use ALL your weapons and watch this offense soar.