Fitz Hitting Some Decent Long Passes ?

[Night Train]

From last nights practice, via Chris Brown.

In 11-on-11 the big plays continued with Fitzpatrick hitting Stevie Johnson for a 50-yard bomb on a deep post. Johnson juggled the ball on his way to the ground, briefly held it between his legs to keep it from hitting the ground and then rolled and grabbed it with his hands to complete the catch.

But the pass play of the day was when Fitzpatrick launched a ball that traveled 50 yards through the air to <NOBR>Derek Hagan (http://www.billszone.com/team/roster/derek-hagan/8e5f8d6e-106f-426d-8320-6c531323a9cb/)</NOBR> for a 65-yard scoring play bringing the crowd in attendance to their feet.

Hmmm...I thought it was going to be all short slants and swing passes ?


BTW- has Hagan done anything wrong since arriving here last year ?

[DraftBoy]

From last nights practice, via Chris Brown.

In 11-on-11 the big plays continued with Fitzpatrick hitting Stevie Johnson for a 50-yard bomb on a deep post. Johnson juggled the ball on his way to the ground, briefly held it between his legs to keep it from hitting the ground and then rolled and grabbed it with his hands to complete the catch.

But the pass play of the day was when Fitzpatrick launched a ball that traveled 50 yards through the air to <NOBR>Derek Hagan (http://www.billszone.com/team/roster/derek-hagan/8e5f8d6e-106f-426d-8320-6c531323a9cb/)</NOBR> for a 65-yard scoring play bringing the crowd in attendance to their feet.

Hmmm...I thought it was going to be all short slants and swing passes ?


BTW- has Hagan done anything wrong since arriving here last year ?

Brown has been the one consistently saying that...other reports have said he'll hit one or two a practice but for the most part his deeper throws are off. Its not really a big deal, the offense doesn't call for a lot of vertical throws at this point and he's more than good enough to handle the short to intermediate passes.

[ddaryl]

Brown has been the one consistently saying that...other reports have said he'll hit one or two a practice but for the most part his deeper throws are off. Its not really a big deal, the offense doesn't call for a lot of vertical throws at this point and he's more than good enough to handle the short to intermediate passes.


Brown has mentioned some long passes, but last nights practice is the 1st time I have read him gushing about the long ball.

From what I can tell digesting multiple reports is Fitz accuracy has improved. Still has a tenancy to try and thread needle, but for the most part he is hitting WR's in stride more often. He had a couple of donw practices, but the majority have been very positive.

I have also read considerable notes on the mid passes of 15 - 30 yds. Lots of action in this range throughout camp....



Overall with so much positive press about our WR's rising up and making some plays, and the fact that the Jackson Spiller 2-head monster is looking the part of top NFL tandem, I am very excited, and think the Offense is in a very good place to compliment our vastly improved D.

It all will boil down to depth/injuries and most importantly consistency past week #5

[OpIv37]

WR's making plays? I see the word "dropped" in the same sentence as Stevie Johnson's name far too often this off-season.

Getting back to the topic at hand though: we know Fitz didn't throw the long ball well during the season last year. Does anyone recall how he did in camp? I think that's a good indicator: a lot of players can do things in camp that they can't do in live game situations. If Fitz was throwing the long ball well in camp last year too, well, then I wouldn't hold my breath on him improving this year. If he looks better in camp this year than he did in camp last year, it's no guarantee that he can do it in a game but it's certainly a good sign. Supposedly, the new QB coach is working on Fitz's mechanics, which could potentially help.

And on a related side note: it always shocks me when guys who are nearly 30 years old that have been playing the game since they were kids and have managed to stay in the NFL for 7 or 8 years need to have technique/mechanics fixed. It always makes me wonder a) how they got this far without the proper techniques/mechanics (usually pure athleticism is the answer- in Fitz's case, brains probably helped) and b) how good they could have been if they had corrected the problems earlier in their career.

[justasportsfan]

WR's making plays? I see the word "dropped" in the same sentence as Stevie Johnson's name far too often this off-season.

Getting back to the topic at hand though: we know Fitz didn't throw the long ball well during the season last year. Does anyone recall how he did in camp? I think that's a good indicator: a lot of players can do things in camp that they can't do in live game situations. If Fitz was throwing the long ball well in camp last year too, well, then I wouldn't hold my breath on him improving this year. If he looks better in camp this year than he did in camp last year, it's no guarantee that he can do it in a game but it's certainly a good sign. Supposedly, the new QB coach is working on Fitz's mechanics, which could potentially help.

And on a related side note: it always shocks me when guys who are nearly 30 years old that have been playing the game since they were kids and have managed to stay in the NFL for 7 or 8 years need to have technique/mechanics fixed. It always makes me wonder a) how they got this far without the proper techniques/mechanics (usually pure athleticism is the answer- in Fitz's case, brains probably helped) and b) how good they could have been if they had corrected the problems earlier in their career.

Hard to compare last year to this year. No OTA's and no Mario/Anderson breathing down his neck last year.Take into consideration the OL he has right now. Wood is out and LT is a work in progress.

Last year ,he was also throwing to guys like Mckelvin and rookies Aaron rogers and Searcy. Gilmore may be a rookie but he isnt playing like one.

[ddaryl]

WR's making plays? I see the word "dropped" in the same sentence as Stevie Johnson's name far too often this off-season.

.


How do you focus on these tid bits.

I think I've read maybe 2 times the whole camp about a Stevie drop. Maybe I'm worng, and someone else will have to elaborate, but I don't recall Stevie and drops being used much at all.

Now if you read multiple reports about the same practice then yes you probably read drops multiple times.

I've read every report I could find on numerous forums/Sites etc... and Stevie drops are far and few between. Hitting it hard at training camp day in and day out is bound to give a player an off day or 2.


Do you recall the practices where reports where saying Stevie caught everything thrown at him ???

Cause I've heard that a few times as well.

[DraftBoy]

He was much more accurate with his long passes, than his short passes when I was at camp. He was having a lot of trouble with the intermediate seam routes to TE's across the middle. He was floating them too much. The out passes were generally crisp, but he did hit a few receivers in the feet. He was spot on with the long passes though, connecting with Stevie a few times.

That pass if floated is an INT 9 times out of 10.

- - - Updated - - -


How do you focus on these tid bits.

I think I've read maybe 2 times the whole camp about a Stevie drop. Maybe I'm worng, and someone else will have to elaborate, but I don't recall Stevie and drops being used much at all.

Now if you read multiple reports about the same practice then yes you probably read drops multiple times.

I've read every report I could find on numerous forums/Sites etc... and Stevie drops are far and few between. Hitting it hard at training camp day in and day out is bound to give a player an off day or 2.


Do you recall the practices where reports where saying Stevie caught everything thrown at him ???

Cause I've heard that a few times as well.

Stevie had had drops in nearly every practice from most reports Ive read. I dont think its as bad as Op makes it out to be but its certainly been a bit more than just twice.

[TigerJ]

Since I haven't been at training camp, I'm like others who depend on eyewitness reports. Obviously, if Fitz is more accurate, that's a good thing. However, it doesn't take to many interceptions to ruin an otherwise good day for a QB. Fitz absolutely has to be more consistent than he has in the past. The are times when a QB will float a pass intentionally. As long as it ends up in a spot where only the receiver can get it, that's fine. It's the ones that float unintentionally that cause the problems, that and passes where WR and QB aren't on the same page regarding the route the WR receiver was to run given the coverage.

[OpIv37]

How do you focus on these tid bits.

I think I've read maybe 2 times the whole camp about a Stevie drop. Maybe I'm worng, and someone else will have to elaborate, but I don't recall Stevie and drops being used much at all.

Now if you read multiple reports about the same practice then yes you probably read drops multiple times.

I've read every report I could find on numerous forums/Sites etc... and Stevie drops are far and few between. Hitting it hard at training camp day in and day out is bound to give a player an off day or 2.


Do you recall the practices where reports where saying Stevie caught everything thrown at him ???

Cause I've heard that a few times as well.

Have you read the camp reports from Mikey and from Draftboy's site? They both reported multiple drops from Stevie in the first two or 3 days. I know Mikey reported at least two drops on the same day in either the 2nd or 3rd practice, and DB's site had a similar report.

It's not "tidbits" when mulitple sources are reporting that a player who has a history of high profile drops has multiple drops in practice.

It cracks me up how some of you are so willing to dismiss reality as Op's "pessimism" just because I happened to be the one to point it out

[Skooby]

Have you read the camp reports from Mikey and from Draftboy's site? They both reported multiple drops from Stevie in the first two or 3 days. I know Mikey reported at least two drops on the same day in either the 2nd or 3rd practice, and DB's site had a similar report.

It's not "tidbits" when mulitple sources are reporting that a player who has a history of high profile drops has multiple drops in practice.

It cracks me up how some of you are so willing to dismiss reality as Op's "pessimism" just because I happened to be the one to point it out

If you were watching the practice in person & wrote about it, you'd write up everything that they did wrong & nothing right.

[OpIv37]

If you were watching the practice in person & wrote about it, you'd write up everything that they did wrong & nothing right.
Well, you're wrong about that, but it's irrelevant because I wasn't the one who did the write-ups.

This is a new low. "shoot the messenger" syndrome has long been a problem on this board, but it's gotten so bad that some of you can't even figure out who the actual messenger is anymore.