Who more at fault for this play's failure ??

[Oaf]

I totally disagree. It's Zay's fault that wasn't a completion, but it's a matter of only 1 or 2 missteps so it's not like you can really get mad at him. He cheats toward the sideline just a LITTLE too much. If he runs a slightly more vertical route after separating from his man, he catches that ball in stride and it's a definite touchdown.

Tyrod had an abysmal game, and it may even be his fault Zay ran the route he did (Tyrod had a noticeable tendency toward the outside shoulder all game, so he may have gone toward the sideline anticipating that; we'll probably never know), but the reason that wasn't a touchdown is because of a microscopic misplay by the rookie.

This is likely a slightly misran route by the WR. Jones likely cut his corner route one or two steps early in an attempt to get to the catch point faster. The play is designated to go to either McCoy or Jones on the corner, so it was a simple read/throw for Tyrod to make.

Chalk it up to inexperience and a better future.

[ICRockets]

This is likely a slightly misran route by the WR. Jones likely cut his corner route one or two steps early in an attempt to get to the catch point faster. The play is designated to go to either McCoy or Jones on the corner, so it was a simple read/throw for Tyrod to make.

Chalk it up to inexperience and a better future.

Yep. If you're our coaching staff, one of the overall lessons you bring back with you from that game is that Tyrod's not our long-term answer. Most fans at least had a sense already that we've seen his ceiling, but this should be where it clicks for the new guys in the room.

That having been said, it's your job to make do with the roster you have right now, and when you view this specific play with that mindset the goal is to analyze it and make the most efficient coaching fix possible. You can make the assertion, as a fan, that Tyrod should have thrown it to where Zay was actually running and just accept the result of moving the ball to about the 3 or 4 yard line. You're not wrong, per se. But the easiest and smartest fix is to tell Zay Jones to take that route a little bit more vertically to turn it into a touchdown.

That's a much more productive lens through which to view the play, at least in my opinion, than who should be blamed for it. With a better QB and the same exact Zay, we have a completion at the sideline. With a better QB AND a better Zay Jones, you have a touchdown. Since it should be a foregone conclusion that Ty's not the guy next year, the wise coaching move is to correct Zay's route awareness in this instance to facilitate the scoring play if the same situation arises with a superior passer in the future.

[YardRat]

If Jones were to take the route more vertically, or more specifically to align his route with the path of Tyrod's pass, he would have had to abandon the flag completely and cut straight north/south which would actually bring him closer to the defender. That pass is supposed to be thrown to the outside track of the receiver, over the corner and away from the safety, plain and simple.

Yeah he flattened it out a little bit. Yeah the ball hit his hands. But, blaming Zay for that play is similar to blaming the defense for the loss because they gave up more points than the offense scored.

Maybe if Tyrod knew how to throw to a wide receiver before desperation time the team wouldn't have been in that position to begin with.

[Forward_Lateral]

If Zay ran the route wrong, the pass should've been more in front of him, not behind him.

[kscdogbillsfan1221]

They are both clearly at fault but I put it more on tyrod.that said, an NFL wr needs to come down with that catch even though the ball was certainly not good.

[ICRockets]

If Jones were to take the route more vertically, or more specifically to align his route with the path of Tyrod's pass, he would have had to abandon the flag completely

Nope. All he had to do was flatten his angle by like 5 degrees after the cut. Like I said, the angle he took put him out of bounds around the 4 yard line. All he has to do is run more toward the pylon and he's in perfect position to catch the pass.

[Historian]

Sorry, this one is on Tyrod.

Brady, Manning (both of them) Brees, Smith, Flacco, Big Ben, Carr, Rivers, Stafford, Winston, Prescott, Wilson, and Mariotta all make that throw.

Kemp, Ferguson, Kelly, Reich, Bledsoe, Flutie, and Fitzy all make that throw.

Maybe Julio Jones or Dez Bryant make that catch, while twisting around to see the ball.

You cannot expect that from a rookie receiver. FWIW, I doubt Watkins make it either.

And even if he had caught the ball, we probably run out of time anyways, do to the pisspoor clock management.

[ICRockets]

Sorry, this one is on Tyrod.

Brady, Manning (both of them) Brees, Smith, Flacco, Big Ben, Carr, Rivers, Stafford, Winston, Prescott, Wilson, and Mariotta all make that throw.

Kemp, Ferguson, Kelly, Reich, Bledsoe, Flutie, and Fitzy all make that throw.

Maybe Julio Jones or Dez Bryant make that catch, while twisting around to see the ball.

You cannot expect that from a rookie receiver. FWIW, I doubt Watkins make it either.

And even if he had caught the ball, we probably run out of time anyways, do to the pisspoor clock management.

Which is why the smart adjustment is on Zay's end. That is an EASY touchdown if he adjusts his route, and it's SO EASY to adjust that route in the future.

As a coach, why would you make fixing that play harder than it has to be?

[Joe Fo Sho]

Peterman makes that throw.

[Forward_Lateral]

Which is why the smart adjustment is on Zay's end. That is an EASY touchdown if he adjusts his route, and it's SO EASY to adjust that route in the future.

As a coach, why would you make fixing that play harder than it has to be?

WTF are you talking about? That route was ran perfectly. He was WIDE OPEN and even with a decent throw, he walks into the endzone for a TD.

[ICRockets]

Peterman makes that throw.

But what good does that do us? You make the throw to where Zay is going and there's no guarantee he can even get his feet in bounds as he makes the sideline catch. If Zay adjusts his route just a tiiiiiiiiny bit that concern never enters the equation as he enters the end zone.

We agree that Tyrod shouldn't be the QB next season. So when we're talking about things you can do as the coach to make a long-term adjustment for the better, it makes much more sense to focus your adjustment on Zay Jones, right? Since he's the guy who is, hypothetically, much more likely to be running it again beyond this season?

[ICRockets]

WTF are you talking about? That route was ran perfectly. He was WIDE OPEN and even with a decent throw, he walks into the endzone for a TD.

No he doesn't. If you throw that ball where people wanted it thrown, Zay goes out of bounds around the 4.

[Joe Fo Sho]

But what good does that do us?

What good does completing a 30 yard pass on 4th and 11 from the Carolina 33 with 14 seconds left in the game down by 6 do us? Is that a serious question?

You make the throw to where Zay is going and there's no guarantee he can even get his feet in bounds as he makes the sideline catch.

Guarantee? This is the NFL, there are no guarantees. Zay can adjust his path once he has the ball in his hands, right? He can dive over the pylon, or stretch the ball over the endzone, he could run out of bounds at the 4 with 10 seconds left and give us 2 or 3 more chances at scoring...or I guess he could accidentally fumble the ball and the Panthers could run it back for a touchdown, because there's no guarantees. Who cares? The first step is getting the ball in his possession and allowing him to do the rest. Tyrod failed that critical step.

We agree that Tyrod shouldn't be the QB next season. So when we're talking about things you can do as the coach to make a long-term adjustment for the better, it makes much more sense to focus your adjustment on Zay Jones, right? Since he's the guy who is, hypothetically, much more likely to be running it again beyond this season?

If Tyrod isn't going to start next year, why is he starting this year? Because of our playoff hopes? Why not focus on an unknown entity at QB who may or may not be able to play this game? Because like you said, Peterman will be here next year and is much more likely to run that play in the future than Tyrod if we cut him.

Hopefully we can get a QB on our team that can adjust when the WRs run routes that are off by a 'microscopic' measurement.

the reason that wasn't a touchdown is because of a microscopic misplay by the rookie.

Must be nice that other QBs in the league have receivers that run perfect routes every time, not even off by microscopic measurements.

[ICRockets]

What good does completing a 30 yard pass on 4th and 11 from the Carolina 33 with 14 seconds left in the game down by 6 do us? Is that a serious question?

Yours clearly isn't a serious question, since you went on immediately after asking it to agree that there's a difference between throwing the ball where you wanted it thrown and actually completing the pass.

If you're not capable of having a conversation without antagonizing me from the jump, please do what your Nazi friend suggested and put me on ignore.

[ICRockets]

If Tyrod isn't going to start next year, why is he starting this year? Because of our playoff hopes? Why not focus on an unknown entity at QB who may or may not be able to play this game? Because like you said, Peterman will be here next year and is much more likely to run that play in the future than Tyrod if we cut him.

As far as I'm concerned, if Tyrod comes out against the Broncos and looks like he did yesterday, Peterman should be under center by the start of the 3rd quarter at the latest. Seeing as his teammates voted TT captain it might not be as straightforward in the locker room, though, so I don't know what will happen.

[ICRockets]

Must be nice that other QBs in the league have receivers that run perfect routes every time, not even off by microscopic measurements.

Do you have a point here? I already said fixing the play is more important than assigning blame, so it's not like I'm dragging Zay when I put it on him.

[Turf]

We could have thrown a first down over the middle. called time out and had two chances for the end zone. I was surprised they went for it all. That being said, it looked like just basic confusion about whether that ball was supposed to be inside or out.

[k-oneputt]

Ok IC thanks for playing. The lib zone awaits your arrival.

[sahlensguy]

The reason why Zay caught more balls than anyone in Division I history was because of his HANDS. Rook or not, HE should have caught that ball.

[k-oneputt]

More like COULD have caught it then SHOULD have caught it.
Of course if our NFL qb could make a routine NFL throw we would be 2-0 right now.