Rudolph...

There's been a lot of people clamouring for Fichtner to let Rudolph throw longer, stop with the short passing game etc.

It seemed to me that they came out trying to throw downfield, with bad results. He got his rhythm with the shorter passes and then started to mix it up a bit more.

There were one or two plays where the protection was good and MR had loads of time, then ended up throwing into tight coverage. I'd need to re-watch, but it didn't seem like those plays had any escape routes for him to check down to. Part bad decision-making, part receivers not getting open, part under throwing the ball.

 

Mason would have lost the game if it weren't for the Fins being so bad by their players and coaches. I was thinking about putting the Duck in after MR's second interception (that wasn't by a toe) as he was throwing meatballs all over the field or were well behind the receivers. Still not sure what we have in him as he hasn't played any teams that are just average, let alone good. We now can say we've beaten teams with a combined win total of 3 in week 8. Miami game might turn out to be a "get right" game as we have better teams coming up and we absolutely need to be better. .

 

Pouncey got pushed back into Rudolph on the INT. Had that not happen... the pass would have been better and not ended up short for Dolphins CB to easily pick off.

 

That's a fact Jack!

But, by the same token, he under threw and threw behind a "LOT" of opportunities. He throws from his back foot and I don't know if it was because he was gun shy after the trip to la-la land or if that is his style.

 

Newsflash: Every QB in the NFL was good in college. Doesn't mean they'll be good NFL QBs. The game is very different. From 2012-2014 the three Heisman Trophy winners were Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston, and Marcus Mariota.

 

Hey KMM

Trust me, I get it but scouts have to start somewhere and need a starting point when assessing talent. MR was good in college and I am glad that we got Washington to go with him. Hopefully, they become a solid "battery" tandem like in baseball. STEELWINDS

 

I think Mason got better as the game went on. You have to realize that he hadn't played in over 3 weeks. There was bound to be rust to start the game and it showed in the 1st quarter. But, he made plays when he had to, for the life of me not sure why Miami blitzed everyone on an 3rd and 20, but they did, and he hit the guy he needed to, and he turned the game around.

But more will be asked of him. Especially with Conner perhaps hurt for a period of time.
He has two good defenses coming up with the Colts and Rams. We will see how he handles himself these next two games.

 

MR did some things well. Scanning the field and going through his reads was one of those things. His problem was timing. He was holding the ball too long and not committing to a throw quick enough. That was causing his passes to be behind his receivers all game long.

The timing is easier to fix than a guy who can't see the field or go through his progressions. So there's definite promise there. But accuracy can't always be fixed either. Some guys are just inaccurate. I think with lots of work, MR can get a lot better with his timing and accuracy, but it's no guarantee.

 

That's why I wouldn't criticize the throw, though he probably should have moved in the pocket on that play. My issue there was the decision. Even a good through would have been tough to complete. Smith-Schuster was well covered. Sure, Howard got away with holding him, but he did it effectively.

Rudolph missed far too many throws when he did have time. The fourth down early was behind the receiver. He did the same thing on the third down before the missed field goal and he missed Johnson when he was wide open deep. He needs to make those throws more consistently.

 

Agree. Rudolph's timing was off... throwing late, etc. This is all normal for a QB who hasn't started many NFL games and is coming off a 3-week layoff. The more reps he gets... the better his timing will be. Hopefully.

 

Giving him the benefit of the doubt on that second INT that was reversed. Washington should have caught that ball .... it was right in his hands and then bounced into the defenders hands.

Slow-motion replay ... https://www.clippituser.tv/c/yekgal

 

Rudolph is still thinking as opposed to reacting. Coming from an Air Raid college type offense,that's not too surprising. Real time reps will change that but we'll have to be patient while that transpires.

 

I thought the same thing myself. Yeah we were all kinda looking for him to push the ball downfield but the mistake by Fichtner was not letting him get comfortable first. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that coming off a 2 week plus layoff he would need some time to knock the rust off. I guess that was hard to figure out when putting together a series of plays for his first drive. They came out with 3 WRs instead of trying to establish the run and give MR shorter down and distance options to get comfortable.
What do they do next series? Exactly that. Conner and Nix. I don’t get why we insist on trying to fool everyone, only to fool ourselves.

 

They said b4 the game that he was looking forward to getting hit just so he'll know he's ok. He took a pretty good one close to the jaw and was fine... For the deep balls he has to get the rust off all they had him doing up to lastnight were the short passes. Then Howard goes down and its bombs away. He was doing pretty good once he calmed down,,, Steelers usually suck after a bye week and it was against a crap team... lucky to win that one.

 

what if he got hit and got K.O'd again haha

 

Then he would say F this I'm outta here.

 

Yeah his footwork in the pocket was non-existent, wasn't moving at all back there & throwing before stepping into it. He got better later in the game & his throws had better zip on them. That & his timing (throwing late) will improve given experience.

 

But does he watch game film?

 

MR has pedigree (family of athletes and long, successful collegiate career). He's no fluke.

His experience and upbringing were on full display Monday night as he struggled to knock the rust off. He battled against the fins, his home crowd, and himself. Weathered the storm and righted the ship. Commendable.

But what I don't see is "it". I don't see fire or killer instinct.

I don't care that he's only a sophomore. You either have it or you don't. Like others have said here, he's looking more like a solid backup than a franchise qb.

Maybe it's just his demeanor, but he looks a little TOO calm, cool, and collected. If he acted like that while delivering accurate passes, I'd say he looked like a seasoned vet. But half his passes miss the broad side of a barn and he's ho hum about it.

 

What concern me most about Rudolph is his inaccuracy & lack of arm strength...

 

Inaccuracy is just poor mechanics at this point. He wasn't inaccurate in college. Arm strength, on the other hand, is a big concern.

Look at how Fitz was zipping the ball into tight windows on Monday. 15-20 yards on a frozen rope. His receivers didn't have to have much separation when the ball could get to them in a heartbeat.

MR, on the other hand, just didn't seem to have any zip on his passes. And frankly, he didn't have much touch on the deeper throws as well. Very much a concern moving forward.

 

Joe Montana was all about being calm and collected, too. I am in no way saying Rudolph is or will be in that kind of realm. I'm just saying Montana was known for staying calm and he is in the discussion for greatest quarterback in NFL history.

 

Zip can and will come when he’s gains more experience and knows where he wants to go with the ball(decision making) I’ve seen plenty of zip when needed. It’s the uncertainty that’s causing the “lazy” passes. Fitz was turning his back to the D a few times but turned knowing exactly where he was going with the ball. I think once Mason gets more comfortable arm strength won’t be a issue. I’ve seen him throw quite a few slants and posts with plenty of zip.

 

Actually, the lack of zip on some throws was about mechanics, too. When Rudolph sets and throws, he is able to fire the ball into tight windows. He did it on that first-half pass to Smith-Schuster on and a few others. He just seemed very uncomfortable with any pressure at all Monday night, perhaps a little gun shy after the big hit knocked him out of his previous game.

He has shown a better pocket presence in other games. He definitely seemed off all the way around, but got away with much of it because the opponent was terrible.

 

It was obvious his pocket presence was lacking more than likely due to the hit he suffered. He looked scared to step up in the pocket and create throwing lanes. He kept fading back and that’s a recipe for disaster. I’m hoping the hit he took gave him some confidence back. If he can’t get past that fear he’s not going to be effective at all playing like that.