Throw the ball in bounds

I threw this out during the last game thread, but posters were actually busy watching the game. Go figure.

On at least 3 plays there was a a long pass towrds the sideline and the pass was thrown far enough out of bounds that the receiver either caught it out of bounds, or couldn't catch it while trying to keep his feet in bounds. This has happened every week this year.

Why?

Can Ben not throw an accurate deep pass to the sideline on a regular basis?

Is he afraid of throwing an interception?

Is this the way the OC designs the play?

Why not run the route a foot and a half farther inbounds? The DB will line up accordingly.

Sure, everyone can list the times it actually works (Holmes SB), but we can all name the excessive number of times it is out of bounds.

Marino was good at this. Fouts was good at this. Why can't we just throw the ball in bounds?

 

I thought about starting a thread about this weeks ago. It is amazing the number of passes that are right on the sideline. A lot of the time even if the receiver catches the ball he would be out. To me the sideline is another defender.

 

Ben is not very accurate. He leads the receivers out of bounds frequently. He also misses on when to throw it back shoulder (e.g on the one Bryant throw where Bryant had to try and dive over the defender in an attempt to make the catch. Back shoulder throw there is an easy completion.

 

Ben is not a good deep ball passer. I've been saying it for 10 years. He either overthrows or underthrows. When he delivers a ball that hits a receiver in stride, it's pretty rare.

That said, when you have an inaccurate deep ball passer, it's better to throw it away from the defense. I'd rather he throw it too close to the sideline than too close to the safety.

 

This. Even back to 2005, I remember Wilson always having 4 or 5 steps on the closest defender but Ben always under throwing him, so when the ball actually came down he got creamed by 2 defenders right after the catch. It seems (to me) that he hesitates on the long throws to make sure the receiver is open, but when he does, that that extra second screws up the timing of the play and causes an under throw. Taking this into account, he then overcompensates which leads to the overthrows.

Regarding the intermediate, sideline throws, I do not think he's quite as bad. He and Brown work well on these routes. I think it was the Jags or the Browns game when he had 2 beautiful back shoulder throws in succession (Aaron Rogers/Gordy Nelsonesque, even), but he only seems to have that rapport with Brown. He and Wheaton seem to have no chemistry at all...not sure where the problem lies there. It's like they're not even on the same route.

 

Yes, I agree. On top of this, there's also the injury to his hand that's been talked about a bit, which may explain why he's been less accurate than normal of late.

 

Or why he's not zipping balls on crossing routes...

 

Originally Posted by Thigpen82
Yes, I agree. On top of this, there's also the injury to his hand that's been talked about a bit, which may explain why he's been less accurate than normal of late.

I was reading all of this and was thinking the same as you guys... whats up with the hand?

 

Not sure if you were actually looking for an answer but if you were Ben hit his hand on Gilberts helmet in the Bucs game. I read but don't remember where he is suppose to be taking cortisone shots for his right hand

 

Ben's apparent lack of accuracy with the deep ball is one reason the Steelers have had difficulty striking against opposing defenses. Extremely fast receivers like Mike Wallace and tall receivers like Martavis Bryant make it easier for Ben to connect when throwing the long ball. Receivers as fast as Mike Wallace present a large target by creating open field space based on expansive separation from the defender. Tall receivers present a large target by creating larger free/open space above the defender. (I would have referenced Wheaton here but I haven't seen him display the ridiculous speed I hear he has. And we are all aware of the way Wallace used to take the tops off of defenses. So, he's used just as an example of a fast receiver.)

Is this perhaps why Haley draws up what people seem to say are a majority of pass plays that are a maximum of about 10-15 yards? I recall someone mentioning this in another thread. I think Haley still calls for strikes, but it doesn't seem they are successful very often. There are lots of missed throws.

A small tweak by Ben in this area could increase the effectiveness of the offense, greatly.

Otherwise, hopefully AB, Wheaton (speed) and Bryant (height) can adjust to how Ben is throwing.

I guess we'll see...

 

I have watched Ben this year and have found his arm to be stronger than it has been in years. Well at least that was the case until he hurt his hand on Gilberts helmet.

Keep in mind that yes he has had some accuracy issues he also only has 3 interceptions for the year thus far. I believe he had a total of 14 for 2013

 

Isn't it smart of a defender to "push" the receiver over to the sideline to limit his room to maneuver? Often, we don't see that from our defense because they start so far off the ball, hoping to not get beat deep.

 

yes, you want to bump them off the line and your right, our D rarely does it.

Busman... I knew that his hand was hurt but I nver really saw anything since it became news, as to how bad it was.

Rush2seven... I'm from Dauphin (right above Harrisburg). I'm not sure many people outside of our "Turkey Hill" market base have ever seen that ice cream.