Considering what might be termed as questionable draft picks is Fisher in troubl

This topic has 12 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 2 months ago by rfl.

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September 3, 2014 at 8:53 am #5943

GreatRamNTheSky
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Is Fisher in trouble, considering that two very high picks two years in a row are having issues?

Tavon Austin has hardly rated being taken number 8 overall and Greg Robinson seems to be a project at number 2 over all.

Plus Fisher ignored the history of his starting QB as being injury prone which he has been since his college days and ignores taking
a quality QB in the draft. Now he sits with a 34 year old hangers on at QB and two inexperienced kids in Davis and Keenum.
Houston people were glad to see Keenum leave. What does that tell you considering that Houston has had its issues at QB?

Tavon saw a few snaps in pre-season but considering that he STRUGGLED with the playbook last season and was except for a couple games NON-PRODUCTIVE don’t you think he should have been focused on just a little in pre-season to see if he could make plays at this level?

Fisher needs to get this team off to a fast start and I just do not see that happening.

Grits

September 3, 2014 at 8:53 am #5931

GreatRamNTheSky
Participant

Snead and Fisher are looking rather suspect in some of their top Picks.

1. Tavon Austin, not being utilized as we thing he should be.
2. Robinson the top pick, number 2 overall and he can’t start? Really?

When I think that Sammy Watkins was sitting right there and Fisher takes a project? Really? Plus they didn’t take a QB either? Really?
There were other offensive linemen they could have taken. Plus did they really need Aaron Donald instead of taking an O-lineman there?

Not looking good for either Snead or Fisher. Starting to look like Billy Devaney is back in town.

Grits

September 3, 2014 at 8:55 am #5933

GreatRamNTheSky
Participant

You take a guy number two overall AND HE CAN’T START?!! BS!!!!!

Horrible!

Grits

September 3, 2014 at 10:30 am #5944

zn
Moderator

Fisher is not in trouble. He has a 5 year deal with an owner who has shown in the past that he hires veteran coaches, lets them run things, and does not sweat the short-term speedbump stuff.

And they’re not “questionable picks.” Week 1 of year 1 of a pick is way, way, way too early to make judgements like that (and besides you’re wrong about that anyway).

Toughen up dude. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Boudreau rarely if EVER starts rookie linemen early in the season and that’s going back YEARS. If nothing else that’s why they signed Joseph. They’re covered.

September 3, 2014 at 10:34 am #5945

nittany ram
Moderator

I think Fisher is safe this year barring wholesale collapse. Whether or not Austin and Robinson work out there is no denying that Snisher has greatly improved the overall quality of the roster. And I expect both Austin and Robinson will be big contributors this season.

September 3, 2014 at 10:46 am #5946
Agamemnon
Participant
Why did you start 2 threads with the same subject. Grits?

http://theramshuddle.com/topic/robinson-not-starting-is-a-bad-sign/

and this one?
- This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Agamemnon.
Agamemnon
September 3, 2014 at 10:53 am #5948

rfl
Participant

Nonsense.

Everyone takes time to learn to play OL in the pros.

And Robby is on track to be a great OL.

By virtue of the absurd ...

September 3, 2014 at 11:06 am #5949

zn
Moderator

rfl wrote:

Nonsense.

Everyone takes time to learn to play OL in the pros.

And Robby is on track to be a great OL.

Yeah, plus as I said elsewhere, Boudreau has rarely if ever started a rookie OL in week 1 and that goes back years and years.

September 3, 2014 at 11:16 am #5950

GreatRamNTheSky
Participant

Because I knew it would get your attention Agamemnon. LOL

Grits

September 3, 2014 at 11:32 am #5951

Agamemnon
Participant

GreatRamNTheSky wrote:

Because I knew it would get your attention Agamemnon. LOL

Grits

Have fun, Grits. 😉

Agamemnon

September 3, 2014 at 11:33 am #5952

Agamemnon
Participant

He is young and comes from a limited offense. He is almost another Quick. imo

Agamemnon

September 3, 2014 at 12:58 pm #5959

zn
Moderator

Agamemnon wrote:

He is young and comes from a limited offense. He is almost another Quick. imo

rfl wrote:

Robby is on track to be a great OL…. Robby looked very good at LOT. I saw him give up part of a sack once, late in the half. But generally his pass blocking was sound: he’d have his guy walled off while the rest of the OL was being over-run. And his run blocking really is impressive. He can drive the DL, but he also gets to the 2nd level and blows LBs backward. Tell you what … right now I’d just as soon start him over Jake the Fraud Long.

—

Just reinforcing all that:

—

RockRam

I watched all the preseason games at least twice, and some 3 times, focusing on different people and units.

GRob is a beast! He throws 330 lb. Dlinemen around with one arm (I’m not exaggerating).

His problem is he makes mistakes. He blocks the wrong guy. Misses assignments.
But physically, he’s not movable on Pass Pro, and he moves his guy wherever he wants to on run plays.

It’s the mental part of the game and certain technique issues.
He’s an entirely different animal that J. Smith who was 30 lbs smaller and soft.

Before the draft, this issue was known.
The question all draft analysts asked was: which is better. To get a plug and play guy like Matthews that has a low ceiling but a high floor? Or get a guy who will need technique and assignment work who has a HOF ceiling?

If you will note, it is Fisher’s and Snead’s spoken philosophy to always go for the higher ceiling.
That’s what the did and I suspect they don’t regret it.

Just remember: Oline is tough in the NFL. Warmack and Cooper have struggled mightily even in their 2nd year.
And neither of those were asked to practice equally between LT and LG.

GRob is going to be fine. But it might be mid point this year.
Right now, Saffold and Joseph are simply better.

September 3, 2014 at 1:36 pm #5961

rfl
Participant

I was thinking a bit about the Robby/J Smith comparison. Completely different cases.

When J Smith set up to pass block, he “played narrow” if I can use a vague metaphor. He could move his feet OK, but he projected a narrow, vertical extension that never seemed to slow down the DL. They went around him with ease as he didn’t seem keep the pass rushing body in front of him. It’s about hands, yes, but also about an inability to project power on a wide enough horizontal scale to make it hard for the DL to get around him.

With Robby, it’s completely different. With a good pass blocking OL, the DL seems stuck against a wall, or, perhaps, the door of a wide gate. The OL projects power on a wide horizontal scale that makes it hard for the DL to turn him either way. I remember one of the MNF announcers once looking at a replay of Pace and a DL who was just stuck. MacGuire (I think) kept laughing: “Where you gonna go?” I don’t know that Robby is there yet, but he already forms a much more formidable, wide-based obstacle for the DL. He’ll still have lots to learn, but when his feet are set, he is damn hard to get around.

I agree completely with comments in the thread about the difference between making mistakes and getting beat. Playing OL is very complex in that you have to read formations, stunts, and combinations. At the NFL level, it’s like 3 dimensional chess. OF COURSE Robby is going to take time to figure all that out. A rookie OL making a read mistake? Completely normal. Quality vets make read mistakes. It’s like criticizing a golfer for missing a downhill 8 footer with 8 inches of break.

And I’ll just remind everyone of this point about one of the wonderful observations made repeatedly by our camp goers: Robby learns fast. I believe Jimi said more than once that Robby makes a mistake, gets schooled, and then doesn’t make that mistake again. What a wonderful attribute for a young guy!

I believe I read before the draft that Robby played Clowney in college and got beat a couple times early in the game. Then he adjusted and didn’t get beat again. I believe Robby himself talked about this.

I have no worries about Robby. It’s a question of when, not if, he stars on our OL. Probably at LOT.

By virtue of the absurd ...
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