It was his first game man.....no real training camp and light practices.....I thought he looked good when you consider all that...Fitz had him for a TD if he could throw an acurate spiral
Actually, his expectation is one of an intelligent football fan that understands what a rookie receiver with a limited route tree can accomplish behind 2 established veterans.
so his job is to not get open deep? what is it, to be covered all game? this thread is obviously idiotic knee-jerk stuff to a loss/smith's first game. but he was certainly brought in to address our problems stretching the field deep. his job is certainly to outrun cbs on deep patterns
How does that make any sense? Do you realize that cornerbacks these days are generally FASTER than receivers? There are a lot of 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 receivers in the NFL. If you run a 4.5 as a corner you'll have a tough time seeing the field. If you run anything over 4.5 you virtually have no shot to play the position in the NFL. 4.6, 4.7, you're not getting a job. Receivers don't "outrun" cornerbacks, they have to set them up, sell moves. That's how you beat corners, whether it's short, intermediate, or downfield. You don't just run a 60 yard go route in a straight line, that would be idiotic and it's not going to work otherwise you could just sign some olympic track guy and let him catch bombs all day and put up receiving records each game. AJ Green runs a 4.6, he's not outrunning anybody.
The more I watch this game, the more I realize that Devin Smith could have had an absolutely monstrous debut if Fitz had played a better game. Between the catches he actually made, the 3 go routes that could have been completed, the wide open touchdown and the dig route that could have gone a mile, he could have put up some stupid good numbers in his first game. And that's after missing 6 weeks of action. I have really high hopes for this kid. Hopefully with more practice time Fitz can develop a rhythm with him. But there's no sugar coating it, Fitz was trash in this game. He left so many throws on the field, including numerous to Smith, a 70 yard TD to Enunwa and 2 huge gainers (1 TD) to Marshall. He was decent week 1, subpar week 2 and awful week 3. Not a positive trend, he needs to turn this around if we want to finish with a winning record.
its not about speed. its about a combinations of speed, quickness, and technique. 40 speeds go out the window when you have your back turned to the area you are going to be running, need to pivot and turn, are at a disadvantage of not knowing when the snap is or where the WR will go. there is a reason that teams dont leave their corners all alone on the outsides without safety help very often... and rarely do it unless the corner is elite or they can count on a very heavy pass rush or both. 1 on 1 no safety help your speed WR should be counted on to beat the corner downfield. especially if its a WR who was brought in specifically for his ability to get by CBs on 9 routes. which is what smith was brought in to do.
I never said that. If Fitz hits the kid in stride he probably has 1 if not 2 TD's against the Eagles. Not to mention the kid had separation enough to make a play if the balls were better.
I agree, as mentioned, this thread is riddiculous as smith shouldnt get criticism, especially after 1 week. my point was more that it IS smiths job to beat cornerbacks.... not so much commenting on how well a job he did or will do at it
To be fair, it could easily be that Fitz and Smith haven't developed chemistry and proper timing yet. It's easy to say that Fitz underthrew a pass, but how do we know that the receiver was in the right spot? For all we know, the passes might have gone exactly where they were supposed to. Don't get me wrong, some of those were definitely on Fitz, but there were a few that looked more like timing issues, which should improve over time. Give them a few more games, Smith is a rookie that missed most of training camp and preseason.
Sad and pathetic, isn't it? If Leonard Williams doesn't win DROY, some posters will claim he's a bust. Petty could win the starting QB position in TC next year, throw for 300 yards and 2 TDs in his first start, and posters would be complaining that he didn't complete 100% of his passes, throw for 400 yards and 5 TDs. Some people just can't be happy. They have to find something to complain about.
smiths best attribute is his body control and ability to adjust to the ball...also has great hands. he wins 50/50 balls a LOT. 60% of the time, he catches it every time
on that play I think its definitely an example of a WR/QB not being on the same page. Smith has been out forever and prior to his injury Fitzpatrick was throwing passes to backups. Fitzpatrick got rushed and hit but it didn't come from the middle and it only came after his hesitation. Ideally Fitzpatrick would've hit Smith just as he made his break and that one would've been a huge play. usually Fitzpatrick makes the quick decision (sometimes too hasty) He isn't one to hold onto the ball that extra split second but his timing with Smith was way off. Wish we could have that play back. watching the All-22 can be so freakin frustrating when you see things like this
