I do and I made that point earlier (either in this thread or another) stating that Sunday’s game against the Chargers was essentially the first game all of the starters in Fangio’s defense played. Most didn’t play, or had limited play during preseason. It’s going to take a few games for the defense to gel, just like it did last season for the offense to gel.
I just watched the game on tv and have a few observations. - The reads and anticipation of where the defenders were going to be and correlating that with where the receivers were going to be and Tua fitting it into very small windows was crazy. - Tua didn't have the game of his life even though the stats show that. That pick in the end zone and the fumbles were just atrocious. He also missed several wide open guys who stopped and had to wait for the ball. - That TD to win, was dropped into a bread basket but if the defender had even turned his head it would have been deflected or picked. It should have been thrown deeper. - They were double teaming or sealing off Wilkinson all day or didn't run right at him but he was not a dominating force. - Chubb was taking too high of a route to the QB and never tried a spin move to the inside. - Kohou balled out. - Long Jr. is not great covering WR's (what LBer is) but they were scheming to get that match up and it paid off in key situations. Look for the Pats to try and exploit that. - Our LB's were guessing on the holes and attacking where they thought the holes were to fill. THis left huge areas to run through. - The penalties on X were really marginal at best. - It was loud at the stadium but on tv it seemed louder. - The Chargers deciding to single cover Tyreek was stupid. - The Charger coverage was decent most times but the ball was just coming out so fast and the team speed was causing separation. - Tua did step up into the pocket and made multiple reads and sometimes hit the 3rd read which you just can't defend.
Yeah he had maybe a handful of bad passes. It's rare that you have none in a game. The most important thing for me was that "clutch" factor. Didn't matter what the game situation was he was still playing at a high level despite the few misses, and the result was great. He's still improving. In no way is he a finished product, which bodes well for the future.
Agreed. Wasn't throwing shade just got a chance to watch the game and rewind to see what was happening on the lines and get a little closer scrutiny. From the stadium it didn't seem like the game was as close as the score was but watching it it was damn close.
Tua didn't have a perfect game. That probably makes it more impressive. The same can be said of the 469 yard game against the Ravens last season. He came alive in the second half. He'll never grade out perfectly, passer ratings and QBR be d***ed. One thing that I keep reminding myself about Sunday's game is how narratives are so malleable. The Chargers very nearly won the game. Had they done that, perception would be completely different right now. I can't lie and say that I wasn't geeked out and making a lot of noise at the end of that game but it was just one game. Hopefully, the team is more grounded heading into week 2 than most of the fan base (and sports media) is right now.
That game was decided on the razor's edge. It took stellar performances and timely plays to win and we can't count on that every week. We played well but need to play better on both sides of the ball as we move forward.
Two key stats I compiled long ago on close games: the better the team the fewer the number of close games, and the better the team the higher the probability of winning close games. See graph below (area of circle is proportional to number of games). So at least the Chargers game helped with condition #2.
IMO, both of the throws that were under thrown were timing issues. He had to adjust in the pocket on both and did not adjust the velocity of the throw enough. IMO, if the pressure doesn't get there, he completes both of those throws. Later in the game, he was adjusting properly after getting moved off of his spot. Also, Herbert missed more throws than Tua did. He sailed two deep and one out of bounds. I think Tua has a tendency to play it safe on some throws to avoid the overthrow since an over thrown ball cannot be caught but an under thrown ball cam
What was GREAT about that video was McDaniel literally commenting on EVERY player of the offense and how each of their execution allowed that big play, not just praising Tua and Hill. We’ve all bashed Jackson but it was refreshing to hear McDaniel praise him.
I think its in this video where they discuss that Tua didn't reset his feet properly on both of those throws.
I'm pretty sure that first big underthrow is because Tua is set to throw the ball to Waddle but then at the last second he sees Tyreek streaking behind him and thinks he's got a touchdown there so tries to all arm it. His feet are set to throw the ball to his right but he never adjusts them for the throw to Tyreek on the left.
I think it takes time for players to "unlearn" a former coach's system, and "relearn" their new one's. I see it all the time in the Premier League.
EXCELLENT video. Shows the absolute GENIUS that is McDaniel and the maturation of Tua being able to recognize and adjust. That’s just some damned fine coaching and strategizing.
