The Gross Misuse of Sammy Watkins--by the numbers

[LeGOATski]

apparently the reasons they didn't use him on more screens was because of his ribs being more exposed to hits and because they didn't think the OL could block effectively for them. I suppose either or both could be valid excuses, but it doesn't make it any less irritating!

Woods put Julius Peppers on his ass in that GB game.

 

Just let Sammy run behind Bob and Clay. No need for he O-line

[Luxy312]

These "analyses" are filled with failure to look at a bigger picture. For the 579 pass attempts, there were 128 targets of Watkins. 22.1% of passes went his way. OBD was targeted 130 times on 607 pass attempts. That's 21.4%. Does that mean that OBJ wasn't targeted enough either? Of the 273 completions, 23.8% went to Watkins. OBJ hauled in 23.8% of the Giants total completions as well. At the end of the day, the Giants passing game was 18% more productive overall than Buffalo's last year. Given that his overall participation was comparable to the definitive ROY candidate, I don't know how you can see he was "grossly misused" unless you say the same thing about OBJ. Which, IMO would be a ridiculous statement.

[4merper4mer]

Hackett : I can't wait to use Watkins on screens and slants and reverses and any way we can to get him into open space!, No one could stop him at Clemson!!

 

Marrone: Exactly! But think other teams don't know that, too?! We're never gonna do it! We're gonna pull the old switcheroo and run Watkins in ways they'll never ever expect or plan for!!

 

Hackett: I love it!! Let's go out and not do it!!! Yahoooooo!!!

You left out the part where they fooled everyone by throwing to Brad Lamb 414 times a game.

[Kelly the Dog]

These "analyses" are filled with failure to look at a bigger picture. For the 579 pass attempts, there were 128 targets of Watkins. 22.1% of passes went his way. OBD was targeted 130 times on 607 pass attempts. That's 21.4%. Does that mean that OBJ wasn't targeted enough either? Of the 273 completions, 23.8% went to Watkins. OBJ hauled in 23.8% of the Giants total completions as well. At the end of the day, the Giants passing game was 18% more productive overall than Buffalo's last year. Given that his overall participation was comparable to the definitive ROY candidate, I don't know how you can see he was "grossly misused" unless you say the same thing about OBJ. Which, IMO would be a ridiculous statement.

 

OBJ caught 20+ passes on or behind the line of scrimmage. Watkins caught 4.

[LeGOATski]

These "analyses" are filled with failure to look at a bigger picture. For the 579 pass attempts, there were 128 targets of Watkins. 22.1% of passes went his way. OBD was targeted 130 times on 607 pass attempts. That's 21.4%. Does that mean that OBJ wasn't targeted enough either? Of the 273 completions, 23.8% went to Watkins. OBJ hauled in 23.8% of the Giants total completions as well. At the end of the day, the Giants passing game was 18% more productive overall than Buffalo's last year. Given that his overall participation was comparable to the definitive ROY candidate, I don't know how you can see he was "grossly misused" unless you say the same thing about OBJ. Which, IMO would be a ridiculous statement.

Didn't OBJ play in 4 less games?

 

EDIT: I just ran the numbers and OBJ was actually targeted on 28.6% of pass attempts during the 12 games he actually played.

 

132 targets on 462 attempts.

Edited June 29, 2015 by LeGOATski

[DC Greg]

Marrone/Hackett were unbelievably incompetent in all phases of coaching offense, use of Sammy Watkins included. Even on the most basic levels, they just were trying to put square pegs into round holes. Just watch Watkins college tape. His screen game is UNREAL. Once he has the ball in his hands and is moving downfield, he's a threat to break tackles, evade defenders using speed, quickness, and power. Sammy can lower his shoulder and truck.

 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember us trying one bubble screen to him all year long. How can you watch his college tape and not say, "Yeah, we should probably draw up a play like that for him and see how it goes." It was just like willful defiance to basic things any average coach would do. So glad those clowns are gone. I have confidence Roman will coach to the strengths of our offense and Rex will ensure that he does so.

[BuffaloHokie13]

OBJ aka ODB aka HOF

You forgot Son of God

[LB3]

You forgot Son of God

I can't believe I forgot about that one so quickly.

[thebandit27]

These "analyses" are filled with failure to look at a bigger picture. For the 579 pass attempts, there were 128 targets of Watkins. 22.1% of passes went his way. OBD was targeted 130 times on 607 pass attempts. That's 21.4%. Does that mean that OBJ wasn't targeted enough either? Of the 273 completions, 23.8% went to Watkins. OBJ hauled in 23.8% of the Giants total completions as well. At the end of the day, the Giants passing game was 18% more productive overall than Buffalo's last year. Given that his overall participation was comparable to the definitive ROY candidate, I don't know how you can see he was "grossly misused" unless you say the same thing about OBJ. Which, IMO would be a ridiculous statement.

 

 

Ahem:

 

Didn't OBJ play in 4 less games?

 

EDIT: I just ran the numbers and OBJ was actually targeted on 28.6% of pass attempts during the 12 games he actually played.

 

132 targets on 462 attempts.

[LeGOATski]

Marrone/Hackett were unbelievably incompetent in all phases of coaching offense, use of Sammy Watkins included. Even on the most basic levels, they just were trying to put square pegs into round holes. Just watch Watkins college tape. His screen game is UNREAL. Once he has the ball in his hands and is moving downfield, he's a threat to break tackles, evade defenders using speed, quickness, and power. Sammy can lower his shoulder and truck.

 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember us trying one bubble screen to him all year long. How can you watch his college tape and not say, "Yeah, we should probably draw up a play like that for him and see how it goes." It was just like willful defiance to basic things any average coach would do. So glad those clowns are gone. I have confidence Roman will coach to the strengths of our offense and Rex will ensure that he does so.

People are joking about them overthinking it, but I think that's actually what happened. There's been an emphasis on analytics the past couple years, but they shouldn't forget that this is still just football. It's a chess game where each piece has a certain role and you use it for what it does best.

[Luxy312]

OBJ caught 20+ passes on or behind the line of scrimmage. Watkins caught 4.

 

Singular stat that by itself is virtually meaningless.

 

 

 

Ahem:

 

 

 

 

Ahem:

 

 

 

Cough it up. His data is wrong.

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/2014.htm

[Wayne Cubed]

Cough it up. His data is wrong.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/2014.htm

Huh?

 

The Giants for the season, all 16 games, attempted 607 passes.

 

Odell Beckham did not play all 16 games. He played 12.

[T master]

That just comes with the Marrone regime ! He didn't have a clue with EJ , CJ , Watkins , Woods , B. Brown , Chandler , he didn't know how to put a good O line together by letting his best guard in Urbik sit the bench most the year .

 

The best thing he ever did was hire D coaches !!

 

That was a pure homer hire , Brandons last stand ! WOW i'm glad that night mares over !!!

[4merper4mer]

That just comes with the Marrone regime ! He didn't have a clue with EJ , CJ , Watkins , Woods , B. Brown , Chandler , he didn't know how to put a good O line together by letting his best guard in Urbik sit the bench most the year .

 

The best thing he ever did was hire D coaches !!

 

That was a pure homer hire , Brandons last stand ! WOW i'm glad that night mares over !!!

Correction:

 

The best thing he ever did was opt out.

 

Bye.

[K-9]

I remember reading scouting reports on Sammy saying he's only proficient with two routes: the go route and bubble screen.

 

Curiously, Marrone overused one of those (though infrequently targeting him) and grossly underutilized the other.

Nothing could be farther from the truth regarding the actual scouting reports. The number one advantage Watkins had over all the other receivers is that he can run every route in the tree equally well. His bio is littered with reports of how fanatical he was trying to get even the smallest detail correct and the stories of staying after practice to put in extra work go back to high school.

 

I think the talking-head pundits and "scouts" pigeon-holed Watkins by suggesting all he did was run the go and the bubble. It was as simple as taking what the D gave them. In his freshman year, teams played him up and he burned them deep. When they adjusted and gave him a cushion, he killed them on bubbles. College is a rather non-complex game given the dearth of talent at the QB position, too. Most college QBs can't play a timing game, which is what most routes on the tree are predicated upon.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[DC Greg]

Correction:

 

The best thing he ever did was opt out.

 

Bye.

 

Seriously. We really do owe him for that one. Even though he thought he was getting one over on the Buffalo Bills and it ended up being precisely the opposite, I am still very thankful to Doug Marrone that he opted out.

[YoloinOhio]

Nothing could be farther from the truth regarding the actual scouting reports. The number one advantage Watkins had over all the other receivers is that he can run every route in the tree equally well. His bio is littered with reports of how fanatical he was trying to get even the smallest detail correct and the stories of staying after practice to put in extra work go back to high school.

 

I think the talking-head pundits and "scouts" pigeon-holed Watkins by suggesting all he did was run the go and the bubble. It was as simple as taking what the D gave them. In his freshman year, teams played him up and he burned them deep. When they adjusted and gave him a cushion, he killed them on bubbles. College is a rather non-complex game given the dearth of talent at the QB position, too. Most college QBs can't play a timing game, which is what most routes on the tree are predicated upon.

 

GO BILLS!!!

and his qb sucked (sorry Ryanlbilz)

[DC Greg]

People are joking about them overthinking it, but I think that's actually what happened. There's been an emphasis on analytics the past couple years, but they shouldn't forget that this is still just football. It's a chess game where each piece has a certain role and you use it for what it does best.

 

Indeed, but they made a conclusion before conducting any analysis at all! You would have to try to run the play (bubble screen) to Watkins in the NFL to get any sort of analytics on it. Marrone: "We all know Sammy Watkins is great on a bubble screen with a little space. So that's what they THINK I'll do. In reality, I won't try it. All year. Even if the rest of my offensive game plan goes to hell. I'm sticking with it. It's only a matter of time before the trick play to Lee Smith works. Then I, Doug Marrone, will be rightly hailed as the true genius of the AFC East that I am."

[Luxy312]

Huh?

 

The Giants for the season, all 16 games, attempted 607 passes.

 

Odell Beckham did not play all 16 games. He played 12.

 

So how do you discount that Watkins played injured for nearly the entire season? Can't have it both ways. Can't say on the one game to only count the targets for OBJ when he wasn't injured and then say that the Bills should have used a gimpy WR even more than they were able to. But for the fact that one sat out games while the other sat out plays, their play was BOTH affected by injury.

[K-9]

and his qb sucked (sorry Ryanlbilz)

LOL. Expect a sharp retort from Ryan. But even he'd concede Boyd was no Jay Cutler.

 

Seriously though, compared to most college QBs, Boyd was adequate. But he was no match for Watkins' abilities which require a good QB to really exploit. Even injured, Sammy had little problem getting "NFL open" last year. Unfortunately, our QBs were really the NFL equivalent of the college Tajh Boyd.

 

GO BILLS!!!