If this has been discussed before, I am sorry. As I was watching yesterday, I noticed that JR holds his arm straight out when he hands the ball off but keeps the ball closer to his body when he fakes the handoff. Has anyone else noticed it? Do you think this is a "tell" for the opponent's defense as to pass/run play?
I've noticed that all season and I wonder if it is tipping the play sometimes. Yet, I have noticed a number of other quarterbacks doing it in the replays last night, so I wonder if it is coached. And why.
Ive been noticing that too. I am sure it is a coaching thing for it would have been corrected by now it it were not. But it just seems odd to have two different types of handoff deliveries for playaction and regular runs.
He has to be coached that way. In theory, you show the defense the ball to set up play action. JR really doesn't do it very well. Peyton does this a lot and is the master of play action.
Russell only marginally fakes on play action passes. At times, he fakes the hand off three feet from the back.
Have we as a forum sunk so low that we're critizing the way our starting QB hands the ball off? Just when I think I've seen it all, someone goes and creates this gem of a thread. UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE
Different plays call for different type hand offs/fakes. It's pretty simple really. We ran one of those long armed handoffs on one series and imediatley followed it up with a long arm play action pass that went for a first down on second and long. On the long arm handoffs it is up to the back to grab the ball while giving him room to move after reading where the dline is going and where the blocks are developing. On tight handoffs, it's the QB's job to put the ball in the RB's arms. We've been running the exact same things for 6 years now.
I noticed it and would agree that perhaps a little more "tweek" in mechanics might not be a bad idea, but when we run and pass for over 200 yards apiece, I think it's safe to say that his current style didn't tip the defense to what was happening very much....
et voila! the only other explanation would be that we have so many RBs that it has been difficult for JR to set up the chemistry with them on the handoffs. there were a couple times where the defense totally bit the playaction and it left some open throws over the middle.
