Willy, Bellefeuille, this one is on you guys!

[Mark H.]

I watched the OL closely last night.  They got beaten a few times, but overall they had an above average game.

[SPuDS]

I watched the OL closely last night.  They got beaten a few times, but overall they had an above average game.

Yup. The oline actually looked decent for stretches this game... Still a work in process as anytime a QB gets sacked for a franchise record setting 10 times, some of that is on the oline...

Lots on Willy for not just chucking the duck into the seats tho.. 4-5 of them at least..

Would be interesting to have someone dissect each sack and see where the blame lies (not to assign blame but to get an idea as to what was going wrong where)

[Logan007]

I think they should have pulled Willy at the end of the third quarter for a couple of reasons.  One, he was frazzled.  The guy is shell shocked or whatever and is just hesitating too much.  Second, putting Marve in would have given them a double threat at the run game plus the option to pass.  Not only that but Marve is hungry to prove himself so it may have helped give them that boost they needed in the fourth.

[Fatty Liver]

From where I was sitting, it looked like Willy was running in cement. Very slow making his reads as well. Is he that banged up or is he just that type of plodding qb. If so, in either case, we'll need a super human o line so that our qb. can get the proper protection and Willy can get a passing play in. This rag tag outfit posing as an o line doesn't cut it. Also the holes Cotton was getting were due mostly to his diminutive size. He made lots happen on his own. In any case the first priority is to get an o line that works and is competent.  I thought we'd at least see 'some' improvement in that area by now. Appears not to be the case.

 

Willy may not be standing in cement but pretty sure he wears concrete shoes.  He's a pretty big QB and he has poor acceleration from a standstill, which unfortunately is his M.O. on almost every play.   Put a DE with momentum in pursuit of him as he flees the pocket and 9 out of 10 times he is not going to escape.  Even Old man Ricky seems to get away 50% of the time in that same situation.  Hopefully Willy chooses to work on throwing in motion in the off-season so that he can prolong his career more than 3 years.

[billfrank]

I don't get this "holding onto the football too long because he's getting beat up" routine. It makes absolutely no sense. If that was me or anybody else, They'd be throwing the football on the first step of a 3 step drop. Or 3rd on a 5 to get rid of the ball faster just so as not to get hit anymore. They wouldn't be holding onto the football. Why would Willy hold onto the football so long? To get beat up even more?? Hardly. If qbs are under duress they don't hold onto the football even longer to get hit even more. Truth was his receivers weren't getting open or weren't getting to where they should be. This isn't on Willy, it was the BC Lions linebackers & defensive backfield taking away our passing game. We never adjusted underneath to get rid of the football faster as the game went on. Where were the quick passes??? It was all intermediate 15-25 yard routes that MB was calling. He did little to help his qb.That's on Bellefeuille not Willy.

Ok iso - can you try to explain the last play then please? It was a hail mary if you recall, or at least, it should have been. Now, I was watching on TV, I wasn't at the game, so it is possible (but highly improbable) that all his receivers were tackled at the line of scrimmage.

A Hail Mary is the easist throw in football to make. The QB stands back, counts to 3 or 4 than throws to a pre-determined spot and hope for one of two things - a Miracle Catch or a PI call.

He stood there for about 4 second, then ran laterally to his left which means he can't throw, then he gets sacked. You can't defend that play iso, it's undefendable. All Willy had to do was throw the ball, and he didn't. That's on him 100%, and there were other times he receivers were open, He can't see them iso - Marve and Brohm play with the same players - they had no issues did they?

Go back and look at the play if you can. At exactly 2.0 seconds after the snap Willy is turning to run to his left because penetration from BC is coming first from the right. If he stood in the pocket or turned to his right he would have been sacked immediately. If he threw the ball at that point, at 2.0 seconds, it's unlikely his receivers would have travelled 50 to 60 yards and be in any position in the end zone. As you note, a QB is going to have to be able to count to st least 3 or 4. He had no choice but to escape to his left to try and extend the play. I get that you are frustrated with losing, and Willy has become a scapegoat of sorts, and your entitled to your opinion, but in this case it does not fit the facts.

[USABomberfan]

I don't think the should-be Hail Mary play is one that should be used to measure anything against Willy.  Even if he gets the pass off, there's about a 0.00001 percent chance it's caught with that many defenders in the endzone, so the point there is proably moot by any standard.  And there was pressure coming in on him that he had to evade on that one, but moot point as it is.

 

I don't think Willy should be scapegoated, but like Crunch said, he did admit he didn't check it out to his 3rd or 4th option when he should've.  And like I said, I applaud him for that, it means he at least is willing to admit where he went wrong and make improvements in what he should've done.  If I'm a coach, I don't lose my cool at him, I just simply tell him hey, gotta trust your receivers to make the catch and pick up yardage and it's good to make big plays when you can, but no need to go hitting the homerun balls all the time.