Sunday, October 30, 2011

Beck's Not The Problem

To be clear, Beck is not without flaws. In particular, he's terribly uncomfortable with the long ball. But other than that, he's doing reasonably well given the circumstances, hitting receivers on short- and mid-range throws when they are open, and protecting the ball despite repeated sacks and hurries.

So what is the problem? There are several, but here are four:

1) A rookie center with 0 NFL snaps before October is not only starting but is responsible for calling the blocking-schemes at the line of scrimmage. It's not working. Beck is being pressured virtually every play, and Torrain has no running room.

2) The Skins are without two of their most important passing players. Santana Moss is their clear #1 receiver, and is out. Less obvious is the missed contribution of Tim Hightower. Hightower is the Skins best pass-catching running back, and is often the bail out receiver when the QB is pressured. Moreover, Hightower is the best pass-blocking RB on the Skins, often the last line of defense against blitzing linebackers, cornerbacks, or safeties.

3) Beck is simply not yet comfortable running the offense. This goes both for comfort running an NFL offense, and comfort running the Shanahans' particular scheme. Not much can be done about this except more snaps, more games, more experience. I mean, the guy has had exactly two starts in the past 4 years.

4) The Redskins are playing many young receivers, including Niles Paul, Leonard Hankerson, and Terrence Austin. These receivers are still learning to run effective and precise routes. Often things 'come together' for receivers in their 3rd full season. Thus, these receivers are just getting their feet underneath them. Only then can they begin the more important task of developing a nuanced rapport with their QB.

It's going to be a long long road ahead. But the fault for recent struggles (most of it, at least) does not lie with Beck.

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