The Quick Passing Game
A lot of being successful in the quick passing game is just about consistently making fast, accurate decisions, such as on the following play where Bridgewater reads the outside corner going out with the receiver and then works to the tight end working against man in the slot:
And in these tight windows, it is important not just to make the right read, but also to put the ball in a place where only the receiver can catch it, something that Bridgewater did consistently well:
What is hard to put across with just a few clips is the consistency with which Bridgewater operates – this is exactly what made Burrow so effective in LSU’s offense last year, the ability to just make simple reads and put the ball where it needs to go over and over again.
Though, as with any quarterback, there are always some odd misses:
Also, while he might not have a cannon of an arm, he certainly has the arm to work quick outside throws against off-coverage:
The other side of the quick passing game is about getting value out of checkdowns, the most extreme example of this is using quick passes to the flats to counter the blitz:
The other advantage of what Bridgewater can do in Brady’s system is that he is able to process what is in front of him quickly, meaning that often when he does look to check it down with nothing on, he does so early enough that there is still a good opportunity for yards after the catch:
And even when he does initially look for the ball down the field, he does a good job of recognizing when it just isn’t on and is able to make sure he gets something positive out of the play:
Though, at times, he did look a little too happy to check the ball down rather than waiting a half second longer to allow the play to develop down the field:
The one somewhat persistent frustration with Bridgewater in the short and intermediate passing game was on timing throws breaking back to the quarterback, as while there are some examples of him timing it well and hitting the receiver as he turns back to the ball:
There were more times where he waited to see the receiver out of his break before letting the ball go – while on this occasion this didn’t come back to hurt him, if he consistently waits on these throws as he does here, it will lead to unnecessarily contested catches as well as maybe allowing defenders a shot at the ball. This was something Kyle Allen with struggled with last season.
While it might not be exciting, Bridgewater really is good working underneath, processing what is in front of him quickly, showing good accuracy and being content to take what is there and moving on to the next snap.
Given what we think we know about the offense Joe Brady is looking to run, this is likely going to go a long way, allowing the offense to stretch the field laterally while the deep and intermediate throws shown earlier stretch the field vertically. However, as good as all this is, there are also some concerns on tape, so what are some of the reasons why every team wasn’t looking to sign Bridgewater?
Up Next: Here Comes The Bad News
(Top Photo Via Mark Lagrange)
