so the first throw was an easy read, easy throw that was on target.
second throw, another clean pocket, that lead to an easy read and easy throw across the middle.
the first run of the game. notice how he runs? he doesn’t run upright. he runs low, keeping that center of gravity as low as possible, like a running back, but he avoids contact until somebody has to tackle him front side/behind.
the second run, same thing for a touchdown.
third throw of the game, o line was leaky, he’s essentially backpedaling, but makes an on target throw in the middle of the field thats dropped.
so on the 4th throw, it’s 3rd in 7. he has a somewhat clean pocket, but clearly he feels the blitz coming, and makes an inaccurate throw.
third run, again, is just the fastest player on the field. hits open field so fast.
5th throw, clean pocket, throws an accurate dart over the middle for a completion. it takes this guy zero effort to throw the ball.
4th run was just a simple design run for a few yards. nothing special.
6th run was a read option. the o line absolutely sucked, and not only did the rb who didn’t even get the ball get blown up, but lamar had nowhere to go with the ball.
7th run, another designed run, nothing special for a few yards.
so the 6th throw. this is where his lower body mechanics becomes a problem. he had a clean pocket, but his stance is so narrow that he throws behind the WR for in incompletion. now, the ball was indeed tipped at the line, but thats not an excuse for his narrow stance.
7th throw, bootleg, and he threw the ball accurately on the run into the flat for a completion.
8th run was a read option, ran and got the first down
9th run, another read option, easily runs and gets the first, but also runs out of bounds to avoid contact.
so the 8th throw. right now you can clearly see him reading the field and going through progressions. he has a clean pocket, but again, his narrow stance makes for an inaccurate throw to an open receiver down the field. just above his arms.
10th run, runs into a wall.
so on the following play, he actually climbs into the pocket, like you want your QB to be able to do, but the line is so bad that he climbs into the pocket, only to get sacked.
9th throw, he gets blitz, and dumps it off accurately to his RB.
10th throw, another pass to the RB in the flat.
11th throw, he rolls to his left as if he’s running, but is always looking down field, and then does a shovel pass to his receiver for the first down.
12 throw was an accurate throw on slant, again with the narrow stance.
what would’ve been another throw, another bad job by the o line, and he gets sacked while keeping his eyes downfield.
13th throw, clean pocket, narrow stance, overthrows the receiver, who was well covered anyway. clearly, arm strength is there. but that play ended up being PI on florida state.
14th throw, inaccurate for an incompletion, clean pocket.
15th throw, clean pocket, narrow stance, throws a beautiful pass into the end zone for a TD, 26 yards. accuracy is there.
11th run, designed run, picks up about 5.
12th, read option, runs into two defenders for whatever reason. dumb, but picks up yards.
13th run, it’s 3rd and 1, he keeps it, easily picks up the 1st, but isn’t actually tackled. just stood up and stopped due to forward progress.
14th run, he starts off with a clean pocket, goes through 1st and 2nd read before pocket begins to collapse, and then proceeds to make the defense look stupid on a long run.
15th run. how in gods name is he so fast? he was already at the second level before any defender touched him, easy run for a 1st down.
so, the 16th throw. open receiver, but leads this target too far into the boundary. narrow stance again, clean pocket.
16th run, 5 yard pick up down the middle.
17th run, defense was reading run the entire time, lamar gets stopped short of the first down on 3rd and 3.
18th run, easy pick up for about 7.
19th run, designed run, but #73 gets absolutely blown up by the defender and lamar gets tackle for a loss.
17th throw, clean pocket, narrow stance, throws an accurate ball in the middle of the field for a long gain.
20th run, read option, easy pick up for about 8.
18th throw, clean pocket, he throws a beautiful accurate pass that is DROPPED in the end zone.
19th throw, clean pocket, throws an accurate ball to his receiver for a 1st down
20th throw, pocket is breaking down, but he moves within the pocket and throws in the middle for a completion.
21st throw. throws a beautiful and accurate bomb to a WR down the field, but its DROPPED in the end zone. theres no QB that would’ve thrown it any better. right in the breadbasket.
21st run, it’s 3rd and 1 with 40-something seconds to go, and its a read option. he pulls it back and takes off for the 1st, putting the team in FG range.
so, he’s 13/21, for 61.9%. with 3 flat out drops.
the thing is that this is a common theme with Louisville. i’ve watched multiple games, and lamar jackson IS the offense. he has to play with shaky talent at the WR spot, an ok RB, and a terrible o line.
notice how he runs the ball? he doesn’t run like a typical mobile QB. he runs with a low center of gravity, allowing him to avoid contact. he isn’t a physical runner, which is why he doesn’t get hurt. and actually the main reason he never gets hurt, he rarely ever looks for contact. and when defenders tackle him, its mostly from the side or from behind, because he already put a move on everybody. his agility, and ability to make subtle cuts in limited amount of space is absolutely next level.
so thats why i don’t get the comparisons to RG3. he’s definitely more like Vick, because Vick had the same running style that allowed him to stay healthy in his career.
Lamar runs like somebody running an offense designed for that. RG3 runs like he’s trying to show defenses he’s tougher than they are. those are completely different running styles. and one absolutely leads to more injury over the other.
also, his throwing motion is fine. its his lower body mechanics that need to be worked on. but guess what? all the “experts” say lower body is the easiest to fix, as it just comes with repetition. he had plenty of arm strength, can CLEARLY make all the throws.
and one thing that a lot of people refuse to acknowledge: he ran pro style concepts at louisville. you can see him clearly going through progressions. he isn’t running the spread. and his eyes are downfield more often than not, as he isn’t looking to run the ball on passing plays, only if he has to or gets fluttered with the rush.
he has shown that he can absolutely operate in the pocket, that he can make plays from within the pocket, and doesn’t get hurt when he decided to run the ball.
the things he has to work on as a passer is what most college QB’s have to work on as a passer. the only QB in the draft that has hands down better mechanics than him is Rosen.
but Rosen can’t make defensive coordinators lose sleep at night trying to figure out how to defend against him. Lamar can.