HawKnPeppa":2db8fdx1 said:
Spin Doctor":2db8fdx1 said:
This is about where I would rank Wilson. He is a hard QB to peg down due to his unique style. He does so many things well, yet he is sorely lacking in some fundamentals as a passer. He's more of a play maker than a field general, which is not a bad thing by any means. For these reasons I think ESPN was justified giving Wilson the 8th ranking.
Sorely lacking in what 'fundamentals,' pray tell. Good gawd.
I'll humour you and elaborate on that point. Wilson is imperfect as a passer, though because of his unique abilities, and ability to throw darts on the run he is able to compensate.
Wilson is severely lacking in a couple of areas that every top tier QB has mastered. These skills are fundamental pillars to playing QB in the NFL. The biggest area he's struggles in is his inability to recognize certain coverages. Cover 1 is the coverage that he seems to struggle with the most. He has a hard time adjusting, and finding open receivers if he cannot get out of the pocket against this particular coverage.
Wilson is does not manage the game at the LOS very well. He's not great at directing traffic and changing plays based on the situation. This is a skill-set that every good Quarterback should have. Towards the end of the year he was thrust into this roll more than usual, but still demonstrated that this is not a strength in his game. This goes back to recognizing what strategy a defense is trying to employ against him. Both of these are related, this is not an area that he excels in.
Wilson struggles over the middle of the field. This may be due to his stature, but I'm more of the opinion that it is due to his playing style. Even when Wilson can step up into the pocket he does not. He prefers to stay deep in the pocket even when he has one, and bail when pass rushers start closing on him. This approach is hit and miss. It can create opportunities down the field, but it also creates many missed opportunities as well. Wilson's pocket management skills are quite possibly the weakest part of his game. If he can master pocket management it will bring his passing game to a different level.
Wilson really struggles with structure, specifically timing routes. The entire offense is geared towards this fact, it's designed to let him ad lib until a receiver pops open. This style creates big plays, but on the other hand it also creates stalled drives. Wilson especially seems to struggle with slant routes, this is not just the last play of the super bowl coloring my view either. His ball placement and timing is off on slants, I contend this is usually where we turn the ball over. He just isn't that great at short timing routes such as the slant.
Essentially, the point I'm trying to drive home is he relies too much on his ability to improvise, and make things happen outside the pocket. This is both a good, and bad thing for Wilson. Wilson will never take the next step as a QB unless he corrects some of the points I mentioned above. He can get away with not being that great at those thing because of his unique talent. He needs to become more refined in the passing department, if he can do that, and balance structure with his magical state of chaos then he can make Manning, and Brady an afterthought in the modern NFL. Right now he is not there yet, and he is lacking in very important these fundamentals.