Ravenswarrior19
10-12-2006, 10:42 AM
Two words to describe what Jamal has been lacking:
Vision and Balance
Vision - When he sees the hole, I think he has shown some speed and explosivness getting through it. But he is taking too long to recognize where the running lane is. It throws off the entire rythmn of the play. He left some great runs on the field on MNF by looking for cutbacks rather than going play-side. The O-line was doing a pretty good job against a very good Denver D.
Balance - Remember the old zone-blocking scheme (I say old because we really don't do it too much anymore) where the last defender on the cutback side was always left unblocked? These poor linebackers and db's had the task of trying to bring down Jamal 1v1. Inevitably, they would go low and dive at thoses big churning pistons he calls legs. And inevitably, they would get a facefull of knee and TD highlight on the news. Now Jamal seems to have no balance left, and a defender breathing on his legs causes him to lose footing and spill out 2 yards from the line. At least 4 runs in Denver could have had him in the secondary if he could have kept his balance through the hole.
I miss the old Jamal, but I think its these two attributes (more than power or explosion) that have kept him shackled.
Vision and Balance
Vision - When he sees the hole, I think he has shown some speed and explosivness getting through it. But he is taking too long to recognize where the running lane is. It throws off the entire rythmn of the play. He left some great runs on the field on MNF by looking for cutbacks rather than going play-side. The O-line was doing a pretty good job against a very good Denver D.
Balance - Remember the old zone-blocking scheme (I say old because we really don't do it too much anymore) where the last defender on the cutback side was always left unblocked? These poor linebackers and db's had the task of trying to bring down Jamal 1v1. Inevitably, they would go low and dive at thoses big churning pistons he calls legs. And inevitably, they would get a facefull of knee and TD highlight on the news. Now Jamal seems to have no balance left, and a defender breathing on his legs causes him to lose footing and spill out 2 yards from the line. At least 4 runs in Denver could have had him in the secondary if he could have kept his balance through the hole.
I miss the old Jamal, but I think its these two attributes (more than power or explosion) that have kept him shackled.