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- Oct 21, 2011
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Another thread made me remember how I wanted to talk about this subject leading into the season. Many people think of Jeff Thomas as a slot man because of his size and attributes. No doubt, he can give us good value there almost immediately and I imagine we'll see him used as such. No problem. However, if you look at what's going on in the NFL and how guys whose styles match Jeff Thomas are being used, here's more along the lines of what I've been hoping for from Richt and crew:
Ahmmon Richards
Chris Herndon
Braxton Berrios (or other guy with short area quickness)
Jeff Thomas
Mark Walton
With this skill position combination, here are just some of the formations you can shift into from a no-huddle or fast-paced approach:
3WR, 1TE (inline)
Broken I-Form with Herndon in backfield
4WR (as seen above, which we saw a lot last year with Njoku in slot)
5WR (with Walton motion'd out)
Walton and Jeff Thomas flanking QB in the 'Gun
etc.
Sure, the same lineup can be used with Mullins or Cager at flanker and Jeff Thomas in place of Berrios. It may be what we see earlier in the season. However, I think kicking a guy like Jeff Thomas outside could be even more fruitful and allow more interesting route combinations. Most of all, like in the play above where Tyreek Hill is placed out wide and sent on a go route, you end up with optimal 1-on-1 match ups.
In the picture above, Hill's explosive speed ended up in man coverage with no ability to provide safety help and scored a long TD. I hope to see Thomas provide the same. For what it's worth, for those of you who will say we need an OL to do this, the above play was a relatively quick drop and release.
Let's also not forget what this does for Ahmmon Richards, who at Split End on the other side of the field, offers a "pick your poison" scenario for the defense. If opponents have the ignorance to leave their "best corner" (a guy like T. Mcfadden for FSU) man'd up on Richards to the field side, they're in deep trouble, I think. If they more likely shade a Field Safety over the top of Richards, you're probably playing 3 vs 3 or 3 vs 4 on the other side of the field (depending on underneath coverages).
Either way, I think our most dynamic flanker this season can be a guy like Jeff Thomas, once he proves himself, and I hope we experiment with it to optimize our attack.
Ahmmon Richards
Chris Herndon
Braxton Berrios (or other guy with short area quickness)
Jeff Thomas
Mark Walton
With this skill position combination, here are just some of the formations you can shift into from a no-huddle or fast-paced approach:
3WR, 1TE (inline)
Broken I-Form with Herndon in backfield
4WR (as seen above, which we saw a lot last year with Njoku in slot)
5WR (with Walton motion'd out)
Walton and Jeff Thomas flanking QB in the 'Gun
etc.
Sure, the same lineup can be used with Mullins or Cager at flanker and Jeff Thomas in place of Berrios. It may be what we see earlier in the season. However, I think kicking a guy like Jeff Thomas outside could be even more fruitful and allow more interesting route combinations. Most of all, like in the play above where Tyreek Hill is placed out wide and sent on a go route, you end up with optimal 1-on-1 match ups.
In the picture above, Hill's explosive speed ended up in man coverage with no ability to provide safety help and scored a long TD. I hope to see Thomas provide the same. For what it's worth, for those of you who will say we need an OL to do this, the above play was a relatively quick drop and release.
Let's also not forget what this does for Ahmmon Richards, who at Split End on the other side of the field, offers a "pick your poison" scenario for the defense. If opponents have the ignorance to leave their "best corner" (a guy like T. Mcfadden for FSU) man'd up on Richards to the field side, they're in deep trouble, I think. If they more likely shade a Field Safety over the top of Richards, you're probably playing 3 vs 3 or 3 vs 4 on the other side of the field (depending on underneath coverages).
Either way, I think our most dynamic flanker this season can be a guy like Jeff Thomas, once he proves himself, and I hope we experiment with it to optimize our attack.