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September 14, 2017In his first NFL start, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer surprised many people, including Browns fans. He showed that he was a rookie at points throughout the game, but the gunslinger also demonstrated an ability to become a good quarterback in the NFL. Such a player is something that has been missing in Cleveland for quite some time.
One of the biggest takeaways from Week 1 is the fact that the rookie was sacked seven times. That’s a lot, and something that must be improved upon if Kizer is going to navigate a 16-game schedule with his health intact. Just how awful is allowing seven sacks in one week? The Browns allowed 66 sacks in 2016 (just over four per game), which led the league1 ; the Cardinals defense led the league with 48 sacks (three per game).
Expected to have one of the better offensive lines in 2017, many didn’t expect the Steelers to be able to get to Kizer as much as they did. While the Browns should be a bit concerned, they might be able to improve with some small adjustments. Remember, the rookie will only get better with more experience and three of the five offensive line starters are new.
Let’s take a look at who’s to blame for each of the seven sacks that Pittsburgh had in Week 1:
Sack No. 1: Kizer’s fault
The clock in his head went off, but Kizer rushed out of the pocket a bit too quick. He had Duke Johnson open in the middle of the field right before he began shuffling around in the pocket. An instance where the clock in his head went off too early as he still had time in the pocket to find that open receiver. When he started to run to his left he could have kept his eyes downfield, but when he then decided to run back to his right, he was done.
Given that it was just his second drive in the NFL, this sack should be chalked up as a rookie mistake. He must improve on his pocket presence as the season goes on, and he has already acknowledged it.
“Hopefully, this week. It needs to happen fast. Obviously, in this last game, that changes the game,” the rookie said. “Those sacks are moving us out of field goal range. Those sacks are moving us to third-and-extra-long. It is my job to make sure that we at least throw the ball away and keep the ball where it is.”
Sack No. 2: Hue Jackson’s fault
What was Jackson thinking with this play call? With all four receivers basically running streaks down the field, Kizer was getting sacked even before any of them could even turn around. The play-caller must give his rookie quarterback as many opportunities to succeed as possible. This isn’t one of those times.
Sack No. 3: No one’s fault
David Njoku was open for a short gain, but given that there were just 25 seconds left in the half, I completely understand why Kizer would want to find someone for a much bigger play in order to get downfield and potentially in field goal range. While a throwaway is better than a sack, it ended up being the last play before the half, so no harm was done.
Kizer taking the sack was better than forcing the ball where the Steelers could create a turnover and potentially get some points before the end of the half.
One bad aspect of this play was that Isaiah Crowell could not block Joe Haden, who was blitzing and ended up being the one who sacked Kizer. The running back needs to be able to halt Haden’s progress.
Sack No. 4: Kizer’s fault
He had receivers open all over the field, including both Corey Coleman, who could have caught a wide-open pass in the corner of the end zone (bottom of the screen) or Crowell, who was open (top of the screen) but Kizer never even looked his way.
Sack No. 5: Jackson’s (and eventually Kizer’s) fault
Cannot be exactly sure what this play call was. Starting with the play-action, Kizer only had two options, neither of which became open in time. The slot receiver looks open, but Pittsburgh’s secondary is baiting the rookie to throw the ball where they could have picked it off or blown up the receiver as they kept many players at least 10 yards down field (they had seven, the Browns had just two).
Kizer gets some blame here because he should have thrown the ball away. Once he left the pocket going left, he was done even though he tried looking back at his receivers. There’s no way that he should have thrown the ball to them across his body. He has to throw the ball away there or (somehow) find running room. Looking back at his receivers after scrambling to his left only allowed defenders the time they needed to catch him.
Sack No. 6: Kizer’s fault
The quarterback has to see his running back coming out of the backfield there. Matthew Dayes had no one within 10-15 yards of him. All Kizer had to do there was lob it to his rookie running back and allow him to make a play. With all that running room he would have had following a reception, there’s a chance Dayes could have had a touchdown. Even if he didn’t, Dayes would have at least gotten 20 yards and a first down inside the red zone.
Kizer admitted that he must be able to check-down and see the open receiver, especially as open as Dayes was, when getting pressured. That will be something he will improve on as the season goes on.
“Yeah, there was a back who was out a couple times I have to get the ball out to. When you have the ability to run with your legs and extend plays, you never feel as if you ever should be sacked,” Kizer said. “Right now, I am trying to do my best to continue to get that feel that you need in the pocket to understand when it is time to go down and when it is time to escape the pocket and throw it away or to find someone who is in an underneath spot where I can drop the ball off or at least throw it at his feet so I am not taking sacks.”
Following the game, the rookie running back praised his rookie quarterback for being able to fight through getting sacked seven times. “Oh yeah, we gave up seven sacks, but he still got up,” he said. “That gives us a lot of hope in him.”
Sack No. 7: JC Tretter and Kizer’s fault
Tretter was absolutely dominated on the play, but the quarterback still had guys open downfield in the short period of time that he could have still gotten the ball off. Both of his open receivers were in the middle of the field too, so he has no excuse not to see them. Then again, Tretter channeled his best Cameron Erving impression. If he would have given his quarterback just a second to find his open guy, a completion was likely.
Summary
Kizer had a rookie game. As such he was responsible for four of the seven sacks the Steelers obtained. Hue Jackson’s play-calling contributed to another 1.5 sacks with JC Tretter responsible for half a sack and the last sack being an end of the half one that bears no responsibility.
After being able to watch the game film, Kizer took the blame for a brunt of the sacks, mentioning that he must not only get rid of the ball sooner, but be able to check-down when getting pressured.
“Overall, the same things that we were discussing after the game kind of just came out with a little bit of film to back it. Holding onto the ball a little too much in the pocket, that doesn’t put my offensive line in the best position to hold off and a lot of those sacks go onto me,” he said. “I have to do my best to make the proper adjustments and make the sure I move the ball to the check-down when I need to.”
- the Rams allowed the second-most sacks with 49 [↩]
6 Comments
Cody Kessler, “Pffft, I totally would have seen that RB on the checkdown.”
I’m gonna need to see a GIF of CareBear to know if Tretter was truly that bad…
Austin Reiter concurs.
“Sir Brad will have to take Hue on a tour of the pit of misery … dilly diily” https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9ddc022aa66e9d368dfdec285dd10d73b93e6f2f70ed3c05719e7a3c2e64b844.jpg
Just gotta give him good outs in all the plays and keep his eyes downfield. The worst thing that can happen is that he starts staring at his toes or at the pass rush instead of at his progs. Not a bad start against a presumably good team.
dilly dilly