Dobbs 4 Heisman
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I think the first thing we have to realize when comparing Dobbs preseason debut to the other rookie QBs is how unique his experience has been compared to the likes of Watson, Trubisky, and Kizer. Thus far he's the only rookie to start a game and play against the opposing team's #1 defense. Watson, Trubisky, and Kizer all came in against the 2nd and 3rd stringers. And as you saw from how Dobbs performed after he settled down and started played against the backups himself, there is obviously a difference between playing a first team NFL defense the caliber of the New York Giants versus going against backups who might not be in the NFL in a few weeks. The speed of the Giants first string defense obviously shook him to start.
The second thing we have to realize is how different the plays Dobbs was running was from the plays Watson and Trubisky were running. I don't know how much you guys watched of Watson and Trubisky's performances but they were not asked to do as much as Dobbs was asked to do tonight. It was obvious that the Steelers coaches had a lot trust in Dobbs cause they didn't baby him. They had him doing full field reads from under center. If you watched Watson and Trubisky you saw they got a lot of roll outs where they only had to do half field reads to start. This gave them a bunch of easy completions. And if it was gonna be a full field read, they had Watson and Trubisky only throwing out of the shotgun formation. Compare that to Dobbs who was throwing mainly from under center and doing full field reads. Or at least being expected to do full field reads.
With that said, he still struggled badly to start. Those 2 INTs early were ugly. Obviously the speed of the Giants first team defense flustered him. Also the moment may have gotten to him as well. He was probably trying too hard to be perfect rather than just playing his game and it led to disastrous results. With that said, it was good for him to face this adversity cause it showed us his mental toughness. A lot of rookies would have just folded after such a start. But not Dobbs. He came back and hit Cobi Hamilton for a couple of nice deep throws and made some nice runs using his feet. He also showed his ability to make something out of nothing with a couple of nice throws off scrambles. Unfortunately neither resulted in completions because one was dropped on a third and long while another was turned back by a holding penalty.
All in all I'm extremely encouraged. This was a PERFECT start. Why perfect? Because Dobbs faced tremendous adversity. The type of adversity that makes many rookies fold. But he didn't flinch. He came back and finished the game strong showing poise and the promise his skill set holds. Remember even the great Kobe Bryant air balled a bunch of clutch shots as a rookie in the playoffs. And we all know how his career turned out. What makes a player great isn't facing adversity, it's overcoming it. Dobbs overcame tremendous adversity in what could have been a disastrous start and showed tremendous promise.
The second thing we have to realize is how different the plays Dobbs was running was from the plays Watson and Trubisky were running. I don't know how much you guys watched of Watson and Trubisky's performances but they were not asked to do as much as Dobbs was asked to do tonight. It was obvious that the Steelers coaches had a lot trust in Dobbs cause they didn't baby him. They had him doing full field reads from under center. If you watched Watson and Trubisky you saw they got a lot of roll outs where they only had to do half field reads to start. This gave them a bunch of easy completions. And if it was gonna be a full field read, they had Watson and Trubisky only throwing out of the shotgun formation. Compare that to Dobbs who was throwing mainly from under center and doing full field reads. Or at least being expected to do full field reads.
With that said, he still struggled badly to start. Those 2 INTs early were ugly. Obviously the speed of the Giants first team defense flustered him. Also the moment may have gotten to him as well. He was probably trying too hard to be perfect rather than just playing his game and it led to disastrous results. With that said, it was good for him to face this adversity cause it showed us his mental toughness. A lot of rookies would have just folded after such a start. But not Dobbs. He came back and hit Cobi Hamilton for a couple of nice deep throws and made some nice runs using his feet. He also showed his ability to make something out of nothing with a couple of nice throws off scrambles. Unfortunately neither resulted in completions because one was dropped on a third and long while another was turned back by a holding penalty.
All in all I'm extremely encouraged. This was a PERFECT start. Why perfect? Because Dobbs faced tremendous adversity. The type of adversity that makes many rookies fold. But he didn't flinch. He came back and finished the game strong showing poise and the promise his skill set holds. Remember even the great Kobe Bryant air balled a bunch of clutch shots as a rookie in the playoffs. And we all know how his career turned out. What makes a player great isn't facing adversity, it's overcoming it. Dobbs overcame tremendous adversity in what could have been a disastrous start and showed tremendous promise.
