New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 34/44 passes for 341 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in a 38-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
HONORABLE MENTION
- Seattle Seahawks DE Frank Clark made 2 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 interception for a 26-yard return in a 33-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
- Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess caught 4 passes for 53 yards in a 33-31 victory over the New York Giants.
- Philadelphia Eagles DE Brandon Graham made 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup in a 23-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
- Baltimore Ravens DT Willie Henry made 2 tackles and 1 sack in a 12-9 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
- Cleveland Browns S Jabrill Peppers made 4 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and 3 punt returns for 23 yards in a 12-9 win over the Ravens.
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I don’t watch much NFL, but did catch some of the Browns. Have Jabril played an excellent game!
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Both of the ints charged to Brady were good throws and off the hands of Gronk and Edelman.
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Non-sequitur here. These are the 6 most productive WRs from the slot:
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1050184960861188097
Half of them are little guys who fit the “slot WR” classification. 2 of the 3 play in Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense. The other half are prototypical ‘outside WR’ who are moved around. They are 6’1 230, 6’4 220, and 6’5 200.
In my opinion this is relevant to the debate about if ‘slot WR’ is a distinct position or if it’s as useful as saying ‘shotgun RB’.
More relevant to our interests:
The current backup outside WRs are Martin and Bell. Both were categorized as ‘slots’ coming in to the year.
As for starter-types: DPJ and Perry both line up inside and outside regularly. Granted, this is usually happening in 2-WR sets (Perry is usually lining up in the slot in 3-WR sets) but 2-WR sets is what Michigan mostly runs.
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The larger point is that Michigan is doing perfectly fine at WR despite injuries to Black and Schoenle. Both are expected back within a matter of weeks. Michigan has moved Michael Barrett to WR but raise your hand if you think he’ll still be there in 12 months.
6 scholarship WRs seems to be working out OK.
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Here’s an Ian Boyd article on how the ‘slot’ is used by RB types, outside WR types, and TEs depending on the system. This could be Barret, Peoples-Jones, and Gentry in a Michigan context. Perry of course too.
My argument is that Michigan’s system doesn’t use the slot often enough or differently enough to justify a separate positional classification.
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https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2018/3/2/17071196/a-new-kind-of-slot-receiver-in-the-spread-hybrids-mark-andrews-flex-te-urban-meyer-lincoln-riley
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This is all great. It won’t change anything.
As an aside, Michigan has no choice right now but to play Martin, Bell, etc. on the outside, because there are literally no other (scholarship) options. Ben Mason has also played tailback, but he’s not a tailback. He didn’t play tailback when everyone was healthy; he played tailback when people got hurt. Sometimes injuries necessitate using people in different spots.
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Schoenle played mostly from the slot. So Michigan is missing only one ‘outside’ WR (Black). The guys transferring out (McDoom, Crawford) weren’t distinctly ‘outside’ WRs either. (though both were used there, just like Bell & Martin).
Moreover, it looks like they are bringing in a bunch of other slot-type WRs, not big outside WRs, in the next class.
This indicates Michigan’s WR deployment isn’t a result of being out of options.
Ditto for FB. Michigan used Houma similarly because he was better at plowing ahead reliably than certain guys (who fumbled or danced too much). Michigan – then and now – had plenty of other options at RB. They chose to deploy the FB as a RB. It’s totally fine to call Mason a FB/RB at this point.
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I certainly respect your right to have an opinion.
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haha. OK.
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Point is: so-called slots can cover the outside WR position because there is so much skill overlap. Segmenting them manufactures depth chart issues that don’t exist.
FBs are more specialized (obviously) but they can fill in for RBs in short-yardage situations and low leverage situations.
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