So, there were a few really big Jimmy plays that people were getting worked up over (Mike Thomas PI, Mike Thomas 32 yard reception, Tre'Quan Smith 29 yard reception, Mark Ingram 8 yard reception, Jimmy Smith DPI in the end zone). I watched all of them over again and here's my thoughts-
Not a fan of the Mike Thomas PI down the right sideline, but I understand what the referees saw. It looked like Thomas was putting up his arm to bar Jimmy from contesting and Jimmy hooked his arm in response. As the ball was on its downward arc, Jimmy unhooks and uses both arms to try to contest the ball. Thomas lunges and reaches out with his outside (right) arm, but continues to bar Jimmy, even with his arm free. At no point did Jimmy inhibit the catching motion of Thomas and I find it highly unlikely the ball is catchable, anyway. Jimmy was stride for stride and really had no reason to hook other than pure instinct. Avoidable play in the future.
On the Michael Thomas 32 yard reception, there isn't really anything to say other than Jimmy just got beat. Thomas just worked around him. I don't think it helps that Jimmy allowed a free release and was a bit flat footed as Thomas came into his outside release upfield, but this was simply Thomas outracing Smith.
On the Tre'Quan Smith sideline toe tap, I didn't spend a ton of time analyzing, but Jimmy and Tony Jefferson had a miscommunication. It was a zone and Jimmy looked like he thought he was going to take away the slot receiver and Jefferson would be over the top to pick up Tre'Quan and Jefferson thought the opposite. So, what happened was Jimmy fell off his man to take away the slot, expecting Jefferson to pick up Smith, sees Jefferson isn't over the top, and couldn't get back in time. That's a miscommunication that I expect to get worked out with more game time.
On the Mark Ingram catch, this one was much maligned, but I have news- it was a Cover 4 defense. That means Jimmy was actually responsible for the deep fourth of the field, not the underneath route to Ingram. I'd have to watch again to get the exact player, but one of Levine/Peanut/Young didn't get outside fast enough, thus the reception by Ingram.
The end zone DPI was actually a really huge head scratcher to me. It was 5-6 yards downfield (remember, blocking is only allowed within 1) and had the exact look of a pick route. Jimmy did nothing unusual by following his man. The only issue I can see is that Jimmy braced for impact, but there's literally nothing he could have done differently. It was 100% offensive OPI and the referees really got this one wrong.
I know a few people were getting really worked up with Jimmy and claiming he looked lost and questioning how he could be playing so poorly after he's played the prior two games (you know who you are), but nothing really stood out as Jimmy looking "lost" or really looking too off physically. I obviously disagree with the two DPI's, but I understand the one, one long reception is a miscommunication, and one wasn't even on him. Only one of those plays can we actually say, "Yeah, he just got beat." Really, I don't have much in the way of concerns anymore.
Was it a bad game? Sure, it was. Was it overblown by a few select posters? Yeah, absolutely.
Not a fan of the Mike Thomas PI down the right sideline, but I understand what the referees saw. It looked like Thomas was putting up his arm to bar Jimmy from contesting and Jimmy hooked his arm in response. As the ball was on its downward arc, Jimmy unhooks and uses both arms to try to contest the ball. Thomas lunges and reaches out with his outside (right) arm, but continues to bar Jimmy, even with his arm free. At no point did Jimmy inhibit the catching motion of Thomas and I find it highly unlikely the ball is catchable, anyway. Jimmy was stride for stride and really had no reason to hook other than pure instinct. Avoidable play in the future.
On the Michael Thomas 32 yard reception, there isn't really anything to say other than Jimmy just got beat. Thomas just worked around him. I don't think it helps that Jimmy allowed a free release and was a bit flat footed as Thomas came into his outside release upfield, but this was simply Thomas outracing Smith.
On the Tre'Quan Smith sideline toe tap, I didn't spend a ton of time analyzing, but Jimmy and Tony Jefferson had a miscommunication. It was a zone and Jimmy looked like he thought he was going to take away the slot receiver and Jefferson would be over the top to pick up Tre'Quan and Jefferson thought the opposite. So, what happened was Jimmy fell off his man to take away the slot, expecting Jefferson to pick up Smith, sees Jefferson isn't over the top, and couldn't get back in time. That's a miscommunication that I expect to get worked out with more game time.
On the Mark Ingram catch, this one was much maligned, but I have news- it was a Cover 4 defense. That means Jimmy was actually responsible for the deep fourth of the field, not the underneath route to Ingram. I'd have to watch again to get the exact player, but one of Levine/Peanut/Young didn't get outside fast enough, thus the reception by Ingram.
The end zone DPI was actually a really huge head scratcher to me. It was 5-6 yards downfield (remember, blocking is only allowed within 1) and had the exact look of a pick route. Jimmy did nothing unusual by following his man. The only issue I can see is that Jimmy braced for impact, but there's literally nothing he could have done differently. It was 100% offensive OPI and the referees really got this one wrong.
I know a few people were getting really worked up with Jimmy and claiming he looked lost and questioning how he could be playing so poorly after he's played the prior two games (you know who you are), but nothing really stood out as Jimmy looking "lost" or really looking too off physically. I obviously disagree with the two DPI's, but I understand the one, one long reception is a miscommunication, and one wasn't even on him. Only one of those plays can we actually say, "Yeah, he just got beat." Really, I don't have much in the way of concerns anymore.
Was it a bad game? Sure, it was. Was it overblown by a few select posters? Yeah, absolutely.
