On the bright side, Lattimore should have a pretty good handle on the defensive system by the time he steps on the field.
I’ve been thinking a lot about our offensive struggles and I think I’ve landed on a somewhat counter-intuitive change I’d make. Run the ball less.
I say counter intuitive because with a young qb and issues in pass pro, generally the last thing you want to do is put the ball in their hands more. You want to establish the run in order to reduce 3rd and longs, and to loosen up the secondary. And of course, we’re struggling with pass pro too, which makes my proposition even more questionable.
With that all said, teams are stacking the box, and so stuffing the run, taking away a lot of the quick game, while also getting pressure on Daniels. I think Daniels needs time in the pocket to find guys down field (our guys aren’t winning quickly). Doesn’t have to be on deep routes, but at least intermediate ones. Seems to me we need to back defenses up to open up the ground game and the quick hitters/screens. I trust Daniels to find someone when he has time in the pocket. So, we use 6-8 man protections (including chip blockers becoming check down options) and PA to buy Daniels time. Added to that, I’d try to seal off edge defenders so Daniels has more opportunity to scramble (including throwing on the run).
Anyway, just my 2 cents