Why Marko Mitchell is inactive

[servumtuum]

Several people, myself included, have been wondering why Marko Mitchell was inactive-especially considering all the promise he showed in training camp and the preseason.

Some other people have also and asked Gary Fitzgerald at the Redskin's site Fan Mailbag, Here's what he said:

Gary: Jim Zorn has said that it takes time for rookie receivers to run pass routes at the right depth and speed. That’s the case with Mitchell. He was a deep threat in college, but with the Redskins he must learn the shorter routes of the West Coast offense. In preseason, Mitchell showed he had potential, leading the team with 11 catches and three touchdowns. He was playing against backups and third-stringers, though. Right now, coaches continue to work with second-year receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas at w, but Mitchell could catch up later in the season.

The question is down from the 3d QB rule question.

Link:http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles/Fan_Mailbag__How_Does_the_3rd_QB_Rule_Work__67162.jsp

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I'm tired of that crap excuse. Every other team in the league plays their rookie wideouts. They make mistakes, they are rookies - it happens. Baptism by fire.

 

[Aston Gambino]

I'm tired of that crap excuse. Every other team in the league plays their rookie wideouts. They make mistakes, they are rookies - it happens. Baptism by fire.

Totally agree. And considering the likely possibility that Zorn's not going to be here next year, I would think he'd be curious to see ONE receiver he drafted catch a TD pass on his watch.

 

[servumtuum]

that makes sense to a point but when were in the red zone and we have the chance to line up kelly AND mitchell for fade routes then why not?

It's been noted before that Zorn, for some reason, is reluctant to use fade routes. I think that's a mistake. Having Mitchell as a deep threat as well would, I think open, up things for short routes-add the fact that Kelly lately seems to have trouble getting open. I'd love for them to try Mitchell at least once in a while to see if he can do better at getting noticed by Campbell as an option. The whole idea of WCO is to present the opponent's D with too many options for them to cover effectively.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

"Right now, coaches continue to work with second-year receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas at w"

man I hope so..... 0 catches last week and there has been serious discussion that one of Campbell's picks was attributed to Kelly running the wrong route on the play.

Mitchell seemed to run his routes just fine in the preseason...........

 

[Bulldog]

Two things come to mind here:

1. Kelly and Thomas are #2 draft picks and are going to get every chance to be successful before the team turns to a #7 pick and suffers the fallout from Marko beating out a more highly rated prospect.

2. Campbell has basically locked onto Moss and Cooley in the passing game, and giving Malcolm Kelly some credit for being a legitimate NFL wide receiver - he only has 6 catches in 4 games. Of what use would Mitchell be? He would just be another target that is lost in the shuffle.

Rodney Harrison and Cris Carter think Campbell is no better than a backup in the NFL.

While that is still to be seen through 16 games in 2009 (to give him the full chance), it DOES appear as if at age 28 his maturity at mastering an NFL offense is far behind that of quarterbacks with far less time in the league.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

1. Kelly and Thomas are #2 draft picks and are going to get every chance to be successful before the team turns to a #7 pick and suffers the fallout from Marko beating out a more highly rated prospect.

I absolutely HATE this rationale, if true. Its such crap. Every team in the league plays the best player, except for us. Even the Raiders play the best guys they have, regardless of draft position.

SO ANNOYING.

 

[EatSleepRedskin]

blah blah blah Zorn is silly

That's some weak reasoning, Jim.

You're going to bench a guy because, basically, he's a rookie? How do people learn? Sit on the sidelines? Wake up.

Mitchell has shown more this preseason than Kelly or Thomas have ever shown.

This team continues to waste obvious talent.

 

[China]

It's been noted before that Zorn, for some reason, is reluctant to use fade routes.

Chase Daniel tossed one to Mitchell in the preseason successfully, and I thought "Wow, that was nice, just like other teams do it, something I haven't seen the Redskins do in a while." Now you're telling me after that success they won't go back to it. Why would that be?

It makes no sense. Someone needs to ask him about it in one of his interviews, press conferences or shows.

 

[Hog Fever]

*sigh* this is just pathetic reasoning.

Let's take a look at a couple of WRs we could have drafted in 2008 that seem to be doing ok.

Jordy Nelson - Green Bay - 7 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD and he returns kicks.
DeSean Jackson - Philly - 12 receptions, 259 yards and 2 TDs.
Mario Manningham - Giants - 18 receptions, 306 yards and 2TDs
Earl Bennett - Bears - 15 receptions for 200 yards but no TDs.

My point here isn't to pile on Kelly and Thomas. It's clear from his statements that Zorn does not like rookies in his offense so Marko is not going to have much of a chance to break in. Ok, I could accept that (almost) if the offense was anywhere near productive, but as we all know, it isn't.

Kelly drops one pass and he gets what, one or two balls thrown his way since? Seems like a poor way to manage talent. Is that on Zorn or Campbell? Even Art Monk dropped passes now and then. So you punish the whole team by not using players that could potentially make plays for you, because they made a mistake on one play? The smarter move would be to go back to them asap to let them make up for the mistake and contribute. I can't guarantee any of these three will turn into all-pro WRs if you throw them the ball more often, but I can guarantee if you don't throw him the ball, they never will.

 

[Yusuf06]

It's been noted before that Zorn, for some reason, is reluctant to use fade routes.

Chase Daniel tossed one to Mitchell in the preseason successfully, and I thought "Wow, that was nice, just like other teams do it, something I haven't seen the Redskins do in a while." Now you're telling me after that success they won't go back to it. Why would that be?

It makes no sense. Someone needs to ask him about it in one of his interviews, press conferences or shows.

You won't get a straight answer from Zorn on this. He has a number of shortcomings, but I'm sure Zorn knows what fade patterns are, when to use them and that Mitchell and Kelly would probably be very effective with them. I'm certain he'd love to add these routes to the game plan, but he simply can't do it.

I think it's obvious that Zorn has been painted into a play calling corner by our porous OL and even more so by JC's inadequacies. I remember someone mentioning that during training camp Zorn had a contest to see which QB could drain the football into a trash can in the EZ the most times. I don't remember which QB won, but it wasn't JC. Simply put, JC lacks the touch and accuracy to effectively throw this route. And at this point, I think Zorn is so paranoid about getting TDs in the redzone, he's not willing to waste a down on this route once, even if just as a decoy designed to keep the DBs honest.

As for the OL, we saw a similar situation last year when Zorn wouldn't throw deep for fear of getting JC killed, or even worse, the dreaded and inevitable JC sack fumble.

This year the OL is average to slightly below average at pass pro but can't run block to save its life.

Zorn's playcalling leaves a lot to be desired but I think there are very few who would question his ability to coach a QB up. Sadly, JC is simply a mediocre QB and unfortunately for Zorn, he's just one more straw on the camel's back of Zorn's nascent HC career.

Sadly, we never should have let Daniel get away. Sure he's short. But he outplayed Brennan who ended up on IR anyway so it wasn't really even a question of a roster spot. With the lack of decent QB prospects in the 2010 draft and F.A., it would have been nice to have an extra young QB with a year under his belt to put in the mix for next year.

 

[China]

Sadly, we never should have let Daniel get away. Sure he's short. But he outplayed Brennan who ended up on IR anyway so it wasn't really even a question of a roster spot. With the lack of decent QB prospects in the 2010 draft and F.A., it would have been nice to have an extra young QB with a year under his belt to put in the mix for next year.

Yeah, I was surprised when I heard that Brennan was put on IR, that Daniel didn't make the roster in his place.

 

[EatSleepRedskin]

Yep.

Daniel looked like a really good prospect. I liked his decision making. Potentially major stupid move.

We need to see what Brennan can do for real. Or we'll be set back even more than we already are.

 

[Spence]

Not playing Marko Mitchell is preposterous. Yes, he made plays in the preseason against scrubs, but I don't recall Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly even doing that much. If Thomas and Kelly had not been taken in the second round, neither one of them would be playing on Sundays.

 

[Bulldog]

Today's WT articles pointed up the fact the defense has been far more progressive in integrating younger players into the regular rotation.

Part of the problem with the offense is that Zorn is not really trying to extend the unit beyond the Moss, Cooley, Portis triangle.

No other skill players on the Redskins exist for Zorn.

In fact you could put out a sign that says 'no one under 25 need apply'.

The only exception?

At right guard where the season ending injury to Randy Thomas caused Chad Rinehart to see the light of day.

 

[BobDiamond]

Marko Mitchell should be on the field...They take risks on 4th down, but not in players or play calling. Oh well...What can you do?

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Bulldog, I think a lot of that is Campbell. He locks in on Cooley and Moss, and doesn't really look to anyone else. When he does throw to Malcom or Devin, its like he's forcing himself to, and often throws into double-coverage.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Sadly, we never should have let Daniel get away. Sure he's short. But he outplayed Brennan who ended up on IR anyway so it wasn't really even a question of a roster spot. With the lack of decent QB prospects in the 2010 draft and F.A., it would have been nice to have an extra young QB with a year under his belt to put in the mix for next year.

We needed an extra roster spot so we could keep Mitchell inactive, duh.

 

[servumtuum]

Bulldog, I think a lot of that is Campbell. He locks in on Cooley and Moss, and doesn't really look to anyone else. When he does throw to Malcom or Devin, its like he's forcing himself to, and often throws into double-coverage.

Lanky, I put this squarely in Zorn's lap-he was a QB coach, after all, and therefore should be able to spot and help correct deficiencies in how Campbell operates even though he does have more duties as a head coach.

 

[Om]

If I was Zorn I'd never waste a down asking Jason Campbell to throw a fade to anyone. Jason has a fabulous arm, but throws about the ugliest, most ineffective fade I've ever seen at the pro level. His trajectory is too low and touch not soft enough to let him drop a ball over the defender and inside the sideline, giving his receiver a chance. Seriously, if I never see JC waste another red zone down on a fade, it'll be too soon.

That said ... as I've written countless times over the years, far as I'm concerned none of us are even remotely in position to second-guess the coaches on who is and isn't ready to play on Sundays. Or what the rationale is behind who is and isn't starting, or used in certain packages, or whatever. Jim Zorn is far from a perfect head coach, but he is light years ahead of any of us in knowing what his players are capable of, where the strengths and weaknesses are, etc.

Mitchell will play when the coaches decide he's a better option than the guys playing ahead of him. We may not like it (hell, I'd like to see the kid too), but to me wasting valuable time and bile on trying to parse the reasons the coaches play certain players and don't play others it is a huge waste of time.

So there.