Happy Half Hour: The 2.7 Project (Feat. Eugene Robinson)

Touts do cow wha, It's time for the Happy half Hour, presented by Southern Star, an official bourbon of the Carolina Panthers.

A good quarterback can thrive in chaos. A great quarterback can slow down time to negate the chaos altogether. There's a moment before the ball is snapped, when everything is still. That's when the quarterback assesses everything around him, who is where, who is rushing? Who is his best matchup. When the ball is snapped, twenty two pieces are thrown into the air and the passer has a finite amount of time

Yes, you still have time to get a position, because you're always moving into position from every position, whether they're a corner nickel, you're either in man and man coverags, or you're in years alle. And you reason why we say two point eight seconds two point seven seconds you will get the ball off because anything after that and typically right around three point two seconds, you're stacked. So you want to make sure that you get the ball

You mentioned the West Coast offense, is someone like Steve Young, maybe one of the best of his time, to have gotten it out quickly. Bret farrs, Okay. That was my next question was who is the of the quarterbacks you face tu gets hit out the fastest.

Montano, all of whom played in the West Coast offense under Bill Walsh at one point and then Mike Hongram. They have a legacy of quarterbacks coach, Moots Barrioti, a number of quarterbacks coaches who coach that system. Even the Carolina Panthers back in the eighties they had that same West Coast system that they employed where the ball was coming out uried very quickly, and so that's really Germane to the West Coast office of reading quickly and getting

So kind of along those same lines, if you're a defense, how do you have to change your game plan for a quarterback who who you know is going to majority of the time throw in less than three seconds.

You gotta have some dogs up from dogs look from like.

I would tell for when we would playing the West Coast offense the San Francisco forty nine ers when I played for Green Bay.

I'm telling my dudes, Reggie White, I'm telling.

Gilbert, Hey, dude, I need you to get to the quarterback man, disrupt his rivers, get in his face, put your hands up, baby.

I need to do all.

That I said, because if you could disrupt his timing, you not only disrupt his timing, but you disrupt the timing of the route combinations. You disrupted everything. So if you get any push at all, any push at all, and I face the quarterback, you've just messed the quarterback up. That's why your offensive line has to do a great job of losing slowly before the defense.

Gets to the quarterback. And so.

I tell my guy defensively, I'm going to get a good quarterback. Steve Young, Joe Montana, Hey, man, keep your hands up. The boss coming out quick, but put your hands up because you might get a knockdown.

You possibly could get a knockdown, or you may disrupt the time.

Don't forget this all works in concert of the offensive line being to hold that defensive line back. And if and if you're having problems, then you have to blitch the quarterback a little bit more.

And then you expose the guy on the outside and man and man covered.

So you know you've got a great receiver and Jerry Rice, you're exposing him to a lesser corner and you're blissing. Well, guess what advantage San Francisco before the nine is with Jerry Rice and Steve Younger or Joe Montanna.

So like most things with football comes back to a battle of the trenches.

Then yeah, it always comes down to that.

But I understand why coach Canalis wants to get the ball off quickly. Because he's able to get the ball off quickly, you're going to keep the defense off balance and you're going to get that defense tired because the defensive line.

I said, hey man, we're trying to get to him. We can't get to him. Well, man, that's a big problem. You can't get to him.

Now you're in a somewhat of perfore minute office, perman in office, and you moving down a field. You can't get your guys off the field, and now they're tired, and now they're getting your head.

Ben sort of hand in hand with that subject, I guess the part B of it give us a little opposition research here. If you're a secondary, what can you do to force a quarterback that has designed short throws or you know, routes to get it out quickly. What can you do to sort of mess him up? From the secondary point of view, The.

Very first thing you want to do is call it window dressing or where you're gonna blitz or fake the blitzer, and you're gonna have guys that's in the face of the quarterback and we're gonna have a mug up in the a GaX the linebackers and let him know that Hey, we're coming and we're blitzing off the edge, or we're gonna have more guys than you can you can go ahead and protect. So now you're gonna force the ball to come out soon, but not as soon as as you want it, because now you're limited.

For some of the.

Rocks that took a run. You gotta run a go, You gotta run a post, you gotta run a fade. You gotta run something very very quick that matches the defense with who of the onslaught of the the rushed by the defense.

So the first thing I'm gonna tell it, Hey, we're gonna get the ball out of the guy's hand.

We're gonna blitters, dude, and we're gonna run our games and we're gonna get in his face, and we want to let them know that we're coming every single time now to counter that. If your offensive line is really good and able to pick up the.

Stunts and those blitters. You've now just made.

That receive a little of that cornerback vulnerable a receiver, and if you have a receiver as a top knots guy, well, guess what now, that's the fifty fifty ball. That guy typically can win. That he can that he can win that. That's Jerry Rice, that's Randy Moss. Or guess what he

Right.

That actually kind of led to my next question was if you're if you're promising a blizz, does that leave a Is that a risk reward game you're playing there.

It's always a risk reward.

You're always trying to go ahead and bitz and get the quarterback off his spot.

We try to get Drew Brees off his spot.

What does that mean when he sets up on his three step drop, one step drop, five step drop, I know the ball's coming out not the seven, but the one three five when he steps up, if you got him to move in a position where he doesn't want to move out, you've now disrupted to play.

And that move could take the timing from two point seven to three point two.

Yeah.

And if you anytime you over three secondes, typically your quarterback is stuck. Unless you've got Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, Steve Young. You know you got a running quarterback who can Michael Vick, who can extend the pockets and extend things you mentioned.

You know a list of all stars, a list of Hall of famers that got the ball out quick during your playing time. But have you seen the game just as as an observer, as an analyst, as a fan. Have you seen the game get faster as time has gone on.

I don't think the game has gotten faster.

I think that the rules of change, well yes or no, the rules of change a lot the a lot of game to appear to be faster because you can't gym I can't gym a and getting his face. I have to do it within five yards and you got to be careful how you do it. I can't tackle a guy and play some smash my football and make you think about coming across the middle without drawing a penalty that says I was targeting, or I hit you in

Guess what, my big.

Guy who wear a three ten three fifteen, Regie White, you got to put him down legitly where you don't put all your.

Weight on them when you make that tackle.

So what I'm saying to you is that the game is favorite the offense side of.

The ball to go ahead and score more points and stay healthy, of course, but to score more points.

Because you can't you can't harass the receiver as you used to be doing doing the past. And so from that standpoint, the game has gotten much faster.

So by sort of slowing down time for the offense, it speeds it up the defense.

Yes, by but because here and once again Cassie, it is if I can't jam the receiver and really get at them the real beaver style, Dave Brown, melt Blunt, Mike Haynes. Now let's the haze, and who would just dog you, put their hands on you and just maul you. I mean, if I can't do that, then you have some of of a tactical advantage to run your route with a little freedom.

Not being harassed. You know, there was a.

Time when the receiver could come across the middle of the field in his route on those little dry gross underneath, and we'll tell the linebacker, hey, man, that dude comes across heads you go on to the other side, your brick his face. Dude, hit that dude across he's under five yards.

Hit that dude hit a wall. M make him think of that. He better not come across there.

He better go ahead and get the five stick seven yards and run behind you. But if he comes underneath you, dude, knock him out. So we will say stuff like that because even if as a calculator route the ball can come out very quickly.

He can get to a guy.

But we got a guy like a Luke Keikley, or you got Ray Lewis down there dropping down there, You're gonna think twice about going across the middle. But if he has a chance to go to hit you. So what I'm telling you is that the ruth of chains and lacks a lot where Now that I think there's much more of an advantage for the offense to have the freedom to go ahead and play fast.

Right.

Have you been able to kind of see Bryce any of this off season, maybe at an ota or mini camp practice.

No, But let me give you my assessment of Bryce. I thought that Bryce was able to get the ball out quickly. I thought that he struggled. When he's starting to struggle is because the office of lives ot to struggle. And when the office of lines started to struggle, and you got your quarterback kind of moving trying to find the throwing layers, and you're in trouble because now you're off a spot. That dude is accomplished. Make no mistake, Brush Young can throw the rock. And I'm not telling

He the real deal. He the real deal. He does get the he can get the ball out quickly.

He's accurate, he moves well, and he doesn't take like he doesn't get bat at balls down.

That means he's finding.

In the throat lane and he throws the receiver open like he's supposed to do. And so I thought, what happened to him last year, is that a lot of that stuff that we saw that, Oh, now, this guy's gonna be really, really good. I thought it degraded over time because the office of Line was not in a situation where they were healthy and where they could go

If you can't protect your.

Quarterback, your quarterback are victim me, Roethlisberger, Brady, you inserting your name here, whatever quarterback you think is the best quarterback who's ever played the game, and serve his name there.

With a poor line, he's gonna get his head busted.

Right.

Well, they definitely put one hundred and fifty million dollars shorts that line this offseason, so I would.

And that's what they need, and that's what I thought, what they needed. You got to show up the line because the talent you had in Bryce Young and people will compare them to oh, we still got c J.

Stroud.

No, I think he's still the right choice. I think he's still he's durable. He saw that he could take a hit. He's taking many hits. You can tell you can take a hit. But he's active with the rock. He throws the ball really really well. He throws you open. He just needs to get the ball out a little bit quicker. And he gotta have those dogs on the other end catching that rock. I would love him to have an Olson. I would love him to have an Olson.

Please he give me.

That cat, that type of that type of dog in him. I'm a Simmahammed with dog in.

Him, right please.

That's what Dan Morgan has said all off season. He wants is some dogs.

So you get that cat with.

Them dogs and like that a Wesley wall a Greg Olsen as well as he drugged Rotten and catches the rocks, and then a STEEVEE.

Smith. I'm on simer hammed straight dog puts you in the mouth. Don't make no apologies.

You better get with him, You better go try to stop him, and you better ice up some cats coming with it. You give him Bryce Young that type of don't, don't that type of play, And that's what I was hoping last year that those receivers would step up, because that was a great opportunity in my opinion, to go ahead and steeze control of the receiving spot and let everybody know that you're here to stay.

And that's the guy.

Well, he did get a receiver this off season that is top in the league and creating separations. So we'll see how big of a difference that makes. Having Deontay Johnson on the field too.

Whether you're playing mando man or whether you're playing zone.

In the zone, when you get the ball out quickly, that coach finalis is going to go ahead and design the spots where it comes, whether receiver can get open so he can get in between the safety and the linebacker or or or the nickel he can get in there, and final those little gas hits the ball coming out quickly where you find those gays when it comes to mandom man, even as though the guy's on you, the ball's coming out quickly. Typically the defensive back has his back to the receiver to the ball.

So now he has his back to the ball.

And mandom Man, Now you've got an advantage from the fact that the receiver can see the ball if it comes out quickly, and you can't.

On that subject, and the zone kind of lends itself to more turnovers at times, just given you know the fact, like you said, that you're looking at the ball. Does it coming out quicker negate some of those turnovers or is that just does it matter one way or the other?

The what what I thought Bryce got into the this was what I thought that Bryce's got into the habit in trouble of last year because he was getting hit a little bit too often. Is now he's staring down receivers. So now when you know his own defense and you're staring down the receiver that's running a slant, you know that he's gonna throw the ball there. Well, guess what, based on your film, Studden, You're like, all right, abody

Get the ball out quickly. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that does make sense.

And so now you if you're holding on too long, you're even gonna get shat. And now you're gonna bring the safety or you're gonna bring other people into play to help. They could play on the ball.

Right do you think because of that and just because of maybe the tape of how last year ended, you see defenses come out at the beginning of the year and play a little more zone and if that is the case, you know, again, give us a little opposition research. How do you take advantage of it? If you're Canalis and Bryce Young?

So I think what defense is gonna come out and do?

And they're gonna play a lot of games with the whatever defense they're playing a three four four to three, because you're gonna see a lot of games to confuse because what I thought our offensive line struggled with. They struggled with games, but I mean by games, it's a different stunts employed by the defensive line and the linebackers. And because of that, now it's something that appears like as a six man of rush is actually a four man of rush and your quarterbacks getting stacked.

Something that appears to a four man rush.

Is actually six man rush and your or five man rush and your quarterbacks getting stacked, or he's throwing the ball in the ground or he has to eat it. He has to do stuff to throw the ball away. Because of the games. So what I think that coach ca Dallas is gonna see, because that was prevalent last year, is that too many teams ran games unless that compromised Our left tackle in the left guard mom was pretty good.

Icky struggled, I thought, and because of those games.

Because of those games, you used to expect that coming up this season, along with the blisters, to get Bryce to go ahead and to get him off the spot, but to make him throw the ball when he doesn't want to throw the ball, and to uh to sack him and to punish him. So I think you're going to see people getting in the face eight man front getting in the face and that word with a zone a man, but just trying to confuse the office alive because they struggled with games.

Uh, Eugene, thank you for your time. This has been incredible and really interesting just to kind of hear from a defensive point of view what getting that ball out so quickly can do to a game plan. Thank you to Eugene for his time and insight. Over the next few months, The Happy half Hour Inpanthers dot Com will continue to dev into every facet of this idea of