As far as the stats that you mentioned, I'd be curios to know which players were on the o-line in the games and not just who the QB was. The quality of the defenses being played against is also a big factor. I know that there were a lot of injuries to the o-line last year and we had very good running in some games and not so good in others. Maybe Reynolds is a huge loss that has not been overcome yet this year?
They were only percentages of deep ball throws by different QBs in the league in answer to the criticism that Keenum doesn't go deep. Everybody wants the QB to go 'vertical' all the time, but people would be surprised to know that it really doesn't happen that often over the course of a game or season - at best, 25-30% of throws from the majority of QBs are in the 11-40 yard range, so I showed Keenum's percentages and a couple of other high profile QBs. Most throws are from 0-10 yards as teams are constantly trying to neutralize a pass-rush with quick strikes. As it relates to O-line injuries and its effect on the running game, you and I are on the same page. That's been a problem with this team for a decade +. They don't seem to be playing (as Snead describes) like a basketball team right now either. They're part of the equation that will help set Gurley loose along with a more aggressive offensive game plan and better scheming. And of course better decisions by Keenum until Goff gets in and works his way through his own learning curve of mistakes. And there will be plenty.
Maybe I exaggerated about Keenum's arm strength, but I thought that was obvious. But I have never read or heard any opinion that Keenum has anything but an "average," or "average at best" arm strength. I am assuming that is when compared to NFL QBs.
Consider Peyton Manning's arm. Every time he throws the ball, it looks like it's filled with helium. I'm only talking about his velocity, and not his decision-making or his timing, or anything else. Yes, Keenum has an average arm, and I'd even go so far as to categorize it as good. If you can drop one in the bucket from 55 out, then you have a good arm. His passes may seem like 'floaters' or 'rainbows', but if they reach their target and are completed, then it really doesn't matter now does it. Not every QB has to be Brett Fav-ruh in that regard.
As far as your argument that "a running games success shouldn't be solely dependent on a QB," well yes I have to agree with that wholeheartedly. There's also the quality of the RB, the O-line, the play calls, the defense, the downfield blocking of the WRs, TEs, the refs etc.
Yup. And while we do have all of that covered (with the exception of who we play and the Jerome Boger effect), we're yet to see them all playing like a well-oiled machine consistently. If we're going to hang our hopes on a new QB being the answer to everything, then this team is doomed. It needs to be a team that can plug any half-way decent QB in and still have success. I expect big things from Goff, and I expect us to take the next step with him, but I really don't want our successes to rest on his ability to stay on the field and never melt down. We've seen enough of that over the past 5 years to know it's not the way.
