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MLBrandow
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Regardless of his supposed back ailments, if Simms does not change this week, it will be high time to consider benching Cadillac until further notice.
While his week 1 box score could have been attributed to a number of factors (Gruden doesn't fair well against good 34s, Simms kept throwing INTs or getting batted balls that ended drives, TB had to abandon the run early, missing both starting Guards in Buenning and Joseph), week 2 was very clearly the result of Simms' poor play.
I watched the entire first half very closely, and although I didn't see any stats displayed on FOX, I was very pleased with the way Cadillac was running the ball. He kept moving forward, he was nimble, and he just looked like he would break a long one if given more chances. At the least he looked as if he was gaining near on 4 ypc. When I looked at the box score, I was pretty appalled to find a sub 3.0ypc (believe it was 2.2 or 2.8 or something).
I realize that I have very high expectations of Cadillac this year (due to draft orders, I don't have him on any of my teams this year though), but in watching him play, I am convinced that he himself is not the cause of his problems. His health is fine, and his running is equally fine.
It's hard for me to place blame on Chris Simms because he was so good last year and showed a lot of promise, so that leaves me with blaming the head coach.
Before this season, it was well known that this would be the year that the offense takes that leap into the next tier. I believe the cause of these offensive struggles is that the complexity of Gruden's offense ballooned too fast for Simms.
And while that would appear clearly Simms' fault, it is the responsibility of the coach to know the capabilities of his players and make the most out of them.
Simms is a very strong-armed QB, and Gruden refuses to use the Shotgun formation. Despite trailing by at least two scores in each of the first two games by half time, not once has Gruden called a play in the Shotgun formation.
Additionally, the deep ball, which Gruden professed to emphasize this year with a healthy dosage of Cadillac, has also been quiet.
While I was very optimistic that this playcalling would work for the season, I am understandably pessimistic going forward, and as long as Gruden refuses to adapt his playbook back to what was working last year (a much more simplified version of his offense), I don't believe you will see worthwhile production from Cadillac.
There's a very good chance that Gruden will regress to last year's playbook for tomorrow's game versus Carolina, but there is certainly a chance he may not.
If I were a Cadillac owner, I would start him this week unless I had a very clearly better option, but after this week, I would strongly consider trading for a viable RB2/3 replacement to start over him until Gruden can get this team back on track, if that happens.
While his week 1 box score could have been attributed to a number of factors (Gruden doesn't fair well against good 34s, Simms kept throwing INTs or getting batted balls that ended drives, TB had to abandon the run early, missing both starting Guards in Buenning and Joseph), week 2 was very clearly the result of Simms' poor play.
I watched the entire first half very closely, and although I didn't see any stats displayed on FOX, I was very pleased with the way Cadillac was running the ball. He kept moving forward, he was nimble, and he just looked like he would break a long one if given more chances. At the least he looked as if he was gaining near on 4 ypc. When I looked at the box score, I was pretty appalled to find a sub 3.0ypc (believe it was 2.2 or 2.8 or something).
I realize that I have very high expectations of Cadillac this year (due to draft orders, I don't have him on any of my teams this year though), but in watching him play, I am convinced that he himself is not the cause of his problems. His health is fine, and his running is equally fine.
It's hard for me to place blame on Chris Simms because he was so good last year and showed a lot of promise, so that leaves me with blaming the head coach.
Before this season, it was well known that this would be the year that the offense takes that leap into the next tier. I believe the cause of these offensive struggles is that the complexity of Gruden's offense ballooned too fast for Simms.
And while that would appear clearly Simms' fault, it is the responsibility of the coach to know the capabilities of his players and make the most out of them.
Simms is a very strong-armed QB, and Gruden refuses to use the Shotgun formation. Despite trailing by at least two scores in each of the first two games by half time, not once has Gruden called a play in the Shotgun formation.
Additionally, the deep ball, which Gruden professed to emphasize this year with a healthy dosage of Cadillac, has also been quiet.
While I was very optimistic that this playcalling would work for the season, I am understandably pessimistic going forward, and as long as Gruden refuses to adapt his playbook back to what was working last year (a much more simplified version of his offense), I don't believe you will see worthwhile production from Cadillac.
There's a very good chance that Gruden will regress to last year's playbook for tomorrow's game versus Carolina, but there is certainly a chance he may not.
If I were a Cadillac owner, I would start him this week unless I had a very clearly better option, but after this week, I would strongly consider trading for a viable RB2/3 replacement to start over him until Gruden can get this team back on track, if that happens.
