Baylor Football Blog
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Can Shawn Bell Take Baylor to a Bowl Game?
Can Shawn Bell Take Baylor to a Bowl Game?
There’s been a lot of talk about Shawn Bell and his affect on the Baylor offensive production. I’ve gone back and forth myself between thinking his is capable of leading the team to a bowl and thinking he isn’t. Since it’s a bye week for Baylor and I’m starved to put some thought into something Baylor football related, I thought I would figure out my stance on the most important position on the field.
Bell obviously has a good mind for the game of football. He understands the offensive scheme and knows where to go with the ball. His problem has always been arm-strength. So, what does that affect?
He can make the short-range throws very effectively. He can make the midrange throws in an acceptable manner, and he can get the ball down the field if necessary. He CAN throw the ball 50 yards, but his accuracy over 25 or so yards dramatically deteriorates.
Here’s where I make my stance. We don’t need Bell to make a single throw over 25 yards to be a very potent offense, but he HAS to be aware of the mid-range throws available to him, and not continue to settle for the dumpoffs.
I’ve been to two of the three Baylor games and spent a lot of time watching Bell run the offense. There’s no doubt that he has a high completion percentage, but I believe there are a number of high percentage passes that he is either not seeing or simply not taking, instead opting to dump the ball off to a running back.
There were two plays in particular against SMU that took place on long second- or third-downs. On one play, Trent Shelton was pulling across the field about 15 yards down the field, wide, wide, wide open. Assuming he makes the catch, there was probably another 10 yards he could have picked up without meeting a defender. The other had a similar route run by Jason Smith, about 20 yards down the field, with probably 10-15 yards open in front of him. In both instances Bell threw to the running back in the flat for a gain of 1-2 yards.
It’s these throws that Bell is missing that will allow us to open up the passing game. Bell had 198 yards in the game against SMU. Had he made just those two throws, he could have had 250 yards and the passing offense would have demanded more attention from future opponents and the rushing game would open up more.
I’m not asking Bell to become a strong-armed passer, throwing the ball 40-50 yards down the field. I want him to play within himself, but take advantage of the throws available to him. If he can do this, the offense will open up a lot and Baylor fans could expect a lot more success in the season. ¶ 9/24/2005 0 Comments
There’s been a lot of talk about Shawn Bell and his affect on the Baylor offensive production. I’ve gone back and forth myself between thinking his is capable of leading the team to a bowl and thinking he isn’t. Since it’s a bye week for Baylor and I’m starved to put some thought into something Baylor football related, I thought I would figure out my stance on the most important position on the field.
Bell obviously has a good mind for the game of football. He understands the offensive scheme and knows where to go with the ball. His problem has always been arm-strength. So, what does that affect?
He can make the short-range throws very effectively. He can make the midrange throws in an acceptable manner, and he can get the ball down the field if necessary. He CAN throw the ball 50 yards, but his accuracy over 25 or so yards dramatically deteriorates.
Here’s where I make my stance. We don’t need Bell to make a single throw over 25 yards to be a very potent offense, but he HAS to be aware of the mid-range throws available to him, and not continue to settle for the dumpoffs.
I’ve been to two of the three Baylor games and spent a lot of time watching Bell run the offense. There’s no doubt that he has a high completion percentage, but I believe there are a number of high percentage passes that he is either not seeing or simply not taking, instead opting to dump the ball off to a running back.
There were two plays in particular against SMU that took place on long second- or third-downs. On one play, Trent Shelton was pulling across the field about 15 yards down the field, wide, wide, wide open. Assuming he makes the catch, there was probably another 10 yards he could have picked up without meeting a defender. The other had a similar route run by Jason Smith, about 20 yards down the field, with probably 10-15 yards open in front of him. In both instances Bell threw to the running back in the flat for a gain of 1-2 yards.
It’s these throws that Bell is missing that will allow us to open up the passing game. Bell had 198 yards in the game against SMU. Had he made just those two throws, he could have had 250 yards and the passing offense would have demanded more attention from future opponents and the rushing game would open up more.
I’m not asking Bell to become a strong-armed passer, throwing the ball 40-50 yards down the field. I want him to play within himself, but take advantage of the throws available to him. If he can do this, the offense will open up a lot and Baylor fans could expect a lot more success in the season. ¶ 9/24/2005 0 Comments
