Tag: warren sharp

Seahawks run game was dominant during preseason

The gains are especially evident on the flanks.

It’s only three games and they don’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. However, Seahawks fans looking for a silver lining after an 0-3 preseason record can at least bank on expecting a quality run game in 2022. Always a critical part of this team’s offensive identity, there’s more reason than usual to be especially bullish about the rushing attack this year.

As far as talent in the backfield, few teams can compete with the starpower at the top for Seattle – assuming Rashaad Penny and Ken Walker are eventually 100% healthy. Even if they’re not, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas have just proven that the run game can still go strong even with backups leading the charge.

Some stats suggest this was the most-dominant rushing attack in the league during the preseason. This chart from Warren Sharp shows only scary-all-around Buffalo was remotely in Seattle’s league in running back efficiency and run blocking.

As far as the run blocking goes, this is a very encouraging sign. While this unit did finish the 2021 season heading in the right direction, offensive line coach Andy Dickerson deserves a lot of credit for the evident improvement across the board. The gains are especially evident on the flanks. Abe Lucas has gotten the headlines, but truth is the entire offensive tackle group did well in this department.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope this isn’t a preseason mirage. A very potent rushing attack and a surprisingly-tough defense is this team’s best hope of competing in 2022.

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Kirk Cousins isn’t the only quarterback sitting out this preseason

Is it a concern that Cousins hasn’t played in the preseason?

With a new system being put into place by head coach Kevin O’Connell, the question remains as to whether or not starting quarterback Kirk Cousins should play this preseason. According to Warren Sharp, Cousins is one of many starting quarterbacks that haven’t taken a snap this preseason.

Sharp listed off 14 different starters that hadn’t taken a snap this preseason with four of them, including Cousins, who missed at least one game due to injuries.

The positive aspect for the Minnesota Vikings is that Cousins has both worked in the wide zone system for most of his career and also had O’Connell as his quarterbacks coach back in 2017.

The other benefit is that the joint practices arguably offer more to the starters than preseason games and Cousins was a full participant after a short bout with COVID-19.

It isn’t a concern that Cousins hasn’t taken a snap in the preseason. He’s ready for the Packers.

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Are the Bills overrated in 2022 because last year’s schedule was easy?

Are the #Bills overrated in 2022 because last year’s schedule was easy?

The Buffalo Bills earned quite a bit of praise heading into the 2022 season. Buffalo has the best odds to win the Super Bowl, great odds for their quarterback to be NFL MVP, and they are in the best position to thrive over the next three years.

USA Today even predicts that the Bills will have the best record in the league by a wide margin:

It seems to be all smiles heading into the fall for the Buffalo Bills.

But, in the words of the legendary Lee Corso: Not so fast.

Football analytics expert Warren Sharp sees some reason to pump the brakes on a Super Bowl celebration. Examining some trends, he views the Bills path through the 2022 campaign might be a bit rockier than what many are predicting for the Bills.

Sharp also reveals that Buffalo’s 11-6 record might be hiding some inadequacies regarding the team.

Here is what Sharp has to say about Buffalo’s 2022 future:

It’s definitely an oppositional view from the widespread national attention that the Bills have garnered this year. However, it lends itself to a grounded and rational prediction of what the future holds for Buffalo.

After all, this is a team that found a way to lose to Urban Meyer last year. Anything is possible.

It also hints that maybe all of the betting options are not necessarily going to fall into the Bills’ favor.

In the case of Buffalo and Sharp, it’s one situation in which Bills will have to prove someone wrong…once again.

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Will Chiefs’ goal-to-go success continue in 2022?

The #Chiefs were the third-best team in goal-to-go situations in 2021. Will the success continue with a new-look offense in 2022?

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While the Kansas City Chiefs had their offensive struggles last season, they still boasted one of the most successful offenses in the league. They ranked fourth in the league in points scored, improving from their sixth-place ranking in 2020. One of the reasons for that improvement was the team’s success in goal-to-go situations.

According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Chiefs were the No. 3 team in the NFL in goal-to-go efficiency last season. What exactly does that mean? It means that once they got inside of the 10-yard line, they were one of the likeliest teams to turn that opportunity into points.

Will this goal-to-go success change for Kansas City in 2022, though? The team has undergone some drastic changes on the offensive side of the ball, losing key contributors such as Tyreek Hill, Darrel Williams, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson in free agency.

Williams led the team in goal-to-go carries last season, with 20 from inside the 10-yard line. Six of those carries resulted in touchdowns, which was tied for the eighth-most in the league. Hill was targeted nine times within the 10-yard line, resulting in six receptions for six touchdowns as well. Those two pieces alone account for 72 points scored in goal-to-go situations in 2021.

On the flip side, Kansas City still has Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the fold. Kelce caught 9-of-9 possible passes in goal-to-go situations resulting in six touchdowns. Hardman caught 3-of-7 for two touchdowns. Edwards-Helaire carried the ball within the 10-yard line seven times, resulting in four rushing touchdowns. The team also added Ronald Jones, who had nine carries in goal-to-go situations resulting in four touchdowns. JuJu Smith-Schuster, while injured most of 2021, should help in this area in 2022. In the 2020 NFL season, he tied for the ninth-most receptions in the league in goal-to-go situations, recording six total touchdowns on seven catches.

Even with the holdovers and the additions the team made, Kansas City will have to make up some ground in goal-to-go situations to maintain their recent level of success.

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Warren Sharp says ‘the sky is the limit’ for Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers

After finding such massive success as a rookie, there is an expectation that Justin Herbert can lead the Chargers to uncharted territory in 2021.

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By all accounts, the things that we saw former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert do on the field with the Los Angeles Chargers in his rookie year were remarkable.

Thrown into the fire with a new coaching staff and short notice before his first start, Herbert went on to pass for more touchdowns than any rookie ever and was the best QB in the league on third-downs in the first half of games.

Herbert did all of this despite playing with a subpar running game, standing behind a porous offensive line, and taking calls from a coaching staff that was fired shortly after the season.

Not exactly ideal, but the Oregon legend managed to thrive.

So what does that mean for his sophomore campaign with the Chargers? According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, the sky is the limit for this team.

A major note from Sharp was how unlucky the Chargers have been over the past two seasons, losing a total of 16 one-possession games in that span. Field goals have strayed left of right, calls have gone against them, and a regression to the mean is bound to happen at some point. Because of that, Sharp is confident that Herbert can make a leap with the Chargers.

“This team, with a brand new coaching staff, absolutely can get back on track this year,” Sharp said. “I love Justin Herbert, I love the improvements they made to the offensive line. There is some work to be done here in a difficult division, but I think the sky is the limit for the LA Chargers in 2021, especially if they get better luck and make better decisions from a playcalling perspective early in games.”

Sharp mentioned the lack of success on early downs for LA, which was a big hole for them in 2020. Quite often, Herbert would find himself in third-and-long situations, which are hard to get out of. Fortunately, Justin was highly successful when asked to convert, but that’s not something you want to be asked to do multiple times per game.

“One thing they need to do this year is to improve Justin Herbert on early downs,” Sharp said. “He was incredible on third down last year, but that’s not something that was sustainable, and this team had the third most third-down attempts in the first half of games. They’ve got to avoid these third-down attempts, and you can do that by being more efficient in the early downs.”

After quickly shaking off the first-round bust predictions and blazing to an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award win, Herbert set the bar pretty high. We will see what he can do under a new coaching staff in LA this season while contending with an AFC West division that should be even stronger than a season ago.

But if last year is any indication of what the Oregon legend is capable of in the NFL, then Sharp is truly spot on — the sky is the limit for this team.

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