Did Marshal and Alshon choke?

[CAP BOSO]

The Marshall drop on the second to last play was disheartening. We would have had 1 maybe 2 plays from 25 or so to score. Alshon's fumble was big. Gave GB three points and stopped us from having a chance at 3 before the half. Possible 6 point swing. I was not happy Jay threw the bomb to Alshon from the 50 with like 40 seconds left and a timeout. GB was in the prevent. A short pass and run puts us in a position to run plays to score with a higher likely hood of success. Hind sight is always 20/20.

 

[Warrior Spirit]

I think choke is too strong a word for these guys. The 4Q drop my Alshon was not an easy catch and could have been a game changer. Brandon drop was very catchable and could have helped but it is not clear that would have also been a game changer.

Trestman did screw up buy not throwing to them more during the game and I believe the fact that they saw and caught less passes this game then the games they played well in made it more likely they could drop a tough or easy pass to them. Marc should have peppered the Pack with a lot of his patented 10-15 yard passes where he gets guys open all over the field. I like Trestman but this was a mistake on his part.

Alshon didn't have a drop, the pass was defended. Brandon has a lot of drops but he makes up for them elsewhere with spectacular play.No choking by either of these 2.

 

[Mr. Jones]

I associate choking with more mental errors. Alshon was in legit coverage so id say no.

Marshall was open but it was off step, he drops those from time to time so it wasn't anything unusual. If he was on his feet in the chest and dropped it, id call it a choke.

Why must I be Saad? Via Tapatalk

Choking is what Conte, Anderson and the rest of the D displayed on the scooped fumble play.

 

[CAP BOSO]

I think choke is too strong a word for these guys. The 4Q drop my Alshon was not an easy catch and could have been a game changer. Brandon drop was very catchable and could have helped but it is not clear that would have also been a game changer.

Trestman did screw up buy not throwing to them more during the game and I believe the fact that they saw and caught less passes this game then the games they played well in made it more likely they could drop a tough or easy pass to them. Marc should have peppered the Pack with a lot of his patented 10-15 yard passes where he gets guys open all over the field. I like Trestman but this was a mistake on his part.

Trestman screwed up by us being up 1 with a first and ten in GB territory and deciding to throw that screen to Alshon that resulted in a penalty. That made it first and 15 and took the wind out of our sail. Forte was running well at that point in the game...why not run it and milk the clock?

 

[Moose27]

I wouldn't say they choked. Alshon's fumble was a huge error and hurt us. Marshall's drop was costly since it would have set Jay up closer and perhaps someone gets open for the score but he did have the great TD earlier. The offense should have never been in that position though. I firmly blame the defense for the loss.

 

[ijustposthere]

And having a bad game doesnt mean you choked. Marshall has dropped key passes all year so if any WR on our team is a choke artist its him.

If it's the biggest game of the season, sorry, it's a choke. Tony Romo doesn't have many bad games, but he's considered a choke artist because when he does choke it's normally the most critical point of the game at the most critical time of the season.

 

[remydat]

Maybe with Marshall, but the Jeffrey play he put it where Jeffrey could go up and get it. I think that ball was where it needed to be. Granted the degree of difficulty wasn't exactly easy, but Alshon did get both hands on the ball and should've made the play.

The ball needed to be thrown more towards the sidelines and away from Sam Shields similar to the Martellus Bennett TD from earlier in the year. Instead, it was thrown towards the middle of the field and Jeffery had to jump towards the middle of the field to try and get in front of Sam Shields to try and make a play which allowed Shields to disrupt the play. You can see it at 4 minutes of this video.

To me a guy should have made a play when it is routine. Nothing was routine about that play. Not the throw or the catch which is why I don't fault Cutler or Jeffery much on missing it. They both could have done a bit better on the play but that's how it goes sometimes in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013122901/2013/REG17/packers@bears#menu=highlights&tab=recap

 

[Woods]

Nope

 

[PrideisBears]

The ball needed to be thrown more towards the sidelines and away from Sam Shields similar to the Martellus Bennett TD from earlier in the year. Instead, it was thrown towards the middle of the field and Jeffery had to jump towards the middle of the field to try and get in front of Sam Shields to try and make a play which allowed Shields to disrupt the play. You can see it at 4 minutes of this video.

To me a guy should have made a play when it is routine. Nothing was routine about that play. Not the throw or the catch which is why I don't fault Cutler or Jeffery much on missing it. They both could have done a bit better on the play but that's how it goes sometimes in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013122901/2013/REG17/packers@bears#menu=highlights&tab=recap

The ball was thrown high and hit Alshon in the hands. Shield's didn't even get his hands on the ball or in between Alshon's hands

 

[Matt Suhey]

The ball needed to be thrown more towards the sidelines and away from Sam Shields similar to the Martellus Bennett TD from earlier in the year. Instead, it was thrown towards the middle of the field and Jeffery had to jump towards the middle of the field to try and get in front of Sam Shields to try and make a play which allowed Shields to disrupt the play. You can see it at 4 minutes of this video.

To me a guy should have made a play when it is routine. Nothing was routine about that play. Not the throw or the catch which is why I don't fault Cutler or Jeffery much on missing it. They both could have done a bit better on the play but that's how it goes sometimes in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013122901/2013/REG17/packers@bears#menu=highlights&tab=recap

I agree with you totally as during the game I told my brother we needed Jay to back shoulder that pass. However as Marshall has pointed out how many guys can throw a 30 or 40 yard back shoulder pass. The degree of difficulty plus the weather you got to give these guys a little break on our expectations.

 

[remydat]

Yes on the Marshall throw but no on the Alshon throw. Not mad at these guys either but Alshon had a bad day. At the end of the day, the TEAM wasn't good enough to win and fuck the 'it was Cutlers's fault' innuendo bullshit.

Yes overall AJ had a bad game but on that play, the ball placement contributed to the play not being made. Most of the time if that pass misses it should miss by sailing out of bounds because you want the ball thrown on the back shoulder towards the sidelines not towards the middle of the field.

When you look at the video, the minute Shields turns around, he can easily pick up where the ball is because the ball is thrown to the middle of the field. It is AJ who has to cut across Shields to try and get in front of him to make a play. A proper throw would be on the back shoulder so when Shields turns to the middle of the field like every CB would, it is harder from him to pick up the ball because it is turn away from where he is turning. Furthermore, even if he picks it up, he would then have to be the one to try and cut in front of AJ because it is on AJ's back shoulder and so AJ is the one who has the position to shield Shields away from the ball.

 

[ijustposthere]

I agree with you totally as during the game I told my brother we needed Jay to back shoulder that pass. However as Marshall has pointed out how many guys can throw a 30 or 40 yard back shoulder pass. The degree of difficulty plus the weather you got to give these guys a little break on our expectations.

Doesn't matter, only Alshon is absolved because of degree of difficulty. If Cutler throws it right, it's a touchdown every play.

 

[Justin Heras]

Drops on drops and a big fumble by Alshon. I understand why people don't bring this up, because these two are whats good about our team, but they failed to be exceptional in our biggest game of the year. And for all the talk of Cutler somehow failing to make big plays when it mattered, these two failed to do that as well.

You can strive for perfection but wont ever achieve it. Yes they dropped some passed , important passes that they really needed to catch, and the fumble by Jeffry... It happens. you can't look at a couple of plays and say they choked. What about all the amazing plays and catches they made before or even the few in this game ? Look at the big picture.

 

[PrideisBears]

Yes overall AJ had a bad game but on that play, the ball placement contributed to the play not being made. Most of the time if that pass misses it should miss by sailing out of bounds because you want the ball thrown on the back shoulder towards the sidelines not towards the middle of the field.

When you look at the video, the minute Shields turns around, he can easily pick up where the ball is because the ball is thrown to the middle of the field. It is AJ who has to cut across Shields to try and get in front of him to make a play. A proper throw would be on the back shoulder so when Shields turns to the middle of the field like every CB would, it is harder from him to pick up the ball because it is turn away from where he is turning. Furthermore, even if he picks it up, he would then have to be the one to try and cut in front of AJ because it is on AJ's back shoulder and so AJ is the one who has the position to shield Shields away from the ball.

Remy, AJ was behind Shield's lol. Yes Shields located the ball but it was a jump ball that hit Alshon right in his hands. The only way Sheilds had a shot was if he could out jump AJ which he tried and couldn't do

 

[Zion]

You can strive for perfection but wont ever achieve it. Yes they dropped some passed , important passes that they really needed to catch, and the fumble by Jeffry... It happens. you can't look at a couple of plays and say they choked. What about all the amazing plays and catches they made before or even the few in this game ? Look at the big picture.

well it seems like there's a small storyline in the background in Chicago amongst some people that goes a little bit like this: "Great players make great plays when it counts. Rodgers and the Packers did, the Bears and Jay Cutler didn't".

I'm just running with that theme only instead of focusing on the plays Jay Cutler didn't make to win the game at the end, I decided to focus on our Twin Tower WR's and the plays they didn't make in the big moment.

I don't really believe that they choked I just thought this would make a semi-interesting thread for discussion

 

[remydat]

The ball was thrown high and hit Alshon in the hands. Shield's didn't even get his hands on the ball or in between Alshon's hands

It's hard to tell from the angle whether he tips it or not but the announcer says just tipped away by Sam Shields in the video. Either way, a back shoulder pass gives Shields absolutely no chance to affect the play and makes for an easier catch because AJ would be adjusting to the ball by moving away from Shields not towards him like he had to.

Remy, AJ was behind Shield's lol. Yes Shields located the ball but it was a jump ball that hit Alshon right in his hands. The only way Sheilds had a shot was if he could out jump AJ which he tried and couldn't do

See above. A back shoulder pass would have taken Shields out of the play completely. Jeffery barely got two hands on the ball because the ball was thrown towards the middle away from him and he was in an awkward position trying to cut in front of Shields to make the catch. 4:21 of the video.

[video=youtube;IxJLAkxme9Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxJLAkxme9Y[/video]

 

[Justin Heras]

well it seems like there's a small storyline in the background in Chicago amongst some people that goes a little bit like this: "Great players make great plays when it counts. Rodgers and the Packers did, the Bears and Jay Cutler didn't". I'm just running with that theme only instead of focusing on the plays Jay Cutler didn't make to win the game at the end, I decided to focus on our Twin Tower WR's and the plays they didn't make in the big moment. I don't really believe that they choked I just thought this would make a semi-interesting thread for discussion

Well i will just reply to your post with a question. Has Jeffry and Marshall ( not ) made great plays when it counted ?

 

[gwharris2254]

No...

 

[Zion]

Well i will just reply to your post with a question. Has Jeffry and Marshall ( not ) made great plays when it counted ?

sure they have, but when have either of them played in a more important game?

Doesn't the nature of choking necessitate playing poorly in big moments?

so the real question should be, did these two play poorly when it mattered?

 

[Justin Heras]

sure they have, but when have either of them played in a more important game? Doesn't the nature of choking necessitate playing poorly in big moments? so the real question should be, did these two play poorly when it mattered?

Show me one WR in NFL history who never choked when it counted... The point I'm trying to make is that even though they didn't have the best game it doesn't mean they suck. They are both great WR's and some times things simply don't work out.