There are too many "ifs" with Shepard. I was extremely disappointed in his performance (or lack thereof) last night. He had two drops on key 3rd downs. The passes were low, but good WR's have to catch less-than-perfectly-thrown balls. One of Geno's receivers caught a ball while he was on his back.
Yep. The only thing I'm going to do is hold judgement for now because maybe he was just knocking rust off in this game. But with OBJ already playing at a high level, I don't know how long you can experiment with Shep before you turn the reins over to OBJ.
This. OBJ is playing like he wants a championship. Shep is playing like he was last year when we didn't have the offense to win a championship.
Shep should play runningback. With shep coming out of the backfield, he would most likely be covered by a linebacker. Shep aginst most linebackers would be a mismatch. Passes to shep should be like an extended handoff. Shep should be used like the saints used Reggie bush. Let shep get pitches and race to the corner. Shep isn't a good enough pass catcher to do what we are asking him to do. He could catch short passes out of the backfield and be in space to run like hell. Shep should have six to ten pitches/ short passes a game. Let him do his thing. Get him the ball quick and watch him go. Shep isn't going to catch hard to get balls in traffic. Shep can run like hell once he does get the ball. Simply pitch the ball to him and let him work.
Yep. Shep should be used like Reggie Bush was used in New Orleans. I also agree that Shep is the victim of his own hype and being unfairly criticized as a result. Is he the natural receiver that Beckham is? No. Has he really had he chance to prove it this season, though? No. The first low pass may have been catchable. The second one sure as hell wasn't.
Odell Beckham has done more in 4 games to prove he is a legit WR and playmaker than Russell Shepard has in 3 years. It's the sad truth and I'm not a hater by any means. Forcing the ball to Shep isn't gonna solve the problem, he just needs to find his niche in the offense and go from there.
6 to 10 short passes to Shep a game? Saying that LSU averages around 22 passes a game you really think we should throw the ball to Shep 1/3 to 1/2 of the time? I'm sorry. I wish Shep success and I hope that the problem was he was just rusty, but he looks like he plays soft to me. OBJ has laid out for the ball and taken a hit on multiple occasions to make the catch. Just like JJ was taking carries away from better running backs, Shep is right now taking passes away from better WRs. I hope he gets better and plays more physical but as it stands right now he should get the ball only in the Wild Tiger, on reverses/double reserves, and the occasional pass (read 1 or 2) a game. Wish him the best but OBJ simply fills his role better. Period.
I meant 6 to 10 touches. Two or three short passes, two or three pitches maybe a screen or two. Just get him the ball a few times. I can see him coming out of the backfield on a little out and lee dumping the ball to him on a short four yard pass. Line shep up as a tailback and pitch him the ball with him running behind stamply. Set shep up on a little delayed screen up the middle or a bubble screen getting him on the outside so he can make a move. I didn't mean to force ten passes to him but try and get him six to ten touches on plays specifically designed for him. That's what the saints did with Reggie very often. He would make a good change of pace back. After ware and ford pounds the defense's teeth out for three quarters put shep in the backfield and make a tired defense chase his quick arse down.
