Last week against the Tennessee Titans, Ryan Fitzpatrick became the fourth player this season to throw for six touchdown passes in a single game.
This occurred just three weeks after he had been benched for Ryan Mallett. Fitzpatrick only got his job back because Mallett was lost for the season with an injury. He is the fourth player this year to throw for six touchdowns. To put that into perspective, there were only three six-touchdown games during the 90s, three during the 80s and two during the 70s. What Fitzpatrick did is still very rare and impressive, but it's also a reflection of where the rules in the NFL are for quarterbacks right now.
Fitzpatrick is a proven player. He has proven to be an unreliable starter and inconsistent player from snap-to-snap. His performance last week should be viewed as an anomally, but because of his situation he can be a productive player moving forward. Instead of trying to learn something about Fitzpatrick from this display, our focus should shift to second-year wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins finished that game against the Titans with a career high 238 yards on nine receptions with two touchdowns.
That game pushed Hopkins over 1,000 receiving yards for the season and brought him to 60 receptions and six touchdowns. Hopkins was the second receiver taken in the draft, but he didn't come off the board until 27th overall after Tavon Austin went eighth overall. Because of where he was selected, Hopkins will always be compared and contrasted to Austin, Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson and Hunter went off the board quickly after Hopkins.
At the time, Hopkins was essentially the boring selection. Each of Hunter, Patterson and Austin appeared to be more impressive, explosive athletes than the Clemson prospect. Hopkins wasn't necessarily a poor athlete, but those prospects were considered outliers in terms of explosiveness whereas Hopkins was more well-rounded. To this point in their respective careers, being the more well-rounded receiver has paid off for Hopkins.
During his rookie season, Hopkins caught 52 passes for 802 yards and two touchdowns. He was clearly the most productive and consistent of all rookie receivers and he is the only player who has developed as expected into his second season. Of the four receivers, Hopkins is the only one who is on track to be a high-quality NFL starter.
Catch radius is a word that we talk about a lot with NFL receivers. Typically, catch radius is only used about players who can high-point the ball and make contested catches high in the air. Rarely do we talk about a player's catch radius on low passes or when the receiver has to adjust by twisting or dropping his body in other ways. Against the Titans, Hopkins' first three receptions went for 28 yards and each showed off his ability to adjust to poorly thrown, low passes from Fitzpatrick.
On his first target, Hopkins ran a clean out route and created separation against two defensive backs. He was in position for a comfortable reception on what should be a simple throw for an NFL quarterback, but Fitzpatrick's pass arrives at his feet. Hopkins immediately reacts to the trajectory of the ball and drops to his toes to pull it up from the ground. Like rookie Odell Beckham Jr Hopkins was able to show off his big hands by catching the ball and holding it away from his body without pulling it into his chest.
Hopkins smartly turns onto his back to avoid letting the ball hit the ground or come lose as he falls.
For his second target, Hopkins ran a short out route from the slot and again was wide open. On this occasion, Fitzpatrick's pass is low and poorly thrown but it's out in front of his receiver rather than at his feet. Hopkins has to fall down and reach forward, but significantly, he has to put his hands on the ground to pull the ball up instead of simply catching it and falling over. This pass went for an important first down and was a very impressive adjustment from the young receiver.
This is the kind of play that bigger receivers can't make. Hopkins is listed at 6'1" and carries a thick frame, so he is in the sweet spot listing area of a receiver who can play the big game effectively and the small game effectively.
For his third reception, Hopkins showed off the benefits of his frame and physical talent by gaining position at the catch point on a curl route before working back to the football for the reception. Hopkins was essentially horizontal as he reached back for the ball and prevented it from hitting the ground.
These three targets came on the first two drives of the game. They were his first three targets of the game. Hopkins wasn't simply getting easy yards on perfect throws from his quarterback. Hopkins was carrying his quarterback by making up for his flaws.
On those plays, Hopkins showed off his comfort working on underneath routes within the timing of the offense. In the second quarter, with his offense backed up against its own goal line, the young receiver showed off an understanding of how to extend his routes when the initial design of the play failed.
Hopkins initially lines up to the left of the formation. He runs a simple curl route that is angled towards the middle of the field. After settling at the top of his route for a moment, he begins to search for an escape route when Fizpatrick extends the play. He adjusts well to find the space down the field and makes a comfortable catch for a 31 yard gain.
This play isn't sustainable unless you have a quarterback who can consistently extend plays with expert efficiency. Needless to say, Fitzpatrick isn't that type of quarterback.
Not to worry, before the quarter would come to a close, Hopkins would complete a huge play within the design of the offense. Before catching a 58 yard touchdown though, Hopkins would set the offense up at the Texans 42 yard line by drawing a pass interference penalty. A pass interference penalty that prevented him from scoring an even longer touchdown.
One of Hopkins' most impressive traits coming out of Clemson was his ability to create space downfield with precise route running. He didn't have the speed of Justin Hunter or Cordarrelle Patterson, but he understood how to manipulate and position himself against specific coverages. On this double move route, he destroys the defensive back, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, by drawing him forward before accelerating past his outside shoulder. Wreh-Wilson has no option but to drag him down.
Wreh-Wilson only delayed the play for one snap.
On this play, Hopkins is lined up in the slot to the left. Before the snap, the offense motions the outside receiver so he is bunched with Hopkins inside. This alters the coverage in front of the receivers, meaning that Hopkins is eventually matched up with a deep outside cornerback. Hopkins runs directly down the seam, beating the cornerback inside with his route. Fitzpatrick throws a catchable pass, but can't lead Hopkins downfield. Therefore, the receiver needs to reach back to the football and catch it over the trailing defensive back.
This is not an easy adjustment but Hopkins still does it without breaking stride. His comfort catching the football away from his body is phenomenal.
For his second touchdown reception of the game, Hopkins worked his way down the left sideline against single coverage. Once again he beat the defensive back in off coverage and had to reach back for Fitzpatrick's pass. Just like his first score of the game, Hopkins made this play look much simpler than it was. It wasn't his longest reception of the second half though, that came in the fourth quarter.
Having beaten the defense deep twice, Hopkins added a 56 yard play by extending an underneath route downfield.
Hopkins runs a simple crossing route. He comes free as the defensive back adjusts to avoid the other crossing route working in the other direction. With a well-timed pass from Fitzpatrick, Hopkins is able to sprint downfield, carrying the ball for over 45 yards. Hopkins makes one defender miss and fights forward for every last inch available.
Too often, more athletic wide receivers are celebrated as players who can do more than less athletic players. This is a fallacy.
More athletic players don't guarantee success in the NFL because the nuances of the position are vitally important and difficult to master. Hopkins is well on his way to mastering the little things that he needs to do to sustain success throughout a long NFL career. If the youngster can be this productive with Fitzpatrick as his quarterback, his ceiling should be very high with a better player passing him the ball.
Other Thoughts From the Tape
Steven Jackson had his first 100+ yard rushing game since 2012 last week. Most of Jackson's yardage came on one long run, but on the whole he did show some more life than he has for the most part over the past two years. Jackson still isn't a valuable starter over the short or long term though. Devonta Freeman remains the back to own in Atlanta for the long term, but even he isn't all that desirable.
Odell Beckham continues to impress after that phenomenal catch last week. Beckham had a strong outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. However, more significantly, Beckham appears to be the Giants' only reliable receiving option. The Giants need to rebuild their passing game around him and Eli Manning moving forward.
Ben Roethlisberger had a poor game against the New Orleans Saints last week. Roethlisberger deserves some leeway for his play because he appeared to be playing with an injured hand. However, it underlines how he has dropped off since those two dominant weeks at midseason. Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense as a whole is inconsistent.
Drew Brees' season is heading in the other direction however. The Saints quarterback is showing more accuracy throwing the ball down the field in recent weeks and making better decisions on the whole. His rapport with Kenny Stills is very important for the overall effectiveness of the offense, but they also need to get Jimmy Graham involved to sustain success.
Tony Romo's arm strength continues to be inconsistent. On a weekly basis, it's very difficult to predict when he is going to play as if he is fully healthy or when his back is still affecting him. Romo is still one of the most talented players in the league, but age and health appears to be slowing him down. That's a very worrying sign moving forward.
Jordan Matthews of the Philadelphia Eagles is having a productive rookie season. It shouldn't come as a surprise considering the offense he plays in and the role he fills. Matthews is benefiting from playing in the slot and running specific routes within the design of plays that afford him more space and free releases from the line of scrimmage. Much like Riley Cooper last season, it's hard to buy into Matthews' long term unless he always stays in this role with this offense being as effective as it can be.