Article on Ryan Nassib

[fishgutmartyr]

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2014/07/four_days_with_ryan_nassib_a_breakdown_of_the_giants_backup.html

 

 

Four practices with Ryan Nassib: A breakdown of the Giants backup

Ryan Nassib was drafted with the hope that he would never play a down for the Giants, but with the expectation that he would edge Curtis Painter in the preseason.

Nassib was schooled to run an offense like Eli Manning, but bred on the second and third string portion of the depth chart, an ever-changing line of offensive lineman and wide receivers.

 

In the same thought, he can be viewed as the ultimate value pick by the Giants, who scooped him up in the fourth round after many projected him to get taken in the first, or a mistake the team is beholden to for another few summers.

But for now, there is little doubt that he could be one play away from being the Giants starter, which is why the spotlight has never been brighter for Nassib. Coming off a season where Eli Manning suffered his first major injury, one that resulted in offseason ankle surgery, the Giants know there is always a chance their iron-cast quarterback won't be under center.

 

That leaves a player waiting on the sidelines that, at times, seems to confound his coaches as well.

 

"There’s been some things he’s missed," quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf said. "He’s had a couple turnovers and some bad throws at times. But overall, I’m really pleased at how he’s been throwing the ball as a whole in training camp. It’s been pretty good."

In an effort to gain an accurate assessment of his progress, The Star-Ledger tracked Nassib throughout the last four days of training camp, noting the receivers he was throwing to, the defensive backs he was throwing against, the snap-to-throw times, the level of attempt difficulty and the placement of his passes. Here is what we found:

THE GOOD:

By an unofficial count, Nassib completed passes at a 66.4 percent clip during the last four days of camp between 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills and made almost all of his intermediate throws. In addition, a majority of his passes were to receivers who will likely not make the 53-man roster, or end up on the bottom rung. By an unofficial count, Nassib got to throw 10 live passes to perceived starters.

 

The discrepancy is one of the hardest parts of judging a backup quarterback.

 

"Well, yeah, it’s always the toughest part on the backup quarterback because they don’t get as many reps for one, and then they’re always interchanging their personnel," quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf said. "So they’re at a little bit of a disadvantage in terms of the timing with the receivers. That’s part of the deal. They’ve got to be able to adjust and adapt to that, making those changes, and they’ve got to be comfortable with everybody."

 

He also showed the inclination to put throws in the right place. Some of Nassib's throws came in high or wide, but intentionally so. During a game when Adrien Robinson is being covered by a safety, the advantage will likely be in the air. Likewise for Larry Donnell, who was also on the receiving end of some high passes.

 

With Mario Manningham, for example, a lot of the balls were the way Manning would customarily throw them; drooping passes near the sideline on comeback routes and back-shoulder fades that come in with enough room to make a play. Nassib was spot-on during one particular back-shoulder attempt to Preston Parker on Sunday, who caught the ball over Travis Howard.

 

THE BAD

 

Nassib had his worst day against members of the starting defense during a session where they revealed some odd-fronts and blitz packages. On attempts during that particular portion of practice on Friday, Nassib tossed the ball out of bounds following a heavy rush, tossed a quick slant behind wide receiver Corey Washington and threw an interception.

 

On the pick, Nassib looked comfortable enough in the pocket and made his smoothest step-up of camp. The deep ball was to Jerrel Jernigan, but was given up on once a second defender came into the picture.

 

Langsdorf, understanding that there is little to glean from training camp deep balls due to the decreased competition in air, was willing to give Nassib a pass there.

 

"The other thing that people don’t always see is how the defenses play the receiver," he said. "Sometimes that receiver is cut off or is too wide and the window the throw the deep ball is cut down. So it’s not always a quarterback throwing up a jump ball. It’s where we’re placing it and being safe with it. It has to do with the receiver releasing and getting on top of the defender."

 

At times, Nassib was asked to hurry up his pre-snap checklist by Ben McAdoo. His snap to throw times, which varied from a tidy 2.9 average on some drills to a much higher 4.5-5 in other drills, also needs shaving down.

 

 

THE CONSENSUS

Nassib doesn't look unprepared, which was the main hope of the coaching staff coming into camp. As a backup, he is studious and prepared. He sells his play-fakes well when working against the first-string defense and isn't taking shortcuts during practice.

 

Though some of his passes, especially during individual drills, are puzzling, he has made enough growth over the last week that some are taking notice.

 

"He’s getting more comfortable communication-wise mostly," Langsdorf said. "Making sure we’re on the same page with the receivers and the protection matches what we’re doing downfield. Those are the things that he’s gotten more comfortable with doing. He communicates well; he’s fast at it. If you watch our practices, he’s moving around quickly, he’s getting the calls made to the right guys under good time, so I like that part of it. He’s not wasting a bunch of time at the line of scrimmage."

 

Interesting article by Connor Orr that puts a little context on what's going on.

 

Let the bashing begin.

[Bigblue25]

Backup quarterback Ryan Nassib had a strong overall practice, until he tried to force a slant pattern and was intercepted by cornerback Charles James. But there was more good than bad. Nassib hit running back Kendall Gaskins down the left sideline on a wheel route with a perfectly-placed dart. Gaskins made a nice snag with Kennard on his back. Nassib also hit wide receivers Julian Talley and Corey Washington with passes during 11-on-11 drills while working with tight windows.

 

Just an observation: One thing I've noticed with Nassib is he seems to be all one speed. He needs to prove he has touch.

This is from Jordan Raanan

 

"Seems to be all one speed" is the best description I've seen

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2014/07/giants_practice_report_the_tight_ends_are_where.html

[gmenroc]

Reading that he's accurate reassures me that he'd be a decent backup QB with more reps. It seems it's decision making and speed of decision making that need to improve...and I have to believe that with reps and with consistency in an offense...he could get to the point where we're not all terrified of him taking over if, God forbid, Eli got hurt.

[Sephiroth]

Let's hope he can continue to improve... he'll need it if he hopes to beat out the great Curtis Painter.

[Tempest]

I'd like to see it in the preseason.

[JMFP]

Hopefully we will be able to see improvement tonight

[K3VIN]

lets see what he does in a game. I still think he a scrub but an improving scrub

[Herc]

just what i needed

[Nas]

Hopefully we will be able to see improvement tonight

 

Sheesh.. I'd completely forgotten about tonight's game

[Sephiroth]

He actually looks like an NFL caliber backup as of halftime.

[fishgutmartyr]

Nassib looked good tonight. Not QB controversy good, but "able breathe a sigh of relief that we're going into the season with Painter as #2 again" good.

 

Is it me, or does Curtis Painter even look bad while handing off? Between the blown blocking of the oline and Painter's telegraphing, I actually felt sorry for Cox at the end of the game.

[gmenroc]

I liked what I saw from Nassib last night. When he knew where he wanted to go with the ball and he had time to deliver it, he made some good throws. Word has been consistency, so we'll see what we get from him in the next game. I'm guessing it'll be Eli-Painter-Nassib in the next game.

 

I've never been a fan of Painter.

[Sephiroth]

Nassib looked good tonight. Not QB controversy good, but "able breathe a sigh of relief that we're going into the season with Painter as #2 again" good.

 

Is it me, or does Curtis Painter even look bad while handing off? Between the blown blocking of the oline and Painter's telegraphing, I actually felt sorry for Cox at the end of the game.

I kinda felt the same way about Cox that I did about Wilson last year. Yeah, he may only be having two-yard runs, but when you made 3 giys miss to get there its pretty impressive.

[GA4M]

He seems to mess around a little too long in the pocket, but he did OK. We''ll find out about him if he has to start a real game.

[Treehugger]

I've never been a fan of Painter.

 

Have you ever met one?

[gmenroc]

 

Have you ever met one?

 

Y'know, I thought someone with your intelligence would note the capital letter P, and recognize it as a proper noun.

 

Oh, and yeah, I have met two...realized very quickly that their job is not that difficult and that anyone who pays one is more or less too lazy to do the job themselves.

[Balloonknot]

 

Y'know, I thought someone with your intelligence would note the capital letter P, and recognize it as a proper noun.

 

Oh, and yeah, I have met two...realized very quickly that their job is not that difficult and that anyone who pays one is more or less too lazy to do the job themselves.

 

This....

 

How much do u charge?

[gmenroc]

 

This....

 

How much do u charge?

 

What'd ya have in mind big guy?

 

Seriously tho, I have enough trouble finding time to take care of my own shit, and the wife adds to the 'wouldn't this look nice' list all but weekly. So I can't help my buddies with their things as I'd like to.