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JamesJM
to call a play and not even know what it is? Shouldn't plays be somewhat self-explanatory?
I can see it being confusing, requiring some mental calculations... but not knowing?
BTW... not saying it can't happen, I have no idea how they call plays today. - JamesJM
They have mentioned it in the last couple of episodes. It's a thick, thick playbook with play calls that can be up to 17 words. Each word is a specific designation for a player or a formation. In an earlier episode, they showed Goff simply trying to repeat a play in the huddle that the coaches had just given him and he couldn't get the last couple of words right (which of course would mean that someone would line up incorrectly or run or block differently than they are supposed to). Don't get me wrong - it's not that he's stupid or anything, it's just that it is really complicated and a lot to pick up. And I am sure he got a lot of them right. They showed a clip of Keenum's wife helping her husband by quizzing him at home. Keenum said his first year was completely overwhelming.
In this last Hard Knocks episode, Goff stumbled over a play and the coach asked him if he knew what the play was and he said no.
It was really helpful in terms of highlighting how big a jump it is from college to the pros. One of the things I read about why they weren't utilizing Tavon as much as we all wanted the first couple of years was that Tavon couldn't remember the plays. He came from a system where they had something like 7 plays (same as Robinson). If a receiver can't remember the plays and has a lot of work to learn defenses (even without them disguising themselves), it's a tall order for a QB to not just memorize, but learn the plays and what every single player is doing on every play. And then learn to read the defenses. And then learn to recognize when the defense is disguising their intentions. It's going to take time.
