A Closer Look At Morgan Burnett
Doug Farrar of Football Outsiders breaks down Morgan Burnett's play against the Colts.
By PackerAaron
If you are not familiar with Doug Farrar's work, especially his Cover 3 column over at Football Outsiders, you are missing out. In his latest Doug takes a look at Morgan Burnett's play against the Colts, almost drive-by-drive. Be sure to read the entire section, and indeed the whole column. Excellent stuff.
Money quote:
Indy's next drive started with a long pass to Garcon from the Colts' 22-yard line, and here you got to see the range that made the Packers so interested in Burnett. He was near the middle of the field when Manning let the ball go, and by the time it came down in Garcon's area at the Green Bay 36-yard line, Burnett was there to break on the throw and almost pick it off. On the play, the Colts went with an unusual (for them) two-tight end set left. As Reggie Wayne took Charles Woodson inside, Garcon ran the deep route with Brandon Underwood trailing along. This was another nickel defense (I'd be shocked if the Colts don't face the most nickel in the NFL). Manning seemed both surprised that Burnett got over there and distressed that a flaw in his own internal mechanism had allowed a misfire.

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Comments (8)
September 02, 2010 at 01:46 pm
Thanks for the link. Great read. It's easy to trip on writing links as stories, but the fact is I and a lot of other people would overlook this if it weren't sent out way.
I found Burnett's INT after jumping Garcon's route to be very interesting during the game. Farrar details it here: In perhaps the ultimate compliment to a rookie pass defender, the camera showed Manning walking off the field, looking up at the Lambeau Field Jumbotron, and wondering, "Where did this guy come from?"
To me, Manning looked downright PO'd and a tad arrogant. Like, "If you were playing smart you wouldn't have jumped that route," like he was dumb enough to take that risk. Though Burnett might get burned due to inexperience at times this season, if he can fool Manning more than once, I am confident he can do it to many other QBs.
PackerAaron
September 02, 2010 at 01:49 pm
Yeah, I never care what people think re: links as stories - if its Packers and I find its interesting, I'm going to post.
And I totally agree w/you on Manning's take. There's a replay from behind Burnett where you can see Manning try to look him off and then come back down to the guy he ended up throwing it to. He just thought "There, I looked off the safety and now the underneath guy will be open" and threw it. He never even looked at Burnett...
September 02, 2010 at 02:03 pm
Manning is such a douche when he plays bad. What a hissy fit he threw about the refs. C'mon adjust for one stinking game. Only Tom Brady gets rules made for him and last I checked your a handful of rings short. Well Yoda's hand anyway.
September 02, 2010 at 02:08 pm
The NFL already made adjustments to how/where/when the officials are located just this week following Manning's visible frustration with their delay in placing the ball.
I don't blame him. He's borderline idiot-savant when it comes to football intelligence and pre-snap adjustments. His/their biggest advantage during all these 12+ game wins season after season has been the no huddle and limiting defensive substitutions.
September 02, 2010 at 02:31 pm
Oh. That explains the humongous forehead.
September 02, 2010 at 02:32 pm
LOL... Ya', that and the one chromosome he seems to have lost or split equally among his brothers.
September 02, 2010 at 06:22 pm
But not the bolts in his neck. LOL.
September 02, 2010 at 06:52 pm
Aaaaaaaaahahahahahaha