I also think that the reason we are bringing in RBs and fullbacks is because we are going to give teams like Denver a hard time keeping their QB on the field. Time of possession will be big this year.

Thigpens arm made Cassell seem like Montana. Dude could run and that's about it. He was basically a poor man's Tebow before Tebow arrived.

HE COULD ALSO CATCH BAYBEEEE!!!!

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...higpen_wk9.jpg

Thigpen threw for more yards per game when we put the pistol in (220) than any other QB since Green.

Hilarious.

Done

One of the advantages of the Pistol not yet mentioned is that the tailback starts from the same 7 yards behind the LOS that he would in a conventional I. This is a big plus because the RB has the same amount of time to look for the hole as he would in the I but the defense cannot commit to an inside run quite as quickly because if they do the QB pulls the ball out and goes outside. OTOH, if the defense stays on the edge to shut down the QB going out, the OL now has a blocking advantage in the middle of the LOS. (the blocking advantage for the interior of the OL is significant) SF did this in the second half to Atlanta in the NFCC game last year and Gore gashed the Falcons big time.

Also, the Pistol creates a lot of gaps between the numbers for receivers. With so much focus being required now with an extra RB (QB) in the backfield, the LBs have to have their head on a swivel to watch for TEs crossing or going on wheel routes up the sideline.

Alex Smith did run quite a few plays last season from the Pistol prior to his concussion and was very smooth in doing so. After all, he ran something very similar at Utah as was noted by the earlier video.

Overall, things just happen a little bit quicker from the Pistol than from the I and the offense has one more weapon to attack from the ground. So while you never want your QB taking a lot of hits while running the ball, in most cases, when he does, he is not going to be gang tackled or absorb quite so many hard hits as a RB, at least if the reads it correctly.

tl;dr smith sux thigpen rulz

Inverted wishbone

sounds hot

Dam your right

It is hilarious. Especially since he did it at a whopping 54.8% completion rate and a 76 passer rating. However, has 18 td to 12 picks is inspiring as well.

Yeah that would certainly make him more qualified than Alex Smith.

Seriously the ****er won one game out of 11. Or to put it in a meaningless statistic that you seem to value: He was 0 for 6 in games started where the opponent scored more than 24 points.

R2D2 build guy

Thigpen also did diddly poo in the second halves of games.

His wild inaccuracy made receiving the ball impossible for just about everybody except Tony Gonzalez, and teams learned that you could easy neuter his scrambling ability by sending both of your pass rushers straight out against the edges to keep him in the pocket.

Agreed.

Another advantage that the motion of the Pistol creates is that it allows WRs to block down on LBs and even DLs that would otherwise be too big and strong to block. However, with so much attention now being focused in the backfield immediately after the snap, the slot receiver or split end/flanker can come down unnoticed and block effectively on a much bigger opponent. By taking a blind side angle on a player heading upfield, the leverage favors the player with the better angle despite being a smaller player.

A version of this that Ault/Kaepernick ran well was a fake to the RB and then a quick toss outside. This movement kept the opponent charged with sealing the perimeter tight to the LOS and allowed the receiver blocking down to give the RB room to turn the corner. Even a relatively light (210 lb) WR can neutralize a 260+ pound defender with the angle advantage. With Charles speed and the size of the Chiefs WRs, this could be a very good series to run against aggressive defenses: think Bowe clearing deep and Baldwin blocking down on Von Miller. :)