Post by Purple Pain on Nov 18, 2018 12:41:58 GMT -6
Here's why the Vikings' Adam Thielen is the most impossible player to cover in the NFL by Jared Dublin
Film study and analysis at the link: www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/heres-why-the-vikings-adam-thielen-is-the-most-impossible-player-to-cover-in-the-nfl/
Through the first 10 weeks of the 2018 NFL season, it's likely that no player's presence in the national consciousness has risen as much as that of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. Thielen was one of the NFL's best receivers in 2017, racking up 91 catches for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns, but he absolutely exploded early in 2018, setting an NFL record by beginning the season with eight consecutive 100-yard receiving games.
That streak came to an end in Week 9 as he recorded merely four catches for 22 yards and a score during a blowout win over the Lions, but the end of the streak does not nearly come close to ending Thielen's time in the spotlight. In fact, it might be just beginning, because Thielen is a 28-year-old receiver who has seemingly perfected his craft over the past couple seasons.
"At some point last year I said, 'Alright, enough with the story. Enough with the kid from Minnesota whose dream it was to play ball,'" CBS' The NFL Today studio analyst Nate Burleson says. "It's a cool story, but you know what's cooler? The fact that he's dominating at the professional level at a position that's stacked with talented guys."
And Thielen sure is dominating. In nine games, Thielen leads the NFL with 78 catches, just 13 off the career-high he set a year ago. He's on pace to catch 138 passes for the full season, which would be the second-most in NFL history. His seven touchdowns are already the most he's ever scored in a season. And it's not just volume. The NFL has tracked targets since 1992. During that time, there have been 1,054 instances of a wide receiver or tight end being targeted at least 100 times in a season. Thielen's current 75.7 percent catch rate ranks NINTH among that group of 1,054 players. That's inside the top 0.1 percent.
No matter where you search for analysis on how Thielen has taken his game to the next level, the focus is always on one thing: route-running. But just saying "route-running" is too simple. There are so many components to running a good route. "It's what he does at the line of scrimmage, what he does to make every route look the same, what he does to come in and out of the breaks, and knowing how and when to catch the ball in situations on the field," Burleson says.
Watching Thielen's work on tape, all of this shows up in spades. The technical proficiency Thielen displays even on simple slant routes is nearly unrivaled.
That streak came to an end in Week 9 as he recorded merely four catches for 22 yards and a score during a blowout win over the Lions, but the end of the streak does not nearly come close to ending Thielen's time in the spotlight. In fact, it might be just beginning, because Thielen is a 28-year-old receiver who has seemingly perfected his craft over the past couple seasons.
"At some point last year I said, 'Alright, enough with the story. Enough with the kid from Minnesota whose dream it was to play ball,'" CBS' The NFL Today studio analyst Nate Burleson says. "It's a cool story, but you know what's cooler? The fact that he's dominating at the professional level at a position that's stacked with talented guys."
And Thielen sure is dominating. In nine games, Thielen leads the NFL with 78 catches, just 13 off the career-high he set a year ago. He's on pace to catch 138 passes for the full season, which would be the second-most in NFL history. His seven touchdowns are already the most he's ever scored in a season. And it's not just volume. The NFL has tracked targets since 1992. During that time, there have been 1,054 instances of a wide receiver or tight end being targeted at least 100 times in a season. Thielen's current 75.7 percent catch rate ranks NINTH among that group of 1,054 players. That's inside the top 0.1 percent.
No matter where you search for analysis on how Thielen has taken his game to the next level, the focus is always on one thing: route-running. But just saying "route-running" is too simple. There are so many components to running a good route. "It's what he does at the line of scrimmage, what he does to make every route look the same, what he does to come in and out of the breaks, and knowing how and when to catch the ball in situations on the field," Burleson says.
Watching Thielen's work on tape, all of this shows up in spades. The technical proficiency Thielen displays even on simple slant routes is nearly unrivaled.
Film study and analysis at the link: www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/heres-why-the-vikings-adam-thielen-is-the-most-impossible-player-to-cover-in-the-nfl/
... and neither is this Chris guy.