Each
week during the season, and at other points from February to August, our AFC
North beat writers discuss their teams and provide a look at some of the key
storylines making an impact on the division.
Week 1 always spurs the biggest overreactions. What was the
biggest one concerning the team you cover — either positive or negative — that
came out of the opener?
Jay Morrison (Bengals): I almost forgot what the view looks like from up here.
Anyway, the biggest overreaction in Cincinnati is that the offensive line is
going to send Joe Burrow to
the hospital again. Yes, the Bengals gave up five sacks and another two
quarterback hits, one of which was right under Burrow’s chin, but head coach
Zac Taylor pinned only two of the five on the line, citing poor eyes and missed
assignments from the backs and tight ends as the cause of the others.
Center Trey Hopkins had
his toughest day as a pro, but he suffered a torn ACL in the season finale last
season and was on a load management plan all of camp. The rust is off, and he
should look more like himself each week. It’s also worth noting that tackles Jonah Williams and Riley Reiff didn’t give up a single pressure
on 31 dropbacks Sunday, and Reiff finished with a pass rush win rate of 100
percent.
(Top photo of Chase Claypool: Mark Konezny
/ USA Today)
L.A.
Chargers second-year quarterback Justin Herbert put on a clinic in a big road
win against the highly touted defense of the Washington Football Team on
Sunday.
As observers watch
Herbert continue to elevate as a young quarterback, those in the know can’t
help but say, “That’s the work of one Alfonza ‘Pep’ Hamilton, quarterback
guru.”
Now, don’t get it wrong. Herbert has all the
tools, standing 6 feet 6 and 240 pounds with a rocket for an arm and
outstanding feet. He was a high draft pick (No. 6 overall in 2020) but scouts
and analysts had reservations about his mechanics and how long it would take
him to be able to compete at the pro level. He was called a “project.”
Boy, Were They Wrong
One year of learning and
tutelage under Pep Hamilton changed that. Hamilton’s résumé stretches far and
wide and speaks for itself. He’s served as an offensive coordinator for the
Colts, working with 2012 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck.
Pep’s also been the assistant head coach for
the Cleveland Browns and Michigan Wolverines, where he developed quarterbacks
and directed the passing games.
As the GM and head coach of the XFL’s
D.C. Defenders for one season, Pep made NFL bust Cardale Jones look like the
star quarterback the Buffalo Bills envisioned when they picked him in the
fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft fresh off a national championship.
Hamilton has worked with quarterbacks as a position coach or
coordinator on the pro or college level for 21 out of his 25 years in
football.
He hasn’t been able to secure a head coaching job yet, but when a team has a young
quarterback that needs developing or a veteran that needs mental reshaping,
Pep’s services are in high demand.
Prepare The Future
The Chargers brought Pep in during a tough 2020 COVID
season.
Herbert, who was drafted with the expectation that he would
replace the departed future Hall of Famer Philip Rivers, wasn’t able
to attend any training camps with the Chargers staff. The best he and Hamilton
could do was converse via text and video and during the virtual
mini-camps.
We talked Chargers rookie minicamp this morning on NFL Now. QB coach Pep Hamilton told me one of the things that impressed him about Justin Herbert and identified a homework assignment he gave to the former Oregon star. pic.twitter.com/gNUizwLedJ
When
asked about his strategy with the young player, Hamilton said, “We’re preparing
Justin to be ready to come in and compete from Day One.”
Whatever Pep did during
those virtual sessions worked because Herbert shattered almost every NFL rookie
passing record in existence: most passing touchdowns (31) and most completions
(396).
The QB Whisperer:
Deshaun Watson Who?
It wasn’t by accident and it wasn’t surprising. Hamilton is a genius when it
comes to developing quarterbacks, having coached up a list of starters
prior to making Herbert’s NFL transition as smooth as a Michael Jackson
moonwalk.
Quarterbacks like Luck
and Alex Smith, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton and Chad Pennington have all had
success on the NFL level and attribute much of their rapid advancement to
Hamilton, who is now the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach
for the Houston Texans.
Fans all wondered why the only people who weren’t panicking
about DeShaun Watson missing games due to an investigation into sexual
misconduct allegations were the Texans. That’s because this season they added
Hamilton to the staff and brought in a veteran quarterback who had already been
touched by Pep’s wisdom and guidance in the past.
Journeyman Tyrod Taylor was supposed to be the starter in L.A.
before a punctured lung sidelined him and Herbert swooped in and stole the job.
Hamilton spent significant time with Taylor as well in 2020. The 11-year
veteran, who didn’t become a starter until 2015, took Pep’s jewels, went to the
Texans, and looked like a poor man’s Deshaun Watson on Sunday.
Tyrod Taylor
-6th Round pick by Ravens -Becomes Pro Bowler with Bills -Traded away after taking Bills to playoffs -Benched in his 3rd game with Browns -Had his lung punctured by Chargers team doctors, never started for them again -STILL throwing dimes pic.twitter.com/UFIQ70JpWM
Known as a game manager whose greatest
asset is his ability to protect the ball, Taylor became a playmaker, throwing
for 291 yards and two touchdowns to lead a season-opening win over the Jaguars.
What’s In Pep’s Kool-Aid?
Texans
backup quarterback David Mills says Hamilton is constantly coaching up his
quarterbacks even during the game.
“A big thing we have worked on is just staying loaded at all
times in the pocket, so whenever something pops, we are able to get the ball
out in a split second,” said Mills during the preseason.
“And then, a lot of the stuff (Pep) does on game days is just
making sure we are prepared for everything the defense is showing us.”
So much for all of the
people who said the Texans weren’t going to win a game this season. Those
doubters underestimated the heavily influential hand of Pep Hamilton, the NFL’s
quarterback whisperer.
His kicker nailed two big
kicks, the receiver he likely pounded the table for at final cuts—Stanley Morgan—had
a nice downed punt late in the game and his new punt returner had 10.6 yards
per his five runbacks. The coach just knows how to put things together within
his unit.
From Nate Davis' "Joe Flacco an overachieving headliner on '09 All-Joe Team" January 27, 2010 THE 2009 ALL-JOE TEAM ...
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