Thursday night’s game was a coming-out party for Buffalo Bills receiver Marquise Goodwin – and one the Green Bay Packers can learn from.
Goodwin has been almost continuously injured since his rookie year with the Bills in 2013. His stock in trade is speed, blazing speed – 4.27 40-yard speed – 99th percentile speed. At the same time, and even at 5’9” and about 180 pounds, Goodwin is an all-around athlete and every inch a football player, not just a track man.
It didn’t matter that the New York Jets’ All-Pro defensive back Darrelle Revis was covering him Thursday night. At his fastest back in 2007, the 31-year-old Revis had 4.38 speed. Other than double-teaming the receiver, there’s simply no way to compensate for speed differences such as that between Goodwin and Revis.
Sometimes football can be quite elementary. When Goodwin lined up wide right, covered solely by Revis, he ran a straight fly route. No fakes, no stop-and-go. This was according to plan, as quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s focus was solely on this one-on-one confrontation. Goodwin raced past Revis, ran under the perfectly-thrown 60-yard bomb, caught it in stride, and skipped into the end zone. The 84-yard completion is the second-longest so far in the young season.
How can the Packers benefit from the Bills’ example?
Green Bay, for the first time in ages, has a fast receiver – two of them in fact: Jeff Janis and Trevor Davis. Both have 40-yard-dash times of 4.42 seconds.
The Packers play Seattle at home on December 11. The Seahawks’ cornerback who mans the offensive right side of the field is another All-Pro: Richard Sherman. Even if the 28-year-old hasn’t slowed down a bit, his 2011 40-yard NFL combine time of 4.54 seconds is woefully slow – he’s highly susceptible to being beaten by the deep ball.
The Packers have the deep-ball quarterback – they now need to commit to taking advantage of the speed they have on the roster. Their two fastest receivers will soon be fully healthy. When they are, the Packers should routinely exploit receiver-defender matchups whenever they have decided speed advantages. The Seahawks game is but one obvious opportunity.
Coach Mike McCarthy preaches that this year he wants to have more high-impact plays, and he needs to stretch the field more. Bills’ head coach Rex Ryan showed how it’s done Thursday night. Will McCarthy absorb the lesson?