There were a couple drops as others actually pointed out to me. The play calling was idiotic to keep throwing 1 yard passes. Once Ben got control in the no huddle, they had little problem. Even on the drive to start the 2nd half where they marched right down and didn't score, you had an obvious hold on Ebron in the endzone otherwise that might have been a TD and then he hit Claypool in the hands and he dropped what would have been a TD. Even Claypool was visibly pissed he didn't hold onto it. So......I mean you aren't going to get much more than 100 yards passing in a half when you throw 1 yard passes with 9+ men in the box waiting for it.
I'm not talking about the second half. There were no drops in the first half. Let's break down Ben's play by possession:
1) Three poor short passes. Maybe one to JuJu had at least a 50% chance of being caught.
2) Three short completions to DJ. 3rd-and-1 (more like a half yard), run play is stuffed. Evidently, despite being 6'5" and 240+, Ben remains incapable of running a QB sneak.
3) Sacked on 2nd down. Completes a hopeless pass to Ebron five yards downfield, no chance for a first down.
4) Ball on Colts' 3, 2nd down slant to DJ is behind him, thus easily defended. 3rd down pass behind an open JuJu, bailed out by offside penalty, not an official incompletion.
5) Has a WIDE open McCloud in the flat, instead forces to Ebron in triple-coverage, should have been picked. Completes hopeless pass at LOS to DJ on 3rd-and-9.
6) 5-yard pass to DJ. 2-yard pass to JuJu, got first down. 5-yard pass to JuJu. Pass behind LOS to Conner, first down. Tipped ball. Incompletion in between Ebron and JuJu 10 yards down the field, hard to tell for whom it was intended. Aforementioned DJ pass falls 5 yards short.
7) Deep ball to DJ nowhere close, Ben of course gestures that it's DJ's fault on the route. Throws his one and only nice pass of the half after stepping up in the pocket, 17 yards to JuJu. Then the useless stat-padder 22 yards to JuJu to end the half, instead of giving Claypool a shot in the endzone.
So essentially, he made one nice throw beyond 5 yards from the line of scrimmage the entire half. He's incapable or unwilling to sneak the football in short yardage, despite how badly the running game was/is struggling in those situations. He ignores a guy with no defender around him within 15 yards and almost throws an INT into heavy coverage. He couldn't hit two different receivers from the 2-yard with an accurate pass. He threw short twice on 3rd-and-long, both at least 9 yards from the first down marker and covered, essentially conceding 4th down and a punt.
Did I miss anything?
This team hasn't scored A SINGLE FIRST QUARTER POINT on offense in their last EIGHT games. You're right -- the play calling was idiotic. If Ben indeed called the plays in the second half, great, kick Sphincter to the curb, and let Ben run the offense from play one. He's obviously more comfortable in the no-huddle, let him run that too. If they rest starters against the Browns, let Ben coordinate. They have to change something, because this trend of going entire quarters and halves with next to nothing from the offense is untenable.
