Steelers Film Room: Camp Battles: Jonathan Dwyer Vs. Isaac Redman
By Nick Kelly
Part 2: Receiving
Jonathan Dwyer
Jonathan Dwyer’s biggest weakness is his pass catching. He isn’t a very athletic player in the passing game, and it’s hard to argue against it. Dwyer simply does not have very good hands. I charted several plays where he dropped catchable balls. He will catch a few passes, but he is far to inconsistent. Below I have broken down a play where he fails to bring in a catch against the Browns in week 17.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
On this play, Jonathan Dwyer will be running behind the offensive line waiting for Roethlisberger to dump the ball off to him if necessary.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
The linebacker is playing very tight coverage on Dwyer, but the way Dwyer is going, he is not going to be able to get open. Dwyer is looking right at Roethlisberger waiting to see if he is going to dump it off at that moment. Dwyer knows that Ben Roethlisberger is a master of extending the play so it becomes vital that Dwyer continues to try to get open.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
After changing directions and going to his right towards the end zone, Dwyer is now at the point where he has enough separation from the linebacker that it will be an easy catch. If you look at the ball, it was a spot on pass by Roethlisberger where only Dwyer can catch it. Dwyer is in a perfect position to catch the ball and walk right into the end zone.
Coaches Film from NFL Game Rewind
Dwyer was not able to bring in the ball as it hits his hands. Dwyer had an easy catch and an easy touchdown, but due to bad hands, and his inability to catch the ball, the play resulted in an incomplete pass.
Additional Notes:
With Dwyer having poor hands, it makes it more difficult to see him as a three-down back for the Steelers. If you notice, he was not in on many third down plays in 2012, where it was more of Redman and Batch instead of Dwyer. Let’s just say catching the ball isn’t exactly Dwyer’s best skill.