Film Room: Introducing Shawn Robinson, Part Three—The Weaknesses

In the first two installments of this “Introduction to Shawn Robinson” series we looked at positive aspects of Robinson’s game as a rusher and passer. In this final installment we examine some weaknesses in his game.

That Robinson will have unmitigated success at Mizzou is far from a slam dunk. As most of us know, Robinson’s career at TCU ended in 2018 with him being benched. As the quarterbacks’ coach, it will be Coach Drinkwitz’s job to smooth out the wrinkles in Robinson’s approach that we will see here.

Inaccuracy

Inconsistency

In our last installment, we saw Robinson throw this pretty ball on a goal line Fade for a TD. Watch how quickly he gets the ball out without sacrificing accuracy.

Earlier in the same game against Texas, however, Robinson missed on a goal line Fade, this time to a wide open man.

If Robinson leads his man to the back pylon it’s an easy TD reception.

Mechanics

Again going back to our last installment, we saw Robinson toss this pretty completion on a double-move route.

We mentioned, however, that his mechanics on the throw are poor. He opens his body well past his target and falls away from the throw.

This flaw is not an isolated incident and comes up again in this next example. Robinson’s receiver beats his man vertically with no safety help on his side. Notice that the mechanical flaws on this throw are nearly identical to those on the previous clip.

Hopping, rather than stepping into the throw, Robinson skips the ball well short of his target.

Out-breaking routes

Referring back to the last installment once more, we saw that Robinson excels at completing in-breaking routes. He seems much less comfortable throwing out-breaking routes, as these examples illustrate.

Poor Ball Protection

This is the area that exposed Robinson to the hook at TCU. Quarterbacking is about decision-making, and Robinson too frequently made dangerous decisions with the ball.

I’ve included tight shots where I can to show what Robinson is—or, perhaps is not—seeing.

Tight shot

To me, this next clip is the worst of the bunch. You may have noticed that on the previous plays Robinson was using poor mechanics and/or was under some pressure. In this example there’s no threat to him and the rhythm of his pass is good. It’s just a bad, bad decision.

Tight shot

Bad Interceptions

Robinson got away with dangerous throws in the above examples. He wasn’t always so lucky. These are all avoidable interceptions.

Wide view

Conclusion

If Shawn Robinson is to be Mizzou’s QB next season (whenever that may be), Coach Drinkwitz has his work cut out for him. From mechanical issues to questionable decision-making, there is plenty of room for improvement. If Robinson can clean up his game, however, even a bit, the Tigers could certainly benefit from the electric talent we saw in the previous two installments. It’s time for Drink to earn his reputation as offensive guru and quarterback whisperer.