Commanders Post at The Warpath - View Single Post

Schneed10 · 08-24-2008, 09:53 AM

Memphisskin, I think you touched on some thoughtful points, but you put too much of a positive spin on things.

I do agree that of the two units, I'm far less concerned about the defense. LaRon Landry is indeed the lynchpin of our defense, and without his range back there we are no better than average on D. With him, we can be a top 10 defense.

Still, our inability to stop the run was alarming. Kareem Moore and Doughty took horrific angles and tackled poorly, I have no doubt Landry would have stopped Williams and Stewart on those two large runs and limited them to 10-15 yard gains. But the core problem really was that our front seven couldn't keep Carolina's backs from getting into the secondary. Even if Landry were there to stop those long runs, the way Carolina was consistenly opening holes, I have no doubt they would have just marched down the field anyway, springing the backs for 8-yard gain after 8-yard gain until they methodically marched into the end zone.

Our front 7 has a TON of work to do. I've seen them do it before, so I'm not THAT concerned, but it's still alarming.

As for the offense, we should be very concerned. This is two weeks in a row now that Campbell has hesitated. He is not making quick reads and quick decisions (even when given enough time to throw). These are the telltale signs of a guy still learning an offense. The WCO is dependent upon the timing and the ability of the QB to make quick reads. You must be confident in your knowledge of the offense to make the reads quickly enough. You can tell Campbell is nowhere close.

And of course, none of that will matter if we can't protect the QB, because then not only will we miss opportunities, but we'll take sacks and turn the ball over.

The offense has MILES to go, we're showing signs of being the worst offense in the league. Yes, maybe it's just preseason and we didn't bring our bread and butter. We can hope that's the case - but nothing we've seen over the past two weeks gives us any indication that will be the case.

Too many fans are dismissing this poor performance on the HOPE that "it's just preseason." But careful and thoughtful analysis indicates that we suck balls at this point.

Someone in another thread said we're headed for a 1-4 start. I'd actually be impressed with the coaching staff if we manage to do better than that.

We're in for a tough year.

08-24-2008, 09:53 AM	#9
Schneed10 A Dude Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Newtown Square, PA Age: 45 Posts: 12,439	Re: Hey, the sun did rise this morning! Memphisskin, I think you touched on some thoughtful points, but you put too much of a positive spin on things. I do agree that of the two units, I'm far less concerned about the defense. LaRon Landry is indeed the lynchpin of our defense, and without his range back there we are no better than average on D. With him, we can be a top 10 defense. Still, our inability to stop the run was alarming. Kareem Moore and Doughty took horrific angles and tackled poorly, I have no doubt Landry would have stopped Williams and Stewart on those two large runs and limited them to 10-15 yard gains. But the core problem really was that our front seven couldn't keep Carolina's backs from getting into the secondary. Even if Landry were there to stop those long runs, the way Carolina was consistenly opening holes, I have no doubt they would have just marched down the field anyway, springing the backs for 8-yard gain after 8-yard gain until they methodically marched into the end zone. Our front 7 has a TON of work to do. I've seen them do it before, so I'm not THAT concerned, but it's still alarming. As for the offense, we should be very concerned. This is two weeks in a row now that Campbell has hesitated. He is not making quick reads and quick decisions (even when given enough time to throw). These are the telltale signs of a guy still learning an offense. The WCO is dependent upon the timing and the ability of the QB to make quick reads. You must be confident in your knowledge of the offense to make the reads quickly enough. You can tell Campbell is nowhere close. And of course, none of that will matter if we can't protect the QB, because then not only will we miss opportunities, but we'll take sacks and turn the ball over. The offense has MILES to go, we're showing signs of being the worst offense in the league. Yes, maybe it's just preseason and we didn't bring our bread and butter. We can hope that's the case - but nothing we've seen over the past two weeks gives us any indication that will be the case. Too many fans are dismissing this poor performance on the HOPE that "it's just preseason." But careful and thoughtful analysis indicates that we suck balls at this point. Someone in another thread said we're headed for a 1-4 start. I'd actually be impressed with the coaching staff if we manage to do better than that. We're in for a tough year. __________________ God made certain people to play football. He was one of them.