Is Sean Taylor that good or...

[killromo]

ST is that good, and in this close the definite difference between a win and a loss. One positive, I can't wait to see them in Landover with a healthy Sean Taylor!!!!

[jbcjr14]

Let us not forget how fortunate the Cowpukes are...THREE bad shotgun snaps all bounced right into their hands on THREE different occassions. Guys, that is just plain lucky for that kind of shit to happen THREE times and not turn the ball over.

[Schneed10]

I'd quote myself, but I'm too lazy to track down my own post.

Taylor is spectacular. His range makes QBs fearful of even looking his way. The only way he gets thrown on is if the QB is dead sure his man is open. When Taylor is playing, there's no such thing as QBs launching one up and letting the WR make a play. Taylor even scared Brady from going deep to Randy Moss, the best leaper at WR in the league.

Our backups at safety are awful. As I've said previously, this is where Gibbs is to be blamed. When you don't have mid-round picks as a result of trading them away, you end up with crappy depth.

Great coaching job by Gibbs and company yesterday, but that player acquisition... yuck. So far we haven't traded any 2008 picks though, so that is very significant.

[MTK]

Taylor is that good. He would have been the difference maker yesterday.

F... injuries!

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'd quote myself, but I'm too lazy to track down my own post.

Taylor is spectacular. His range makes QBs fearful of even looking his way. The only way he gets thrown on is if the QB is dead sure his man is open. When Taylor is playing, there's no such thing as QBs launching one up and letting the WR make a play. Taylor even scared Brady from going deep to Randy Moss, the best leaper at WR in the league.

Our backups at safety are awful. As I've said previously, this is where Gibbs is to be blamed. When you don't have mid-round picks as a result of trading them away, you end up with crappy depth.

Great coaching job by Gibbs and company yesterday, but that player acquisition... yuck. So far we haven't traded any 2008 picks though, so that is very significant.

Gibbs traded a 2007 3rd and a 2008 4th for little used TJ Duckett. In addition, if Kendall doesn't play 80% of our snaps this season, the Jets get our 2008 5th round pick. Assuming that he will stay healthy, and reaches 80%, the Jets get our 2009 4th round pick instead.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'd quote myself, but I'm too lazy to track down my own post.

Taylor is spectacular. His range makes QBs fearful of even looking his way. The only way he gets thrown on is if the QB is dead sure his man is open. When Taylor is playing, there's no such thing as QBs launching one up and letting the WR make a play. Taylor even scared Brady from going deep to Randy Moss, the best leaper at WR in the league.

Our backups at safety are awful. As I've said previously, this is where Gibbs is to be blamed. When you don't have mid-round picks as a result of trading them away, you end up with crappy depth.

Great coaching job by Gibbs and company yesterday, but that player acquisition... yuck. So far we haven't traded any 2008 picks though, so that is very significant.

I really don't see it as a talent issue in the secondary. We got burned due to some coverage breakdowns and because Owens is simply too much to handle unless your name is Sean Taylor.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I really don't see it as a talent issue in the secondary. We got burned due to some coverage breakdowns and because Owens is simply too much to handle unless your name is Sean Taylor.

Too much to handle would be overstating it; Owens is typically good for one TD against even good defenses. So I get what you're saying, he's going to get his. But four TDs?? A couple of which he was running free?

It definitely has a lot to do with coverage breakdowns, but isn't that on the players? Whether the mistakes are mental, or the limitations are physical, aren't the end results the same?

[12thMan]

You know this whole thing about are back-ups being awful and we lack depth and this and that is purely ridiculous.

The reason they're back-ups is for a reason. Sure, some teams have better depth than others, but you can't be deep and stocked at every position. In my opinion, our depth is okay. ONe thing's for sure we had Springs in there, we had Smoot in there, and we had Landry in there. Could our depth be better, sure.

Coach Gregg Williams failed miserably to adjust and completely take TO out of the game. That's really the bottom line here. Clearly Dallas saw something there at the half and made a proper adjustment, we failed to counter adjust. Also, on Doc Walkers pregame show (local program), he talked about how Williams has the safeties playing over in Anacostia (other side of town) and how the Cowboys would kill us if he had that type of game plan. Well they did just that. At some point you have to let either Witten or Crayton beat you, not TO, and not four times.

And isn't this a reoccuring theme with this defense for the past four years. We can easily go back the last four seasons, and see the same "big play" killing us in the end of the game. Truthfully, in the past, whether Sean Taylor has been back there or not, we have struggled with the long ball. It's just magnified when he's not in there. It's only been this season where they've figured out to effectively use him. So, I think this is a game where the staff need to look long and hard at what they're doing, and allow the personnel to work within that framework.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

You know this whole thing about are back-ups being awful and we lack depth and this and that is purely ridiculous.

The reason they're back-ups is for a reason. Sure, some teams have better depth than others, but you can't be deep and stocked at every position. In my opinion, our depth is okay. ONe thing's for sure we had Springs in there, we had Smoot in there, and we had Landry in there. Could our depth be better, sure.

Coach Gregg Williams failed miserably to adjust and completely take TO out of the game. That's really the bottom line here. Clearly Dallas saw something there at the half and made a proper adjustment, we failed to counter adjust. Also, on Doc Walkers pregame show (local program), he talked about how Williams has the safeties playing over in Anacostia (other side of town) and how the Cowboys would kill us if he had that type of game plan. Well they did just that. At some point you have to let either Witten or Crayton beat you, not TO, and not four times.

And isn't this a reoccuring theme with this defense for the past four years. We can easily go back the last four seasons, and see the same "big play" killing us in the end of the game. Truthfully, in the past, whether Sean Taylor has been back there or not, we have struggled with the long ball. It's just magnified when he's not in there. It's only been this season where they've figured out to effectively use him. So, I think this is a game where the staff need to look long and hard at what they're doing, and allow the personnel to work within that framework.

What I don't get is, if the safeties are playing in "anacostia" why are they getting beat deep. That seems counter intuitive to me.

[bedlamVR]

Now I am not hating on the guy I can betg he is going through alot BUT one issue in the coverage of Owens was Shawn Springs... he should have been Terrells shadow but he said something post game that was very telling . In the warm ups he became emotional, this would have been the first time back to Texas Stadium since his dad has been comatose ... I know he is professional but there were times when his head was not in the game .

Those who say Williams wasn't pro-active enough in half time adgustments need to take another thing into account . If Springs wasn't 100% he would have rotated Rogers over there ...who was showing signs of becoming the physical CB we had hoped for . but no rogers... Smoot is and has never been physical he has been a tryer but hasnt the physical gifts...the only option after that is Torrence and Eubanks (not going to be pretty).

The other option is to shift the safety over to help BUT once you commit to double one guy then you leave everyone else more vunrable ...... With Taylor in he can move to the ball from centre field but Droughy (sp) and Preylow neither have the gifts physically to do that every play or the experience ...

...which is also why you wouldn't want to put Landry out there changing possitions on him ...

Now there is no black and white but the system we used worked to a degree you change things and nothing is sure to produce more positive effects but you have to agree that none of the options were great.

Another thing you should take into account with the absence of Taylor is he is a great field general directing the secondary... people are used to knowing where he is and how to fit around him . You cannot just plug and play No.37 and expect the same results .

The point I am making is yes Taylor is that good ....his absence wasnt totally to blame but it effected more than just who played FS

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Taylor is that good. He would have been the difference maker yesterday.

F... injuries!

Injuries are just part of the game and eveyone has them and everyone has to deal with them. TO's TD's came on bad angles and blown coverages. Part of that is coaching and part of it is the players not making the play. Would Taylor have made the difference? Maybe. Maybe not. IMO one player never makes the difference in the outcome of a football game. Taylor played against NE and didn't make a difference.

[MTK]

I just find it hard to believe that Taylor would have given up 4 TDs like that. Sorry I just don't see it. Dallas attacked down the field because the knew Taylor was out and we were vulnerable. Put Taylor back there and they take a different approach to the game, period.

[BDBohnzie]

Troy Aikman said during the broadcast that he had buttse...I mean, met with Jason Garrett late in the week, and that they put in one play (TO's first TD) knowing that Sean Taylor wasn't there. That says a lot that an offense would adjust their playcalling based on one individual.

With that being said, we'll never know if ST was truly the difference. We'd all like to think he was, however, everyone is susceptible to making mistakes. I'd like to think ST would have been the difference, as he's shown to be in the past...

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

Troy Aikman said during the broadcast that he had buttse...I mean, met with Jason Garrett late in the week, and that they put in one play (TO's first TD) knowing that Sean Taylor wasn't there. That says a lot that an offense would adjust their playcalling based on one individual.

With that being said, we'll never know if ST was truly the difference. We'd all like to think he was, however, everyone is susceptible to making mistakes. I'd like to think ST would have been the difference, as he's shown to be in the past...

As I said, ST played against NE and they still threw the ball.

If ST plays perhaps they score a different way. We just can't say if ST played the outcome would have been different.

[redskinsfanatic]

As I said, ST played against NE and they still threw the ball.
If ST plays perhaps they score a different way. We just can't say if ST played the outcome would have been different.

with all respect to the pats,they can kill you with any of the 3 all pro wrs they have.
dallas wrs to,crayton,and witten are nowhere nearly as good as the pats wrs are.ST was the difference in that game yesterday,if he plays no way does TO score 4 tds.