Any Positives From Tonight's Game?

Toast20622 · 08-21-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longtimefan

We are experiencing the affects of change. We added quite a few new players, a new [or different] coordinator on offense and a 700 page playbook. When you have a group of players who have not had a lot of reps together to prepare for game like situations it takes time for all the pieces to come together. We also had a short camp with limited contact and players playing in games who were not here from the beginning. We are coming to see the pre-season hype has to be transformed into solid play on the field. I'm going to take all things considered and beleive that as we continue to become familiar with each other things will look better. Right now just about everyone is disappointed with the team for one reason or another but soon I think we'll begin to build on the momentum we established at the end of last season. We have good leadership on this team and I'm convinced that will be our salvation.
Pardon my rant, but I feel these factors are important to consider.

We've only used the first 10 pages of the playbook (vanilla)....opening day against Vikes we'll see "Rocky Road" chocolate, mixed with vanilla, mixed with various nuts, marshmellows, with sprinkles on top... the Vikes defense and all other defenses won't know what is happening

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-21-2006, 01:54 PM

Rocky Road with a side helping of pain.

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-21-2006, 01:54 PM

In a waffle cone.

hesscl34 · 08-21-2006, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toast20622

We've only used the first 10 pages of the playbook (vanilla)....opening day against Vikes we'll see "Rocky Road" chocolate, mixed with vanilla, mixed with various nuts, marshmellows, with sprinkles on top... the Vikes defense and all other defenses won't know what is happening

Thank GOD for a little optimism around here! Love it! Great post!

That Guy · 08-22-2006, 04:31 AM

our REAL special teams use starters. but not so much in the preseason. I wouldn't make a big deal about that.

campbell is pretty accurate... in fact, almost surprisingly so, but he still needs more experience to improve his decision making. sellers can run well out of a singleback set (he's his own fullback :P), and El looked like the highlight reel self instead of somewhat unproductive one. Everything else was pretty much a throw away. Turns out that kerry carter looks MUCH better in practice than he does in games. at least he got some money out of it.

don't read too much into the preseason. our coaches use crappy play calling, limited plays and sub in crappy players (especially on special teams).

backrow · 08-22-2006, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toast20622

We've only used the first 10 pages of the playbook (vanilla)....opening day against Vikes we'll see "Rocky Road" chocolate, mixed with vanilla, mixed with various nuts, marshmellows, with sprinkles on top... the Vikes defense and all other defenses won't know what is happening

Great 2nd post, Toast! Welcome to the Big Burgandy House!

BTW, it appears from Toast's age, that I am no longer the most senior member here at TheWarpath.net, just this side of the most senior.

That's good news! But I still might be able to beat him in an arm-chair-race. 0-Snore in 65 seconds! (And sometimes, like here at w*rk, it doesn't have to be an arm-chair!)

GoSkins! · 08-22-2006, 02:53 PM

After dwelling on the Jets lose for a couple of days I feel like I have a better understanding of what is going on. We don't have to worry yet, the offense that we are seeing is not the offense we will see come openning day. The coaches know that, the players know that, everyone knows that.

The reason Gibbs is so upset is that they are running plays to evaulate certain players under certain conditions, and the players they are testing are not up to the test. Our guys are lossing the matchups that need to be won so that they can design plays around them.

Gibbs has always won by learning which matchups his players can win, and then putting them in a position to win them. Outside of the starters, with a few exceptions, our guys are all failing thier tests. Expect a lot of player turnover after this next game if there is not big time improvement (not points as much as performance).

Mc2guy · 08-22-2006, 03:03 PM

Ok,

So I finally got to sit down and carefully rewatch the first two quarters from Saturday again. Fortunatly the HDDVR is back up and running so I could really see what was happening on the line. Here are my observations and they are mostly positive. Some of these observations have already been stated but hopefully this is not too repetitive. This is long, so I apologize in advance.

Offense -
1) We ran everything out of very simple formations with limited or no motion. WR's split wide two TE's on the line and FB/HB in I formation. That or two WRs split right with the slot guy invariably running a zone seam route.
2) We threw way more than we would during the regular season. There were several pass plays where I expect we could/would have run the ball during the regular season.
3) O-line did a decent job in pass protection except for the first Campbell sack, where JJ tried to cut block the blitzing LB and missed entirely and Cooley went into the flat without chipping the safety blitzer.
4) Brunell looked good, with only one really "bad" throw where he put it 3 yards over the receivers head.
5) There were better and bigger holes than the running stats would indicate. I saw three separate plays where the o-line did a good job with the front 4 and Sellars wrecking balled himself deep into the LB's to no avail because Betts was EXTREMEMELY slow to the hole. I was very surprised to see it, but Betts was clearly missing the hole and was almost 5 yards behind Sellars on one play. Obviously with that kind of gap, the hole was filled and Betts ends up getting stuffed by a safety or DT who has recovered from the initial block. Seriously, my grandma could have ended up with 5 YPC if she just ran 1 yard behind Sellars. This is total speculation, but perhaps this is why Ducket is being considered. I was very disappointed in Betts after seeing that.
6) Campbell makes great throws, even in the face of pressure...when he's on his progression. Unfortunately, when the routes break down, he resorts to the classic "Favrian" mentality of most gunslingers and tries to force the ball into close coverage. Result...INT.

Defense.
1) The defense ran mostly a 4-3, but did drop into a 5-2 occasionally, mostly on obvious passing downs.
2) Run defense was VERY simple, almost like GW was trying to put the defense in a bad position to see them shed blocks. On most obvious running plays the front 4 lined up mano a mano with the O-line leaving the center to plow into the LB corps leaving a nice hole, which is where much of the yardage came from. The first team front 4 (which was not intact once Killings came in on the second drive) was not doing a good job shaking off blocks in that formation.
3) When the front 4 stunted (which I saw only 3 times in the first half)the result was a sack or zero gain (including Archuletta's sack)
4) Wright did a very good job covering Coles. Coles only plays were short crossing stuff where the DB gets picked off, or when the play broke down and he ran back toward the QB, which is nearly impossible to defend and doesn't result in much YAC.
5) 60 yard run was a result of over pursuit, which concerns me because it bit us for big yards last year as well (think LTs run against the Chargers). GW's genius only goes as far as the player's ability to execute. Like Buddy Ryan's famous "46" GW relies heavily on aggression, which IMHO becomes a liability when the first defender to the ball doesn't tackle well.

Special teams:
1) Aweful on almost all fronts, although they were using mostly scrubs, so tough to say.

I'll try to get to the second half tonight, but I may not have the time.

08-21-2006, 01:54 PM	#77
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,254	Re: Any Positives From Tonight's Game? Rocky Road with a side helping of pain. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

08-21-2006, 01:54 PM	#78
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,254	Re: Any Positives From Tonight's Game? In a waffle cone. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

08-22-2006, 04:31 AM	#80
That Guy Living Legend Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: VA Age: 42 Posts: 17,574	Re: Any Positives From Tonight's Game? our REAL special teams use starters. but not so much in the preseason. I wouldn't make a big deal about that. campbell is pretty accurate... in fact, almost surprisingly so, but he still needs more experience to improve his decision making. sellers can run well out of a singleback set (he's his own fullback :P), and El looked like the highlight reel self instead of somewhat unproductive one. Everything else was pretty much a throw away. Turns out that kerry carter looks MUCH better in practice than he does in games. at least he got some money out of it. don't read too much into the preseason. our coaches use crappy play calling, limited plays and sub in crappy players (especially on special teams).

08-22-2006, 02:53 PM	#82
GoSkins! The Starter Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Yorktown, Va Age: 55 Posts: 1,587	Re: Any Positives From Tonight's Game? After dwelling on the Jets lose for a couple of days I feel like I have a better understanding of what is going on. We don't have to worry yet, the offense that we are seeing is not the offense we will see come openning day. The coaches know that, the players know that, everyone knows that. The reason Gibbs is so upset is that they are running plays to evaulate certain players under certain conditions, and the players they are testing are not up to the test. Our guys are lossing the matchups that need to be won so that they can design plays around them. Gibbs has always won by learning which matchups his players can win, and then putting them in a position to win them. Outside of the starters, with a few exceptions, our guys are all failing thier tests. Expect a lot of player turnover after this next game if there is not big time improvement (not points as much as performance). __________________ Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. A. Einstien

08-22-2006, 03:03 PM	#83
Mc2guy Special Teams Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Burke, VA Age: 48 Posts: 287	Re: Any Positives From Tonight's Game? Ok, So I finally got to sit down and carefully rewatch the first two quarters from Saturday again. Fortunatly the HDDVR is back up and running so I could really see what was happening on the line. Here are my observations and they are mostly positive. Some of these observations have already been stated but hopefully this is not too repetitive. This is long, so I apologize in advance. Offense - 1) We ran everything out of very simple formations with limited or no motion. WR's split wide two TE's on the line and FB/HB in I formation. That or two WRs split right with the slot guy invariably running a zone seam route. 2) We threw way more than we would during the regular season. There were several pass plays where I expect we could/would have run the ball during the regular season. 3) O-line did a decent job in pass protection except for the first Campbell sack, where JJ tried to cut block the blitzing LB and missed entirely and Cooley went into the flat without chipping the safety blitzer. 4) Brunell looked good, with only one really "bad" throw where he put it 3 yards over the receivers head. 5) There were better and bigger holes than the running stats would indicate. I saw three separate plays where the o-line did a good job with the front 4 and Sellars wrecking balled himself deep into the LB's to no avail because Betts was EXTREMEMELY slow to the hole. I was very surprised to see it, but Betts was clearly missing the hole and was almost 5 yards behind Sellars on one play. Obviously with that kind of gap, the hole was filled and Betts ends up getting stuffed by a safety or DT who has recovered from the initial block. Seriously, my grandma could have ended up with 5 YPC if she just ran 1 yard behind Sellars. This is total speculation, but perhaps this is why Ducket is being considered. I was very disappointed in Betts after seeing that. 6) Campbell makes great throws, even in the face of pressure...when he's on his progression. Unfortunately, when the routes break down, he resorts to the classic "Favrian" mentality of most gunslingers and tries to force the ball into close coverage. Result...INT. Defense. 1) The defense ran mostly a 4-3, but did drop into a 5-2 occasionally, mostly on obvious passing downs. 2) Run defense was VERY simple, almost like GW was trying to put the defense in a bad position to see them shed blocks. On most obvious running plays the front 4 lined up mano a mano with the O-line leaving the center to plow into the LB corps leaving a nice hole, which is where much of the yardage came from. The first team front 4 (which was not intact once Killings came in on the second drive) was not doing a good job shaking off blocks in that formation. 3) When the front 4 stunted (which I saw only 3 times in the first half)the result was a sack or zero gain (including Archuletta's sack) 4) Wright did a very good job covering Coles. Coles only plays were short crossing stuff where the DB gets picked off, or when the play broke down and he ran back toward the QB, which is nearly impossible to defend and doesn't result in much YAC. 5) 60 yard run was a result of over pursuit, which concerns me because it bit us for big yards last year as well (think LTs run against the Chargers). GW's genius only goes as far as the player's ability to execute. Like Buddy Ryan's famous "46" GW relies heavily on aggression, which IMHO becomes a liability when the first defender to the ball doesn't tackle well. Special teams: 1) Aweful on almost all fronts, although they were using mostly scrubs, so tough to say. I'll try to get to the second half tonight, but I may not have the time.

Any Positives From Tonight's Game?

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