Name 3 you liked, 3 you think should hit practice hard this week

[Easywolf32]

I liked these 3 positions/players :

- Darius Butler and B. Merriweather: Both made important plays vs the pass.

- Sammy Morris: Had a great game I find, especially on the receiving part.

- V.Wilfork: The reason I didnt see many runs down the middle, and Mike Wright: Busted through their O-Line for some key plays vs Flacco.

I didnt like these 3 positions/players :

- L. Maroney: absolutely horrible game from him, nothing much on the return game, damn I miss Hobbs here, and absoltely garbage running game. He did have some great receiving runs though. I wish we could trade him for anything.

- Sam Aiken: we need a more reliable 3rd WR option.

- Maybe our RT Nick Kaczur, saw him give up a sack.

Besides that, HUGE improvement from the 2nd game vs the jets. Even Guyton impressed me today. Still a bit more needed from Brady and offence and our D though, a lot of room to improve.

 

[eagle eye]

3 I most liked today: Leigh Bodden, Sammy Morris and Wes Welker.
3 who were not at their very best today: Lawrence Maroney, Sam Aiken and Jonathon Wilhite.

 

[ALP]

3 i liked: meriweather, sammy, randy

3 i didnt: springs, AD, aiken

we need to upgrade at 3/4th WR....

its randy, welker, edelman, and i hope galloway comes back now w/ while welker is playing, that way we have two deep guys: moss, galloway and two slot guys: edelman, welker

as for AD, i just didnt hear his name, and i expect more from him

and for springs, always a step too slow....hopefully hes still geting in form

 

[mgteich]

Yes: McGowan, Watson, Morris. Warren and Wright

No: Maroney, Aiken and Wilhite
As of now, I think Wilhite is our #4 corner and not close to being #3.
I suggest that we using our two tight ends more in the passing game.

 

[Frezo]

What happened to the almighty Haloti Ngata? He had 3 tackles and not much more. Let's hear it for Mankins!

 

[thewaylifeshouldbe]

Liked:

1. Merriweather
2. Morris
3. Wilfork/Wright (tie)

Disliked:

1. Guyton
2. Light
3. Maroney

 

[JSn]

Up: Mankins, Wright, Morris - especially Morris. This guy is turning to gold before our eyes.

Down: Maroney (in the ground game only). Guess that's all I got.

 

[ALP]

What happened to the almighty Haloti Ngata? He had 3 tackles and not much more. Let's hear it for Mankins!

was it haloti or suggs for the strip sack?

but that was lights whiff

 

[Patjew]

Up: Welcome Back Welker, Morris, TFB.

Down: Maroney the RB and Maroney the KR

Even: Faulk: great catch, terrible fumble that backed them up and resulted in Brady's fumble being a TD.

 

[mgteich]

Suggs made an inside and then an outside move on Light. Light whiffed.

was it haloti or suggs for the strip sack?

but that was lights whiff

 

[Patjew]

was it haloti or suggs for the strip sack?

but that was lights whiff

Suugs. Haloti isn't that fast.

 

[supafly]

GOOD : Especially impressed with Butler, I think he deserves to overtake the #3 CB spot from Wilhite.

Love McGowan in every way, my personal fave from TC/preseason.

Also Morris/Faulk both running well as usual.

Good to see Watson and Brady getting decent chemistry, even if it's from lack of other options possibly.


BAD : Wilhite--could be worse, but I've seen teams pick on him too much now it seems. Wouldn't mind him being #4 CB behind the rookie Butler.

Maroney--I've stuck up for him a lot, but getting somewhat impatient. I am sure the Maroney lovers will stick up for him, talking about the O-line, no holes, etc, but the other RB's are doing just fine.

Freaking Hanson--may as well have gone for it on 4th down twice, particularly around the 4 minute mark, since all we would've given up was less than 20 yards both times. No excuse for kicking it in EZ twice, netting 20 yards or less, unexcusable. That almost cost us the game, we could've split the key 3rd and 5 from the BAL 39 up into 2 plays possibly, and maybe have put the game away. Instead we did the conservative (and correct) thing by trying to pin them deep, so they'd hafta go the distance, etc. I am sure if BB knew in hindsight that they'd get it at the 20, we may have gambled for the 19 yd loss by calling different plays on our last series--possibly going for it on 4th and putting the game away for good. Instead Hanson's 2nd key mistake pretty much should've cost the game.

Sometimes AD. Could be a lot worse but I just expect big plays from a guy of his caliber and talent. Burgess has been damn near a bust so far.

Definately need another #3/4 WR option for Tom, as our offense could click a lot easier with a 'Gaffney' like target. We'll need this down the stretch for sure. A great example is Indy, who really does look good so far IMO. They have Wayne, who always seems to get open + great timing routes between the 2--they look great together. They have Clark, another huge target for Manning, almost a slot guy, even though he's a TE. Now they have Garcon who is tearing it up, and Collie who looks alright too. Baskett doesn't even see time. If Brady had these options, timing, etc, we'd be incredible--as much as I dislike Indy, there's no denying their offense is clicking really deep right now. Bottom line, we need better options at #3/4. Moss will continue to get doubled, and Wes will be shadowed underneath a lot too. This issue needs addressed, there's too much talent in the QB and RB areas this yr. I hope that this issue is addressed because it looks bad at times.

 

[supafly]

Liked:

1. Merriweather
2. Morris
3. Wilfork/Wright (tie)

Disliked:

1. Guyton
2. Light
3. Maroney

Not sure I agree with Guyton, as I think he's done alright since the loss of Mayo. Sometimes I think we're too hard on Light also, as he is going against the elite talent the NFL has to provide. I think those plays will happen at times, even several times a year. Not sure if anyone else would really do that much better right now, as a lot of the times Light plays well about 95% of the time. That's a position I would not want to have, you can look bad at playing well 75 out of 76 plays still.

Vollmer may eventually have the tools, and he may have raw talent, but I don't want him protecting Tom's blind side right now. At least not for a yr or so.

Now if Light makes it an every game habit--that's another story.

 

[condon84]

Not sure I agree with Guyton, as I think he's done alright since the loss of Mayo. Sometimes I think we're too hard on Light also, as he is going against the elite talent the NFL has to provide. I think those plays will happen at times, even several times a year. Not sure if anyone else would really do that much better right now, as a lot of the times Light plays well about 95% of the time. That's a position I would not want to have, you can look bad at playing well 75 out of 76 plays still.

Vollmer may eventually have the tools, and he may have raw talent, but I don't want him protecting Tom's blind side right now. At least not for a yr or so.

Now if Light makes it an every game habit--that's another story.

I also don't see the Guyton criticism. He had two nice deflections in coverage that both almost led to INTs, an excellent blitz that forced an incomplete (nailed Flacco), and the great fill and tackle on the 4th down play. He played well IMO.


My three up:

Merriweather: our best player today
Wright: two sacks (although one got called back because of penalty)
Butler: showed excellent coverage when the game was on the line

My three down:
Sanders: Got beat deep but Merriweather bailed him out and whiffed badly on the long gain by Rice. The contrast between him and McGowan in effectiveness is staggering.
Wilhite: Teams have picked on him. So far, he's been the weak link of our cover guys.
Maroney: I'm a big defender of Maroney, but it's getting hard to defend him. His KO returns today are quite possibly the worst I've ever seen in my life.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Best:
Meriweather, Mankins and Bodden

Honorable mentions:
Butler, Morris, Watson

Need some work:
Maroney, Sanders, Wilhite

 

[DarrylS]

Best:
Meriweather, Mankins and Bodden

Honorable mentions:
Butler, Morris, Watson

Need some work:
Maroney, Sanders, Wilhite

This is pretty much close to my thoughts..

Amazing how good we thought Sanders was last year.. before McGowan and the rest of the new D Backfield... the whole upgrade in this area is refreshing.

 

[mayoclinic]

Up: Meriweather/McGowan, Butler, Mankins (the job he did on Ngata was huge). Honorable mention: Guyton.

Down: Hanson, Aiken, Light (he wasn't bad most of the game, but the Suggs sack/fumble/TD turned the game around when he could have put it out of reach)

 

[ricogatenby99]

Good things...
1 - The Brandon's, especially Meriweather, he was fantastic today, he was everywhere.
2 - Morris/Faulk they both made lots of good plays
3 - Butler - Lots of love for the secondary from me, but he made some plays in the second half

Bad things...
1 - Maroney - I really want this guy to do well and he shows glimpses when he gets the ball in space but I wish he would just run the damn ball straight
2 - Hanson - ARGH!
3 - Wilhite/Sanders - I feel harsh to pick on them, but wasn't there best game, I think they will both rebound well

 

[patchick]

You have to give DL a chance since college weight training programs are not up to par with the pros. Plus, many of these guys don't have man strength yet.

This is why it takes OL and DL so long to develop. A kid like Brace may be getting pushed around too much right now.

Think of Wright a few years ago. Expect to see Brace around for a while.

Oh, I definitely expect to see Brace around for a long while. Normally his absence early in his rookie year wouldn't even bear remarking on...except for Myron Pryor. The unheralded, undersized 6th-round pick is showing him up.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Best:
Meriweather, Mankins and Bodden

Honorable mentions:
Butler, Morris, Watson

Need some work:
Maroney, Sanders, Wilhite

I'd say that's fair but swap Light for Maroney to those needing some work. He's on the back 9 and was never an elite talent at the position. The guys were talking about it on one of the postgame shows. As technique guys age the technique gets shakier. He also has had a lot of penalties, as had his center, and one of those cost us that outstanding Maroney run after catch. We all admire the hardnosed RB's who open their own holes. Trouble is they get pretty ground up in the process. I think it's time to quit trying to make Maroney something he wasn't and showcase what he is. Which yesterday included an improving blocker. He was also not the only RB to get dropped for a loss, just the others get overlooked in the zeal to rip him another one.