I loved the post-game clip that had Vrabel telling the team that even though they have a LOT to improve on, they need to celebrate the win because they are so damned hard to come by in the NFL, because it's true. You do not get anything extra for style points or the quality of the win. No one remembers whether a win was by a point or who it was against in January when they are figuring out the seeding for the playoffs. And the win against Carolina counts the same as the one against Buffalo. All they do is add up wins and give you a ticket in.
But it is our job to break down this game and figure out what to extol and what damn. It was a win, not a satisfying win (at least for me) but a win, nonetheless. And after tomorrow needs to be put aside for the next road game. But for now, let's look at this game
1. Josh McDaniel - Josh has to be give a TON of credit for getting the offense to this point and even more credit for the continuing development of Maye into what he has become. It truly is amazing. HOWEVER, like everything on this team there is room for improvement and that goes for Josh too,
For me it comes in the run game. Vs Carolina I thought we were trending in the right direction with a number of misdirection runs which were successful. We saw a few in Buffalo too. Today I saw NONE. If I were a LB running against this run game, it would be a breeze. EVERY damn run was straight into the line with no misdirection or pulls or anything. Just straight off tackle or up the middle, with the only an occasional play action pass to break the monotony. When we start to play better teams, we will need to have a better more threatening run game than we have now. And until our OL improves to the point where THEY are doing a better job, it is up to Josh to develop a more creative run game to give our player an edge. Just my 2 cents.
2. Drake Maye - I find it stunning that with every game he plays he seems to find ways to improve on his weaknesses. I've complained from the first game about him giving up when pressured quickly up the middle and taking a sack when it looks like he had time to escape. Well today there were at least 2 times that happened where he DID escape and make a play and he had only one sack and that was for just ]a 2 yd loss.
He got robbed of his first 300 yd game, but that's just a matter of time. His down field accuracy just keeps getting better just as his receivers are getting more separation. 260 yds and only a about 60 total to his usual targets of Diggs, Henry, and RB's. Nothing but good things to see at the QB position, with the understanding that it can get so much better moving forward.
3. The OL - is a solid to good pass blocking group and a sub par work in progress in the run game. Unfortunately, the run game requires more "continuity" to be effective than pass blocking. So, I supposed that it should get better as they become more familiar with each other, and Josh hopefully becomes more creative. But clearly this is a case of 2 steps forward, one step back in the area of the run game.
4. Receivers - Watching Boutte today, I thought to myself was he is what we drafted Polk to be. A possession receiver who will win most of the 50-50 balls thrown his way. He is playing great and has EARNED himself prominent role as a WR.
Pop made a big appearance today and would have been noteworthy if they had given him his well earned 2nd TD on such a brutal call. I believe he will continue to find a role in Josh's offense, just some weeks more than others. Diggs, Boutte, Henry and RB throws are 1,2,3,4 on the priority list it seems so Pop will have some weeks when he 'Pops" and some weeks when he doesn't.
5. Defense - DL - Have to say I was a bit disappointed in Williams and Barmore today. I thought they'd end up being more disruptive than they ended up being. They did turn up the heat in the run game in the second half essentially shutting it down, but I thought they'd be in Rattler's face all game, and they weren't. Again, it was better in the 2nd half but not by a lot like with the run game.
I'm not calling for blitz's and 5 and six man rushes, but more stunts and crosses between the edge and interior guys to create some movement. Instead, we seemed to get too many of what I would call controlled bull rushes. We got a couple of sacks, but I bet the hurries, hits and pressures were down this week. I would like to see some overload blitz looks like Rex Ryan used to run so effectively. Essentially that is when you overload one side to create a numbers advantage and leave guys on the other side with literally no one to block. The end result is on one side you want to create a guy with a free run at the QB, while not having to weaken your pass coverage.
6. The LBs are really growing on me. We aren't seeing any of the misses we saw earlier this season as they are stacking live tackling reps over 6 games. Spillane had double digits again (11) and Ellis had 8 as his play improves weekly.
7. I commented on the gdp that Duggar was going to take a LOT of **** for that first big play, and he shouldn't. It was a bad scheme design by the coaches. You should never leave a box Safety alone on an island with their best receiver and no help. You don't put your players in positions where they are bound to fail. You wouldn't put Marcus to defend the A gap against the run; you don't put Duggar to cover Olave deep. That is a coach's error where the player ends up taking the blame.
The other thing that bugged me on defense was there was a point in time where it looked like Olave was just GASHING the Pats, and I had to wonder, if you are lucky enough to have a true shut down CB, why aren't you using him to shut down that main WR threat that day. Just asking
8. ST's - Chism did a good job returning KO's today. I think he found a role that will get him on the game day roster going forward. All but 2 of his returns got outside the 30 and the 2 that didn't make it to 28 which is like a draw, with those past the 30 a win for the receiving team. Our coverage team only had 2 returns past the 30 and were strong again (except for one IIRC). Overall a solid effort by ST's as it remains a consistent plus week to week.
9. - Things are going well. 3 wins in a row and a very likely 4th in a week. But watching Davis and Landry laid out on the field made it clear to me how precarious our situation is. We are still a rebuilding team who is just an injury or two away from disaster.
Fortunately, both Davis and Landry returned to action, though I doubt either will practice next Wednesday. Still, it made me realize that we have a way to go to be a true contender. It takes time a few good drafts to develop quality depth to survive the kind of injuries we are seeing teams like the 49ers, TB, etc are going through.
I think we need to add more athleticism at S and CB and one of Ponder, Jones, or Swinson need to develop into a serviceable edge rusher. When exactly is the trade deadline?
OK; that's it for now. I don't want to fall asleep at the keyboard. I'm going to watch the 2nd half again to look more closely at the running attack and defense. Hopefully KCSEVEN will bless us with some of his all 22 film insights. Look forward to your feedback and good night.
