moondog

Bout time for a turnover defense…

Back to back bad calls. Roughing the passer was about as bad as it gets. Then no offensive pass interference on Forbes. Then they want pass interference on us?!?

Refs just gave them 3 points. 

Hey look! We get rid the stud defensive ends and are generating more consistent pressure and playing more attacking on defense. And all of a sudden allowing our first round pick to play more aggressive behind a more aggressive pass rush instead of just sit back and cover and he looks decent and confident. 
 

Yes we are playing a ****ty offense. But I expected the defense to look better. Extremely unfortunate JDR chose to just trust the front four - I’ll always wonder what chase and sweat could have looked like with a coordinator like martindale just setting them loose and scheming up ways for them to be free. 
 

But if this is your coaching staff, draft to what you do. If you wanna just cover and not blitz, draft a cover corner. If you want to set up the front then scheme to unleash them. 
 

Naturally we are dominating and then the last player you expect to fumble (Robinson) does. FML. We should have shut them out in the first half. 

I think what I hate about all of this is I have to believe a guy like martindale could get a lot out of what we have on defense. I think sweat performs at a borderline first round pick level. Probably consummate with where he was drafted. But I blame our coaches for not putting these guys in a better position to maximize their talent individually and as a whole. 
 

I’ll be sad if sweat goes. Not because I don’t understand why given the circumstances. But because what could have been and because I will not be surprised if he produces even more elsewhere. 

13 minutes ago, BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 said:

Third overall in Big Time Throws per PFF. More than guys like Lamar, Mahomes, Herbert, Dak.

 

Also third in turnover worthy plays. And overall, around 26-31st in passing grade depending on filters used. 
 

Very interesting data to parse through but he’s definitely going to be on the roster next year and is likely QB1 week 1. His highs are REALLY high. 
 

But they should still draft a QB somewhere as a hedge. Whether they trade up for a big name or take another mid round guy is a question for ownership. 

I cringe a little whenever analysts during a game mention the picks. I know it’s a little bit picky but for me, I completely throw out the buffalo game as it was really an outlier compared to his other 8 games. 
 

In those other 8 games he has 14 TD passes to 5 interceptions. 16 total TD’s to 6 total turnovers. For a young QB with a little over half a season worth of starting he’s actually really impressed me with his overall ball security. The pick yesterday and a couple others have come in crucial moments and are super painful but when looking at the body of work he has been incredibly productive in yardage as well as scoring. 
 

Ultimately I hate that we’ve basically put the offense on his back but he’s handled it extremely well and carried us a lot this year. These drops by sure handed and highly touted receivers is more frustrating - I wonder what the result of that game looks like if McLaurin and Dotson otherwise hold on to balls they catch 90+% of the time. McLaurin in particular who a year or two again went 150+ catchable balls without a drop. 
 

I don’t think it’s even crazy to say that Sam has a higher ceiling than even Cousins did here and I’m thankful we FINALLY gave him a better center AND established the quick game to take the pressure off. Would still like to see us lean more on the ground game, especially with a second productive bruised in Rodriguez who we didn’t even use yesterday. I still think EB is learning the ropes which is fine but it has been mind boggling that it took this long for him to support Sam in that way. Hopefully it continues but I’m sold on Sam. 

****ing garbage call then you KNEW that was coming. 

Back to back drops by Terry, that’s hard to accept. He’s earned all the love and I know he’ll take the blame for that. Tough to accept cuz back to back plays were not great throws but he’s gotta haul those in. 

Awful throw. But mclaurin needs to haul that in. 

Memba when people were dogging Dotson? Oh yeah, I memba. 

Here is where we normally go into a turtle shell and **** this one up. 

Run another play grab five yards call a to and then kick!!!

Ugh garbage ass play call. One of the only few so far. I’m lining up under center with Armah in the game. Pass if you want but give ‘em something to think about. 

Can we please use a tendency on fourth down to confuse them and get it?

*rb’s

Where are the screens and underneath dumpoffs to the DB’s?

GD Howell makes that throw and Terry is off for a 90 yard td. 

How many times do we have to get beat deep by Hyatt to give up the underneath but play it deep? That’s 100% on BSJ. 

That play which I think probably is a catch cost us the game. 

I can hate on ron as much as the next guy. But BSJ holy ****. DO. YOUR. JOB. Not excusing our coaching staff at all. ESPECIALLY EB in this one. But holy ****. I do see it. Granted JDR could do us some ****ing favors by actually calling an aggressive defense. Take a page out of wink’s defense, especially against basically a senior bowl level offensive line. 

Holy ****. There is a sliver of a chance. Thanks almost exclusively to Terry. 

1 minute ago, MartinC said:

We have all seen some really bad football from this team over the years. Some of the Spurrier games, Jim Zorn. It’s been bad. The bar for ‘bad’ is set high.

 

That half was one of the worst I’ve seen us play.

I hear what you’re saying. This is the perfect time for the swinging gate. Great insight man! Wish I’d thought of it. 

Two more sacks coming out on this drive. 

When they’re blitzing that much can we try a ****ing screen or some quick game even on third and long? Correct me if I’m wrong but Mclaurin, Samuel, Dotson, Thomas and all our RB’s are pretty good after the catch right? So get them the ****ing ball and let ‘em run rather than all this slow developing bs. 
 

Also, can we imagine what our defense would look like with martindale? Instead of this passive bull**** with 1 sack against a bunch of door greeters on oline?

Honestly, this is about what I expected. 

2 hours ago, KDawg said:

Yup. That’s why I said play fast. But when I watch our D it kinda looks like both…

I think this relates at least in part to what I referenced above. If you’re just sending 4 against the the pass and there are constant double teams and chips or 6 man protections then that pass rush isn’t getting home and the rest of the defense is playing backwards and preventing instead of forcing the issue. 
 

Against the run it’s similar with LBers reacting to somewhat of a freelance front rather than knowing their gaps presnap and playing downhill. Again, reactive. 
 

It’s an overly simple perspective that doesn’t explain everything away but I think it explains why we have so much speed but often look slow. It’s because our defense so far this year has just been hoping our front four blow up the run AND pass game while the rest are essentially playing backward. Or if they do attack and it doesn’t get home there are massive gaps created or time for longer routes/double moves. 
 

It also begs another draft question. I like Forbes and think he’ll eventually be a good player. But he’s a ballhawk not a cover/shutdown corner, in the same way that diggs is for Dallas. If you draft that player and preach turnovers then don’t rush four and constantly leave him on an island. You apply pressure and let him play downhill to the ball. Forbes deserves plenty of blame for his play but our style of defense as a whole doesn’t marry up with preaching turnovers. If you’ve built the defense on speed and turnovers, then play an attacking style of defense and live with getting burned occasionally because you expect the turnovers (and holding penalties) to outweigh the bad. But sitting back on the back end and hoping the front four get through a wall does not at all match the philosophy you’ve preached all off-season or the player you took. Hell, if Forbes is on a guy like AJ brown maybe overload that side with the pressure so that if they do go that way Forbes can be the aggressive player that he is rather than out there against an animal of a receiver. And I don’t mean some stupid double corner blitz. Keim has mentioned several times this team for years (prior regimes) drafts guys then asks them to be something different than what they’ve been on film. You drafted a ballhawk so put him in positions to be that. Don’t ask him to cover AJ brown and dj Moore for 3-4 seconds. That’s not who he is, at least not right now. 
 

And similar to jamin Davis with quan Martin, you take a talented athlete but then try to jam too much into his brain for him to play fast. Maybe they felt with all the talent at safety it was ok to overload him and bring him in slowly. My feelings just differ in that you could have given him one thing (buffalo nickel) and let him master it so he can play fast and then pick up more as he goes. Instead they threw the kitchen sink at him so he’s not good enough at anything (by their estimation) to play cuz he has to think too much. I just don’t like that philosophy with their young players.