Homer's United: Halftime Adjustments

[Ax]

:koolaid: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Fresh kool-aid. Ain't it great?

Ok it's halftime. (of the season) Things could be better, but yes, they could be worse.

The defense? Stellar, and while playing with a multitude of missing starters. Funny, in preseason, most people were so sure that our D-line would be the gaping hole on our team. You never read such b*tching and moaning in all your life. All the suggestions, and the "I know for a facts" we should've signed this one or that one. The front office doesn't know what the hell they're doing.

Well, the season isn't over, so it's not fair to give final judgment yet, but I sure don't see many "boy was I ever wrongs" around here. But when they appear to be right about something, even if the jury is still out, you can hear'em shouting from the rooftops.

Special Teams? Slow start, but showing signs of positive progress with the likes of Taylor Jacobs, James Thrash, The Rock, and Mike Sellars leading the way. And, even though we lost our starting kicker for a while, we have not had the kicking problems that seemed to plague us just a few years ago. And then there's Tupa.

Say it with me, Tupa! Tupa! Tupa!

As for the execution of our offense, ("I'm all for it". Coach McKay. Classic!) we're still making too many dumb mistakes. Whether they be missing open receivers, dropping balls that are right in or hands, running bad routes, failing to beat the press of the line, missing blocking assignments, lining up incorrectly forcing us to take a time out, or just flat out getting whipped on plays too often.

But, there has been improvement in a lot of areas from game 1 to game 8.

Penalties are down, it just seems that every time they happen now, it's at the worst possible time for us. Very fixable. And we will.

The O-line has shown steady progress lately, but they are still allowing way too much pressure on pass plays. Teams are getting to us with 4 & 5 guys rushing. We will make slow but steady progress.

TE's & H-backs? After some injuries and some early season shuffling, they appear to be getting better. Fewer blown assignments. Better blocking. In the second half, they will play a big role in the passing game. Catching the ball as well as pass protecting.

WR's? If they were catching every ball they should have, you could feel sorry for these guys and the current state of our passing game. But they're not. Coles has a bad finger, and 50/50 is, well, 50/50. Neither seems to consistently be able get off the line when pressed. Although Coles does it more and better than Gardner. They will get better. Jacobs will get more playing time, as he should, and will prove to be as good as we all hoped.

RB? Portis will get better. Scary, ain't it? He's whiffed on a few blocks, but ain't afraid to hit anybody. He's clocked a few guys as well. More to come.

Betts, so far, has been doing a good job in relief. Needs to improve his blocking. And will.

QB? Our QB will lead us to the playoffs with a wildcard berth. Regardless of whether it is Mark, or Patrick, or Tim. He will not put up great passing numbers. Big deal. The only numbers that matter, are the wins.

So with my head in the sand, and my Homer glasses on, I await the second half. I look forward to seeing the adjustments made at halftime by Coach Gibbs, and I anticipate the upcoming march to the playoffs. I'm a Homer, it's what we do. For us the opposite alternative is...,

So with our head up our a$$, and our "we're doomed" glasses on, we dread to watch another game. We think Joe Gibbs sucks, and so we're already planning our strategy for the draft and our top 5 pick. Since we won't win another game. And even if we do, we still have a right to complain. We're b*tchers and moaners, it's what we do.

:koolaid: aaaaaaaaaah! Ain't great!