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Thoughts From Last Night

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  • E Earl34

    With the understanding that you can't read too much into preseason, most of us have been yearning for the NFL to get back to being the NFL...it merits some discussion. The thoughts that follow are regarding the first teamers unless otherwise specified.

    Things I liked

    1. Colt McCoy- Yes, I'm a homer but 9/10 passing with two deep throws on the money is a great night out for a preseason. He looked poised and obviously the WCO is his game. While Texas ran the spread offense, the passing concepts are remarkably similar as I had posted last year. His throws were accurate and that pass that he dropped into traffic over the middle was a thing of beauty (don't remember the receiver).

    2. Josh Cribbs- Cribbs really did a nice job on that TD. If you ever watched any of the Bears trying to convert Devin Hester to WR, you'll notice that some of these guys simply can't do the little things it takes to be WR (crisp routes, not tipping their hand, etc).

    3. The return game. Norwood has a bit of that wiggle that's very exciting. Still trying to think of who he reminds me of. He's a bit small, so durability may be an issue.

    4. Ben Watson- Yes, he had a false start but this guy can play the TE position.

    5. Offensive Flow- yes. I liked it.

    6. Brian Sanford, DE- This kid (#70) was on the practice squad last year and he had a good game against (admittedly) their backups. He had at least two tackles and was in on a lot of plays. On the goal line, he penetrated and played his gap with good discipline. He's a little slower than you like but he also showed being able to setup the right tackle. He used a couple of combination moves to get into the backfield and he had the strip sack of Harrell. I don't know that he makes the team as he's got a few guys ahead of him but I was watching line play late in the game and he stood out.

    7. Brandon Jackson- This guy is going to be very good for us and we will need him to be. Good runner, great blocker. Hillis is bound to wear down (although I hope he doesn't)...and this guy is a great backup.

    Things I didn't like

    1. Defensive line- There were brief moments where the starters looked ok. Phil Taylor can move his feet a bit but for the most part, the starting four got no pressure. There was one play where three of the four linemen (all but Rubin) were on the ground. That's not good. Taylor played far too upright for an interior lineman. Jayme Mitchell had no secondary move. He had one sack which was nice but he used a speed move upfield every time.

    2. Linebackers not named Fujita- D'Qwell Jackson may have over 150 tackles this year if he stays healthy but they're bound to all be 5-10 yards downfield. Does this guy have a problem meeting the runner IN the damned hole? As GB took out their better players, Benard seemed to play better but he's going to be one of these guys who is going to have a hard time finding a position in the 4-3.

    3. Jauron, what's with the blitz?! This is preseason. In case Jauron missed the memo, you don't show your blitzes in preseason. Maybe an a-gap blitz here or there but Jauron was blitzing like it was the Super Bowl and he was behind. Dude! Cover-2 and a bit of zone. THAT'S IT! You got beat on a lot of those blitzes too.

    4. DBs- I really wanted to put this into the "like" category but they just had a rough night. Haden played reasonably well. I felt bad for Sheldon Brown. He seemed to get turned around a lot and while he was tight on the receiver, he wasn't locating the ball well. The safeties hit well and it's hard to know if they looked bad because of breakdowns by the front seven.

    5. Eric Steinbach- I've said it so much I should probably just presume it's a given. This guy is a terribly over-rated offensive lineman. He gets stood up or knocked back on most plays. The only good push he had was on the Hillis TD on an angle block. Mack bails this guy out repeatedly.

    6. Running game. I guess it's still early but there was very little push early in the game. The final YPC was a respectable 3.9 but one rush was a reverse for 20 yards and the first and second team rushing was closer to 3 yards per rush; that's not going to be good enough.

    7. Backup QBs- Seneca may be okay for a game here and there (he was last year) but he didn't move the team and threw a pick against their backups. Jarrett is a work in progress.

    Just some thoughts to get the debate going. Add on or disagree as you see fit.

    @earl34 said:

    3. Jauron, what's with the blitz?! This is preseason. In case Jauron missed the memo, you don't show your blitzes in preseason. Maybe an a-gap blitz here or there but Jauron was blitzing like it was the Super Bowl and he was behind. Dude! Cover-2 and a bit of zone. THAT'S IT! You got beat on a lot of those blitzes too.

    If you had the same preseason philosophy on offense, you'd just give the ball to Hillis up the middle on every down.

    Turn the D loose. Let our boys get a whiff of what the QB smells like before the real games. Let them have some fun.

  • I felt bad for Sheldon Brown. He seemed to get turned around a lot and while he was tight on the receiver, he wasn't locating the ball well.

    That was Aaron Rodgers intention on the TD Pass. You can chalk that one up to a receiver knowing where the ball's gonna be and the QB putting it only where his guy can catch it. No Defense for a perfect pass. As far as the rest of the game I can't speak on all I got to see was the highlights. It looked like they were having fun and I think that's something they've missed since 07. It was a nicely played game from the highlights I saw.

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