patmoran2006
10-15-2006, 03:53 PM
Before any specifics thoughts regarding just this game in general, I have two season-long observations on my mind.
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1- It seems to me with each passing week this team seems less and less prepared to play, and obviously that falls on the coaching staff. All season long, I can’t off the top of my head remember a single “chance” we’ve taken that worked out successfully. Today specifically, we literally slept-walked through the first 20 minutes of the game before we even decided to start playing. It is beyond mind-boggling to me how our coaches didn’t take Nate Clements, all $7.1-million dollars of him and play him straight up on Roy Williams all day long, especially when it was established early Terrence McGee couldn’t cover him. Again, why pay someone franchise money and then have your #2 corner get eaten alive (for second straight week) while your ‘shutdown” corner is watching some white-boy, fourth string former Rams castoff WR.
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2- This is not a good football team right now, and that’s the way it is. What the hell happened to the approach we took the first two weeks of the season? We didn’t turn the ball over and take any stupid chances, and we were 1-1 and deserved to be 2-0. With each week we’re straying farther away from that approach, the turnovers are rising and the losses are piling up. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Detroit</st1:place></st1:City> is NOT a good football team, and they were missing three linemen. Is our defensive front seven really THAT bad that we couldn’t stop the run OR generate any consistent pressure on Kitna? I don’t know, I’m just hating every move our staff has been making lately.
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Now.. On to specifics from today.
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I don’t know how much worse it could get if Gandy was benched. I can’t imagine any rookie OT playing worse than Gandy has the past two weeks. He was directly responsible for four sacks the past two games, including the play where Losman fumbled causing at least a six point swing, which was critical. He’s looking more and more clueless each week.<o:p> </o:p>
I’m not going to comment much on Losman right now, that deserves its own thread. I will say that he can make great plays few others can. But from a mental aspect, he’s really, really terrible. He’s NOT a good, consistent pocket quarterback.. And only GOD knows why he’s holding on to the ball like he is. Either develop an offense around his strengths, or get his ass out of there and put Holcomb or Nall in. He’s showing more each week he DOESN’T have the patience to “take what the defense” gives him consistently. I’m not even going to bother right now to see what his final stat-line read; he was terrible today—for the second straight week.<o:p> </o:p>
Three times I counted third down plays where we threw the ball short of the first down marker. Nice.<o:p> </o:p>
I honestly barely noticed that Larry Tripplett even dressed today. He’s been a consistent non-factor all season long. Tim Anderson played like he usually does, and that’s not good. Kyle Williams is the ONLY DT that seemed interested in playing football today.<o:p> </o:p>
What the hell has happened to our special teams blocking? McGee’s 72-yard return was basically all on his own. I don’t see ANY running lanes for our return game anymore, and its basically the same unit as last year.<o:p> </o:p>
Our LB’s didn’t do **** today. Can’t remember one significant play any of them made. Maybe its time for Spikes to stop making the Taco Bell commercials.<o:p> </o:p>
What happened to McGee as a decent corner? It seemed early he was turning the corner, but he’s been absolutely awful the past two weeks. Roy Williams OWNED him.<o:p> </o:p>
In general, any progress this team seemed to be making early in the season is all for naught now. Losing to the Lions, anyway you try to spin it, is a total regression. WE’re looking more and more like the Bills of last year each week.<o:p> </o:p>
Once again, (even with the short TD) our TE’s were a complete non-factor in our offense again.<o:p> </o:p>
If it wasn’t already clear as day already, priority number one next offseason better be improving on BOTH sides of the line. They are both mediocre at the very best, and until we improve them, get used to seeing more inexcusable losses like this.I'd like to find some positive things to say, but after this, I really cant think of them. Our kicker and punter are excellent, thats about the best I can come up with.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p>
1- It seems to me with each passing week this team seems less and less prepared to play, and obviously that falls on the coaching staff. All season long, I can’t off the top of my head remember a single “chance” we’ve taken that worked out successfully. Today specifically, we literally slept-walked through the first 20 minutes of the game before we even decided to start playing. It is beyond mind-boggling to me how our coaches didn’t take Nate Clements, all $7.1-million dollars of him and play him straight up on Roy Williams all day long, especially when it was established early Terrence McGee couldn’t cover him. Again, why pay someone franchise money and then have your #2 corner get eaten alive (for second straight week) while your ‘shutdown” corner is watching some white-boy, fourth string former Rams castoff WR.
<o:p> </o:p>
2- This is not a good football team right now, and that’s the way it is. What the hell happened to the approach we took the first two weeks of the season? We didn’t turn the ball over and take any stupid chances, and we were 1-1 and deserved to be 2-0. With each week we’re straying farther away from that approach, the turnovers are rising and the losses are piling up. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Detroit</st1:place></st1:City> is NOT a good football team, and they were missing three linemen. Is our defensive front seven really THAT bad that we couldn’t stop the run OR generate any consistent pressure on Kitna? I don’t know, I’m just hating every move our staff has been making lately.
<o:p> </o:p>
Now.. On to specifics from today.
<o:p> </o:p>
I don’t know how much worse it could get if Gandy was benched. I can’t imagine any rookie OT playing worse than Gandy has the past two weeks. He was directly responsible for four sacks the past two games, including the play where Losman fumbled causing at least a six point swing, which was critical. He’s looking more and more clueless each week.<o:p> </o:p>
I’m not going to comment much on Losman right now, that deserves its own thread. I will say that he can make great plays few others can. But from a mental aspect, he’s really, really terrible. He’s NOT a good, consistent pocket quarterback.. And only GOD knows why he’s holding on to the ball like he is. Either develop an offense around his strengths, or get his ass out of there and put Holcomb or Nall in. He’s showing more each week he DOESN’T have the patience to “take what the defense” gives him consistently. I’m not even going to bother right now to see what his final stat-line read; he was terrible today—for the second straight week.<o:p> </o:p>
Three times I counted third down plays where we threw the ball short of the first down marker. Nice.<o:p> </o:p>
I honestly barely noticed that Larry Tripplett even dressed today. He’s been a consistent non-factor all season long. Tim Anderson played like he usually does, and that’s not good. Kyle Williams is the ONLY DT that seemed interested in playing football today.<o:p> </o:p>
What the hell has happened to our special teams blocking? McGee’s 72-yard return was basically all on his own. I don’t see ANY running lanes for our return game anymore, and its basically the same unit as last year.<o:p> </o:p>
Our LB’s didn’t do **** today. Can’t remember one significant play any of them made. Maybe its time for Spikes to stop making the Taco Bell commercials.<o:p> </o:p>
What happened to McGee as a decent corner? It seemed early he was turning the corner, but he’s been absolutely awful the past two weeks. Roy Williams OWNED him.<o:p> </o:p>
In general, any progress this team seemed to be making early in the season is all for naught now. Losing to the Lions, anyway you try to spin it, is a total regression. WE’re looking more and more like the Bills of last year each week.<o:p> </o:p>
Once again, (even with the short TD) our TE’s were a complete non-factor in our offense again.<o:p> </o:p>
If it wasn’t already clear as day already, priority number one next offseason better be improving on BOTH sides of the line. They are both mediocre at the very best, and until we improve them, get used to seeing more inexcusable losses like this.I'd like to find some positive things to say, but after this, I really cant think of them. Our kicker and punter are excellent, thats about the best I can come up with.