The Juice Is Loose
08-12-2009, 12:12 PM
Allright well first of all, for some reason because I express my opinion and back them up with arguments to support my claims, I supposedly have the worst reputation around here. I don't really get it, I have a right to my opinion, and with the exception of Whitner and Maybin pretty much support most of this team. But whatever, I do this because I like to talk about he Bills and I like to type stuff out to kill time. So here is my take on things thusfar, our no huddle, stuff like that.
Tennessee game - I feel like people are being overly negative about that game. Sure the fake punt was bad, but other than that a team that was 13-3 last season had a good drive on us. I thought with the exception of 1 play Trent looked sharp. TO obviously is going to create problems for teams. Was there anybody that didn't know that first pass was going to him? He still had a chance at a TD.
I thought for the most part our starting run defense looked good. The pass D obviously was a little shakier. I don't know how much we should judge them by that, because it's been said many times that Perry Fewell likes to experiment and try things and retry things in preseason and training camp. I mean, if you think you have a new wrinkle that could create problems, should you first try it when it counts or when it doesn't? Our defense wasn't all that bad last year, middle of the pack as far as NFL rankings go. I don't see them getting WORSE than last year, by getting Schobel back and Poz being in his 2nd full starting season. So we could expect middle of the pack, maybe a tad better.
No huddle - For the naysayers to the no huddle, just because they practiced it for the entire game does NOT mean that they will do it for the entire games in the regular season. They have been reserved in what they have said to the media, and if you take them at their word you know that they are trying it out, and not saying they are going to be a no huddle team.
All those things considered, I liked what I saw. It DID keep the defense a little off balance as evident by the linemen standing out of the stances for Tennessee. What better way to help young o linemen then to take their opponent out of their 35 second comfort zone.
Peyton, (i'm not saying Trent is Peyton) Peyton Manning has said one big advantage to not huddling is you can get to the line of scrimmage, line up and see how the defense alligns. For any Trent critic I'm sure most would agree he's an intellegent guy. I thought he showed nice poise on that QB scramble for a 1st down also. I think Trent could really lead this team to a decent record this season.
Look, I don't think by keeping mostly the same coaching staff from last year is going to lead to a total different identity. I still think teams are going to get a healthy dose of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. When the no huddle is used, it should create some help for the offense, given they are controlling the tempo. We've added TO, we've added Nelson. The only loss was Peters, who, as most of us would agree, didn't have a good season in 08. Sure he's talented. Wood or Levitre may not hit the same ceiling as Peters, but I think they can hit his 08 level fairly easily, so we've added talent.
TO plus a potentially better line. Added to an extra season experience to our EXTREMELY YOUNG TEAM should lead to better results. Even our coordinators were in their 1st and 3rd season, respectively. Every coordinator thats been great had a first season as a coordinator. I doubt they were lights out the first try.
We all knew, from when Donahoe left, to Marv, to Brandon, that this has been an extremely young team. Before we got TO i think our oldest player was like Schobel at 31, who missed most of the season. All of our potential stars were and are extremely young:
Trent - 3rd year
Marshawn - 3rd year
Lee - 6th year
Poz - 3rd year
McKelvin - 2nd year
Whitner - 4th year
You get my point. Most players improve through the 3rd or 4th season. With a little improvement from young players, plus the addition of TO, Rhodes, Hangartner, and Fitzpatrick, we are a better team that with No #2 WR, Melvin/Duke, and Losman.
We were 7-9. I've said it before, we were in a couple of the losses, they could have been wins. With an addition of talent, coaching gets easier. TO will add a big dimension to our offense, as we saw on Sunday. Trent is now in his 3rd year, we could easily go 10-6.
This team
Tennessee game - I feel like people are being overly negative about that game. Sure the fake punt was bad, but other than that a team that was 13-3 last season had a good drive on us. I thought with the exception of 1 play Trent looked sharp. TO obviously is going to create problems for teams. Was there anybody that didn't know that first pass was going to him? He still had a chance at a TD.
I thought for the most part our starting run defense looked good. The pass D obviously was a little shakier. I don't know how much we should judge them by that, because it's been said many times that Perry Fewell likes to experiment and try things and retry things in preseason and training camp. I mean, if you think you have a new wrinkle that could create problems, should you first try it when it counts or when it doesn't? Our defense wasn't all that bad last year, middle of the pack as far as NFL rankings go. I don't see them getting WORSE than last year, by getting Schobel back and Poz being in his 2nd full starting season. So we could expect middle of the pack, maybe a tad better.
No huddle - For the naysayers to the no huddle, just because they practiced it for the entire game does NOT mean that they will do it for the entire games in the regular season. They have been reserved in what they have said to the media, and if you take them at their word you know that they are trying it out, and not saying they are going to be a no huddle team.
All those things considered, I liked what I saw. It DID keep the defense a little off balance as evident by the linemen standing out of the stances for Tennessee. What better way to help young o linemen then to take their opponent out of their 35 second comfort zone.
Peyton, (i'm not saying Trent is Peyton) Peyton Manning has said one big advantage to not huddling is you can get to the line of scrimmage, line up and see how the defense alligns. For any Trent critic I'm sure most would agree he's an intellegent guy. I thought he showed nice poise on that QB scramble for a 1st down also. I think Trent could really lead this team to a decent record this season.
Look, I don't think by keeping mostly the same coaching staff from last year is going to lead to a total different identity. I still think teams are going to get a healthy dose of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. When the no huddle is used, it should create some help for the offense, given they are controlling the tempo. We've added TO, we've added Nelson. The only loss was Peters, who, as most of us would agree, didn't have a good season in 08. Sure he's talented. Wood or Levitre may not hit the same ceiling as Peters, but I think they can hit his 08 level fairly easily, so we've added talent.
TO plus a potentially better line. Added to an extra season experience to our EXTREMELY YOUNG TEAM should lead to better results. Even our coordinators were in their 1st and 3rd season, respectively. Every coordinator thats been great had a first season as a coordinator. I doubt they were lights out the first try.
We all knew, from when Donahoe left, to Marv, to Brandon, that this has been an extremely young team. Before we got TO i think our oldest player was like Schobel at 31, who missed most of the season. All of our potential stars were and are extremely young:
Trent - 3rd year
Marshawn - 3rd year
Lee - 6th year
Poz - 3rd year
McKelvin - 2nd year
Whitner - 4th year
You get my point. Most players improve through the 3rd or 4th season. With a little improvement from young players, plus the addition of TO, Rhodes, Hangartner, and Fitzpatrick, we are a better team that with No #2 WR, Melvin/Duke, and Losman.
We were 7-9. I've said it before, we were in a couple of the losses, they could have been wins. With an addition of talent, coaching gets easier. TO will add a big dimension to our offense, as we saw on Sunday. Trent is now in his 3rd year, we could easily go 10-6.
This team