R. Rich
06-27-2005, 05:19 AM
OFFENSE
Turnovers were a huge problem, as Byron Leftwich had 344 yds and 1 TD passing, but also threw 5 INTs and had a fumble also.
Julius Jones looked good. He's running strong behind a line that looks pretty solid. Speaking of....
The OL did not allow a sack in 2 preseason games.......not bad! A couple ill-timed penalties did hurt though. Also have to wonder how many of Leftwich's 5 picks might have been due to the opponents' pass rush.
Ben Troupe looks like a decent safety valve @ TE. Nothing down the field yet, but it's still early.
Brandon Lloyd, surprisingly, had 2 100yd receiving games and looks to be a fairly reliable guy down the field. Not much from Kelley Washington, Tyrone Calico, and the rest of the WR corps.
DEFENSE
There may need to be a shakeup on the DL. Gave up 2 100yd rushing games (to Fred Taylor and Priest Holmes) and, other than Randy Starks (3), had 0 sacks. Starks looks to be a nice pass rusher.
LB corps is the strength of the team, and showed that in the first game when Jason Babin (sack, FF, FR), Jonathan Vilma (sack), and Nick Barnett (INT) made plays. No turnovers or sacks in the 2nd preseason game out of this unit though.
Secondary is young, and it shows. Way too many big passing plays given up by Dunta Robinson, Quentin Jammer, Bryan Scott, Sean Taylor and company. So far, 3rd and long isn't totally impossible for opposing offenses, and that has to change.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I figured this would be one of the team's strengths, and it appears I was correct. Brad Maynard has been impressive in his punting while David Akers has connected consistently on his FG attempts, except for one that was blocked in game 2. Coverage units do not give opponents very good field position, so that's a plus as well.
OVERALL
It's pretty much what I expected:
1. A good OL and makings of a strong running game.
2. A passing game that will take a while to find itself.
3. A defense good enough to keep us in most games, but has lots of room to improve.
4. A strong kicking game and pretty good coverage units.
The Assassins are a work in progress, and I predict this first season will be a bit of a rocky one. Starting next season though, I expect to see this team improve tremendously. I'm saying 3-4 wins this season.
Turnovers were a huge problem, as Byron Leftwich had 344 yds and 1 TD passing, but also threw 5 INTs and had a fumble also.
Julius Jones looked good. He's running strong behind a line that looks pretty solid. Speaking of....
The OL did not allow a sack in 2 preseason games.......not bad! A couple ill-timed penalties did hurt though. Also have to wonder how many of Leftwich's 5 picks might have been due to the opponents' pass rush.
Ben Troupe looks like a decent safety valve @ TE. Nothing down the field yet, but it's still early.
Brandon Lloyd, surprisingly, had 2 100yd receiving games and looks to be a fairly reliable guy down the field. Not much from Kelley Washington, Tyrone Calico, and the rest of the WR corps.
DEFENSE
There may need to be a shakeup on the DL. Gave up 2 100yd rushing games (to Fred Taylor and Priest Holmes) and, other than Randy Starks (3), had 0 sacks. Starks looks to be a nice pass rusher.
LB corps is the strength of the team, and showed that in the first game when Jason Babin (sack, FF, FR), Jonathan Vilma (sack), and Nick Barnett (INT) made plays. No turnovers or sacks in the 2nd preseason game out of this unit though.
Secondary is young, and it shows. Way too many big passing plays given up by Dunta Robinson, Quentin Jammer, Bryan Scott, Sean Taylor and company. So far, 3rd and long isn't totally impossible for opposing offenses, and that has to change.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I figured this would be one of the team's strengths, and it appears I was correct. Brad Maynard has been impressive in his punting while David Akers has connected consistently on his FG attempts, except for one that was blocked in game 2. Coverage units do not give opponents very good field position, so that's a plus as well.
OVERALL
It's pretty much what I expected:
1. A good OL and makings of a strong running game.
2. A passing game that will take a while to find itself.
3. A defense good enough to keep us in most games, but has lots of room to improve.
4. A strong kicking game and pretty good coverage units.
The Assassins are a work in progress, and I predict this first season will be a bit of a rocky one. Starting next season though, I expect to see this team improve tremendously. I'm saying 3-4 wins this season.