| October 10, 2002 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 10:33 PM |
Quarterback: Drew Bledsoe was 32 of 53 for 417 yards and had two touchdowns. Bledsoe was off to a slow start in the 1st quarter as he was only 1 of 6 for 9 yards. He really started to get into the game into the 2nd and 3rd quarter. Then halfway through the 3rd quarter, he threw one interception but rebounded with a touchdown in the next drive. He sealed the game by throwing an interception to Phillip Buchanon that was ran back 81 yards for a touchdown. Then in a final attempt to come back, he threw a pass towards Jay Riemersma that was intercepted and ended the game. Grade: C+Running Backs: Travis Henry ran extremely hard. He ran 29 yards on one carry and set up for the touchdown. Travis also scored on another drive. Henry also held onto the ball for the whole game and did not fumble. He was only given the ball 15 times, but he still managed to gain 58 yards, and catch another 7 passes for 47 yards. Meanwhile, Larry Centers was handed the ball and ran it in for a 5 yard touchdown. Travis Henry needs to be given the ball more so he can gain more yards and control the clock. Grade: B
Wide Receivers: Peerless Price came back with a team leading 127 yards and 1 TD. Eric Moulds had his 5th straight game with 8 receptions and had 112 yards. Josh Reed even helped out with 3 catches for 59 yards. Grade: A
Tight Ends: Dave Moore continues to become a big target for Drew Bledsoe, as he found him in the end zone for the 2nd game in a row. Moore ended the day with 4 receptions for 26 yards. But he also ended the game with a broken hand. Jay Riemersma only had one catch for 17 yards, but he was used for blocking and also as a decoy in many plays. Grade: B-
Offensive Line: The Offensive line did not have a great game. They allowed Oakland to sack Bledsoe 5 times, including 2 in a row during the 4th quarter. They were beat many times by the blitzing Oakland DL and had a few penalties too. But they also created some nice holes for Travis Henry and allowed Drew Bledsoe to have a lot of time to throw when Oakland did not blitz. Grade: C+
Defensive Line: Aaron Schobel continues to be one of the only strengths on the defensive line. Pat Williams is another one. Schobel ended the day with 5 tackles and 1 sack, while Pat Williams had 3 tackles. The line did allow Rich Gannon to have way too much time and hardly had any pressure. But they did pretty much , shut down a good RB (Charlie Garner) from running all over them. Most of his yardage was from one big run of 36 yards. Still though, letting Gannon throw for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns with no INTs is unacceptable. Grade: D+
Linebackers: London Fletcher finally woke up. He was all over the field and led the team with 10 tackles. Fletcher was burned by Charlie Garner's 69-yard touchdown though. Keith Newman had no tackles and it's a wonder what Jerry Gray is doing with him. He is our best OLB and a great pass rusher, but they are not putting him on the field. Meanwhile, Eddie Robinson continues to show people that he is getting too old. He only had 5 tackles and doesn't seem to be found on the field. I think the old age is getting up on him. Grade: D
Secondary: Pierson Prioleau and Coy Wire both had 5 tackles and were in on many plays. Coy Wire was burned on a pump fake from Gannon that turned into the 29-yard touchdown to Jerry Porter. Chris Watson was also in on that play and was burned. Watson also held his own and defended a few passes. Meanwhile, Nate Clements was seen on the field looking at the sky when Jerry Rice ran in for a 20-yard touchdown. Antoine Winfield did not get many balls thrown his way, but he did make 4 tackles. This unit had now gone all 5 games this season without an interception. Grade: D
Special Teams: The coverage units are a heck of a lot better than they were in week 1. The unit kept Terry Kirby to only an average of 13.5 in kickoff returns. They also kept Phillip Buchanon to an average of 0 yards on punt returns. You have to give props to Coach Danny Smith for getting this unit fixed and able to stop huge plays from happening. Brian Moorman continues to punt well and is averaging 47.8 yards on his punts. Mike Hollis only had one 30-yard field goal and made it. He also made all 4 of his extra points. Grade: B
Coaching: Again, another game where the running back has less than 20 carries and is having a good game. Why does Gilbride keep abandoning the run? It is working. You just need to give Henry more carries and let him control the clock. Still needs to work on balancing the run and the pass. Don't get me started on the defense. Was there even one? Where is this aggressive defense that will force turnovers? Still no interceptions yet! That's not a good thing. Also, why are you not using a talent like Keith Newman? If you want to use him to push rush and help stop the run, you need to put him on the field! Grade: D+