Perspective -- Some bad football played so far this week

[Purpleblooded]

As we enter another season, some of at least with eternal hope...this week's games should give us some perspective on the state of play in week #1 of the NFL.  There are lots of examples, from the Patriots getting whipped, to Houston laying an egg on an emotional home opener; Cinci getting shut out; Indy getting blitzed by the Rams; the Giants having no offense against a mediocre (at best) Dallas defense...There was a lot of bad football out there.  I don't know if it is the limited amount of hitting that is now done in training camp, the fact that preseason is now geared more toward not getting guys injured than actually sharpening skills and concepts or other factors, but the fact is that a lot of teams are smarting after week #1 and I expect many will look nothing like they did in week #1 when we hit week #10 and week #17.

Also interesting discussion on ESPN radio this morning about abysmal offensive line play -- the Giants, Seattle and Houston were prime examples.  Seattle's GM was getting roasted for routinely "ignoring" offensive line needs. 

I'm excited for another football season.

[Guest]

Well I will say, not as an excuse because Seattle has ignored the O-line, but losing your LT and best lineman in preseason kinda throws a wrench into the whole works.

[Guest]

The Seattle LT was also a project and not a stud LT by any means...just saying.  The thing that helps hide some of Seahawks OL problems is Wilson's scramble and buy-time ability.  Eli, Sam and Tom Savage (just from the above OL's) don't have that ability.  

I think our OL is on track to get to average which is good enough.  I think we will some errors in pickups tonight but then we will also see a cleaner pocket for Sam and some running lanes for Cook/Murray.  I will be happy to see those things because they have been rare the last two seasons.  But I also expect a couple screw-ups like we saw in preseason with Remmers and the TE miscommunication and like we saw with Easton at LG last game where he did not play that well.  The things is we hope see these young guys learn and show flashes of what they could do.  

[Guest]

Don't know if it's an indictment of the college game with years of these run-n-shoot/fast-paced spread offense systems, but there are certainly fewer traditional run-first programs out there.  It seems like quality OLmen are rarer than hens teeth these days.  Any crappy lineman gets cut these days finds an immediate home somewhere else...

[Guest]

He wasn't a stud, but was blossoming into a solid LT.  Losing that spot hurts as we know too well.  Shuffling a weak spot really makes a mess of things.

[Guest]

I noticed a lot of gassed players out there yesterday, especially defensive lineman, w/ several players cramping as well. Let's get hydrated!   

[Guest]

@Purpleblooded said:
As we enter another season, some of at least with eternal hope...this week's games should give us some perspective on the state of play in week #1 of the NFL.  There are lots of examples, from the Patriots getting whipped, to Houston laying an egg on an emotional home opener; Cinci getting shut out; Indy getting blitzed by the Rams; the Giants having no offense against a mediocre (at best) Dallas defense...There was a lot of bad football out there.  I don't know if it is the limited amount of hitting that is now done in training camp, the fact that preseason is now geared more toward not getting guys injured than actually sharpening skills and concepts or other factors, but the fact is that a lot of teams are smarting after week #1 and I expect many will look nothing like they did in week #1 when we hit week #10 and week #17.

Also interesting discussion on ESPN radio this morning about abysmal offensive line play -- the Giants, Seattle and Houston were prime examples.  Seattle's GM was getting roasted for routinely "ignoring" offensive line needs. 

I'm excited for another football season.

I was thinking the same thing. Week one is always a weird week as teams see new blocking schemes and stunts that they're unprepared for. What's worrisome is that a lot of the typically good defenses played poorly: Houston, AZ, and Cincy. And teams with questionable offensive lines were exposed. If that trend continues tonight, Denver and MInnesota could be in trouble.