I think the defense did about as well as you could hope for
(outside the delusional people who thought adding Flores was going to transform
a talent-deficient defense).
This game is on the offense.
The league average points per game in 2022 was 21.9. Our defense held their offense to below
average, and our offense failed to be above average. This is a team that has all the talent on the
offensive side of the ball. They are
supposed to be good. They weren’t. End of story.
I do think there’s some room for improvement out of the
defense as we go along, but it’s the first game of the Flores era and half the
defense is inexperienced in any scheme.
I just don’t think you could reasonably expect more from them with the
talent that they have on that side.
One thing I’m not seeing mentioned nearly enough is that it’s
the first week of the season. There’s no
tape on the other teams schemes this season.
It’s not unlikely to have scheme/playcalling related issues.
Quote: @"pattersaur" said:
The turnovers were frustrating since they felt so self-inflicted but honestly we looked better in the first half, even with 3 TOs, than the second. To me that’s what’s most concerning.
Team looked overall very flat in the second which isn’t what you love to see in a winnable game and a home opener.
It’s funny going from Zimmer who leaned too heavily on the run to KO who seems to actively hate run plays.
Hoping for a more balanced offense and more balanced halves on Thursday.
Us coming out flat during the second halves is the part that
I find most confusing, especially since it was one of our big problems last
year, and I feel like KOC should be more of a motivator type of guy and this
shouldn’t be an issue.
The turnovers and lack of running game lost the game. I also thought Kirk played a fairly poor game. He missed on several throws including a wide open KJO in the end zone when he instead threw it incomplete to a covered Mattison. I thought Kirk was going to start punching himself in the face when he threw the tantrum after his horrible pick. He's a strange dude.
Disappointing performance by the coaches and offense yesterday. Defense looked improved over last year, it will improve throughout the year.
- 3 TO to a lesser team keeps a game close. Tampa has studs on that team,
- Defense looked better but needed to make adjustments, that's going to be tough with younger guys to change that quickly on the fly. I am confident the defense will keep us in games to win many
- Corners played very well, there is some optimism for the d-backfield.
- The CINE pick is looking like a bust, the guy can't get on the field.
- Not going to the best playmaker in the game in the second half is CRIMINAL by coach and QB. Wasn't impressed with KOC's playcalling last year, wasn't impressed yesterday.
- Immobile QB's in the NFL in 2023 are limiting. Baker Mayfield sucks but his mobility was a game changer just yesterday. 2017 was successful based on Case's legs.
- QB is still too analytical, just because on paper its the right call doesn't mean its where you should throw the ball (we saw this with two failed 3rd downs with a WIDE OPEN JEFFERSON)
- But lastly, you have built a team with a STATUE of a QB and the weakest center of the OL in football. The fastest line to the QB is our weakest part of the roster. That is a FAILURE of leadership, end of story. You will not be able to save this season with this problem. Every good team has a strong interior DL, every playoff contender has a beast or two on the interior DL. Set up for failure.
If Kirk doesn't like the fact that we have young and cheap guys playing guard, TAKE LESS MONEY. You can't have a GREAT TE, GREAT WR, GREAT pair of tackles, a high paid QB AND a high paid interior OL. But he won't because he's a mercenary who has only been about him in the end.
We should have moved on when we could get something, at the end of this year they will want to finally move on and we will get nothing out of it.
Some positives and negatives from my perspective:
Positives
Flores defense was fun to watch, especially in the first half
Corners played well
Hunter made plays despite being consistently doubled on passing plays
Some young guys showed flashes -- should get better with more experience
JJ was JJ, despite all the attention he garnered. The TD to Addison was a result of attention to JJ
Mattison's TD was awesome -- great balance and effort
Concerns
Cousins looked rusty in his decision making and early throws. He missed the blitz that got him strip-sacked
KOC called a bad game
Running game was uninspiring -- surprised Chandler did not get more chances
Interior O Line looked was shaky. Ingraham knocking the ball out of Cousins' hands -- really???
Flores in the second half -- tried to change things up when the aggressive approach was working. Dropped 8 into coverage a few times -- seeing a lost Pat Jones in coverage on the goal line -- really?
Josh Mettellus -- flat footed lack of awareness cost a TD. How bad must Cine be that he cant get on the field over Mettellus and a below average Cam Bynum?
Where was Harrison Smith? He miss-timed/gave away blitzes on several occasions. Was largely a non-factor in the game
Lack of big plays/turnovers. Twice we had the opportunity to bury Mayfield and let him escape -- got to finish when you get home
No reason to expect us to beat Philly on the road in prime time, but I will say that they did not look like world beaters against a below average Patriots team yesterday.
With the turnovers, the miscues, the offsides on the field goal try by Tampa how much of this could be related to the starters getting no action in the preseason. I know you want to minimize injuries in a meaningless game but this game was the first time for the starters as a unit and it certainly showed.
On the offsides on the FG, it seemed that Jay Ward had said to KOC he looked over to check with the side judge and he gave him the thumbs up. He didn't look like he lined up in the neutral zone to me.
Quote: @"pattersaur" said:
The turnovers were frustrating since they felt so self-inflicted but honestly we looked better in the first half, even with 3 TOs, than the second. To me that’s what’s most concerning.
Team looked overall very flat in the second which isn’t what you love to see in a winnable game and a home opener.
It’s funny going from Zimmer who leaned too heavily on the run to KO who seems to actively hate run plays.
Hoping for a more balanced offense and more balanced halves on Thursday.
This was my big question going into the season. Lots of talk about the run game, but when the lights come on, will it happen? It didn't last year, even in games when it was working. With that type of game, we should have seen better results from the run game. Granted, it is a good D-line, but JJ was killing it in the first half.
Quote: @"Greylock" said:
With the turnovers, the miscues, the offsides on the field goal try by Tampa how much of this could be related to the starters getting no action in the preseason. I know you want to minimize injuries in a meaningless game but this game was the first time for the starters as a unit and it certainly showed.
That thought entered my mind as well.
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