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.....here's what concerned me:
- They didn't play well and turned the ball over, yet could have easily won the game. But didn't. Some of the offensive play calls really had me shaking my head.
- Our RBs lack explosiveness. There were some big holes early that Cook would have exploited for major yards and watching Mattison/Chandler in comparison was like watching someone dragging a cement block behind them. Its just something new to get used to. The Mattison TD was excellent, however. Run game is a concern.
- Kirk continues to get hit way too often. And hard. I saw some grumpy sideline exchanges between KOC and Cousins.
- I thought Flores would be the kind of coordinator that rarely, if ever, would only rush 3. Saw that way too often with bad results.
- The D was better, for sure, but lacked a pass rush when it was really needed. Maybe that will improve with Davenport in there.
- Ingram continues to make mental mistakes, which I find more concerning that his getting handled.
- Bradbury.
I'll stop there and chill. Just a very disappointing loss in a game they needed and should have won. The next 3 games are tough.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
.....here's what concerned me:
- They didn't play well and turned the ball over, yet could have easily won the game. But didn't. Some of the offensive play calls really had me shaking my head.
- Our RBs lack explosiveness. There were some big holes that Cook would have exploited for major yards and watching Mattison/Chandler in comparison was like watching someone dragging a cement block behind them. Its just something new to get used to. The Mattison TD was excellent, however.
- Kirk continues to get hit way too often. And hard. I saw some grumpy sideline exchanges between KOC and Cousins.
- I thought Flores would be the kind of coordinator that rarely, if ever, would only rush 3. Saw that way too often with bad results.
- The D was better, for sure, but lacked a pass rush when it was really needed. Maybe that will improve with Davenport in there.
- Ingram continues to make mental mistakes, which I find more concerning that his getting handled.
- Bradbury.
I'll stop there and chill. Just a very disappointing loss in a game they needed and should have won. The next 3 games are tough.
Too many mistakes. Bad teams will beat good teams if they simply win the turnover battle. And the Bucs did. Lack of precision and focus maybe? I don't know. It was a game the Vikings dominated early on and instead of burying them, they let them hang and eventually prevail.
Some surprises. Asamoah I think started but was soon replaced by Pace. Injury or performance related? Run defense was impressive. Rachaad White is a good back who was held to 39 yards on 17 carries. I thought our corners were solid for the most part, but this was Baker Mayfield. Bynum flashed. Didn't really notice Harry, which is a bit of a surprise. Vea didn't dominate the way I've seen him do in the past. Bucs appeared to get most of their pressure via blitz.
We'll get a much better idea of how much the defense has improved against the Eagles.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Leber sums it up....
https://twitter.com/nacholeber/status/17...78109?s=20
I mean, its all well and fine that they 'stumbled out of the blocks'.....but you look at the next 3 games and where is the W coming from after that showing? Even after the stumbling and bumbling, they were in position to still take control of the game. We now are starting the backup center. How is Darrisaw doing? Did Ingram make the leap some were expecting? Is the run game going to produce? The D is still a question mark.
If you want to lay this on the turnovers, sure...go ahead. And I agree that they were very hurtful to the cause. But lets not pretend there isn't more to be concerned about potentially. Game 2 on the road against a good opponent....let's watch and see.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
.....here's what concerned me:
- They didn't play well and turned the ball over, yet could have easily won the game. But didn't. Some of the offensive play calls really had me shaking my head.
- Our RBs lack explosiveness. There were some big holes early that Cook would have exploited for major yards and watching Mattison/Chandler in comparison was like watching someone dragging a cement block behind them. Its just something new to get used to. The Mattison TD was excellent, however. Run game is a concern.
- Kirk continues to get hit way too often. And hard. I saw some grumpy sideline exchanges between KOC and Cousins.
- I thought Flores would be the kind of coordinator that rarely, if ever, would only rush 3. Saw that way too often with bad results.
- The D was better, for sure, but lacked a pass rush when it was really needed. Maybe that will improve with Davenport in there.
- Ingram continues to make mental mistakes, which I find more concerning that his getting handled.
- Bradbury.
I'll stop there and chill. Just a very disappointing loss in a game they needed and should have won. The next 3 games are tough.
On the running game, everything that Mattison got was with his second and third efforts. Just like last year with Cook, he was getting first contact behind the line of scrimmage. I think it would be hard for any back to look explosive when you don't even have a chance to get up to speed before hitting the line. Having said that, I don't think his running style suits the OLine personnel we have. Bringing in Oliver helps the perimeter, but the lack of size and talent we have on the interior Oline will make things difficult for Mattison to be successful IMO. He is a power runner who needs some heavy personnel in the middle to create some space and we just don't have the size or talent to do it. As the season goes on, I think you will see Chandler and Gaskin continue to steal carries away from Mattison as KOC is forced to abandon the 12 Personnel Scheme he wants to run. We are way more effective running 3 WR sets and pushing the ball downfield in the passing game. That is where our success came from yesterday. Dinking and Dunking to Hockenson at or behind the line of scrimmage yesterday was baffling as was a lot of KOC's play calls and game planning against the speedy playmakers the Bucs have on D.
I've already accepted the fact that the Vikings weren't going to have a very good season and I'll just sit back and watch the turmoil roll on by until next year's free agency and draft. Then, I'll set higher expectations and hope for the team...but not this year by a long shot. They just don't have the horses on both sides of the offensive or defensive lines. Until that's fixed, be prepared for the same old thing.
Quote: @TBro said:
I'll have to watch it again, but I don't think the OL played too poorly against that very good front seven. They certainly weren't the reason for the loss, as they have been in the past with the IOL getting overpowered up the middle.
I might change my mind after further review, but it seemed to me most of the pressure came from the edges via blitz. The Bucs blitzed more than any other team yesterday, except one, the Vikings.
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.
i watched Harrison Phillips several plays and from the small sample size i thought he did play really well. Blunted the blocker and shed the block to make the tackle of the running back numerous times.
The saying “stout at the point of attack” would describe his play.
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