Rich Rane wrote:3 botched/missed field goals. What the hell can anyone expect but a loss? And how do you not keep Gonzales out of the freaking end zone? Though they did, how do you have four guys surrounding him and not have him covered? This defense, as great as it plays, loves to give up the big score.
Another bowdown to Revis Christ. I keep hearing how Woodson is the best corner in the NFL and his stats show it and the race for DPOY isn't close, but that's total BS. As great as Woodson is, it's amazing when a QB throws towards Revis now. Not to mention, he's shutting down better WRs than Woodson is. People complain that his rushing game is horrible, but when you have a corner so amazing in coverage or man-to-man playing in a crushing defense (unless it's an opportunity for a GW drive), why the hell would Ryan decide for Revis to blitz anyway?
The defense gave up three last minute leads against Miami, Jacksonville and against Atlanta. We are good, even very good, but not great yet. Rex said it after the game, that the defense is playing well but it is not there yet. I love to hear that actually because even though we are ranked No. 1 in defense in the NFL, Rex couldn't be more right. I said it many times, we lack a dominant pass rusher who will be in the QBs mind on every dropback. Just look how DeMarcus Ware played on Saturday and how he closed the game in the end. I expect the Jets to go out and find such a guy and really add even more talent to this defense. And thinking about it, if we perform a little better on offense and add to our already very good defense, that unit can be scary good next year.
People who say Revis isn't good against the run have never watched a game of him. Plain and simple. He is as complete as it gets as a CB and while I'm a huge fan of Woodson (especially since he is the kind of leader our defense lacks right now) he is not nearly as good as Revis covering man to man. He is good, a much better playmaker but he is not a better corner overall. Both are great players but Revis is a bit better in my opinion. People who say it is not close, just fools...
We need a slot receiver in the worst way and Schottenheimer has to get his head out of his behind. We never ever attack a defense underneath, especially on first or second down. Now the whole thing gets a lot easier when you just take an easy 5 yard completion on first down and with the talent we have on offense and the physical matchups, there is no reason why we never do it. No, we run our WRs 10 to 20 yards down the field and let Sanchez throw into tight windows of a defense that is waiting for him to throw an INT. Make it easier for him. Leon should help with this next year but in the end, he is not enough. Give me a slot receiver who will make life miserable for LBs and who will give Sanchez a security blanket whenever he needs on. And when you make people come closer to the LOS, well, then you can beat them further down the field. I'm not a football mind by any means but looking at our offense and seeing how other teams always have guys open, I wonder what Schottenheimer is doing here. Keller is another story. Last year with Favre he was always used on those short routes and he got us 5-10 yards so many times. This season, I rarely see an easy pass to him as we only send him down the seam which is a hard throw to make under any circumstance with coverage over the top and underneath.
Special teams... horrible... just horrible... but I do not blame Feely, he has been great for us all year. James Dearth should be ashamed of himself though, a high schooler couldn't have snapped the ball worse yesterday.
We also have to bring a stronger attitude to the table. Atlanta didn't care about the game, they had no business winning it and we let them hang around all day long. We need to develop a winning mentality and a mental toughness that just lets us impose our will on teams we should beat at home. The Falcons are a dome team eliminated from the playoffs and we give them the freaking game... very frustrating but things are still looking good for next year.