Post#217 » by CrimsonCrew » Mon Oct 17, 2022 4:21 pm
This one was a real kick in the crotch. We keep dropping games to bad teams, and it's really hard to make the playoffs that way. Our three losses this year come against teams that are 1-4, 1-3 (soon to be 1-4?), and 2-3 in games not against the Niners. That's bad. The only saving grace is that our division looks like crap.
Kind of tough to lay blame in this one, as so much went wrong. I'm willing to cut the defense a little slack given all the injuries, but only a little, and the manner of this loss is problematic. If our backups on the DL were just getting blown off the ball, and they were netting seven yards a carry up the gut, I could understand that. But instead, we were winning on the blocks as often as not, but once again our lack of gap integrity, outside contain, and our absolute inability to contain even a slightly mobile QB doomed us. That's not something I'm as willing to forgive. We had to come into this one ready to execute against the run, and time after time, our DEs - who play quite a bit - crashed inside and let them run right around the edge. Mariota repeatedly ran for big gains in crucial situations. It's unacceptable at this point.
The offense was a debacle. Jimmy actually threw some of the best deep balls he ever has, but, of course, our guys just flat-out dropped them. And then Jimmy would bounce back to throw the ball at the receiver's feet on third down. I'm willing to give him a pass on the INTs given the circumstances of those plays, but he's got to be more effective on third down. The drive at the end of the first half was embarrassing. No urgency, middle of the field over and over. The half would have ended with Jimmy taking a sack - when he has more than enough time to just get rid of the f-ing ball - but for the hold against Kittle. How does a guy who has been in the NFL almost a decade take a sack there? Woke up my kids yelling at him on that one.
All things considered, I actually thought the OL played pretty well. Jimmy had time, and actually stepped up in the pocket to get clear throwing lanes several times. He just more often than not threw a duck afterward. Why is it that this team, with an offensive head coach and really good receiving weapons, simply cannot win unless the defense is dominant? Scoring 14 points against this Atlanta team, and getting shut out in the second half, is inexcusable. The offense needed to step up in this one, and as usual, they didn't.
I've got to visit the injuries, too. Obviously there's a strong element of luck that goes into injuries, but you reach a point where there simply has to be more to it. Every year we lead the league in soft tissue injuries. That can't just be bad luck. There must be something about the way these guys are preparing that is setting them up for an inordinate amount of strains, pulls, etc. Again, I find it incredibly frustrating that we sit all our guys through the preseason, come out flat and drop winnable games, but still endure tons of injuries. Just a thought, but maybe getting some preseason action would actually better prepare these guys for the regular season.
Anyway, we're still very much in this because the division sucks so much (Hawks the favorite to win it???), but we have to start winning these games, and we're going to have to pick up some wins against what I thought would be tougher opponents earlier in the year, like the Bucs, Saints, Dolphins, etc.