Season Grades

[hermes]

Just wanted to see where everyone thinks we stand

QB: D+
was our obvious weakness, and is keeping this team from where it could be, both Jackson and Gus showed life at times, but were really bad a lot of other times

O-line: B+
run blocking was good (AP lead the league in rushing) but pass blocking leaves a little to be desired (Gus' mobility might have contributed to that as well) Cook is the obvious weak link, Hutch is one of the best in the league, and the others are all solid

RB: A
this is our bread and butter, AP is one of the best in the league, and Chester is probably the best back on 3rd down (especially catching the ball), AP's pass blocking and fumbling are areas of conern

FB/HB: B
main job is to block, and they (Tahi, Dugan) are good at it. Tahi when used on screens didn't catch the ball very often and Dugan was used in some short yardage situations and i though he did well, i think our record was like 6-1 when he dressed

WR/TE: B
i think we have a solid group of guys, and a group that we can move forward with, but they had an inconsistent year, because of qb play. Berrian had a good second half, becoming the big play threat to stretch the field, Wade is our Welker type receiver. Shiancoe turned it on late in the year to prove he isn't a complete bust, and might be a good TE someday. Rice is a big body that could be the answer to our redzone problems, but injuries limited him- and he just didn't see the ball enough

Overall on offense we lacked balance, we needed our passing game to just keep the extra guys off the line for the backs and it wasn't able to get it done, penalties and stalled drives in the redzone were too frequent, and there were too many turnovers

D-line: A
the run stuffing goes without saying, tops again in the league in fewest allowed, but the improvement on pass d is worth noting. Jared Allen's addition has been HUGE for this defense. more sacks, we can pressure qb's so they don't throw all day on us, consistent pass rush on the road is a concern moving forward

LB: B+
Ej's injury set us back here, but it allowed Greenway to step up and show us how good he is. Leber had a solid year, and Harris did well in his fill-in role

DB: B
Winfield, Madieu Williams had great years. Sharper and Cedric both played well, and overall our pass defense was improved from last years dead last finish

Overall on defense there was the sustained dominance against the run, and the vast improvement against the pass, as the defense has become one of the strengths of the team

Special Teams: C
Kluwe had another great year punting, and Longwell was great this year as well, and that is the reason the grade is that high because coverage was awful. Punt coverage especially. Berrian, Hicks and Daruis Raynaud all showed some spark in the return game this year

Coaching: D
Childress and his staff isn't the answer, suspect play calling, especially at the end of halves and games, where Brad's awful clock management skills rear their ugly head

Overall it is a testament to our defense and running game and how good they are to overcome such bad qb play, bad special teams and bad coaching