Unfamiliar territory

[arnie_uk]

Well, I cannot say I'm educated enough on the inner workings of the heirachy of our staff and the precise roles that people like Castillo truly have, but I knew he was an extremely questionable addition to our staff, considering his history in Philly and how fast he was run out of town there.
 
I mean really....a converted DC now coaching our OL?
 
Something smells fishy, and it aint just Oher's socks...
 
But you know what..at the end of the day, these are multi-million dollar professional athletes. At what point do we stop blaming coaches and start holding veterans like McKinnie and Oher accountable for their poor play?

he was succesful as an oline coach at Philly. The reek you smell was that of desperation on the part of Andy Reid

[Dudeman]

So after watching the Miami game I got to thinking.

 

The en vogue thing with the NFL has been the passing game.  Spread offense, shotgun formations, no huddle etc.  Offenses are getting faster by the second.

 

Yet how often is it more often the case that the last offense standing on the field wins the game?  Get the lead late, burn out the clock and game over you win. 

 

Now don't get it wrong I liked the "Bombs Away" offense we had going last year, and I don't think we are far and away from featuring it again either.  But I also miss the 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense we used to be with Lorenzo Neal and Leron McClain in 08. 

 

When an offense just stays on the field good things tend to happen.  Defenses get tired, lose their focus or cool depending on the situation.  Oftentimes you hear players talk about it being a game of wills, and fatigue is always death to a players intensity. 

 

I like what the Saints are doing with their time of possession, and it keeps a defense fresh and the other offense on the bench as well.  If you start to build a 2 score or more lead then the other team becomes desperate or one dimensional and takes greater risks and chances to get back into the game. 

 

Anyways, moving on from the random thoughts, I also want to talk about our division. 

 

A few weeks ago everyone was writing our division off as one of the worst in football.  Sure the AFCW west is looking flashy with the Chiefs and Broncos undefeated and the Chargers are no slouchers either.  The NFCW and NFCN is nothing to sneeze at as well.

 

But the AFCN is as we all know a tough divison.  I was ready to write off the Browns too, but here there are making things difficult.  These upcoming divisional games will be huge, not to mention the outcomes of the games with the Jets and Patriots as well. 

[Static]

Pollards cool and all but Diggs is playing CRAZY Good. PFF has him as the best safety this season.(+9.9)

[jdynamite]

First as read that I was like profanity seems like it should say chink(dent ) in armor unless it took it as slang term which is dumb in its context.

Anyway, there is a lot I like about this. I don't think we have talked enough about the play of D.Smith and Ihedigbo they have both played very well so far.
I'm glad you mention that the Oline has been having problems dating back to last season because a lot of people seem to overlook the Oline struggles from last season, and only remember their above average play during the playoff run. Birk was a great veteran presence and he could help with diagnosing defensive fronts pre-snap but we still had plenty of communication issues especially on the road, penalties, sacks etc all multiplied on the road.
Lol sometimes people get into rants about G.Grad's play and they go on a tangent about Birk as if he was the Ogden of Centers. Lol.

[jdynamite]

Oh yeah I understand why you may miss pollards physicality and toughness. But Pollard was always average in coverage, having Reed line up deep and no one willing to test him really helped pollard.
Also pollard had an off year last season, he missed quite a bit of tackles, but last season that can be said for a most of the defense.
I never felt the loss of pollard to be a big deal, once Reed left because of how they played together. I never expected Ihedigbo to play like he has. I'll admit I thought Elam would be at SS with Huff at FS. With Ihedigbo getting sprinkled in. He has been very impressive.

[ellicottraven]

Oh yeah I understand why you may miss pollards physicality and toughness. But Pollard was always average in coverage, having Reed line up deep and no one willing to test him really helped pollard.
Also pollard had an off year last season, he missed quite a bit of tackles, but last season that can be said for a most of the defense.
I never felt the loss of pollard to be a big deal, once Reed left because of how they played together. I never expected Ihedigbo to play like he has. I'll admit I thought Elam would be at SS with Huff at FS. With Ihedigbo getting sprinkled in. He has been very impressive.

I think Ihedigbo is playing the football of his life right now. He is playing like the game has slowed down considerably for him. Outside of him, I find Elam making too many rookie mistakes leaving him prone to be part of blown coverages. He is either too aggressive or is thinking too much. Hopefully, he will improve as the season rolls along. As for Huff, he is perfect as a gunner on ST for now.

Frankly I think Asa Jackson would make a great safety. He is shifty, has great coverage skills and can tackle like a demon!

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I think Ihedigbo is playing the football of his life right now. He is playing like the game has slowed down considerably for him. Outside of him, I find Elam making too many rookie mistakes leaving him prone to be part of blown coverages. He is either too aggressive or is thinking too much. Hopefully, he will improve as the season rolls along. As for Huff, he is perfect as a gunner on ST for now.

Frankly I think Asa Jackson would make a great safety. He is shifty, has great coverage skills and can tackle like a demon!

 

I only saw it on tv but it looked to me like the last minute completion that put Miami in near FG range at the end of the game was Ihedigbo's fault. Again I could be mistaken but I looked like he stepped up when Tannehill rolled out of the pocket and let the receiver get over top of him. There was another play that I could of sworn Ihedigbo did the same, unless of course im assuming it was his fault bc he just happened the be the first player to react and arrive on the scene.

 

I don't want to falsely accuse him bc overall he has been playing extremely well, but especially that last play almost blew the game.

 

On a side note - I want Arthur brown to play more. He looked awesome against Miami. Great instincts, great tackling, awesome closing speed. I prefer Smith/Brown to Smith/Bynes right now.

[ellicottraven]

I only saw it on tv but it looked to me like the last minute completion that put Miami in near FG range at the end of the game was Ihedigbo's fault. Again I could be mistaken but I looked like he stepped up when Tannehill rolled out of the pocket and let the receiver get over top of him. There was another play that I could of sworn Ihedigbo did the same, unless of course im assuming it was his fault bc he just happened the be the first player to react and arrive on the scene.
 
I don't want to falsely accuse him bc overall he has been playing extremely well, but especially that last play almost blew the game.
 
On a side note - I want Arthur brown to play more. He looked awesome against Miami. Great instincts, great tackling, awesome closing speed. I prefer Smith/Brown to Smith/Bynes right now.

I couldn't agree with you more regarding Brown. At least Harbs should start dividing reps equally between Bynes and Brown I think. Smith is our redeeming feature on defense! What an acquisition he was!