***
We won by 19, but I have to say that was a very unsatisfying game for me. The offense came up with big plays. That was fun. The only problem with that is that big plays can give you a false sense of confidence. Not every defense will be as porous as the Bucs. We had one sustained drive all game long. Late in the 3rd Qtr we went 12 plays for 64 yards and a FG.
The defense was aggressive all game long. They did a lot of good things (3 sacks, 3 INTs), but we still let Tampa score 14 points and gave up 300+ yards to them. Tampa was 9 of 18 on 3rd downs. Unacceptable.
Penalties were a problem all game long. Some were aggressive, but too many were errors due to sloppy play and dumb mistakes. Thank god we didn't play like this against a good team or we'd have lost.
The coaches can use this game as a teaching tool. The Raiders are up next. They're playing really awful right now. Big Red can point to the mistakes and really get on the players this week. The problems weren't due to lack of talent. Attention to detail will go a long way to cleaning up the problems.
Enough moaning and groaning. We did win by 19 and there are some good things to discuss. Jeremy Maclin played like a star receiver. That was unexpected. He caught 6 balls for 142 yards and 2 TDs. His scores came on long plays (51,40). Even better, he had to work for each catch. Donovan trusted J-Mac enough to throw into coverage and give him a chance to make a play. Neither catch was simple and smooth. Maclin had to locate the ball and then get hold of it. He did a terrific job on each play. Kevin Curtis...you may want to ask Reggie Brown for some advice on being a backup.
Brent Celek continued his good year. He was 4-58. One of them was a 38-yard catch and run. He jumped over Ronde Barber on the play. Brent is trying to show that he's more than just a productive starter. He might be developing into a very good player. We'll see if he can keep this up.
Donovan showed no ill effects from his rib injury. He was efficient and explosive (16 of 21 for 264 yards). He also ran twice for 30 yards. I never saw him looking like a guy with any injuries or problems.
Asante Samuel had 2 INTs and Sheldon cmae up with one as well. Sheldon had some struggles in coverage, but also had some good plays.
Sav Rocca had his best day, 48.8 per punt. David Akers nailed a 44-yd'er and consistently put KOs deep into the end zone.
Oh yeah...that old dude named Trotter did okay. He had a couple of solo tackles. He attacked the LOS quite a bit. We held Cadillac to 8 yards on 10 carries. Trot had a big hand in that. I'm looking forward to checking out the tape and seeing how he looked.
http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/54535/PHI_Gamebook.pdf
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Sunday, October 11, 2009
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7 comments:
If Maclin sneaks his way - well I guess 6-142-2 isn't very sneaky -in to a starting role we could potentially end up with the best rookie WR from the 2008 draft and the best rookie WR from the 2009 draft.
If Dixon continues to play like this, I wonder if Laws won't be inactive more often...
Couple of observations, you have to be excited about Mcnabb right now, I haven't seen him throw such an accurate ball in a long time. I've gotten on Mcnabb the last couple of years because of his inconsistency with his accuracy, he'd go through really nasty spells where he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and a lot of the time when he did complete passes players were falling down just to reach them.
Today Mcnabb looked as sharp as I've ever seen him, putting balls where his recievers could make plays, leading players, putting good touch on them rather than just gunning them in there. I read that he's been working on his mechanics a lot this year, and I think its showing.
Honestly I've seen Mcnabb make every throw and every throw beautifully during his career. Its just the last couple of years he hasn't been making them. Lots of 8 yard rifles with the reciever falling down just to make the catch, forget about YAC. I know he's more than capable, I just haven't seen it.
Personally I think this is huge. If Mcnabb is really on top of his game (and he definitely has spent a lot of time on his B game or worse the last couple years) he is easily one of the top few explosive playmaking QB's in the game. If we can get that Mcnabb this year, we can play with anybody.
Couple more thoughts, welcome to the NFL Jeremy Maclin, I can see why we traded up to pick you.
Brent Celek continues to be impressive, I love the attitude he plays with.
Josh Johnson is the truth. I knew this kid was gonna be a player, when I was watching the Bucs in the preseason I couldn't understand why he wasn't the starter already (hell he was getting almost no reps in some preseason games). He can make all the throws, he showed good anticipation on some, great velocity on others, he put the ball where his players could make plays, he showed generally good decision making (especially in the face of the ridiculous blitzing we were doing) and his athleticism was almost Michael Vick-like. That one scramble he had that was nullified by penalty was a thing of beauty. He also appeared to have tremendous confidence and leadership, he definitely wasn't hanging his head or sulking after that first interception. In the second quarter he was playing all world for the most part, he was beating the pants off our blitz up until the first interception, things started unraveling after that.
K2 is also a freakishly good recieving tight end.
Honestly the game was probably closer than the score indicated, they were definitely moving the ball on us too easily, though I have to admit that Josh Johnson was playing well above and beyond expectations. That kid is gonna be a starter in this league somewhere.
Lesean Mccoy looks very shifty when he has the ball in his hands, kid is just another great aquisition.
Vick continues to look rusty, he had the one wide reciever screen which is a relatively easy throw, and then missed on the sideline route to Jackson. He almost completed that bomb to Maclin, would have been an impressive play.
We finally got to see a bit of his athleticism on that scramble though I'd rather not see him diving headfirst for a first down at a fairly meaningless point in a game, we already lost one QB for a bit fighting for extra yards in a game that was already locked up.
I think as the year goes on and teams are more and more prepared for it the wildcat is going to be less and less productive for us, just a thought.
What annoys me is this is so the first part of last year all over again.
I thought we were excellent against the Panthers, but our other 2 wins have come against a sloppy sloppy sloppy Chiefs team and the Buccs who dominated possession. Both teams could have scored more had it not been for themselves.
While I hope Andy gets a new contract, the sooner Mandy is out of the door the better. They are not good for each other, neither keep each other honest.
It is nice to know we can score and score quickly, when will we know whether we can can be effective carrying the ball this year and will it be too late?
I'm still scared of our defense after yesterday's game. Our linebackers still have not shown the ability to cover decent pass-catching tight ends. They can draw up all the exotic blitzes they want, but unless you can lock down the TE, a quality QB will eat them alive.
I think you're jumping the gun on covering TE's. I don't think you're necessarily wrong, but I just don't think we really know yet. Winslow was the first "elite" TE we've faced, unless you count Shockey. In that case, we did fairly well covering the TE.
King: 1-2-0
Shockey: 4-49-0
Ryan: 4-22-0
Winslow: 9-102-2
Last season we used Demps to cover the TE. He did good enough job of it to earn a lot of P.T. Why the hell was he inactive yesterday? We could've used him with Winslow being the only receiver who could catch for Tampa.
It's possible I'm jumping the gun, but I think New Orleans went to Shockey early, if I recall. I think they had some success with other receivers attacking the middle of the field against us as well. It's enough to worry me.
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