It's hard to imagine a worse outcome than the nightmare that unfolded on Sunday. It was an embarrassment. A straight-up ass whipping. In our building. On alumni day.
The bottom line is that you're not going to win if you cant stop the fucking run. You're not going to win when you let your opponent rip off 11 minute drives. You're not going to win if you can't get your defense off the field. You're not going to win if you turn the ball over. You're not going to win if you cant run the ball. Denver did nothing well on Sunday. Nothing.
If we're as good as we think we are, we should have killed Buffalo and Oakland. Those games shouldn't have been close, but both were decided on the last play of the game. While both games showed us that Denver has the potential to be a pretty good offensive and defensive team, the final results were kind of a joke.
So what happens when we play a good team? The dog-shit performance you saw last weekend. It clearly wasn't a one-game anomaly. Our run D has been destroyed every game so far and isn't improving, but is getting worse and worse and with each passing week.
I'm also a little bit sick and tired of Shanahan's play calling. He seems more interested in scheming, fooling, misdirection and trickery than he has been in the past. I don't get it. I'm tired of the silly misdirection hand-offs, the decoy end-around, lining Graham up wide and motioning him across the formation, lining up Graham on the line and motioning him to the backfield, quick handoffs to the upback out of the I, the option, the wide-receiver screens on third and long, any running play on third and three or longer, any passing play on third and two or shorter, etc. Any of that sound familiar? You finally have the personnel to be a serious offensive threat. You don't have to try to fool everyone or prove you're some kind of fucking genius every single snap. You've assembled an offense here that may be equal in talent to the juggernaut teams in the mid to late 90's and you're calling plays that suggest the team sucks and can only win through trickery and guile. Dude, line the fellas up in a double tight, double wide and run some fucking normal plays.
But you can't pin this loss on the O, this team has serious, serious problems on D. More points would be nice, but when your opponent holds onto the ball for 3 out of 4 quarters, you’re not going to get a lot of chances to score TD’s.
Indy, SD and Pitt are next up. Each has an excellent overall offense and a very good running game. If we don’t score at least 24 per contest, we’ll lose all of them. This train could de-rail quickly...and this blog could take a very dark and unpleasant turn.
1 comment:
we definitely need some new coaching blood. We rehash the same coaches over and over. Rick Dennison went from special teams coach (where he sucked), to offensive line coach (a supposed PROMOTION), where he let Gibbs's principles suffer, to offensive coordinator (where he SUCKS). How is this an acceptable career progression?
We consistently draft the exact same kinds of players (large receivers, fast linemen, fast linebackers, small defensive backs, shitty safeties, mediocre running backs) and run the same plays. Because RatFace runs 2 option plays, he's a genius? I'm sorry- we need an influx of new blood. The ideas are stale, and it's showing.
It's funny- Bill Walsh's legacy is that of an offensive innovator. Now, the West Coast offensive is the "safe" offense, and is completely boring. Peter King proposed a Bill Walsh award going to the biggest innovator in coaching- I promise you it would never go to a Bill Walsh disciple.
My buddy and I went to the UCLA/ Washington game on Saturday. UCLA is coached by Karl Dorrel, a Shanahan disciple (no surprise). He runs the most boring offense in the country. Their bacon play- tight end in the slot, motions to a fullback position, run to that side. EVERY SINGLE TIME. And that's the truth throughout the league. Every west coast offense team runs it, and it's always a run. That's what is running through the league.
Post a Comment