Analysis without paralysis

Here are the three facets of the game as I see them.

1. Special Teams...meh. Tyler Lockett is obviously a threat every time he goes back to catch a kick or punt. Just not yesterday. No big returns by Green Bay so that's a plus.

2. Offense...sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes ugly. The oline seems to be getting a bit better at pass blocking. Run blocking? Was there any? At this point I think we can just about echo what was said a couple years ago in the playoffs prior to the NO game...who's Jimmy?

3. Defense...ugh. The heart and soul of this team for the past three years. This year...no heart, no soul. No tackling, no intimidation, no clue at times. No Kam. Kam would help but I think the biggest reason this defense is not playing like we are used to is Kris Richard. The previous two DC were brought in from outside. Richard was promoted from within. Great DB coach. In over his head DC. Great example if the Peter principle at work.

Lockett's not going to run one back every game, so I was fine with the special teams. Haushka and Ryan had good games.

But yes, the defense, ESPECIALLY the guys we're suppose to be counting on like Earl, Sherm, Wagner and Bennett are playing like hot garbage.

Sherman had arguably his worst game as a Hawk, terrible tackling and got burned on an EASY post route for the TD. Same with Earl, he let Rodgers easily move him around like a puppet.

These are suppose to be the cornerstone playmakers on the defense, and they're not playing like it.

The longer this team takes to realize that it needs to win with offense instead of defense, the longer it is going to take for it to be a legit threat as a SB contender.

We either have the next great QB or we do not. If we do, sitting on him is not helping - if we don't it won't matter anyway.

We don't have the defense that powered this team to a year of dominating the NFL and a great SB victory.

We do have a young QB that is tremendously gifted, so we have got to let him win us games.

Sitting on the offense for a half, coming out in the 3rd and pulling back ahead and then going into a shell again is a recipe for a .500-.600 record not a SB.

What are you guys talking about "we dont have a great defense". Earl,wright,wagner,sherman, and the D line are still there. Even without kam this team is stacked on defense. They just arent playing as good as they can right now, they need to get in rhythm and will be back to normal.

2Cool4School":11ev0q24 said:

What are you guys talking about "we dont have a great defense". Earl,wright,wagner,sherman, and the D line are still there. Even without kam this team is stacked on defense. They just arent playing as good as they can right now, they need to get in rhythm and will be back to normal.

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Thats my point exactly. The pieces are all there, the results are not. The dline is arguably deeper. The LBers are solid. The LOB is weaker without Kam. IMHO the biggest difference is Richard at DC.

Bennett is a joke. If he's not jumping offsides on every other play, then he's lining up in the neutral zone. And to make matters worse, when he jumps offsides, instead of making amends and bull-rushing the QB, he stands there like an idiot at the line of scrimmage. On the play when Sherman was flagged for interference, Bennett was standing in the middle of the field with his hands on his hips during most of the play. I think Bennett actually played a role in freeing up at least 10 points for Green Bay yesterday. Thanks for nuttin', Bennett!

The (lack of effective) running formations are also a joke. When Lynch lines up a half yard behind Wilson, the Hawks typically run straight up the middle for zero yards. The coaches might as well hold up a big sign that says: "We're going to run between the tackles." Lynch needs a fullback or a pulling guard or center. The Hawks didn't give Lynch much help at all yesterday.

I also think both Sherman and Thomas are hurting much more than they're letting on. Each guy is nursing either a bum arm or shoulder. Would Sherman be able to tip a pass with his left arm like he did 2 years ago in the NFC Championship game against SF? I don't think so. Does Thomas still tackle like he did prior to last year's playoff injury? Nope.

Lastly, Wilson is not seeing A LOT of open receivers and tight ends. Go back through the game on Tivo, hit the pause button a few times on a passing play, scan the field, and you'll see one open guy after another totally missed by Wilson. Sometimes, he'll be looking RIGHT AT an open receiver as if he's not there. Does he not see them? Is something keeping him from pulling the trigger? Who knows???

Very disappointing!

Losing Quinn was the biggest loss for this team. It is showing it's head big time. I HATE it when the rest of the NFL poaches our coaching staff. They all knew how worthless Bevell is, hence why he is still here.
Sigh.

Honestly, while the results definitely sucks -- I don't see it as being all that discouraging.

Rams on the road. Tough game. I don't see how anyone should have expected a win there. I expected a close game. Which they all have been (win or lose). It was that. Seattle had a legit chance to win it and held a lead in the 4th quarter.

Packers on the road. Very tough game. Packers have wanted a piece of us in forever. Certainly since the Fail Mary. This was a game that was simply bigger for them than it could have been for us. You can't conjure up that kind of motivation. It was a tough game. Close game. Held the lead in the 4th quarter and couldn't keep it.

Overall, these were two very tough games that should have been expected to go either way. And that's exactly how they played out.

When I saw the schedule, I figured it was more likely we'd be 0-2 than any other record. We played teams capable of taking wins. Not merely us handing wins away. I felt like both teams did that in the last two weeks.

I expect we'll go on a pretty strong run here. Not panicking. But I think if we end up 1-3 after the Lions game then we are in real trouble of missing the playoffs. I don't think 10-6 for a non division winner is going to be good enough to get in. Looks like there are several surprise teams that can make the 10 win mark (Minnesota, Atlanta, St. Louis).