Hey it was a great win today. Take them however they may come no matter the differential. But we still need to improve the pass rush especially up the middle. There is nothing like having pressure directly up the middle and preventing the quarterback from either stepping up in the pocket or flushing him out to one of the side rushers. I find that when Bennett is over center and pushes from the middle we are most successful. Rubin, nor Mebane seem to get the penetration that you need. I would play Frank Clark more at end and move Bennett over center and see if this makes us stronger. We can't continue not getting to the quarterback in key moments, to get off the field on 3rd down, if we expect to play deep into January.
The last point I would like to make is the again the lack of separation of our wide receivers. Right now I don't even know why Kearse is playing. He literally doesn't add any upside to the offense. Flat out, he can't get open or any separation. He has lost his speed at a young age. Baldwin can still add verteran value but Jimmy Graham down the seam, Tyler, Matthews, and Ricardo (up until he took that cheap shot) are our core receivers. We have a difficult time striking deep down field, which you need to beat the better teams. That's where I would try either Ricardo or Matthews who has great leaping ability and height to catch over the defender. Tyler can go deep at times and stretch the field with his speed but has a difficult time climbing the ladder to go after that deep ball in traffic. We have to start utilizing our wide outs for what they do best and not make them into something that they are not. Go deep with the guys who can get separation, and underneath, to the flat or in the seam for those guys who can catch over the middle in traffic. Graham is coming on. Gets stronger each game. And the O-line is improving with each snap. I'm not sure how Paul Richardson will look when he returns. Maybe he could be an answer for some of our concerns. Until then we must get ready for Arizona. Hopefully the bye week will give Pete time to reassess the talent on the team at 4-4, and make the necessary changes or improvements to get this team into the playoffs.
Glad we won that game. Makes the bye week a heck of a lot better.
The last point I would like to make is the again the lack of separation of our wide receivers. Right now I don't even know why Kearse is playing. He literally doesn't add any upside to the offense. Flat out, he can't get open or any separation. He has lost his speed at a young age. Baldwin can still add verteran value but Jimmy Graham down the seam, Tyler, Matthews, and Ricardo (up until he took that cheap shot) are our core receivers. We have a difficult time striking deep down field, which you need to beat the better teams. That's where I would try either Ricardo or Matthews who has great leaping ability and height to catch over the defender. Tyler can go deep at times and stretch the field with his speed but has a difficult time climbing the ladder to go after that deep ball in traffic. We have to start utilizing our wide outs for what they do best and not make them into something that they are not. Go deep with the guys who can get separation, and underneath, to the flat or in the seam for those guys who can catch over the middle in traffic. Graham is coming on. Gets stronger each game. And the O-line is improving with each snap. I'm not sure how Paul Richardson will look when he returns. Maybe he could be an answer for some of our concerns. Until then we must get ready for Arizona. Hopefully the bye week will give Pete time to reassess the talent on the team at 4-4, and make the necessary changes or improvements to get this team into the playoffs.
Glad we won that game. Makes the bye week a heck of a lot better.
