What, Me Worry?

Okay, so this wasn't the best game we could have drawn up. In fact, most of the game kinda sucked. But there were highlights no question. Remember...IT'S PRESEASON. That's right, take a deep breath.

The first team offense showed serious potential. Russell was Russell...And like the broadcasters mentioned, the most underrated aspect of Russel's game is his ability to throw one of the best deep balls in the league. That ability was on display when he threw that gorgeous ball early (I can't recall to who)...

Despite that fumble on the 1 yard line (UGH!) Carson looked like the REAL DEAL. Damn, I mean it. Hard running, and our starting OL provided some lanes. Over all, even though we settled for field goals on our first string offense, there was a sense that they are going to be okay this year. Fool's Gold? We shall see, but despite the lack of TD's, I just feel our offense is going to be okay.

Now our starting defense?

Hmmm... Mixed bag. Now keep in mind, for whatever reason, the Chargers always seem to have our number, especially with Rivers running the show. At first I was livid when they marched down the field on us at will to score their first TD, but then I thought, "You know what? This is precisely what our rooks need." What a great lesson for our young players...Rivers is one of the best if not most underrated QBs today.

I admit, part of me was in mid-season form, yelling at the TV. Then I caught myself, remembered that this is a whole new football team. A new era. Patience is mandatory.

I am working on it.

I’m worried about the defense. Our linebacking crew outside of Quem last week has looked bad, and that includes Bobby and KJ. I think the offense is going to have to carry this team this year.

Sports Hernia":3njycec5 said:

I’m worried about the defense. Our linebacking crew outside of Quem last week has looked bad, and that includes Bobby and KJ. I think the offense is going to have to carry this team this year.

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Yeah, I vividly remember a Melvin Gordon run that Bobby had a chance to stop for minimal gain, but Gordon left him grasping at air. Hopefully he's just taking it a bit easier since it's preseason. The LB corp has to be the strength of the defense this year so I hope to see them stuff Dalvin Cook and company next week.

Good post, boss. Some bright spots. The offense is going to have to score lots of points this year.

One observation that really bothers me: Delano Hill looks awful. Slow to react, out of position constantly, uninspired, and always coming up short. If last night is indicative of what he is, he's not going to be on this team.

The game did end....so there is that. :twisted: :stirthepot:

Traditionally when we do poorly in a preseason game it means the depth is poor. in our case its inexperienced.

David Moore and Jerome Brown....... :drool:

I would like to see Ken Norton Jr a little more animated when we are getting torched bye scrubs.

Some teams have their s together already......yeah.......I will worry. Then it will be RW Time in the reg season.

I think the team has quietly put together some exciting young players on offense with very little draft capital. I know it's popular for the media to bury this team now, but they're going to be a really tough out with Wilson, Carson, an improved OL, along with Dickson helping our young defense.

That was a miserable game. Thank God, it’s only preseason.

The Good
WRs Jaron Brown and David Moore were phenominal, in place of Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett.

DE Rasheem Green stockpiled several pressures, four QB hits, 1.5 sacks, and did a nice job keeping outside leverage against the run, continuing an impressive start to his rookie campaign.

NT Poona Ford looked very good this preseason for the second time in two games. He maintained great leverage and broke into the backfield a couple times.

Michael Dickson was the star of the show. Shaquem Griffin looked good on special teams.

The Bad
The offensive line took a step back. RT Germain Ifedi once again showed why he is not well suited for the OT position against outside pass rushers. But with injuries to Jamarco Jones and Isaiah Battle, and because the position is mostly foreign to already struggling George Fant, options at RT are limited. Willie Beavers played some RT, but he too regressed from the first game. The even bigger worry is the RG position, where D.J. Fluker struggled before leaving the game with yet another injury (this one to his finger). Jordan Roos came in and played horribly at RG, which was a huge disappointment for me. This puts even more pressure on J.R. Sweezy to return in time for Week 1.

The young safeties, Tedric Thompson and Delano Hill, were a step too late on numerous occasions. The defense is certainly missing the impact of a premier playmaker like Earl Thomas.


The Ugly
Bobby Wagner still looked rusty, playing as bad as he did in last year’s loss to the Rams, even though he’s reportedly healthy now. He was making some bad reads, taking poor angles, and filling the wrong gaps. His tackling was not where it needs to be.

Chris Carson’s fumble and sluggish running after the first couple drives soured what started as a brilliant day for him. Tre Madden’s run blocking was just ugly, and he’s our only option at FB.

The defense doesn't worry me so much. We have a lot of young guys and young defenses, if talented, eventually come around.

What does worry me this year is the same thing that worried me last year. Ifedi is eventually going to get Russ killed.
That guy is absolute garbage. I hated Ifedi last year and I hate hating anybody, so I was holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, it was Cable's coaching and zone scheme that didn't fit Ifedi making him look so bad.

I focused on him each offensive snap this game and, NOPE, It's just him. He sucks. He whiff's so much that I have to assume he's guessing. With his slow first step he has to. If he guesses outside rush and the defender actually goes outside rush and doesn't change speed or direction until Ifedi gets his hands locked on him he does ok. But if the defender cuts back after the first step it's all over. Even if the guy gives a little wiggle but still goes the way Ifedi guessed he can't recover.

All that's if the defender doesn't decide to just go straight through him. First quarter, second and goal Ifedi gets trucked, falls flat on his keyster and the defender has a straight line to Russ. Russ of course did his Houdini thing but it messed up the timing of the play. And eventually Russ won't see one coming. The one sack last night was because Ifedi's guy came free. (AGAIN!)

And he's still whiffing on run blocks! Seriously how does a OL end up on his belly with his guy in the backfield on a goal line play? There's no gap to split! That's just straight up suckage. Though the run blocking doesn't put Russ in danger it leads to more second and or third and longs. And that's where my real worry is.

If Ifedi is our starting tackle all season I hope you liked last year. Ugh...

I agree. Ifedi is freaking garbage. No other way to put it. No amount of teaching is going to change that between now and Game 1 of the regular season.

And that scares me. Our right side of the line is GARBAGE. And oh, by the way, guess which side of the line Von Miller lines up on?

:34853_doh:

I think there is cause for concern with Germain Ifedi. To my eyes he looks to be losing confidence and may be on the verge of giving up. His feet can't quite keep up with pure speed rushes even though he owns the inside of the turn. His base narrows and his balance deteriorates.

Solari has a real challenge on his hands.

EDIT: With regards to the Chargers, I think they have excellent depth and are well along on putting their 2018 team together. The Chargers were a good pre-season match up.

On a positive, Prosise is still intact, so miracles can happen. :lol:

PS, I still think Vannett is taking up a roster spot.

Aros":10itwfg9 said:

On a positive, Prosise is still intact, so miracles can happen. :lol:

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I wondered if he played. Must have not been paying attention when they put him in. How did he look?

Teams have a way of running a short round and turning back just past our LBs but in front of our DBs picking up 8-10 yards. This was a problem last year and I wondered of our new DC would find a solution for that?

Receivers are going to be hard to decide who makes the team. With Baldwin and Locket out we still looked pretty good.

DL not bad, but will Dion play this year?

DB's young and still trying to figure each other out. Played not too bad considering who they were up agains as a QB in the first 2 quarters.

OC - Shottenheimer - He seems to be falling for the same thing Bevell did in abandoning the running game too early and using RW's elusive speed instead of running the plan, the plan being Pete's stated goal of improving the running game and becoming more balanced. Balanced is not what we were last night. I would like to have seen our Run vs. Pass be a little more balanced.

MO Hawk":3pa2sb0n said:

Aros":3pa2sb0n said:

On a positive, Prosise is still intact, so miracles can happen. :lol:

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I wondered if he played. Must have not been paying attention when they put him in. How did he look?

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He played a lot in the 2nd half, mostly in the 4th quarter. In the first half, Mike Davis was getting a lot of reps ahead of him in the 3rd down back role.

Prosise’s first carry was awesome with a nice spin move and exploding through a couple defenders. He seemed to go down a bit more easily on his next two carries. He also caught six short passes but didn’t do much after the catch. I was underwhelmed, except for that first run.

MO Hawk":3w46jqc3 said:

Teams have a way of running a short round and turning back just past our LBs but in front of our DBs picking up 8-10 yards. This was a problem last year and I wondered of our new DC would find a solution for that?

Receivers are going to be hard to decide who makes the team. With Baldwin and Locket out we still looked pretty good.

DL not bad, but will Dion play this year?

DB's young and still trying to figure each other out. Played not too bad considering who they were up agains as a QB in the first 2 quarters.

OC - Shottenheimer - He seems to be falling for the same thing Bevell did in abandoning the running game too early and using RW's elusive speed instead of running the plan, the plan being Pete's stated goal of improving the running game and becoming more balanced. Balanced is not what we were last night. I would like to have seen our Run vs. Pass be a little more balanced.

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I kind of wondered about all the deep balls last night. It just seemed contrary to the mantra that they want to establish the run. I rewatched the first half this morning. It looked to me like they are using the pass to set up the run. On The very first play from scrimmage, RW hit Brown on a nice play fake that the defense bit on. Carson had some very nice runs. I’m actually feeling very good about the defense. I have denial about how bad Ifedi is and it’s helping my thought process.

Aros":3k8dwt9p said:

I agree. Ifedi is freaking garbage. No other way to put it. No amount of teaching is going to change that between now and Game 1 of the regular season.

And that scares me. Our right side of the line is GARBAGE. And oh, by the way, guess which side of the line Von Miller lines up on?

:34853_doh:

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No doubt. It's painful to watch Ifedi.

I'm just glad nobody in our division has an effective pass rush.....

Oh wait..gulp.

Receivers -

Brown and Moore looked special last night. Not "preseason" special, but truly players who could compete for the 53. It will be interesting to see who pans out as our final WRs.

On Too Much Passing -

I think this plays more into the preseason thing than any tendency we might see come the regular season. While it's a mild headscratcher to see them still flinging it down the field, I think it's a smoke screen. Come Week 1, I bet we're going to see a heavy dose of running to set up play action, not the other way around.

Defense -

Definitely my main concern going into the regular season. I hate to admit but I am following the narrative. Too many HoF-level players lost without it causing a serious dip. There WILL be major growing pains. We just have to deal with it. I think the talent is there but it is greeeeeeeen. I think that opening drive by Rivers was a wake up call. Get used to being scored on this year.

Vannett, Prosise and Ifedi -

I will be the first to admit I might be wrong on Vannett but I have a feeling he's hot garbage. Yes he can catch the occasional ball and look decent. But that drop in the endzone is more telling to his ability than those occasional grabs. Just a gut feeling. As for Ifedi, I am quite positive: He's hot garbage. Prosise? This is his last shot. If (when) he gets injured again, he's done.

Aros":1zhqvvbr said:

Receivers -

Brown and Moore looked special last night. Not "preseason" special, but truly players who could compete for the 53. It will be interesting to see who pans out as our final WRs.

On Too Much Passing -

I think this plays more into the preseason thing than any tendency we might see come the regular season. While it's a mild headscratcher to see them still flinging it down the field, I think it's a smoke screen. Come Week 1, I bet we're going to see a heavy dose of running to set up play action, not the other way around.

Defense -

Definitely my main concern going into the regular season. I hate to admit but I am following the narrative. Too many HoF-level players lost without it causing a serious dip. There WILL be major growing pains. We just have to deal with it. I think the talent is there but it is greeeeeeeen. I think that opening drive by Rivers was a wake up call. Get used to being scored on this year.

Vannett, Prosise and Ifedi -

I will be the first to admit I might be wrong on Vannett but I have a feeling he's hot garbage. Yes he can catch the occasional ball and look decent. But that drop in the endzone is more telling to his ability than those occasional grabs. Just a gut feeling. As for Ifedi, I am quite positive: He's hot garbage. Prosise? This is his last shot. If (when) he gets injured again, he's done.

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Vannett is crap ..He's had years to show something,we have replacements for him.
Ifedi is a bust and it's time to move on,these things happen as you can't draft right all the
time.
Mr.Glass?He's still around???