jkitsune
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All right, I usually don't write these long posts anymore, but we also don't go to the NFCCG that often, so I figured a special occasion warrants some writing.
This'll be longish, and I might follow-up with more later, but for those who just want the short version without reading the rest:
I'm happy with the win, and optimistic for next week.
Wilson was pretty bad, and hasn't lit the world on fire recently, but great players have bad games and even prolonged slumps. He's still a dangerous QB with a history of clutch play, and I don't expect his struggles to continue.
A lot of props to Percy for coming right back out after the first cheap shot to the head he took. I understand the frustration that he's concussed, and wouldn't fault anyone for that, but if the 'Harvin doesn't care' crowd is to be believed, Percy easily could've sat out after the first hit.
Bevell was confusing today, at best.
Lynch is a monster.
For those who're still with me, I'll do my best to be worth the effort. I don't watch film, I don't re-watch games, so those who do can correct me as needed.
Darrell Bevell is a frustrating man, even at his best, but it seems like he finds new and unique ways to be frustrating on a weekly basis. At times, his insistence on running on first (and second) down leaves me wanting to claw my eyes out. At others, it's the empty sets on 3rd and short with Lynch off the field. At other times it's been a lack of a short passing game. I won't be sad to see him go, because like with Gus and the D last year, the offensive talent seems to underperform its potential on a relatively routine basis. I saw a lot of complaints about Bevell in the gameday forum, a lot of which has to do with the "when to run vs pass" decision. A lot of it blamed Bevell for Wilson's struggles. I'm not sure I agree.
One of my biggest complaints about Bevell has historically been his obsession with running the football and the lack of a short passing game. He's earned these complaints, but on a day where Lynch was beasting and Wilson struggling, he can hardly be blamed for the balance of playcalling. He called at least 3 slants on 3rd and short, a play he seemed to lack early in the year, and Wilson (except for the first conversion) routinely put it behind his receiver. What does the offense look like if Wilson is able to hit those slants today? We can't really know.
It's easy to criticize the passing on the last Seahawks drive, and every last ounce of that criticism is earned. When Lynch is working, Wilson isn't, and all you need is some first downs and to chew the clock, running a boot on first down is asinine. Similarly on the 3rd and 2 - thank goodness it worked out. I won't belabor this point, because it's fairly apparent that was questionable.
What bothers me more is the side-to-side running game. The Saints were clearly geared, between Tate, Harvin, and Wilson, to contain and protect the edges, and despite the Saints' repeated stuffing of toss sweeps, power sweeps, etc, we kept going back. Couple that with an insistence on deep play-action throws when Wilson is off, and I think you get what we saw today: few first downs, numerous field goals, and overall an inefficient and frustrating day. Where were the targets for Miller? Perhaps the filmwatchers can tell me if he was open and overlooked, but these are the days where Miller over the middle seemed like a huge absence.
Also, can anyone who knows the X's and O's explain to me what happened near the end of the half? 7 chances to score six, and it seemed like every play was a boot or a sweep.
Lest we forget that the game is played by players and not coordinators, let's talk about our roster.
Let's start with Percy. Am I the only one that thought the second-half offense could have used a lot more #11? What a shame that he went out. We were no juggernaut the first half, but it was apparent to me the Saints were paying a LOT of attention to Harvin (and, perhaps, gunning for him, but it's hard to say) and, IIRC, at one point in the 4th quarter he had as many receptions as the rest of our wideouts combined. He will catch a lot of flak for being concussed, especially if he misses the NFCCG next week, and God forbid we lose a playoff game because our offense struggles when Harvin isn't out there, because I'm sure he will become the scapegoat (along with Bevell). Still, I was impressed with him - did you see the look on the guy's face after that first hit? He was furious he was coming out of the game. I don't buy that he doesn't want to play - he could've sat the rest of the game after taking that hit to the head, but he got right back out there, made some big plays, and took a lot more abuse. Hell, he could have let PC shut him down for the postseason if that was really his game. If his season ends because of a concussion, when his hip is fine to play, that will be a huge lost opportunity for redemption, and just terrible, terrible luck. Percy is a terribly, terribly unlucky player thus far. But I'm not going to question the dude's heart. It's a shame, too, because there's no 'playing through' a concussion in today's NFL (not that there should be). Harvin will have no say over whether he gets to play next week.
I would've preferred not to see Wilson hang him out to dry so often, incidentally.
Speaking of Wilson, I don't know if it's jitters, weather, the rain, or what, but he was routinely behind and over his receivers today. It's not like Wilson to struggle for weeks on end, but even the best players have bad games, and even the best players have prolonged slumps. Even Manning and Brady suck sometimes. Some will blame Bevell - I'd say it's 50/50. I don't like the bootlegs, or having Wilson go deep over and over in the second half, or the lack of throws to Miller, but some of that is Wilson's choice once the ball is snapped. Still, he did a nice job avoiding pressure, throwing the ball away, and at the very least, keeping the ball away from some Saints DBs that, let's be honest, were pretty stellar today. What gives me hope is the fact that Wilson didn't seem panicked - he chose the open receiver, he didn't throw into tight coverage usually, he threw it away rather than take a sack, and didn't try to do too much. He even dropped a couple of beautiful passes onto Harvin and Baldwin at crucial points in the game for huge 3rd down conversions. There were some drops that hurt him, too, and we even saw generally sure-handed receivers like Tate struggle in that regard.
Is it possible that Wilson was just a little juiced playing his first home playoff game in front of the 12th man? Perhaps those 'new slick gloves' that the reporter talked about weren't so hot after all? Who knows? But I expect Wilson to compensate for it and be much better next week.
What gives me the most hope for this team is the fact that our star QB can play a terrible game at home and we still win by 8 points (and, if not for some lucky breaks for the Saints, probably win by more than that). The Saints were an 11-5 team in the regular season, with a HOF QB, a revived running game, and a suddenly-stout D, and we beat them by 8. I know it doesn't 'feel' as good as it could have, but let's not lose sight of the most important numbers. That's WITH a fumble-that-should-have-been, the ridiculous bounce to Meachem, and the two dropped interceptions. Those sorts of fluky plays don't usually repeat themselves.
Lastly, there were some frustrating penalties, but they were FAR fewer than the Hawks have drawn in the past. I'll take that.
Long story short... even without Wilson playing anything near his best game, Lynch and the defense combined to post a pretty convincing win over a really good team. We're in the NFCCG AT HOME. Enjoy it, guys. This doesn't happen often. We have a great, mentally tough, well-coached team, and we are one game away from the Super Bowl.
Go Hawks.
This'll be longish, and I might follow-up with more later, but for those who just want the short version without reading the rest:
I'm happy with the win, and optimistic for next week.
Wilson was pretty bad, and hasn't lit the world on fire recently, but great players have bad games and even prolonged slumps. He's still a dangerous QB with a history of clutch play, and I don't expect his struggles to continue.
A lot of props to Percy for coming right back out after the first cheap shot to the head he took. I understand the frustration that he's concussed, and wouldn't fault anyone for that, but if the 'Harvin doesn't care' crowd is to be believed, Percy easily could've sat out after the first hit.
Bevell was confusing today, at best.
Lynch is a monster.
For those who're still with me, I'll do my best to be worth the effort. I don't watch film, I don't re-watch games, so those who do can correct me as needed.
Darrell Bevell is a frustrating man, even at his best, but it seems like he finds new and unique ways to be frustrating on a weekly basis. At times, his insistence on running on first (and second) down leaves me wanting to claw my eyes out. At others, it's the empty sets on 3rd and short with Lynch off the field. At other times it's been a lack of a short passing game. I won't be sad to see him go, because like with Gus and the D last year, the offensive talent seems to underperform its potential on a relatively routine basis. I saw a lot of complaints about Bevell in the gameday forum, a lot of which has to do with the "when to run vs pass" decision. A lot of it blamed Bevell for Wilson's struggles. I'm not sure I agree.
One of my biggest complaints about Bevell has historically been his obsession with running the football and the lack of a short passing game. He's earned these complaints, but on a day where Lynch was beasting and Wilson struggling, he can hardly be blamed for the balance of playcalling. He called at least 3 slants on 3rd and short, a play he seemed to lack early in the year, and Wilson (except for the first conversion) routinely put it behind his receiver. What does the offense look like if Wilson is able to hit those slants today? We can't really know.
It's easy to criticize the passing on the last Seahawks drive, and every last ounce of that criticism is earned. When Lynch is working, Wilson isn't, and all you need is some first downs and to chew the clock, running a boot on first down is asinine. Similarly on the 3rd and 2 - thank goodness it worked out. I won't belabor this point, because it's fairly apparent that was questionable.
What bothers me more is the side-to-side running game. The Saints were clearly geared, between Tate, Harvin, and Wilson, to contain and protect the edges, and despite the Saints' repeated stuffing of toss sweeps, power sweeps, etc, we kept going back. Couple that with an insistence on deep play-action throws when Wilson is off, and I think you get what we saw today: few first downs, numerous field goals, and overall an inefficient and frustrating day. Where were the targets for Miller? Perhaps the filmwatchers can tell me if he was open and overlooked, but these are the days where Miller over the middle seemed like a huge absence.
Also, can anyone who knows the X's and O's explain to me what happened near the end of the half? 7 chances to score six, and it seemed like every play was a boot or a sweep.
Lest we forget that the game is played by players and not coordinators, let's talk about our roster.
Let's start with Percy. Am I the only one that thought the second-half offense could have used a lot more #11? What a shame that he went out. We were no juggernaut the first half, but it was apparent to me the Saints were paying a LOT of attention to Harvin (and, perhaps, gunning for him, but it's hard to say) and, IIRC, at one point in the 4th quarter he had as many receptions as the rest of our wideouts combined. He will catch a lot of flak for being concussed, especially if he misses the NFCCG next week, and God forbid we lose a playoff game because our offense struggles when Harvin isn't out there, because I'm sure he will become the scapegoat (along with Bevell). Still, I was impressed with him - did you see the look on the guy's face after that first hit? He was furious he was coming out of the game. I don't buy that he doesn't want to play - he could've sat the rest of the game after taking that hit to the head, but he got right back out there, made some big plays, and took a lot more abuse. Hell, he could have let PC shut him down for the postseason if that was really his game. If his season ends because of a concussion, when his hip is fine to play, that will be a huge lost opportunity for redemption, and just terrible, terrible luck. Percy is a terribly, terribly unlucky player thus far. But I'm not going to question the dude's heart. It's a shame, too, because there's no 'playing through' a concussion in today's NFL (not that there should be). Harvin will have no say over whether he gets to play next week.
I would've preferred not to see Wilson hang him out to dry so often, incidentally.
Speaking of Wilson, I don't know if it's jitters, weather, the rain, or what, but he was routinely behind and over his receivers today. It's not like Wilson to struggle for weeks on end, but even the best players have bad games, and even the best players have prolonged slumps. Even Manning and Brady suck sometimes. Some will blame Bevell - I'd say it's 50/50. I don't like the bootlegs, or having Wilson go deep over and over in the second half, or the lack of throws to Miller, but some of that is Wilson's choice once the ball is snapped. Still, he did a nice job avoiding pressure, throwing the ball away, and at the very least, keeping the ball away from some Saints DBs that, let's be honest, were pretty stellar today. What gives me hope is the fact that Wilson didn't seem panicked - he chose the open receiver, he didn't throw into tight coverage usually, he threw it away rather than take a sack, and didn't try to do too much. He even dropped a couple of beautiful passes onto Harvin and Baldwin at crucial points in the game for huge 3rd down conversions. There were some drops that hurt him, too, and we even saw generally sure-handed receivers like Tate struggle in that regard.
Is it possible that Wilson was just a little juiced playing his first home playoff game in front of the 12th man? Perhaps those 'new slick gloves' that the reporter talked about weren't so hot after all? Who knows? But I expect Wilson to compensate for it and be much better next week.
What gives me the most hope for this team is the fact that our star QB can play a terrible game at home and we still win by 8 points (and, if not for some lucky breaks for the Saints, probably win by more than that). The Saints were an 11-5 team in the regular season, with a HOF QB, a revived running game, and a suddenly-stout D, and we beat them by 8. I know it doesn't 'feel' as good as it could have, but let's not lose sight of the most important numbers. That's WITH a fumble-that-should-have-been, the ridiculous bounce to Meachem, and the two dropped interceptions. Those sorts of fluky plays don't usually repeat themselves.
Lastly, there were some frustrating penalties, but they were FAR fewer than the Hawks have drawn in the past. I'll take that.
Long story short... even without Wilson playing anything near his best game, Lynch and the defense combined to post a pretty convincing win over a really good team. We're in the NFCCG AT HOME. Enjoy it, guys. This doesn't happen often. We have a great, mentally tough, well-coached team, and we are one game away from the Super Bowl.
Go Hawks.
