Tonight we got to see our first team offense really open up. Defense was another story. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Brandon Marshall has opened up our TE passing game. He blocks great and brings a safety with him. Without Marshall, Fasano doesn't score his TDs. Aside from his one drop, Marshall was great.

2. Obviously our QBs will be 1. Henne, 2. Penni, 3. Thigpen. The argument is over, clearly Penni is #2 and clearly White is gone.

3. Aside from Bell, the DBs still look bad. They are getting beat, and now Vonte is injured. Clemons is not the answer at FS - another poor tackle when he had a chance, and out of position on several occasions.

4. Dobbins played OK in run support, but looks like a liability in pass coverage. Even picked his own team mate on one play.

5. We are weaker at runs defense up the middle with Starks than with Soliai, however Starks is a force in pass defense from the NT position.

6. Marlon Moore is the most consistent of the WRs competing for the #5 and #6 spots. He will make the team.

7. Nate Carroll will make this team as the KR - not to mention he is probably the 3rd best CB we have right now.

8. Nice to see the wildcat isn't going anywhere.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2010 09:51PM by DolfanMike.

I agree with a lot of what you said.

Carroll isn't ready to be a DB yet in this league, but he showed a burst of speed as a KR. Still think Cobbs gets the job but I kinda hope Carroll does as he has a higher ceiling.

The Vontae injury seems minor, won't know more till Monday.

I have been pimping Marlon Moore for a cople weeks, this guy not only needs to make the team, he needs to play and see the field.

Davone Bess is gonna have a HUGE year. HUGE!

I do agree Clemons is scaring me at FS. The guy is one of the worst fundamentally sound tacklers I have seen in a long while. The fact he gave up the blocked punt also didn't help his cause.

ONLY thing I disagree with is Starks-Soliai. Starks was a beast tonight at NT, Soliai wasn't and played soft most of the night when it mattered in the 1st half. Starks is so far and above a better player and better NT this debate is over.

You know what I saw alot of, 4-3 fronts.

1)Stark was a beast tonight, against the run and pass...

2)I agree Clemons, Smith and the rest of the secondary, not including Bell looked poor all game..
Vontae did look good in run support.. One of his strong suits

3) Dobbins looks like a good back up, but is no where near the level of Crowder and has no chance of stealing his starting spot barring injury

4) There were signs with Bess and others that, the ball is going to be spread around well this year, keeping defenses guessin which guy to try and stop.. One of them or more should be able to shine, from the lack of the defense focusing or paying attention to that guy.. I think our offense is going to have great balance this year...

5) We like the Wildcat in the redzone.. But now we have Marshall, who's specialty is taking advantage of his size and strength on jumpballs or quick hitches in redzone.. Not sure I like the ratio of 2 wildcat runs up the middle and then a cold throwing Henne to Marshall for the last chance... I do not like the Wildcat taking the Offense out of sync when they are moving the ball, especially more then one play in a row, after being successful on a drive in the base offense

6) I did notice that as well Mia, they mixed up the defensive schemes alot

7) I also saw a big difference between Grove and Berger. Grove was way more dominant then Berger and I do not see Berger starting over Grove unless Grove in unable to play from injury.. Berger looked awful last night against the jags first team...

Now you know why I have been saying look to draft a center next year, because Berger is just a back up, and Grove gets hurt to much.

I hope the secondary gets their act together or we are in for a long season. We were ranked 24th last year in yard per game and worst in the NFL for completions over 40 yards. I see no improvement yet as Davis and Smith are getting beat repeatedly again.

We had one sack last night? by Starks...the NT...hmmmmm

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I think Soliai played NT very well again tonight, Their backs had to break it outside on nearly every one of the middle runs when Soliai was in there. Secondary looked poor, ST were terrible for the second game in a row. Bonamego should be looking over his shoulder. Berger may have started, but Grove is the better player when he's healthy.

Rick

1) I have to agree that Clemons is not the answer at safety.. His tackling is poor, and he does not have the "instincts" to play proper safety...Kinda the same problem Jason Allen has/had at safety.

I think that Culver or Almaya are better fits, and will grow more with a season under their belt...
My pick is Culver...Whenever he is in there, he makes plays...

2) I think we are not seeing the true 3-4 defense out there....I saw a LOT of 4-3... That being said, I think this is on purpose, so that when the season starts the opponent will be in for a real surprise.
Wake's pass rush should blossom in the 3-4

3) Marshall was much better...I think maybe he is not used to receiving BB's from a QB/....When Pennington was in there, he caught the soft passes very easily.
I think our receiving core will be very special this year...

4) I think the lack of a pass rush is putting lots of pressure on our secondary... Things will change once we implement the Nolan blitz package...

5) The most important thing I saw yesterday, was a mature Chad Henne, that is willing to check down instead of force the throw...

6) Our running game is gonna have a terrific year....


Very encouraging signs from the team last night!

Bess will catch 80+ balls this year in our offense.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2010 06:17AM by MikeO.

I am not going to kill the secondary yet because in 2 games I have ONLY seen 1 blitz I think. We are playing so bland and so vanillia it is almost unfair to kill the secondary. When we break out the blitz packages in the regular season....if our CB's are still getting burned. Then we have a problem!


We also need Will Allen back really bad!

Oh, and one last thing. If our secondary is lackluster and if we have issues there this year, on offense we must just grind it out, control the clock and keep our defense on the sideline.

ya know, like we did vs Indy last year. Only this time win games by doing that! lol

eesti Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I hope the secondary gets their act together or we
> are in for a long season. We were ranked 24th last
> year in yard per game and worst in the NFL for
> completions over 40 yards. I see no improvement
> yet as Davis and Smith are getting beat repeatedly
> again.
>
> We had one sack last night? by Starks...the
> NT...hmmmmm



What bothers me about the secondary is that it seems Sean Smith is getting a little worse each game.

Like I said I won't get on either guy till Week 1 when we line up and play for real. but he seems to be regressing a bit which isn't a good sign at all.

I'm no worried...I think he is playoing better. His tackling has surely improved from last year.

steviec13 Wrote:


>
> 3) Marshall was much better...I think maybe he is
> not used to receiving BB's from a QB/....When
> Pennington was in there, he caught the soft passes
> very easily.

Marshall played with Jay Cutler, who may throw the fastest ball in the NFL.

I have zero concerns about Marshall; he was a factor on all three TDs.

On Fasano's long TD run Marashll had a massive down field block that took out two defenders.

On the second Fasano TD pass, Marshall was Henne first look, and the entire defense started running to Marshalls side, which left Fasano's trailing side wide open.

On the third TD by Brown, Marshall had the block that got Brown into the end zone.

Simply by stepping on the field, Marshall is making everyone better. He had one dropped pass on a wet field, and then we went back to Marshall a few plays later for the first down. Really, that one drop is not even an issue.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2010 08:29AM by DolfanMike.

MikeO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Carroll isn't ready to be a DB yet in this league,
> but he showed a burst of speed as a KR. Still
> think Cobbs gets the job but I kinda hope Carroll
> does as he has a higher ceiling.
>

Unless he starts fumbling, I think Carroll wins the KR job. Agree he still has some work to become an NFL DB, but he's still 3rd best CB on this team right now. That doesn't say much for our DBs.


> I have been pimping Marlon Moore for a cople
> weeks, this guy not only needs to make the team,
> he needs to play and see the field.
>

Yea. I have him at #5. Turner looks as good as gone.


> Davone Bess is gonna have a HUGE year. HUGE!

Agree. I think Bess, Fasano, and Hartline are gonna need to pitch in on a Rolex for Marshall. Clearly the Jags were keying on Marshall and that left Bess and Fasano wide open for some big plays.


> I do agree Clemons is scaring me at FS. The guy is
> one of the worst fundamentally sound tacklers I
> have seen in a long while. The fact he gave up the
> blocked punt also didn't help his cause.
>

This is my biggest concern going into the season. Clemons has been abysmal at FS and on STs, but so far no one has stepped up. I like what little I've seen from Jones, but he's always injured. I wonder why Culver isn't getting more playing time at FS?

> ONLY thing I disagree with is Starks-Soliai.
> Starks was a beast tonight at NT, Soliai wasn't
> and played soft most of the night when it mattered
> in the 1st half. Starks is so far and above a
> better player and better NT this debate is over.

Soliai wasn't in the game much in the first half, but when he was, the runs were always bouncing outside. With Soliai in, runs up the middle go nowhere. With Starks in, runs up the middle always seem to go for a couple yards. Starks isn't giving up a lot, but more than Soliai. What we gain with Starks in passing situations is obvious.

DolfanMike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Soliai wasn't in the game much in the first half,
> but when he was, the runs were always bouncing
> outside. With Soliai in, runs up the middle go
> nowhere. With Starks in, runs up the middle
> always seem to go for a couple yards. Starks
> isn't giving up a lot, but more than Soliai. What
> we gain with Starks in passing situations is
> obvious.

I'd still like to see the 3-4 set with Odrick/Langford-Soliai-Starks. Not sure who would win between Odrick or Langford, but getting Soliai and Starks in at the same time (and at their natural positions) would be huge.

MikeO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bess will catch 80+ balls this year in our
> offense.


I cant tell if it is going to be Bess or Hartline that is going to have 80+ catches. Henne seems to look to Hartline alot as well... Either way it is a good problem to have.. I think we could see Hartline and Bess above 750yds. Fasano if he keeps his hands on the ball, could be up there as well. Coupled with Marshall 3year avg, and Ronnie and Ricky... Our offense has a chance to be extremely versatile, and mix up the attack very well based on what the defense gives them...

If we can only figure out how to defend the pass, we'd be set! I couldn't tell if we were worse defending the underneath stuff or the deep passes. Good news is we're stout against the run, but we're going to have trouble against pass-heavy teams!

montequi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If we can only figure out how to defend the pass,
> we'd be set! I couldn't tell if we were worse
> defending the underneath stuff or the deep passes.
> Good news is we're stout against the run, but
> we're going to have trouble against pass-heavy
> teams!


It didnt seem like we were playing much of a press coverage which Nolan is known for... It seemed like the cb's were consistently giving the receivers way to much freedom off the line of scrimmage... I am hoping that it is all just a preseason, take it easy type of coaching... Keep the ideas simple and basicly play what looked like a prevent defense by the cb's and most of the defense...

Crowder52 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> It didnt seem like we were playing much of a press
> coverage which Nolan is known for... It seemed
> like the cb's were consistently giving the
> receivers way to much freedom off the line of
> scrimmage... I am hoping that it is all just a
> preseason, take it easy type of coaching... Keep
> the ideas simple and basicly play what looked like
> a prevent defense by the cb's and most of the
> defense...

At some point in the pre-season we are going to have to see how we will play in the regular season. I'd hate for these young DBs to just go into a system cold on week 1. Luckily its the Bills.

It's somewhat deceiving, because almost every 4-3 set featured one of the OLB as a DE. And many of them early in the game featured both Misi and Wake at DE.

John Jerry playe really, really well. He consistently won his matchups one on one. He got good drive on run blocks, and was solid in pass protetction.

Marlon Moore looks really quick. When you see him make those catches in the middle and have that burst after, it makes you realize how slow most of our receivers are.

Vontae Davis is terrific in run support.

Well I said we might see alot of 4-3 this year, not sure how long that will last, but Mikeo mocked me for it lol...

Its ok though I love the guy.

Mia1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well I said we might see alot of 4-3 this year,
> not sure how long that will last, but Mikeo mocked
> me for it lol...
>



I still do mock you. We aren't a 4-3 team with 4-3 talent to play it a lot. We will mix it in as a hybrid (almost ALL 3-4 teams do)but it won't be a thing we see alot.

This is the PRESEASON!! We don't show anything in the preseason only an idiot coach shows his hand.

Crowder52 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MikeO Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Bess will catch 80+ balls this year in our
> > offense.
>
>
> I cant tell if it is going to be Bess or Hartline
> that is going to have 80+ catches. Henne seems to
> look to Hartline alot as well... Either way it is
> a good problem to have.. I think we could see
> Hartline and Bess above 750yds. Fasano if he keeps
> his hands on the ball, could be up there as well.
> Coupled with Marshall 3year avg, and Ronnie and
> Ricky... Our offense has a chance to be extremely
> versatile, and mix up the attack very well based
> on what the defense gives them...


I think it will be Bess. I can see Bess matched up against a lot of lesser CB's when we go 3 and 4 WR sets......he will eat those guys alive. Hartline will still be matched up against #1 and #2 CB's.

not buying the excuse that we aren't playing good secondary cause we aren't going to show out hand on the blitz packages ... you still need to execute and not get burned.

We have issued to iron out in the secondary and aren't there yet.

Hopefully we get there, but time's a wasting ... 3 weeks, and we need to start strong!

starting 3 second year players in our secondary is a big hill to climb. Granted 2 of those guys have a full year under their belt though.

If Vontae and Sean are good I'm less worried about Clemons. Only because if Clemons is even poor to mediocre he is still an upgrade over Gabril Wilson who was flat out awful.

We need Will Allen back too....if he's out we are royally screwed

Exactly, but with 3 new guys, we have a lot more issues than just clemmons. That is the problem ... smith and davis are both getting burned too.

Yes they are new ... heard that all last year ,,, time to see some improvement. I'm not a sold as everyone else seems to be that they are the talent advertised.

It deflates a defense to give it up on 3rd and long after holding on 1st and 2nd ... hoping to see this FO do something with the secondary.

Its still early but not encouraged with the secondar over last year yet. Hope that changes!

I think once we unload the blitz packages and force QB's to throw off their heels or rush throws, our secondary will look better.

These games thus far are glorified practices. Not worried till Week 1. If we let crappy Trent Edwards and Buffalo burn us, then well we got serious issues!

The game will re-air tonight on NFL Network at 11pm eastern.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers