Alphadawg7

As I said in another chain...we are a better offense without Sanders. And its not because of Sanders, hes a good player. But we need to layer our passing game better and making Cole a bigger focal point and mixing in more Davis who can do a lot of what sanders does but brings more size is a good thing for this offense. This was more than evident in the Bucs game after Sanders left the game and we started getting Cole involved. Our OL isn't consistent enough for the down field passing game to work if we dont make them fear the run and short strike passing game. I wish Sanders all the best health, but I do feel like our offense will look better this week with Cole a bigger part of the offense.

Well honestly, this is a tale of 2 halves. We pressured Brady a lot into bad throws in the second half, so I would say they did a MUCH better job and was part of the reason why we dominated the Bucs for the most part the second half.

I want to point something out though...I mean think about what you are talking about right now. People are criticizing a GM who in one draft found a starting DE and a starting RT, 2 players who have been some of our better players on their respective units as rookies in the first 3 rounds of the draft. Let that sink in...take in how late we were picking too. Both guys appear to have tremendous upside. But all anyone can focus on is what he did or didnt do in the 2nd round? Do you guys realize how hard it is for a team coming off an AFCCG, picking late, with a strong roster already to find 2 quality rookie starters in its first 3 picks at important positions? Yet the complaint is that somehow Beane didn't bat a thousand on those first 3 picks now? And we don't even know if Basham was a bad pick, he wont get time in the rotation until after some of the older DE's are gone, likely next year. He has shown promise at times too, so its way too early to criticize the pick IMO given his chances to show what he can do are in front of him still. I think we can agree that hindsight is 20/20 on nit picking the draft. But we don't know how we had our draft board graded when Basham was on the clock, but what we do know is that he was their top targe based on the videos from the draft room confirming that. They clearly had him atop their board, and Beane has always stay true to his board...and that method allowed Beane to clear out a bad roster and bad cap situation in no time and take a bottom feeder team for 20 years to the AFCCG in basically 2 years of building the team back up. I also heard this complaint before...about our WR's. And I kept saying, it would be addressed, couldn't do it all in one offseason. And then the next offseason we fixed it in one swoop. And this next offseason, I am sure the OL (both coaching and personnel) will be a top priority this offseason, like WR was the year before, and DE was last year. PS: Also fans grossly undervalue mid range picks despite the fact the vast majority of NFL starters come from the mid rounds or later, even undrafted guys, all across the league. So to disregard we drafted 2 OL in 3rd and 5th is something that doesn't make a lot of sense, especially when one of them is already one of our best OL.

I think you are completely missing the point here based on your replies. You still get called for PI if you "mug the receiver". What about the OP would give you the impression of that in the first place? What he is saying, and he is correct, that it should NOT be PI when the defender does not actually commit any actions to intentionally interfere with the pass. In other words, like on the Evans play and the Claypool play week 1...if the defender does NOT initiate the contact or commit any other type of interference, it should not be PI just because the QB put the ball in a place his WR could not get to. In both those plays, Levi had perfect coverage, did NOT grab the receiver in any way. In fact, in both cases, Claypool and Evans both mauled him. That should NOT be at the fault of the defender that the QB did NOT get the ball to the proper spot of the WR. Honestly, it should be offensive PI when the receiver mauls the defender on an under thrown pass. If the QB puts the ball in place that is behind the WR, that is on the QB and should not penalize the DB. Now if the DB grabs the receiver or commits any normal kind of PI, then the PI should be called as usual. Also, these judgement plays should be reviewable.

Honestly, its a major issue. Levi had perfect coverage in the Steelers game on Claypool and got flagged for a PI because the ball was under thrown and Claypool initiated and made all the contact. Fast forward to last Bucs game, same thing, perfect coverage on Evans and once again Evans mauled Levi and we get the flag. Evans mauled Levi so much, for a moment I thought it could be offensive PI. Both these plays significantly impacted the result of the game. Better solution is this: If the offensive player initiates the contact while in motion that is still taking him away from the ball, its not PI on the defender. That would solve this problem IMO, and its a problem that needs solving. Alternate solution: Similar to above, but call offensive PI in the case where the receiver initiates the contact and mauls the defender like Claypool and Evans both did. If the refs started calling the receivers for offensive PI (and believe me, its something that already needs to be called more as receivers get away with pushing off all the time across the league while defenders constantly draw ticky tack PI or illegal contact flags) then it would reduce the effectiveness of this bail out play by the QB. Additional alternate solution: At the very least, substantially reduce the penalty of this flag. Instead of a first down at the spot of the foul, make the foul incidental contact given the DB did not initiate it, and make it like a 5 yard penalty and replay the down...or even just replay the down. Giving teams the ball 40-50 yards down field on something like this is just way too impactful, especially given when the DB didn't commit any actual PI. End of the day, its just unreasonable for the DB to be in coverage and running in a sprint down field with the WR and know the ball is under-thrown. You are talking about all out sprints down field usually with fast receivers...a DB cant be expected to stay toe to toe with someone like Evans and also be looking back at the ball to know its under thrown. They usually don't know until the last second when the receiver is trying to reach back for the ball.

But it doesn't count if it doesn't start with "Calling it now:" 😂😎

So is every team fighting to make the playoffs with us.

Might be the worst thread and post yet by anyone since the loss...and thats saying a lot.

No disrespect to the OP, but that was premature. We had 3 tough games remaining and had not really shown we can play to our potential yet against top tier opponents. In previous losses that were popularly called here by many of us as potential "wake up" games, we had not actually bounced back in any of those games the way we did with the Bucs. Our struggles were throughout those games, and we hoped they would figure out in practice and film study. Bucs game, we flipped a switch and mostly dominated the second half on both sides of the ball until the refs stole the game from us at end of regulation. This feels different given how we fought back and seemed to figure some things out in that second half. Hence my reason for optimism...this reminds me of the Cardinals loss last year.

I agree and made reference to all that too in the linked post I put here in my OP. I didnt want to retype all the same stuff here, so just linked it. But I definitely see this the same way

Daboll is the #1 achilles heal on this team, and I think its pretty clear. Agree with the OP...Fade pass on 3rd and 2? Come on, even Romo said it...this is where you call your BEST play PERIOD. And a Fade pass, requiring a QB to float a ball before the WR has even run his route or knows he is open is a gamble every time. First down, sure, go ahead and throw...2nd down, dont love it, but dont hate it. 3rd down, no F-ING way. We have...ALLENS LEGS. KNOX SIZE. COLE SHIFTYNESS. DAVIS SIZE AND HANDS. AND DIGGS ROUTE RUNNING AND HANDS. So what does Daboll due, take all fo that away and choose to throw a coin toss ball to Diggs on a MUST have play. Everyone knew we could not under any circumstance give Brady a chance to win that game. You can not try that play figuring we still get OT on the FG. We needed to know we must run our best play using everything at our disposal to get that TD. DABOLL needs to go. He is holding this team back with poor red zone coaching and his allergy to running the football.

Geezus...people still obsessive over McD clapping? Talk about something people need to let go and move on from lol

I think the OP point is that we have shown we can consistently stop the run most the game. And yes, the big runs COUNT, always, they put points on the board and points decide games. But I don't think that is the OP point here, and I agree with him. We are capable of stopping the run, and I think our bigger issue is not the players ability to stop the run, but defensive play calling at times opens us up for big runs. Look at the Pats game, the big TD run had just ONE player in Poyer in that formation to prevent a TD if a RB got out of the box. And Poyer over committed to one side leaving a free path to the end zone. This is the danger to put us in a formation where we leave ourself exposed on the other side of the field. Same thing happened in the Bucs OT loss on the pass play. Terrible defensive formation that put all our second level help on the one side of the field, leaving a speedy WR just needing a couple yards of separation on a short strike to have a free path to the end zone. I will also point out, in most the games where we were gashed for big plays in the run game, Star was not playing who is a big part of our run defense and why we need to get younger there this offseason given his struggles to stay on the field this year.

To have something positive on this board...the doom and gloom is over the top, and the reality is we probably will actually win out. Yet most this board has given up on the season. Predicting a win out before was not rooted in reality. We still had 3 tough games on the schedule in 2 Pats games and the Bucs game. That was just people talking with optimism. And right now, there is a reason to think we will actually win out...and now its also more important that we do given the situation the team finds itself in right now. So, that is the point...not about being BOLD...about actually posting something here that isn't some over the top hot take of panic and misery and actually a more realistic view of what is possible this year still. So that is the point...

Well I just did...we will see how it plays out

See my other post to understand why I am emerging from this heartbreaking loss actually optimistic: What I saw, and why I am actually optimistic after this Bucs game I could be wrong on this, and that is fine if I am...but I honestly am quite confident that we will win out looking at our schedule and based on what I said in the thread linked above. Obviously, Pats game on paper is our toughest test over the final 4 games, but I think if the weather isn't as big of a factor as it was the first game that we will beat them decisively, especially if the offense we showed in the 2nd half of the Bucs game is here to stay. Panthers, Falcons, and Jets are all teams I expect to win by double digits. NOTE: All of this assumes Josh misses no time with the turf toe.

Almost every loss could be reversed on one single play, its crazy. Refs stole the game from us yesterday...HOWEVER...I hated the play call regardless. Fades are almost like flipping a coin. You take every other weapon completely out of the picture to just toss up a pass and hope your WR wins his route or get a PI flag. Stupid...and with a guy like Allen who can RUN it in, let him drop back and survey the field because if its not there, he can very likely run that in. Daboll is our achilles heal...he really is. Even the Titans game, he decides to get cute with the sneak, and because of that Josh walks up to the line from shotgun and has to snap it quickly. Normally, Josh lines up and gets his feet really set in for a big push...instead, the lack of footing caused a slip and assured we would not get it.

Its so true actually...like for real. Colts game was more like a few plays, but outside of that, all the other losses could be flipped over 1 play. Pitt...there are a number of plays you can point to as a single play that cost us the game be it a bad break, penalty, etc. But the most obvious choice...the blocked punt. Tenn - Josh I think had converted every QB sneak successfully, including two where the snap was fumbled, outside of one or two in his 3 year career. Daboll for the FIRST time decides to sneak Josh by starting him in shotgun and walking up to the line. Big mistake, he doesn't do his normal routine of setting his feet to get the push he needs and his back foot slips. But I can also point to multiple dumb penalties that either took points off our board or gave titans extended drives and points. Otherwise, it wouldn't have even come down to that play. Jax - Geezus, so many times we took points away from ourselves. Pick one and there is your one play. Colts - While this game got out of hand early...there are 3 self inflicted plays in the first half that caused it to spiral. 3rd and 2, Josh is on his way to a big gain on a run and poof, play blow dead, false start. Next play holding...suddenly we are out of FG range on a drive we were moving the ball at will to open the game for our offense and its 3rd and 18. Next drive, we hold them on 3rd down. to get off the field...poof penalties give them life and they score. On the ensuing KO, McKenzie gives them a free TD on his own without being touched. NE - See Jax game notes. Drops were a biggie too and Diggs not tracking the TD pass as well, albeit tough in those conditions. Bucs - The PI at end of regulation that wasn't called. The PI in overtime that wasn't called. Those 2 ref impacted plays took the comeback away from us.

Im still confident we will get into the playoffs and can make a SB push still THIS YEAR. The teams paced with us are not nearly as balanced as we are. There are a couple of things I am taking away from this stunning comeback and heartbreaking loss...and I think the team will be better for it. McD inserted himself into the defensive adjustments over Frazier. Late in the 2nd half, McD was in his face and giving him instructions, it was seen on camera and even Romo knew exactly what was going on and they even made it a point to go back and show it again after the defense was able to flip the switch to end the 1st half. Those changes carried over into the 2nd half where we really shut down the Bucs the whole half until a broken play in OT lost us the game. Moving forward, I think McD will take more control on the defense, especially after the successful adjustments he helped insert in this game. And he has done this before, and successfully. Even taken play calling away from Frazier before, again successfully. Too much is on the line now, every game is of critical importance here on out. The OL looked SUBSTANTIALLY better (not great still, but substantially better than the atrocious first half) during our second half once we got the run game going with Allen and our backs. I just cant see any chance Daboll doesn't get absolutely reamed by McD if he falls back into a pass only offense again at any point this season moving forward. McD wants to run the ball, but Daboll has an allergy to it until the game is getting out of hand. I think the second half offense we saw is going to be more what we see the whole game. Emmanuel Sanders: I am just going to say it...this offense is better without Sanders and it showed after he left the game. That is NOT meant to be a knock on Sanders, its NOT his fault nor is he a bad player by any means. However, our offense flows better when we had Cole as an additional focal point of the offense. (see next bullet point) Gabriel Davis needs to also be on the field more because he brings what Sanders does to the table, but also has more size and physicality too. Cole Beasley: We NEED Cole more involved and it showed in the 2nd half big time. What he brings in terms of short and quick strikes, opens up the rest of the field, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, gives Josh a quick place to get rid of the ball and move the chains consistently when the pass protection is not there. When Diggs and Sanders are out there together, they have been able to neutralize it by taking away the big play and using the 2 high safeties. We need to build LAYERS back into our passing game, and a combination of Diggs, Cole, Knox, and Davis gives us a lot more of that than Diggs and Sanders combo. Cole really helps neutralize the blitz as well, much harder to bring the house when you need to defend the quick strike to a guy who will almost certainly burn any one on one defender for an easy first down. So I know we have had sooooo many of these "wake up" call games already against Pitt, Tenn, Jax, Colts, and now Bucs. But, I don't really know that we had one like this yet...a true wake up game where what we were doing was NOT working...and we figured it out big time during the game and still narrowly lost. The Bucs game is more reminiscent of the Cardinals game last year. Where we found our confidence and groove on the field, not in practice or film study...but on the field where they rallied to do what seemed enough to win the game and a bad break left them just short (the BS non PI call at end of regulation). I think the way our team adjusted and rebounded against one of the top SB contenders during the game is something they can finally build on. Previous "wake up" losses, we did NOT find our groove really in those games. Even the Titans game...our defense was struggling the whole second half so much we went for 2 instead of OT. But against the Bucs, our D shut down the Bucs in the 2nd half and our offense moved the ball at will once we got the run game involved and guys like Cole, Davis and Knox all over the field. Call me a homer...but as heart breaking as the loss was, I am able to come out of that game with the optimism that this team can still make a run THIS year if they can build on and carry over the 2nd half Bills team that was on the field. And while people are all over here hating on McD, I think he is a substantially big part of the reason for our comeback and was a big reason for all the adjustments that were made to get us back in that game. He isn't perfect on gameday, and I think his waning confidence in Daboll and Frazier at times is impacting that...but I think he is still the right coach for this team and one of the best leaders in the league.

What I dont understand even more, is where was the safety help. How did an entire right side of the field have no defensive backs what so ever and just a MLB who isnt fast enough to keep up with a speed WR? How is there no safety help even in the middle of the field where they could have at least cut off the route to prevent the TD? Either an absolute terrible play call/design, or some of our guys completely screwed the pooch on that play. Because even if Dane was on Perriman, he isnt fast enough to keep up with him and I don't think the play results in anything different given Perriman has a free run to the end zone on the initial separation anyway.

RB is not our biggest issue. Could they be upgraded, sure, and have no problem with that. But Daboll, the OL, and our run blocking scheme is a way bigger reason as to why our run game is lacking.

They drafted two OL, so this notion we ignored the OL this offseason is just not accurate. Its not like we have endless cap space to pay the best OL in FA or have 6 picks in the first 2 rounds to get premium draft picks at every position of need. One of those 2 OL we drafted has been one of our best OL this year in Brown. Sorry, but nothing is more inaccurate than this false blanket statement we "ignored" it when we did not. Our pass rush was a major achilles heal ALSO. We had several things we needed to address, cant fix it all in one draft or offseason. I mean this was essentially the third year of an entire rebuild where it was completely torn down and built back up. Almost every starter is new, and every backup. We went from the bottom of the AFC to the AFCCG in essentially Beanes 2nd year of rebuilding (first year he just tore the old stuff down before building back up). Now this offseason, there is zero doubt OL will almost certainly be the main priority this off season. I expect they will look to address DT given Star has not been able to stay on the field consistently and he and his size are too important to our run defense and possibly a RB. But our run game issues are NOT our RB's as much as it is our OL and most importantly, run blocking scheme. Other changes I believe will happen...Bobby Johnson fired and if Daboll doesn't take another job, I think he could be fired too. Because quite honestly, I dont think talent wise our OL is as bad as its been playing. I think it has a LOT to do with Daboll and his system/scheme. Look at the 2nd half yesterday...soon as we start running the ball, the OL doesn't look nearly as bad as it did in the first half. This has been true several times this year. So my personal opinion, DABOLL is our biggest achilles heal overall right now. This reminds me when everyone was crying we didn't address WR while completely lacking the context of state of the team, cap, and all the other positions we had to address first. Then, once that was set, we went and over hauled the WR room too. Next up...the OL situation...be it player or coach over haul or both.

Don’t worry, 0% chance of happening

McD has been one of the most aggressive 4th down coaches in the NFL since Allens second season. Try again cuz you’re wrong on this.

Yup, Refs stole this game from us. Shocker it was against a Brady led team…said no one ever.