Fan in Chicago

Two premier receivers in TO and Evans. TO, who did not have much trouble getting consistently open in the past. There is no way the three defenses we faced consistently covered (double covered ?) both these receivers without leaving something open for a third WR/TE in the middle portion. The D has to be 'giving' something either deep or middle.

I agree. You would think Flutie was playing ST and would have tackled Dyson. Memory fades but I am pretty sure Flutie's performance had deteriorated as the season wore on. I remember at the time that starting RJ for that game was the right thing to do.

Don't agree. His value to us is more as a CB. I would rather risk a few yards of field position than have McGee dinged up.

I don't think much of him because of his lack of good results following the superbowl year. I do realize he had problems with the owner but he appeared incapable of transcending the gap of having a good QB (reports I read were that he wanted to draft Edwards). Also there were rumours that he could not keep the players together in the locker room (but that is a rumor). To me, he appears a slave to the talent and not someone who would 'bring out the best in the players'. At this point, that is what we need. And we need either Trent to gain confidence or we need a new QB. As far as unemployed coaches go, I would vote for Shanahan, Schottenheimer, Cowher and Gruden (in descending order). Not saying, mind you, that I don't want any others but if the choice were among ex-coaches this is how I would fall. Anyway, that is my position. GUess we hijacked a portion of the thread ...

Fair enough if it is speculation. Your post indicated you were sure about it.

Well said. The season began with the threat of TO and Evans burning teams in the middle to deep part of the field. As it is becoming apparent that the QB is incapable of using their strengths, teams will cheat more towards the line of scrimmage thus decreasing the production of Lynch and/or Jackson. Also will put tremendous and unfair pressure on a young, inexperienced OL. If we do not solve the issue of not being able to attempt/complete passes beyond 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, we are hosed on offense.

Amen to that, but we do not need a coach like Gruden. He adds little value and won the Superbowl on the coattails of a great defense. We need a coach who can get players to play at or above their level of talent, a coach who can (to use a cliche) scheme to the players strengths.

Where and how, specifically, did you sense this tension ? I did not see anything remotely resembling tension between the two. TO, to this point, has done or said nothing that implies he is a disruptive force. Apart from his lack of production and the inability of the offense to utilize him, things are going perfectly well. He has not raised a stink or been an idiot. You are seeing things which do not exist.

More like a skewering. Those comments are universally brutal. As is reflected in the responses in this thread also. Good thing we are going about it in a civil way.

But then again, it was the media leading the charge as opposed to TO begging them to cover him. The prerogative to respond to the media is purely his. He is under no obligation to the fans or the media to respond in a a way that suits their fancy. And that is my point. I rather have the media complaining about the lack of 'material' from him than the alternative where is he feeding the insatiable (media) beast. Also, I much rather have TO catch the rare accurate deep ball from TE, than conform to the media's expectations. But I digress ....

This, IMHO, is the correct approach. Keep both fresh and let the % of carries be decided by who is doing better, the down and the distance etc.

I cannot agree with TG on his assertion that the fans deserve to hear from him. Note the personality we are talking about here - he has at once been maligned and glorified in the press for his out-spoken nature in the past. He came here with a one year contract and I think is intentionally keeping a low profile for the length of that time. Perhaps he is tired of the media scrutiny (not saying he did not invite it upon himself) or maybe he is just making himself more marketable for his next contract. Whatever the case might be, he is taking the safe route by keeping his mouth mostly shut. Besides a rationalization of why TO is choosing to be low key, I don't think any player 'owes' the fans an open window to his thoughts. That is just a fine line between wanting an honest answer and baiting. It will be more productive if he expresses his thoughts to DJ, AVP, Edwards etc but not to the media and fans.

I just looked at the all the threads on the first TSW page and saw no more than 2 threads about rumors (including this one). Pretty sure that in the sentence 'don't shoot the messenger', the subject is a bearer of real news.

Bill, thanks for the words. I will agree to disagree with you on this point though. I have been burnt in the past by supporting our choice of QB and this time around am waiting to make my judgment after enough evidence. I really want TE to succeed, if not for anything else but to the near term health of our franchise. But since last year, that evidence has been difficult to find or inconsistently present at best. This was a home game, in good conditions (albeit a bit windy) and should have been a great opportunity to use all sections of the field. I just find it frustrating that we operate in such a small portion of it and have a tough time believing that it is because of a lack of receiving talent. OL perhaps (we should have all expected 'growing pains') but today it seemed more on Trent than the OL.

Considering the way the O was playing, going for it on 4th and 1 ran the high risk of losing the possession and allowing the Saints (who were hot by now) to cover the short field, score and put the game away. It was a safer choice to try allowing the D to get the ball back for the O with respectable field position. The O was sucking so badly that it totally limited the choices at that point of the game. I am no fan of DJ but I can't fault him for that call.

Yes the tackles are not very good at this point but I thought Scott did an adequate job. We were running double tight end sets to give additional help. What about the times when when Trent did have adequate time to throw ? What about attempting to stretch the field especially when on those last few drives ? last year we kept complaining that there are not adequate receivers to take pressure off of Evans. This year we added TO so we really do have a good receiving corps with Evans and TO for the medium to deep stuff and Reed as a slot receiver. Yet we cannot get the ball to them. All the passing action happens in a 5-10 yard part from the line of scrimmage. teams are going to stack the box when there is such a low probability of us challenging them deep. Then the inexperienced tackles are going to look even more inadequate.

I couldn't care less about the countdown to the first TO blow up. I am more concerned about the offense in general. In any case, him blowing up about the coaches will do nothing but give media more fodder.

You brought Losman into the discussion. You are deflecting the conversation when people are rightfully pointing out that Edwards sucked today. It seems that in lack of an adequate defense of Trent, you are resorting to attempting to go on a tangent. Yes, you did say that he did not do well but there is no reason to get so defensive about Trent.

I don't think the play calling deteriorated. I think once NO realized that all they have to defend is the short to medium end of the field, our success of the 1st Q went away. If Trent had attempted and completed a few medium to long throws, there would be a lot more opportunities for jackson to run and for the occasional screen.

Apart from the specific changes DJ made such as replacing Schonert and getting rid of Walker, Dockery etc., I have sensed something else about Jauron. In the two games this season, I surely saw emotion, a certain (dare I say it ?) swagger and smartness. Some decisions (going for it on 4th and 2) are not what we had come to expect from DJ. So in all, I may be imagining it, but DJ is appearing a bit more confident and acting more aggressively than in the past 3 years.

Then again, we have not faced any elite pass rushers so the jury is still out. Good news is that facing 'soft' defenses allows time for our brand spanking new OL to gel and get experience for the DE beasts later this season. Back to the OP, I doubt the decision to not get Runyan is about the money. I am not sure how much money he would command anyway.

Can we put up some windmills in a hurry ?

The water boy ?