A few thoughts about the game...

[Virgil]

I'm not trying to steal Bill's thunder, I just didn't see his last weeks...

 

1) Offensive line showed some positive signs today. I think we saw in the second quarter what the vision of good is for this team. We wore down the opposing defense by pounding the ball inside. This also forced them to lay off the blitz and allow time to throw. This is basic football and we showed it. Unfortunately, it was only for about two drives.

 

2) We are a below average talent team who needs to excel on every play just to stay competative. Our C just got blown up by Matthews. Kelsay was abysmal in coverage. Donte got absolutely owned by Finley. And Whitner dropped a pick 6.

 

It just seems like these guys have to play their hearts out just to compete while other teams can coast for a while, turn it on for a few, and pull out the game. The minute we are spent, we just get owned.

 

3) Trent. This wasn't all his fault for once. There were some dropped passes. However, even if those were caught, he still didn't do anything to win the game. His play-action was Bledsoe-esque. To turn his back to half the field for that long is embarassing. Also, just take a second to watch the cool demeanor of Rodgers out there, and you can see how far off Trent is. It's not even close. Rodgers knows he'll get it on the next play. Trent seems grateful for any completion, like he just missed a bullet.

 

4) Lynch. Saw some nice flashes from him and reminded me of his pro's and con's. Dude can still punish the D, but also dances too much from time to time instead of hitting the hole. This team is in so much trouble though, if we can get a starting O-lineman or a 3rd for him, we have to take. There are much better teams with barely one RB that do it. We can't afford to reserve talent three people deep if we can improve in other places.

 

5) Overall Offense. I think we saw some good looks of what Chan wants to do. If you looked beyond the QB on the plays, you could see some nice plays develop, but it seemed like on every play there was a mistake somewhere that blew it up. Whether it be the checkdown, a drop, or a blown block, we just aren't disciplined enough

 

6) Besides not having a plan for Finley, I thought we looked very good. Some of those throws were un-defendable. Just great throws by Rodgers and the WR knowing how to come back for the ball. Again, just another reminder of how far off Trent is. They did their job until they were just winded and knew we were out of it.

 

7) Special Teams look good overall. Spiller needs to stop returning kicks though if we are going to trade Lynch

 

Overall, I have to wonder what the mentality is of this team. At what point does the D just stop caring? I know they are professionals, but what is their motivation. "Let me bust my ass so that my offense can just put me right back on the field 2 minutes later?" I think Chan is the right guy and is dealing with the hand he is dealt. He gets a pass for me until about week 9 to see what adjustments he makes. I think Chan fell for the same "practice great, play horrible Edwards, Bell, Kelsay" show that previous regimes fell for.

 

Just my humble opinions

[BB2004]

I'm not trying to steal Bill's thunder, I just didn't see his last weeks...

 

1) Offensive line showed some positive signs today. I think we saw in the second quarter what the vision of good is for this team. We wore down the opposing defense by pounding the ball inside. This also forced them to lay off the blitz and allow time to throw. This is basic football and we showed it. Unfortunately, it was only for about two drives.

 

2) We are a below average talent team who needs to excel on every play just to stay competative. Our C just got blown up by Matthews. Kelsay was abysmal in coverage. Donte got absolutely owned by Finley. And Whitner dropped a pick 6.

 

It just seems like these guys have to play their hearts out just to compete while other teams can coast for a while, turn it on for a few, and pull out the game. The minute we are spent, we just get owned.

 

3) Trent. This wasn't all his fault for once. There were some dropped passes. However, even if those were caught, he still didn't do anything to win the game. His play-action was Bledsoe-esque. To turn his back to half the field for that long is embarassing. Also, just take a second to watch the cool demeanor of Rodgers out there, and you can see how far off Trent is. It's not even close. Rodgers knows he'll get it on the next play. Trent seems grateful for any completion, like he just missed a bullet.

 

4) Lynch. Saw some nice flashes from him and reminded me of his pro's and con's. Dude can still punish the D, but also dances too much from time to time instead of hitting the hole. This team is in so much trouble though, if we can get a starting O-lineman or a 3rd for him, we have to take. There are much better teams with barely one RB that do it. We can't afford to reserve talent three people deep if we can improve in other places.

 

5) Overall Offense. I think we saw some good looks of what Chan wants to do. If you looked beyond the QB on the plays, you could see some nice plays develop, but it seemed like on every play there was a mistake somewhere that blew it up. Whether it be the checkdown, a drop, or a blown block, we just aren't disciplined enough

 

6) Besides not having a plan for Finley, I thought we looked very good. Some of those throws were un-defendable. Just great throws by Rodgers and the WR knowing how to come back for the ball. Again, just another reminder of how far off Trent is. They did their job until they were just winded and knew we were out of it.

 

7) Special Teams look good overall. Spiller needs to stop returning kicks though if we are going to trade Lynch

 

Overall, I have to wonder what the mentality is of this team. At what point does the D just stop caring? I know they are professionals, but what is their motivation. "Let me bust my ass so that my offense can just put me right back on the field 2 minutes later?" I think Chan is the right guy and is dealing with the hand he is dealt. He gets a pass for me until about week 9 to see what adjustments he makes. I think Chan fell for the same "practice great, play horrible Edwards, Bell, Kelsay" show that previous regimes fell for.

 

Just my humble opinions

 

Good job Derek. I was wondering the same thing about Bill. I would also like to see some of his posts about the games.

[Florida_BillsFan]

I give Chan credit for benching TE now and not waiting until the Bye week.....I would have been disappointed to continue to see him stink it up for three more weeks. Stick a fork in him !

[milehiLou]

all fitz has to do is throw the ball to be an improvement

[Green Lightning]

Derek,

 

Nice post. I agree with almost all. You're right about our talent level meaning we have zero margin for error. Watching the game, I couldn't help but feel what a waste of time it it to be playing Kelsay and Cornell Green among others. We are in a complete rebuild. Put the young guys out there and take our lumps now and see if they grow and get better. Watching Kelsay lumber after an atheletic TE is not something I want to watch again. Watching Cornell Green move like Dancing Bear on speed rushes raises the question of how much worse would Wang be? At least he has upside. Let's move on and play the kids.

[Phil Hansen Forever]

Fitz can't do any worse!

 

Trent was a coward and inspired no one. His running out of bounds on 4th and 11, should not only have gotten him benched, it should have gotten him fired. It's not like he is paid $30K a year in a government job, this guy is early big bucks, and he showed no confidence or concern for anyone, least of all the team.

 

Perhaps Noodle Arm can inspire something before we have sleep our way through the rest of the year.

[UConn James]

Fitz can't do any worse!

 

Trent was a coward and inspired no one. His running out of bounds on 4th and 11, should not only have gotten him benched, it should have gotten him fired. It's not like he is paid $30K a year in a government job, this guy is early big bucks, and he showed no confidence or concern for anyone, least of all the team.

 

Perhaps Noodle Arm can inspire something before we have sleep our way through the rest of the year.

 

Actually Edwards doesn't make all that much. Still on his rookie contract, which was as a 3rd rounder. IIRC, it's something like $500K per year.

 

I've also missed Bill in NYC's comments, but I also realize that he may be tiring of trying to eke out the one or two bright spots of these games. When everyone's playing like sh--, there comes a point when parsing gameplay is just not fun anymore, and I think a good many of us are there. And so, b/c the team stinks, the discussion here gets pretty nasty / negative, and we're seeing oldtime posters like Lori et al. go away b/c the level of discourse here has gone downhill.

Edited September 21, 2010 by UConn James

[Bob in STL]

I'm not trying to steal Bill's thunder, I just didn't see his last weeks...

 

 

2) We are a below average talent team who needs to excel on every play just to stay competative. Our C just got blown up by Matthews. Kelsay was abysmal in coverage. Donte got absolutely owned by Finley. And Whitner dropped a pick 6.

 

 

... and so did our RT, LT, RG, TE and FB.

[BEAST MODE BABY!]

I still have nightmares from the play where Kelsay lined up against Finley. I was like "WTF is George Edwards doing?" Then, of course, there was like a 30 yard completion. I am glad I missed the play where Kelsay lined up against Donald Driver. Oi.

Edited September 21, 2010 by BEAST MODE BABY!

[timba]

Bill said he was out of town and was unable to do his thoughts last week. He has abbreviated thoughts this week here: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/119955-abbreviated-thoughts/

 

I think you nailed it overall with every play there was a mistake somewhere that blew it up. Until there is some team-wide consistency it's going to be a long year.