I need some help from people smarter than me

[Rubes]

A lot of this has been said before, so my apologies, but...

 

After the first quarter of the season was over and we were sitting at 2-2, there was a lot of talk about how we were a young, improving team on the rise.

 

One of the problems, though, is that we were basically a new team. We had a new offensive and defensive coordinator, and mostly new strategies on both sides of the ball. It takes time for opposing teams to figure out what you're doing and to find the weaknesses. I've always believed that the first four games are generally your time to take advantage of the fact that other teams don't have enough film on you to really get a handle on what you're doing.

 

So it's of course disappointing that we've now dropped three straight. Teams seem to have figured us out pretty easily. Hell, most of us have known what our weakness are for weeks now, but it's safe to say that other teams really have a handle on how to best attack our offense and defense, and we're essentially powerless to stop it.

 

Although I feel like I know a lot about football, one thing I definitely don't know much about is strategy. And for the life of me, I just can't figure out why we are doing the things we do, so I just chalk it up to my lack of knowledge. But perhaps others smarter than me can help.

 

On offense, I just don't get it. The times when JP has looked most comfortable are the times when we call quick passes. 3- and 5-step drops. Short patterns, quick slants, swing passes, short comeback routes. It seems to work well. Hell, the Pats still do this with regularity. So why don't we do more of this?

 

I am dumbfounded at the number of times Fairchild calls deep, 7-step drops. We can't do this. We don't have the offensive line to keep doing this on a regular basis. People talk about how the short, quick passing game works well at slowing down a pass rush. Isn't that what we need? A healthy dose of the short passing game to set up the occasional deep drop. Build JP's confidence. Build the line's confidence. And it allows other people to actually run routes...people like Willis and the tight ends, rather than staying in to block every time because our five linemen can't handle a four-man rush. How many times have we used a five receiver set? A four receiver set? Three might be asking too much with this group.

 

It's not an exciting style...in fact, it's Kelly Holcomb-type boring. But isn't it what you need with a young QB and a piss-poor offensive line? Do I just not get it?

 

On defense, I profess to know even less. But I do know what I see. I see, game after game, opposing team's wide receivers running around our secondary in large gaping holes, no defenders anywhere near them as they make one easy catch after another. But on the other side, it's a rarity to see our receivers without a defender on their back as soon as the ball arrives. It's a frustrating thing to watch, and I just don't understand it. It's part of the defensive philosophy, I guess.

 

One thing I do know, however, is that we just don't have the horses on either line. Merz was pressed into action and I think the best thing I can say is that he didn't get a penalty. Villarial's best attribute is that he has the uncanny ability to stay on his feet and not do anything while the rest of his line is scattered on the ground like the remnants of a hurricane. Peters has his moments, but that's about the best it gets. We have five guys who can't reliably handle four defensive linemen. And on defense, our four man rush is rarely able to do much against a talented line, and they are just too easy to push around. I'm not convinced that we're headed in the wrong direction defensively, but to have to watch this disaster on both sides of the ball is almost too much.