First and foremost. Let me preface this by saying I am ashamed to be a fan of this team right now. This may be long and it may hurt the feelings of some and I simply do not care. Some of our fans are the reason I am ashamed, but mainly its the team, from top to bottom.
Let me start off by saying. Anyone who thought there would be no drop off with Dalton at the helm should immediately hand in any football card they have and stop pretending to know football. There is a reason he is a backup. He isnt Dak. This team was not inspired at all on offense last night and I dont blame them. The guy is simply not built to lead. You want an example? Here is one. Dalton almost throws a pick 6, after the line gets blown up (first excuse for his play from Dak detractors, even though Dak seemed to put points on the board in spite of bad OL play, but we will get to that). Dalton is sitting there, in primetime, laughing. LAUGHING. After almost throwing a pick 6. He was inaccurate, missed big throws, almost killed Cedric Wilson (another thing I was told only Dak does), and threw 2 costly picks. Yes one was a blatant PI but if Dak doesnt get that excuse neither does Andy. The offense sputtered and scored 10 points, 7 of which on the longest 10 plus play drive I have ever seen. Dak is the HEART AND SOUL of this team, and if I am big Mike, I am begging him to be on the sidelines next week. This offense doesnt believe in Dalton the way they believed in Dak, and its apparent. The ESPN crew said as much during the game. If you can sit there with a straight face and say Dalton is better than Dak after last night. You have an agenda and you look foolish now. I warned everyone that was boosting him after the Giants game to wait and see what would happen to Andy after a team prepared for a week to stop him. And last night proved what I was saying. Some fans here would rather be "right" about Dak than be wrong. And its disgusting that this guy has given a lot to this franchise and our "fans" want to run him out of town because he wants to get paid? Look at the offense last night. Dak just made himself more money.
Moving on.
Zeke. WOW. I have been his biggest defender on here but I can no longer do it. 90 million dollar players dont put the ball on the ground like that. No burst, not motivation, again uninspired. Personally I think losing Dak is affecting him on the field, and he is in his own head but its no excuse. He needs to start playing like his paycheck and lay off the cheetos. Its that simple. Shape up or ship out.
The OL. What can we really say about this? Dalton had no time back there and almost got killed by Baker twice. No excuse though. Dak played behind the same line and put up results. Garbage time right? So how come our saviour Andy Dalton couldnt pad his stats in garbage time? Same team. I think we know the answer.
Receivers. Gallup with a huge drop. (on a pass that was too high IMO) but it hit him in the hands and he needs to make that play. Again. Fundamentals just arent there.
The defense.
Lord where do I start here? Jaylon smith is a feel good story. Thats about it. I am sick of the clapping and swiping. Go out there and do your job. Stop showing off. Our DL isnt actually playing as bad as some thing, but definitely need help there. Worley should be cut this morning. And send Nolan with him. MM. You have paid your debt. Fire this guy. NOW. Simplify this defense. Immediately. This team needs a MASSIVE infusion of talent on this side of the ball. We need to draft a STUD at one of the 3 levels. If we have a top 5 pick we may be able to do so. Personally I want to go safety but there are so many holes on this defense that I dont care who we draft. Just get someone in here with some darn talent.
In all fairness. The defense came out and made stops to start the game. But the Red Rifle with 2 straight 3 and outs made it harder on them.
Special teams. Pretty much where we were last season.
Coaching.
I wont put too much on Big Mike here just due to the situation in the league. Its not an excuse, but continuity in this league is huge, and a big reason that coaches with tenure are fairing better than teams that are installing new schemes.
Speaking of schemes. Can we put KM out to pasture yet? I have never seen someone so arrogant that they continue trying to run a screen when the defense knows its coming and blew it up the last time you tried it. The play-calling was horrible last night. Atrocious. Even Stephen Jones was shaking his head in the booth at one point. I dont know if it was due to the game or the bartender cut him off, but he looked upset.
Last night proved that this team is no where close. Has no business going to the playoffs just to screw up our draft position. Put in DiNucci and tank. Enough is enough.
/rant over.
