Whiskey Cowboy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,654
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Tonight sucked. I, like many others, expected this team to show up better prepared and ready for the Giants' physicality. They were not, and even worse, they couldn't even get their assignments right on defense. It was like Harbaugh knew where to attack on just about every play. This team was outcoached, outplayed, and outclassed.
Even so, it wasn't all negative. Downs pretty looked good out there and managed to make some nice plays. Barham is still raw, overthinking things, but a light seemed to come on when he was calling plays after 0 went down. He's not there yet, but i think he will end up developing into a really good MLB. Jalen Thompson made some nice plays. The defense wasn't entirely lifeless but it needs some serious work before it can be called serviceable.
I think the problem is a lack of serious pass rushing options outside of Williams. The Giants offense was able to neutralize him with extra blockers. Ideally, somebody receiving less attention should become more disruptive, but that didn't happen. Gary was a non-factor. EZ only got pressure when he went unblocked, and it looked like that was by design. I saw Malachi Lawrence on the field. Only play I saw him make was a tackle past the sticks several yards down the field. Did Justin Houson even suit up? Setting the edge was also a big proble.. There's a simple, expensive solution to this. I'm really curious to see if the owner/gm makes the call.
The defense is a work in progress. It looked pretty bad in the second half, completely unable to make a stop. It was hard to watch, but I'm hopeful that as these younger players develop, the defense will gradually improve. As the DC gains more experience, his GameDay play calling will improve. It was a complete disaster last season and not much better the season prior. Overnight worst to first expectations were a pipe dream. It's going to to take some time to get it right, but I'm more confident in this group than I was at any point over the last 2 years. I like the vision, but we need to see them produce on the field. Hopefully sooner than later.
Even so, it wasn't all negative. Downs pretty looked good out there and managed to make some nice plays. Barham is still raw, overthinking things, but a light seemed to come on when he was calling plays after 0 went down. He's not there yet, but i think he will end up developing into a really good MLB. Jalen Thompson made some nice plays. The defense wasn't entirely lifeless but it needs some serious work before it can be called serviceable.
I think the problem is a lack of serious pass rushing options outside of Williams. The Giants offense was able to neutralize him with extra blockers. Ideally, somebody receiving less attention should become more disruptive, but that didn't happen. Gary was a non-factor. EZ only got pressure when he went unblocked, and it looked like that was by design. I saw Malachi Lawrence on the field. Only play I saw him make was a tackle past the sticks several yards down the field. Did Justin Houson even suit up? Setting the edge was also a big proble.. There's a simple, expensive solution to this. I'm really curious to see if the owner/gm makes the call.
The defense is a work in progress. It looked pretty bad in the second half, completely unable to make a stop. It was hard to watch, but I'm hopeful that as these younger players develop, the defense will gradually improve. As the DC gains more experience, his GameDay play calling will improve. It was a complete disaster last season and not much better the season prior. Overnight worst to first expectations were a pipe dream. It's going to to take some time to get it right, but I'm more confident in this group than I was at any point over the last 2 years. I like the vision, but we need to see them produce on the field. Hopefully sooner than later.
