Shortcomings were clearly on display last night

[Zimmy Lives]

After reading Stashs' post I'm depressed. We suck.

 

[Idgit]

I think your post is well reasoned, but I'm just not sure about part of it. If you look at Minnesota's defense I think most would agree that it is, statistically speaking, one of the tougher defenses in the NFL, and most would say top 5. I think the eyeball test also supports that, to an extent.

I really thought our offensive play calling was pretty suspect last night. I realize when plays don't get positive yardage that they look bad, but I thought conceptually we did a poor job of attacking them.

I think the coaching staff was too unimaginative in their play calling. Having said all of the above, it would have been good enough if we had not had all the penalti and the score might have been more in our favor.

Ultimately, it *was* good enough, but it definitely was the best defensive performance against us since at least the PHI game. They get good S play, bring pressure off of both edges, have a legit cover CB they can man up on your best WR, have an absolute beast at LB in Kendricks, and then bring blitz pressure up the interior that actually gets there against most teams. I'd argue that the problem for the offense last night was the penalties a lot more than it was the play calling. And that the penalties were mostly a function of their pressure.

Against other defenses, we can overcome 1st and 20 more often than we should be able to. That wasn't close to happening last night. There were some ticky-tacky calls from an overactive officiating crew, but we had 10 penalties last night. We ended one drive with a turnover, and another with a bungled Center-QB exchange. You just don't get that many chances against an elite defense to blow them on miscues and execution errors.

 

[Stash]

You can be happy we won, and still be troubled by what we've seen, and be objective about our weaknesses.

They aren't mutually exclusive

Thanks for pointing that out. I thought I was alone.

 

[Stash]

After reading Stashs' post I'm depressed. We suck.

I'm sorry that's what you misinterpreted from it.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

Yes free is a huge liability.

But overall, this team showed their will to win. This team is built for a super bowl, right now.

 

[SDCowboy]

Thanks for pointing that out. I thought I was alone.

Nah, you're not alone. That wasn't one of those wins where we shouldn't critique it. lol

 

[Idgit]

After reading Stashs' post I'm depressed. We suck.

If you want to feel better about stash's ability to read tea leaves, go back to his posts from the start of the season where he's certain we don't have the coaching staff to develop a QB. We're all fallible, with the possible exception of me.

 

[Stash]

I think the lack of pass rush is what's going to hurt us in the playoffs. If we let some of these top-tier quarterbacks just sit in the pocket, they will pick us apart. At this rate we cannot afford to have an off night at all by our offense.

That's my biggest fear.

But I find it frustrating that when a team and coaches examine and address these things, they're congratulated for their self-assessment and working to improve. When a fan points them out, we're 'whiners' and 'haters'.

Some people have a great set of double-standards and ignorance going for them.

 

[Stash]

Nah, you're not alone. That wasn't one of those wins where we shouldn't critique it. lol

No. There's plenty to point out and work on. The difference is that it's great when the coaches feel that way, but terrible when fans do.

 

[Idgit]

I can't believe it. I've become a homer.

I've been watching that happen quietly over the course of the season, PA. Welcome. Your card and 'fight' tshirt are in the mail.

 

[Stash]

If you want to feel better about stash ability to read tea leaves, go back to his posts from the start of the season where he's certain we don't have the coaching staff to develop a QB. We're all fallible, with the possible exception of me.

Yeah, you're the guy with all of the correct answers. We should all copy off of your paper. I'm looking but I can't find the post where you called any of this either...

 

[Zimmy Lives]

If you want to feel better about stash ability to read tea leaves, go back to his posts from the start of the season where he's certain we don't have the coaching staff to develop a QB. We're all fallible, with the possible exception of me.

And me.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I'm sorry that's what you misinterpreted from it.

No worries, Stash; I get why you're venting. I was just trying to enjoy 11-1 even though the Boys played a sucky game and most of the players mentioned in your post were a big part of it.

 

[KJJ]

Can someone explain to me why Whitehead is still on this team? What does he provide to this team?

He provides some speed that's about it.

 

[Stash]

No worries, Stash; I get why you're venting. I was just trying to enjoy 11-1 even though the Boys played a sucky game and most of the players mentioned in your post were a big part of it.

I'm enjoying the fact that we won and have won 11 in a row too, believe me. This is still an amazing and enjoyable season. Magical in fact. Overall, the future is very bright. Nothing I'm saying here denies that.

As has been pointed out, enjoying the win and having concerns aren't mutually exclusive. It's not an either/or situation. A person can do both.

 

[Idgit]

And me.

I was going to include you in that post, but then didn't want to ruin my infallible streak.

Yeah, you're the guy with all of the correct answers. We should all copy off of your paper. I'm looking but I can't find the post where you called any of this either...

It was a joke, stash. Tough crowd.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Ultimately, it *was* good enough, but it definitely was the best defensive performance against us since at least the PHI game. They get good S play, bring pressure off of both edges, have a legit cover CB they can man up on your best WR, have an absolute beast at LB in Kendricks, and then bring blitz pressure up the interior that actually gets there against most teams. I'd argue that the problem for the offense last night was the penalties a lot more than it was the play calling. And that the penalties were mostly a function of their pressure.

Against other defenses, we can overcome 1st and 20 more often than we should be able to. That wasn't close to happening too often last night. There were some ricky-tacky calls from an overactive officiating crew, but we had 10 penalties last night. We ended one drive with a turnover, and another with a bungled Center-QB exchange. You just don't get that many chances against an elite defense to blow them on miscues and execution errors.

Their safety play is enviable. Their defense is solid. Imagine how good the Vikings would be with a real offense.

 

[KJJ]

Offensively we repeatedly shot ourselves in the foot with costly penalties that negated some good plays against a solid Vikings defense which is all Minn had going for them. We had a costly penalty on defense that took away a rare INT and got away with a penalty with the hit to Bradford's face that would have given Minn another shot at the 2 point conversion near the end of the game. We were fortunate that we were facing an anemic offense that ranks 30th or we wouldn't have escaped with a win.

We have to start cleaning things up because we've reached the point in the season where we need to start playing our best football with the playoffs approaching. This is about the time when the 12-1 07 team started to fade escaping with a win on the road against a bad Detroit team and ended up stinking the following week against Philly. We're not going to get away with some of the crap we saw last night against a better team that has more offensive punch.

 

[NeonNinja]

All good and fair points. However, we just finished playing 3 games in 11 days. Last night was ugly but in a tough place against a good and fired up defense. I agree and hope some of those areas can improve but we're 11-1 (best in NFL) with these issues and getting Clai back will be huge, IMO.

 

[CyberB0b]

I'm fine with Free. This was likely the best defensive line they faced all year. He's obviously the weak link, but they had a lot of pressure up the middle, as well.