Sturm is probably my favorite Boys writer. That said...Matt Cassel threw 3 very costly Int's (to include a pick 6, and there could've been even more Int's), against a secondary that just yielded 511 yards passing & 7 passing TD's to the Saints. The Giants have been horrendous in coverage, and Cassel couldn't take advantage against them (and that was with the benefit of a very good effort from the ground game). It was an inauspicious first start...with Seattle's secondary/defense coming in for his second go-round. In addition to Seattle's D playing a very good game, was it also a case of Cassel being gun shy after the turnovers in the Giants game?
Garrett certainly deserves blame and has bungled his fair share of things...but there's plenty of blame to go around. Red was essentially stripped of play-calling duties if I remember correctly. And while he's no doubt involved in game planning, etc...a good deal of the play-calling ill's certainly falls on Linehan, the subpar play of Weeden & Cassel, the lack of production from the WR's for various reasons, inconsistent OL & RB play at times, penalties, being the leagues worst team in terms of turnover ratio, predictable tendencies, etc.
Last season, the Boys had Romo for the majority of the season, the AP offensive player of the year at RB, an opportunistic defense that finished top 3 in turnovers, 16 TD's from Dez, etc. They got used to/liked last seasons model...but simply aren't equipped to run it this year for various reasons (with the exception of the defense & the lack of turnovers). It seems to be a case of failing to make adjustments (something a good deal of the Boys coaches seem to struggle with), while being stuck on/stubborn in trying to stick with the 2014 model of play (particularly on offense). It's not going to work. Hell, it didn't work with Weeden at the helm in 2014 vs. a quality opponent in Arizona...and he had Dez, Murray, Witten, Dwayne Harris, Williams, Beasley, and Dunbar, all at his disposal.
