dboyz
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In all of the discussion and argument about went wrong in the Washington game, play-calling, schemes, coverages, etc. etc., I think a couple of basic factors haven't been brought up much.
Running game and rushing the passer. I believe how well we do these two things will go a long way in determing the success of this season, that is whether we get into the playoffs and be a threat when we get there.
The running game has been ok so far, although we've played pretty good run defenses. I would put more blame on the line than Julius, but there is probably room for improvement all the way around. I think we need to be a very good running team to have success this year, a la Pittsburgh. That is, we need to be able to run the ball well even against the good run defenses. My hope would be that we could be even better by the end of the year, because the five will be used to playing with each other and Pettiti will have gotten more experience.
Pass rush is all right, a little better than last year I would say, but not where it needs to be for us to be successful against the good teams like Philadelphia. Ellis and Glover, while not spectacular, are both solid pass rushers.
Three players will determine a lot: Ware, Spears and Canty. Ware has shown flashes in the preseason and now in the regular season, but Samuels stoned him pretty good. It will be interesting to see how he develops this year. Spears showed the kind of explosion Monday that I saw of him in college and made me so happy we drafted him. I think he can be very good as an inside rusher. Canty looked good Monday night as well.
If we don't make good progress in these areas, I think all of the playcalling and scheme stuff will matter little. We do have some younger players that give hope that we can be better in these areas than we are now.
Running game and rushing the passer. I believe how well we do these two things will go a long way in determing the success of this season, that is whether we get into the playoffs and be a threat when we get there.
The running game has been ok so far, although we've played pretty good run defenses. I would put more blame on the line than Julius, but there is probably room for improvement all the way around. I think we need to be a very good running team to have success this year, a la Pittsburgh. That is, we need to be able to run the ball well even against the good run defenses. My hope would be that we could be even better by the end of the year, because the five will be used to playing with each other and Pettiti will have gotten more experience.
Pass rush is all right, a little better than last year I would say, but not where it needs to be for us to be successful against the good teams like Philadelphia. Ellis and Glover, while not spectacular, are both solid pass rushers.
Three players will determine a lot: Ware, Spears and Canty. Ware has shown flashes in the preseason and now in the regular season, but Samuels stoned him pretty good. It will be interesting to see how he develops this year. Spears showed the kind of explosion Monday that I saw of him in college and made me so happy we drafted him. I think he can be very good as an inside rusher. Canty looked good Monday night as well.
If we don't make good progress in these areas, I think all of the playcalling and scheme stuff will matter little. We do have some younger players that give hope that we can be better in these areas than we are now.
