Quick thoughts on the jags debacle

[omahacolt]

1. I still love how aggressive Reich is. I like that he took the knee for the whole team. I liked that he had the offense clearly on the same page with scripted, well designed plays to start the game. It always seems that after we run 15 or so plays, we are done for awhile. We just hit a wall. I really can’t stand putting Brissett out there. That shit needs to stop.

2. Rivers is Rivers. We know what we are getting. It isn’t great but can be good. He had an amazing throw to Campbell on the sideline under pressure. He gets the ball out quickly and usually accurately. Then he does his dumb shit of forcing throws into double coverage. Get used to it. Still way better than having to watch Brissett. We need new next year.

3. Ty with some terrible drops to end the game. Not worried about him but fuck. Just killer.

4. Campbell looked good. The kid is going to be a big part of this offense.

5. I have no problem with an offense that likes to throw short to guys in space. Simple and smart and can really get you chunks of yards. I don’t like never going deep. We need at least 4 bombs a game. Keep them safeties back so we can attack short and intermediate and keep them box light for the run game.

6. Oline was terrible in the run game. Not sure what that was.

7. This dline just isn’t that good. Grover Stewart shouldn’t be starting. Buckner shows promise. Autry is not a great starter at LE but a decent rotational guy. We need better.

8. Those great lbers weren’t so great. Missed tackles, soft coverage and just underwhelming altogether.

9. Malik Hooker is invisible. Get Odum in for him more.

10. The jags just ate us up in the run game and in the pass game. Coverage was fucking abysmal. Still love some Kenny Moore though.

11. This defense needs to figure out a scheme they can run. Because whatever that was won’t work. There is some talent there I think. Rhodes and roc are physical dudes. Maybe jamming at the line would help? I don’t know. Want to watch the all 22 on this shitty game.

[Chromeburn]

We never punted

We had 200 yards more offense

We dominated time of possession.

Our strength matched up with their weakness


Ridiculous loss and maybe this team is not as talented as it thinks it is.

[Pez]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

We never punted

We had 200 yards more offense

We dominated time of possession.

Our strength matched up with their weakness


Ridiculous loss and maybe this team is not as talented as it thinks it is.

We threw two pics, missed a field goal, and the only way our defense could get off the field was if the Jags scored.

Minschew also played very very well.

[YDFL Commish]

[QUOTE=omahacolt;168592]
10. The jags just ate us up in the run game and in the pass game. Coverage was fucking abysmal. Still love some Kenny Moore though.

To be fair the Colts settled down and stopped the run game in the 2nd half. But giving up a 95% completion rate is just ridiculous. Gus clearly were not on the same page in zone coverage.

[albany ed]

The way the D played, if they don't fix it, they'll be facing HOF level QBs every week.

[Chromeburn]

What is frustrating is our best pass rusher is Justin Houston. We still need a franchise pass rusher after four years. Going to need a franchise QB very soon. And our franchise LT is about to retire. Basically the foundation positions on a team.

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

What is frustrating is our best pass rusher is Justin Houston. We still need a franchise pass rusher after four years. Going to need a franchise QB very soon. And our franchise LT is about to retire. Basically the foundation positions on a team.

But at least we always have cap space

[apballin]

On the verge of going up 14-0 and go for it on 4th down with the smallest guy on the team, changed the whole dam game hopefully it’s exactly what they needed

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

What is frustrating is our best pass rusher is Justin Houston. We still need a franchise pass rusher after four years. Going to need a franchise QB very soon. And our franchise LT is about to retire. Basically the foundation positions on a team.

So the team loses one disappointing game and now the entire franchise is in a tailspin? Just a week ago the majority of the people here were predicting 10 wins or more. There are lots of reasons to explain why we lost this game, one of which is admittedly that the team isn't as good as everyone thinks. But I'll remind you, it was the first game of the season - even in a normal season, weird things are prone to happen in the first game as teams work out the kinks, and I'd imagine that's only magnified here because of the lack of a traditional preseason, COVID, lack of fan attendance, new players still being integrated into the system, etc. So it's premature to begin writing the obituary yet (and yes, I know that's not exactly what you were doing, but I'm addressing the larger sentiment expressed here).

As far as your criticisms, to begin with I assume your reference to "four years" is a reference to Ballard's tenure. If so, more accurately its really only been three years, as we just had the first game of the fourth year (though there's been four offseasons). Second, I agree with the disappointment that we haven't been able to find a franchise pass rusher so far, though it’s not for a lack of trying as we've used several high picks on pass rush prospects. If these guys don't develop, that's on Ballard, Reich and the rest of the coaches and front office. My understanding is that they've always believed that a franchise DT was critical to their defensive scheme, so Buckner needs to produce in that role and if he doesn't that is again on Ballard, Reich, etc. Given how much we paid for him (both in cash and draft capital), that would be a real blow.

The franchise QB criticism is tired, honestly. What was the team supposed to do when Luck abruptly announced his retirement last year during preseason? Take out any team's franchise QB (Mahomes, Jackson, Rodgers, etc.) and they'll be in the same boat and will probably do the same thing we did – bring in an experienced QB to hold down the fort while they hunt for a long-term solution. I suppose we could have traded up and drafted Jordan Love, but from what I've read he's not doing well so far and is no position to help GB this year. So we went out and got Rivers as a stopgap, and resisted the pressure to negotiate a contract of two years or more, signaling to me at least that the team was unconvinced that he's the answer and we want to keep our options open if he doesn't work out. I suppose you could argue we should have signed someone else, Cam Newton perhaps, and that's a fair point but it didn't seem like there was tons of interest in Newton league-wide for some reason (including his former team). I don't know why but it's curious. So time will tell whether Rivers over Newton or someone else was a good decision.

The franchise LT comment is a non-issue and I think an exaggeration. Castonzo is not “about to retire” Yes, he talked about retirement briefly before he signed a two-year contract this offseason. So he's under contract for this year and next, and maybe he'll retire after that, but maybe he won't. He'll still only be 33 at that time, so it's not unreasonable to think he'll have a few more years in him at that time if he chooses to stay. And I'm sure we'll do our best to keep him if he's still productive. Obviously, we'll need to replace him if he does retire, and Ballard & Co. should be incorporating this into their thinking now.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by Chaka

So the team loses one disappointing game and now the entire franchise is in a tailspin? Just a week ago the majority of the people here were predicting 10 wins or more. There are lots of reasons to explain why we lost this game, one of which is admittedly that the team isn't as good as everyone thinks. But I'll remind you, it was the first game of the season - even in a normal season, weird things are prone to happen in the first game as teams work out the kinks, and I'd imagine that's only magnified here because of the lack of a traditional preseason, COVID, lack of fan attendance, new players still being integrated into the system, etc. So it's premature to begin writing the obituary yet (and yes, I know that's not exactly what you were doing, but I'm addressing the larger sentiment expressed here).

As far as your criticisms, to begin with I assume your reference to "four years" is a reference to Ballard's tenure. If so, more accurately its really only been three years, as we just had the first game of the fourth year (though there's been four offseasons). Second, I agree with the disappointment that we haven't been able to find a franchise pass rusher so far, though it’s not for a lack of trying as we've used several high picks on pass rush prospects. If these guys don't develop, that's on Ballard, Reich and the rest of the coaches and front office. My understanding is that they've always believed that a franchise DT was critical to their defensive scheme, so Buckner needs to produce in that role and if he doesn't that is again on Ballard, Reich, etc. Given how much we paid for him (both in cash and draft capital), that would be a real blow.

The franchise QB criticism is tired, honestly. What was the team supposed to do when Luck abruptly announced his retirement last year during preseason? Take out any team's franchise QB (Mahomes, Jackson, Rodgers, etc.) and they'll be in the same boat and will probably do the same thing we did – bring in an experienced QB to hold down the fort while they hunt for a long-term solution. I suppose we could have traded up and drafted Jordan Love, but from what I've read he's not doing well so far and is no position to help GB this year. So we went out and got Rivers as a stopgap, and resisted the pressure to negotiate a contract of two years or more, signaling to me at least that the team was unconvinced that he's the answer and we want to keep our options open if he doesn't work out. I suppose you could argue we should have signed someone else, Cam Newton perhaps, and that's a fair point but it didn't seem like there was tons of interest in Newton league-wide for some reason (including his former team). I don't know why but it's curious. So time will tell whether Rivers over Newton or someone else was a good decision.

The franchise LT comment is a non-issue and I think an exaggeration. Castonzo is not “about to retire” Yes, he talked about retirement briefly before he signed a two-year contract this offseason. So he's under contract for this year and next, and maybe he'll retire after that, but maybe he won't. He'll still only be 33 at that time, so it's not unreasonable to think he'll have a few more years in him at that time if he chooses to stay. And I'm sure we'll do our best to keep him if he's still productive. Obviously, we'll need to replace him if he does retire, and Ballard & Co. should be incorporating this into their thinking now.

Sorry to criticize your dad, but I'm still waiting on the amazing talent they have assembled to reveal itself. 1 playoff appearence in four years.