CurBeat's takeaways - Colts vs. Bengals

[CurBeatElite]

Not the prettiest win, but a very good win.

 

Positives:

 

Rivers didn't play a perfect game, but he played very well.  The safety made a good play on that INT -- maybe Rivers shouldn't have thrown the ball there, but I was fine with the decision looking back at it, it wasn't a perfect throw and got picked, but it wasn't anything like the INTs versus Cleveland.  He didn't panic, the team rallied behind him even when we were down 3 scores.  IMO, that'll go a long way in the future, having the faith of his teammates when we're in a hole (I didn't see that so much in our previous two losses). He showed he's got accuracy on the deep ball with a few of his passes (e.g., the 55 yarder to Johnson) and put nice touch on most of his throws (e.g., the TD to Doyle).

 

Taylor averaged 5.0 yards per carry.  A couple of negative runs, but a couple of big runs (10+ yards) in critical situations.  We didn't have a very balanced offense today (has to be in part because we got down early), and Hines had no rushing attempts and Wilkins only had 1... but, for the most we were effective in the running game when we needed to be.  Taylor seems to be developing more patience and is starting to (IMO) gel with the OL a bit better.  He also looked very good on a couple of receptions.

 

Hines wasn't used on any very obvious run plays (i.e., right up the middle when the D was obviously expecting it) and he did well as a receiving back and looked pretty explosive as a punt returner.

 

Johnson looks like he's emerging as our #1 WR.  Even though he spent the majority of the season on the PS, he's doing well with Rivers and making catches when the ball is thrown his way.  I was also impressed (for the most part with D. Harris -- he needs to make some better decisions about going out of bounds, but he showed explosiveness and solid hands).  

 

Doyle and Burton both looked solid today and made some difficult, but very nice catches.  

 

The OL gave up 1 sack and did allow some pressure, but for the most part kept Rivers up right and did well on run blocking the little bit we ran today.  Other than Costanzo going too far down the field on the TD that was negated, they played pretty penalty free.  

 

Sanchez hit one beautiful punt (the one where we pinned them inside the 1) and had 2 other pretty solid punts, and continued to do well as a kickoff specialist.  Blankenship was perfect again and his XP attempts literally go straight through the uprights.  I don't know how much closer to center he could be, if he wasn't right there.

 

On D, I thought Buckner really took over the game in spurts (especially the beginning of the 4th quarter).  We sacked Burrows twice and got a decent amount of hits on him.  I didn't really notice Houston much, but I thought Stewart (I thought his penalty was very questionable, I wouldn't have called it) played his best game and I thought the DL overall was pretty solid.

 

Okereke had another good game, IMO the past 2 weeks have been his best two after I thought he struggled the first 4 weeks. He barely missed a pick (I think without the thumb brace, he comes down with that).  Walker was solid as well.  Not huge on Franklin, but I didn't really notice anything good or bad from him today.  I think if Walker and Oke keep it up when Leonard returns, our LBs will be very formidable.

 

I think Rhodes looked very good today.  He's a solid tackler and had a couple nice plays in coverage.  On plays where they completed the ball in front of him, he didn't let them gain many yards after the catch.  Ya Sin, for the most part, I thought played well.  I'm not sure what happened on the long completion, he bit early, got beat and somehow ran out of bounds and had to come back to pursue the WR.  His penalty for bodyslamming the guy was a bit ridiculous, I think .. but he's a tough young player and playing pretty well.  I thought Moore looked good as a nickelback.  Carrie got picked on the first play he was in the game covering for Rhodes, but otherwise, I thought did OK.  

 

Blackmon had another solid day.  Huge pick there at the end.  Willis, I think, is the weak link on our D.  He's a solid tackler and gets to plays which happen in front of him, but I think he's a major liability in coverage and just doesn't have elite athleticism.  

 

Offensive play calling -- it wasn't perfect, but they had a good mix of plays and it didn't seem as predictable as the first 5 weeks.  

 

No major injuries -- at least from what I could tell.

 

Negatives:

Slow start.  Lucky we weren't playing a better team, as I don't think we would have been able to overcome it (or at least I wouldn't count on it).  We lost the turnover battle and both turnovers came at bad times (the first drive) and later in the game when we could've really put them away.  We lost the time of possession battle.  We had untimely penalties which hurt us.  Good thing is, I think most of these are correctable and we didn't seem to panic or throw in the towel at all.

 

TY had 1 reception on 5 targets.  Barely missed on the one going out of bounds.  He had one, basically a screen, go right through his hands and another (the negated TD) called back due to penalty.  He's not getting a lot of separation and he and Rivers don't seem to be on the same page.  I'm starting to think Rivers doesn't have a whole lot of trust in him.

 

The D played well as the game went on, but they were getting picked apart pretty early in the game and let up a few big chunk plays.  Granted, Burrows is a solid QB and he's got a bit of talent at WR... but other than small spurts, they didn't look like the #1 ranked defense consistently throughout the game.

_________________________________________________________

 

Overall, a good win.  A character builder.  We're 4-2 and going into a game against a pretty bad Lions team, then we have a bye.  Hopefully we carry this momentum over, go to the bye at 5-2 and get a few contributors (Leonard, Pittman, Turay, Alie Cox) back in the lineup and some of the guys who have been playing banged up get some rest so we can close the season out strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[coltfaninnewyork]

Hoping Leonard and turay back after Detroit will definitely help our 3rd down defense 

[Mr.Debonair]

Going to disagree with Rock playing well.

[csmopar]

3 minutes ago, Mr.Debonair said:

Going to disagree with Rock playing well.

Ok, elaborate please

[Mr.Debonair]

10 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Ok, elaborate please

He was beat multiple times today. Even on one of his pass break ups, if Burrow delivers a better ball he’s toast. Then throw the stupid penalty in there too. He played okay but I def wouldn’t say well

[DougDew]

Not sure that we can say that our LBs played well based upon what happened in the first half.  I think Walker needs Leonard next to him to play well.

[NewColtsFan]

It’s typically viewed as a good thing when a team plays as poorly as the Colts did today and yet still found a way to win.

 

Thats what good teams do.   They find a way to win even when a loss looks quite likely.   Now the Colts need to find a way to win against better teams.    And those start in two weeks... 

[ColtStrong2013]

4 minutes ago, Mr.Debonair said:

He was beat multiple times today. Even on one of his pass break ups, if Burrow delivers a better ball he’s toast. Then throw the stupid penalty in there too. He played okay but I def wouldn’t say well

You see what you want to see. Multiple times today, he played very well. You are focused on a few of what was several plays his way today. He got beat a few times, but he had a few very good defended passes. He tackled well (don’t blame a state champion wrestler for taking a guy down like that- it was a great take down, stupid penalty in my opinion... blow the whistle if you don’t want a guy getting hurt on the football field.) They always penalize the defender looking to finish a play. Had he broken away for a touchdown and the refs not called it dead, we would have wished Ya-Sin would have slammed him on his back, and that’s what he did. Stupid in the sense he should be more disciplined, great in the sense that this kid is going to play until a whistle tells him otherwise. He almost gave up on that pass down the sideline, but yet was the one that tackled him at the 2 yard line. I see what I want to see too, and he’s a tough, hard working corner that is going to continue getting better.

[csmopar]

4 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

You see what you want to see. Multiple times today, he played very well. You are focused on a few of what was several plays his way today. He got beat a few times, but he had a few very good defended passes. He tackled well (don’t blame a state champion wrestler for taking a guy down like that- it was a great take down, stupid penalty in my opinion... blow the whistle if you don’t want a guy getting hurt on the football field.) They always penalize the defender looking to finish a play. Had he broken away for a touchdown and the refs not called it dead, we would have wished Ya-Sin would have slammed him on his back, and that’s what he did. Stupid in the sense he should be more disciplined, great in the sense that this kid is going to play until a whistle tells him otherwise. He almost gave up on that pass down the sideline, but yet was the one that tackled him at the 2 yard line. I see what I want to see too, and he’s a tough, hard working corner that is going to continue getting better.

I missed this play, anyone got a clip?

[Mr.Debonair]

8 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

You see what you want to see. Multiple times today, he played very well. You are focused on a few of what was several plays his way today. He got beat a few times, but he had a few very good defended passes. He tackled well (don’t blame a state champion wrestler for taking a guy down like that- it was a great take down, stupid penalty in my opinion... blow the whistle if you don’t want a guy getting hurt on the football field.) They always penalize the defender looking to finish a play. Had he broken away for a touchdown and the refs not called it dead, we would have wished Ya-Sin would have slammed him on his back, and that’s what he did. Stupid in the sense he should be more disciplined, great in the sense that this kid is going to play until a whistle tells him otherwise. He almost gave up on that pass down the sideline, but yet was the one that tackled him at the 2 yard line. I see what I want to see too, and he’s a tough, hard working corner that is going to continue getting better.

Suplexing will always draw a penalty. You can stop a players progress but you can’t do that. It will always be called unnecessary roughness. I said he played okay but I am not going to say he played well

[SR711]

- Rivers with easily his best game as a Colt.  Still thought it was an overreaction to call for Brissett after last week. 6 games into the season and it should be pretty clear that while there will likely be some INTs which come with taking shots down the field, those are balanced by increased efficiency, timely reads and knowing where to go with the ball more rapidly based on coverage.  There is more juice with the passing game than there was for most of the time last year.  He is not perfect, but Rivers is definitely the best QB on our roster who gives us a chance to win on Sundays.

 

- For the 1st quarter and parts of the 2nd, the defensive play was completely unacceptable.  I do not for the life of me understand what good can possibly happen when we play soft zone early behind a front four that has trouble generating pressure.   I mention this as a follow up to the 1st point because I guarantee that this team will not win many (if any) more games like today if they fall behind by 3 TDs or give up 20 pts in a half like last week.  This needs to be fixed ASAP and I don't necessarily feel it is a talent issue.

 

- On the Bengals last drive, I thought both safeties stepped well.  We all saw Blackmon play a textbook zone technique on the INT, but a few plays before Willis made a great individual play coming across the line stopping Burrow for a  minimal gain after initially blitzing off tackle.  The middle of the field was wide open on that and if Willis doesn't make the play or gets caught in the wash coming across the line, Burrow would have had a pretty chunk of yards running up the middle.  

 

[Colt Overseas]

Even though we should be beat Cincinnati by more, I though there was a couple of good positives to take from the game.

 

Johnson was the big one for me. I think our offence looks much more dangerous having a true deep threat that can stretch the field. He also should have had a TD on an overthrown deep ball by Rivers in the 4th quarter. I think a TY - Pittman - Johnson starting WRs can be very good. I also though Harris played well and can add a different dimension to our offense.

 

I think Rivers too can take a lot out of the game too. Played well, got the ball out quickly and looked in control. Played exactly like the way we want him to play.

 

Taylor is getting more comfortable at this level too. If our passing attack can keep improving he should start see less stacked boxes. His YPC is improving each week. I’d like to see more outside runs, he can really hit the edge and turn a corner.

 

Burton is also improving and getting more comfortable too.

 

Defense needs to be tuned in more in the first half. But overall they have played well in the first 6 games. I think we need more pressure and sacks from our edge defenders. Hopefully Turay can contribute after the bye, he is a big loss. Banogu has been very disappointing this year, hasn’t kicked on at all. Lewis is just OK. Houston and Autry are playing solid, particularly against the run, but are not going to generate high pressure/sack numbers consistently each week.

[coming on strong]

1 hour ago, Mr.Debonair said:

He was beat multiple times today. Even on one of his pass break ups, if Burrow delivers a better ball he’s toast. Then throw the stupid penalty in there too. He played okay but I def wouldn’t say well

burrow threw the ball like 40 times today on like 3 plays rock looked bad but he looked good a multiple plays also .   thats the thing with corners when they play well the QB just does not throw the ball their way so rock could of been in good coverage 36 times out of the 40 throws and got beat bad once

[BlueCollarColts]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s typically viewed as a good thing when a team plays as poorly as the Colts did today and yet still found a way to win.

 

Thats what good teams do.   They find a way to win even when a loss looks quite likely.   Now the Colts need to find a way to win against better teams.    And those start in two weeks... 

MAYBE in three weeks. 

 

The Lions aren't AWFUL but they're far from a quality team and I would say are worse than Chicago is. Definitely a step up from Jets/Vikings though.

[crazycolt1]

2 hours ago, Mr.Debonair said:

He was beat multiple times today. Even on one of his pass break ups, if Burrow delivers a better ball he’s toast. Then throw the stupid penalty in there too. He played okay but I def wouldn’t say well

Did he play like an all pro? No, he played like a rookie and very well I would say. 

He plays a position that is one of the hardest positions to learn to play in the NFL. Expecting him to play like a seasoned vet is unrealistic. 

[Mr.Debonair]

4 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Did he play like an all pro? No, he played like a rookie and very well I would say. 

He plays a position that is one of the hardest positions to learn to play in the NFL. Expecting him to play like a seasoned vet is unrealistic. 

He’s not a rookie though. I don't expect all-pro. He played okay. Saying he played well is false IMO

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, Mr.Debonair said:

He’s not a rookie though. I don't expect all-pro. He played okay. Saying he played well is false IMO

As little time as he played last season he is basically a rookie. He was not the starter last season. 

It normally takes three years for a player to learn his position. 

The two receivers he was covering today are all pro receivers regardless of them being on the Bengals. 

Boyd was over 1,000 yd receiver last year and we all know how good Green is when he is healthy. 

There was a reason Joe Burrow was the 1st pick of the draft too.

Give him a break. His position is called on an island for a reason. Just saying. 

 

[Shive]

2 hours ago, csmopar said:

I missed this play, anyone got a clip?

 

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, BlueCollarColts said:

MAYBE in three weeks. 

 

The Lions aren't AWFUL but they're far from a quality team and I would say are worse than Chicago is. Definitely a step up from Jets/Vikings though.

I think Detroit is better than Cincinnati plus they will be playing at home.   Not saying the Lions are a playoff caliber team, but I think they’re better than some here might give them credit for. 

[GoColts8818]

6 hours ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

You see what you want to see. Multiple times today, he played very well. You are focused on a few of what was several plays his way today. He got beat a few times, but he had a few very good defended passes. He tackled well (don’t blame a state champion wrestler for taking a guy down like that- it was a great take down, stupid penalty in my opinion... blow the whistle if you don’t want a guy getting hurt on the football field.) They always penalize the defender looking to finish a play. Had he broken away for a touchdown and the refs not called it dead, we would have wished Ya-Sin would have slammed him on his back, and that’s what he did. Stupid in the sense he should be more disciplined, great in the sense that this kid is going to play until a whistle tells him otherwise. He almost gave up on that pass down the sideline, but yet was the one that tackled him at the 2 yard line. I see what I want to see too, and he’s a tough, hard working corner that is going to continue getting better.

That’s a rule you slam someone like that it’s unnecessary roughness.  To do it in front of an official is just dumb.

[GoColts8818]

Rock had about five plays that stood out to me today.  Two were bad three were good.  Take that for what it’s worth which isn’t much.  
 

he’s a second year player being asked to be a number one corner that’s a lot so I try to remember that when makes mistakes and try to be patient and remember he has a lot to learn.  

[Two_pound]

What I saw yesterday was a repeat of a 2018 game where we were playing a team with a rookie qb who was the number 3 overall pick starting his 4th game or something like that and we sat back in a very soft very loose zone defense and got picked apart up and down the field as the rookie qb stared down his receivers just like Burrow did. What did this coaching staff learn from that game in 2018 that they thought would work this year??????? Really, how can anyone even explain that defensive game plan yesterday? So many easy pitch and catch on slant routes. At least as the game went on they did play more man and played more aggresively. Well atleast we won, good thing Blackmon intercepted that last pass otherwise it was probably a touchdown because there wasn't anyone else back there who would have tackled Boyd. But these soft zone, stand around and not gaurd anyone game plans have got to end. One other thing I thought about regarding yesterdays game, did the nfl find those refs in the wwe?

[CoachLite]

Like starting the season slowly every year, the Colts first quarter against the Bengals lacked focus and intensity. Being prepared for a game involves mental attitude and not being distracted by other concerns. If they can correct this, they should be a very competitive team. Big if!

[Smonroe]

When the D is playing well, they're very good.  But when they play that soft cover two, keeping everything in front of them, no pressure on the QB, etc., they just plain bad.

 

What bothers me is that they continue to play that D.  But that's all covered in a different thread.

 

Overall, Rivers looked really good.  He made up for the running game again.  Yes, Taylor had 5 ypc, but most of that was on two plays.  He's starting to show better vision though.  I think now we all realize how good Mack was, and how much he's missed.

 

I liked what we saw from MJ.  His biggest problem is staying healthy.  Harris could be the Slot we need.  He's tiny, so he needs to watch how TY protects himself.

[King Colt]

Colts biggest comeback win since Week 5 2003!!!  As far as predicting games who predicted the Bucs rolling over the Packers (Rodgers (0 TDs + 2 INTs) and the 49ers beating the Rams? Answer: No one.

[shasta519]

15 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

Not the prettiest win, but a very good win.

 

Positives:

 

Rivers didn't play a perfect game, but he played very well.  The safety made a good play on that INT -- maybe Rivers shouldn't have thrown the ball there, but I was fine with the decision looking back at it, it wasn't a perfect throw and got picked, but it wasn't anything like the INTs versus Cleveland.  He didn't panic, the team rallied behind him even when we were down 3 scores.  IMO, that'll go a long way in the future, having the faith of his teammates when we're in a hole (I didn't see that so much in our previous two losses). He showed he's got accuracy on the deep ball with a few of his passes (e.g., the 55 yarder to Johnson) and put nice touch on most of his throws (e.g., the TD to Doyle).

 

Taylor averaged 5.0 yards per carry.  A couple of negative runs, but a couple of big runs (10+ yards) in critical situations.  We didn't have a very balanced offense today (has to be in part because we got down early), and Hines had no rushing attempts and Wilkins only had 1... but, for the most we were effective in the running game when we needed to be.  Taylor seems to be developing more patience and is starting to (IMO) gel with the OL a bit better.  He also looked very good on a couple of receptions.

 

Hines wasn't used on any very obvious run plays (i.e., right up the middle when the D was obviously expecting it) and he did well as a receiving back and looked pretty explosive as a punt returner.

 

Johnson looks like he's emerging as our #1 WR.  Even though he spent the majority of the season on the PS, he's doing well with Rivers and making catches when the ball is thrown his way.  I was also impressed (for the most part with D. Harris -- he needs to make some better decisions about going out of bounds, but he showed explosiveness and solid hands).  

 

Doyle and Burton both looked solid today and made some difficult, but very nice catches.  

 

The OL gave up 1 sack and did allow some pressure, but for the most part kept Rivers up right and did well on run blocking the little bit we ran today.  Other than Costanzo going too far down the field on the TD that was negated, they played pretty penalty free.  

 

Sanchez hit one beautiful punt (the one where we pinned them inside the 1) and had 2 other pretty solid punts, and continued to do well as a kickoff specialist.  Blankenship was perfect again and his XP attempts literally go straight through the uprights.  I don't know how much closer to center he could be, if he wasn't right there.

 

On D, I thought Buckner really took over the game in spurts (especially the beginning of the 4th quarter).  We sacked Burrows twice and got a decent amount of hits on him.  I didn't really notice Houston much, but I thought Stewart (I thought his penalty was very questionable, I wouldn't have called it) played his best game and I thought the DL overall was pretty solid.

 

Okereke had another good game, IMO the past 2 weeks have been his best two after I thought he struggled the first 4 weeks. He barely missed a pick (I think without the thumb brace, he comes down with that).  Walker was solid as well.  Not huge on Franklin, but I didn't really notice anything good or bad from him today.  I think if Walker and Oke keep it up when Leonard returns, our LBs will be very formidable.

 

I think Rhodes looked very good today.  He's a solid tackler and had a couple nice plays in coverage.  On plays where they completed the ball in front of him, he didn't let them gain many yards after the catch.  Ya Sin, for the most part, I thought played well.  I'm not sure what happened on the long completion, he bit early, got beat and somehow ran out of bounds and had to come back to pursue the WR.  His penalty for bodyslamming the guy was a bit ridiculous, I think .. but he's a tough young player and playing pretty well.  I thought Moore looked good as a nickelback.  Carrie got picked on the first play he was in the game covering for Rhodes, but otherwise, I thought did OK.  

 

Blackmon had another solid day.  Huge pick there at the end.  Willis, I think, is the weak link on our D.  He's a solid tackler and gets to plays which happen in front of him, but I think he's a major liability in coverage and just doesn't have elite athleticism.  

 

Offensive play calling -- it wasn't perfect, but they had a good mix of plays and it didn't seem as predictable as the first 5 weeks.  

 

No major injuries -- at least from what I could tell.

 

Negatives:

Slow start.  Lucky we weren't playing a better team, as I don't think we would have been able to overcome it (or at least I wouldn't count on it).  We lost the turnover battle and both turnovers came at bad times (the first drive) and later in the game when we could've really put them away.  We lost the time of possession battle.  We had untimely penalties which hurt us.  Good thing is, I think most of these are correctable and we didn't seem to panic or throw in the towel at all.

 

TY had 1 reception on 5 targets.  Barely missed on the one going out of bounds.  He had one, basically a screen, go right through his hands and another (the negated TD) called back due to penalty.  He's not getting a lot of separation and he and Rivers don't seem to be on the same page.  I'm starting to think Rivers doesn't have a whole lot of trust in him.

 

The D played well as the game went on, but they were getting picked apart pretty early in the game and let up a few big chunk plays.  Granted, Burrows is a solid QB and he's got a bit of talent at WR... but other than small spurts, they didn't look like the #1 ranked defense consistently throughout the game.

_________________________________________________________

 

Overall, a good win.  A character builder.  We're 4-2 and going into a game against a pretty bad Lions team, then we have a bye.  Hopefully we carry this momentum over, go to the bye at 5-2 and get a few contributors (Leonard, Pittman, Turay, Alie Cox) back in the lineup and some of the guys who have been playing banged up get some rest so we can close the season out strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The offense was really good after the 1st quarter. Taylor needs more touches...even in a negative game script. Only good drive in the 2nd half was because he picked up 40 yards in two plays and drove them downfield. Need to unleash him in the passing game more. He's averaging almost 4 yards per catch more than Hines.

 

On defense...I thought Buckner played well...but overall...the DL didn't get a ton of pressure. Burrow was only pressured on 9 of his 42 dropbacks. Fortunately...two of those resulted in sacks...but most of the time...he was pretty comfty back there.

 

Staying on defense...I agree with your sentiments about Willis. Pass coverage is not his strong suit. I think this defense is missing a S to pair with Blackmon...which will allow Willis to play closer to the LOS.  

 

Okereke was solid overall...but Walker was pretty bad this game. He was getting run over the in the run game...and looked lost at times in pass coverage. He just moves a step slower than Okereke.

 

Nice to see Stallworth get a (half) sack.

 

It was good to get the win. I felt like this game was straight out of the Luck Pagano era. Get down big early...then the offense starts to click and defense tightens up just enough to allow the offense to catch up and keep it a game. And then the other team is driving to possibly win the game...and the defense comes up with an INT. 

 

 

[shasta519]

16 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Colts biggest comeback win since Week 5 2003!!!  As far as predicting games who predicted the Bucs rolling over the Packers (Rodgers (0 TDs + 2 INTs) and the 49ers beating the Rams? Answer: No one.

 

I am sure there were people who had the 49ers beating the LAR. They are (mostly healthy now)...and have their full complement of weapons on offense. 

 

The TB/GB game was crazy though. Seems like GB (and Rodgers) lays a stinker or two each season.

[Superman]

21 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

On D, I thought Buckner really took over the game in spurts (especially the beginning of the 4th quarter).  We sacked Burrows twice and got a decent amount of hits on him.  I didn't really notice Houston much, but I thought Stewart (I thought his penalty was very questionable, I wouldn't have called it) played his best game and I thought the DL overall was pretty solid.

 

I'd like to see the pass rush be more consistent, and sometimes it seems like the run fits get a little screwy (first half yesterday and last week, first half against the Jags), but while watching over the last few weeks I'm feeling like the DL is maybe the best unit on the team. Especially accounting for depth. The OL probably has a better starting unit, but the DL reserves are pretty good. 

[CurBeatElite]

16 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'd like to see the pass rush be more consistent, and sometimes it seems like the run fits get a little screwy (first half yesterday and last week, first half against the Jags), but while watching over the last few weeks I'm feeling like the DL is maybe the best unit on the team. Especially accounting for depth. The OL probably has a better starting unit, but the DL reserves are pretty good. 

 

Yes, the DL is definitely a solid unit.  Hopefully we get Turay back and it improves further.

 

I agree with you about the pass rush being more consistent... though, considering we rarely blitz (I think we send non-DL players after the QB the least out of any team in the league), it's really not too bad (granted we haven't had much experience this year against top-notch OLs).  

[dw49]

21 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

Not the prettiest win, but a very good win.

 

Positives:

 

Rivers didn't play a perfect game, but he played very well.  The safety made a good play on that INT -- maybe Rivers shouldn't have thrown the ball there, but I was fine with the decision looking back at it, it wasn't a perfect throw and got picked, but it wasn't anything like the INTs versus Cleveland.  He didn't panic, the team rallied behind him even when we were down 3 scores.  IMO, that'll go a long way in the future, having the faith of his teammates when we're in a hole (I didn't see that so much in our previous two losses). He showed he's got accuracy on the deep ball with a few of his passes (e.g., the 55 yarder to Johnson) and put nice touch on most of his throws (e.g., the TD to Doyle).

 

Taylor averaged 5.0 yards per carry.  A couple of negative runs, but a couple of big runs (10+ yards) in critical situations.  We didn't have a very balanced offense today (has to be in part because we got down early), and Hines had no rushing attempts and Wilkins only had 1... but, for the most we were effective in the running game when we needed to be.  Taylor seems to be developing more patience and is starting to (IMO) gel with the OL a bit better.  He also looked very good on a couple of receptions.

 

Hines wasn't used on any very obvious run plays (i.e., right up the middle when the D was obviously expecting it) and he did well as a receiving back and looked pretty explosive as a punt returner.

 

Johnson looks like he's emerging as our #1 WR.  Even though he spent the majority of the season on the PS, he's doing well with Rivers and making catches when the ball is thrown his way.  I was also impressed (for the most part with D. Harris -- he needs to make some better decisions about going out of bounds, but he showed explosiveness and solid hands).  

 

Doyle and Burton both looked solid today and made some difficult, but very nice catches.  

 

The OL gave up 1 sack and did allow some pressure, but for the most part kept Rivers up right and did well on run blocking the little bit we ran today.  Other than Costanzo going too far down the field on the TD that was negated, they played pretty penalty free.  

 

Sanchez hit one beautiful punt (the one where we pinned them inside the 1) and had 2 other pretty solid punts, and continued to do well as a kickoff specialist.  Blankenship was perfect again and his XP attempts literally go straight through the uprights.  I don't know how much closer to center he could be, if he wasn't right there.

 

On D, I thought Buckner really took over the game in spurts (especially the beginning of the 4th quarter).  We sacked Burrows twice and got a decent amount of hits on him.  I didn't really notice Houston much, but I thought Stewart (I thought his penalty was very questionable, I wouldn't have called it) played his best game and I thought the DL overall was pretty solid.

 

Okereke had another good game, IMO the past 2 weeks have been his best two after I thought he struggled the first 4 weeks. He barely missed a pick (I think without the thumb brace, he comes down with that).  Walker was solid as well.  Not huge on Franklin, but I didn't really notice anything good or bad from him today.  I think if Walker and Oke keep it up when Leonard returns, our LBs will be very formidable.

 

I think Rhodes looked very good today.  He's a solid tackler and had a couple nice plays in coverage.  On plays where they completed the ball in front of him, he didn't let them gain many yards after the catch.  Ya Sin, for the most part, I thought played well.  I'm not sure what happened on the long completion, he bit early, got beat and somehow ran out of bounds and had to come back to pursue the WR.  His penalty for bodyslamming the guy was a bit ridiculous, I think .. but he's a tough young player and playing pretty well.  I thought Moore looked good as a nickelback.  Carrie got picked on the first play he was in the game covering for Rhodes, but otherwise, I thought did OK.  

 

Blackmon had another solid day.  Huge pick there at the end.  Willis, I think, is the weak link on our D.  He's a solid tackler and gets to plays which happen in front of him, but I think he's a major liability in coverage and just doesn't have elite athleticism.  

 

Offensive play calling -- it wasn't perfect, but they had a good mix of plays and it didn't seem as predictable as the first 5 weeks.  

 

No major injuries -- at least from what I could tell.

 

Negatives:

Slow start.  Lucky we weren't playing a better team, as I don't think we would have been able to overcome it (or at least I wouldn't count on it).  We lost the turnover battle and both turnovers came at bad times (the first drive) and later in the game when we could've really put them away.  We lost the time of possession battle.  We had untimely penalties which hurt us.  Good thing is, I think most of these are correctable and we didn't seem to panic or throw in the towel at all.

 

TY had 1 reception on 5 targets.  Barely missed on the one going out of bounds.  He had one, basically a screen, go right through his hands and another (the negated TD) called back due to penalty.  He's not getting a lot of separation and he and Rivers don't seem to be on the same page.  I'm starting to think Rivers doesn't have a whole lot of trust in him.

 

The D played well as the game went on, but they were getting picked apart pretty early in the game and let up a few big chunk plays.  Granted, Burrows is a solid QB and he's got a bit of talent at WR... but other than small spurts, they didn't look like the #1 ranked defense consistently throughout the game.

_________________________________________________________

 

Overall, a good win.  A character builder.  We're 4-2 and going into a game against a pretty bad Lions team, then we have a bye.  Hopefully we carry this momentum over, go to the bye at 5-2 and get a few contributors (Leonard, Pittman, Turay, Alie Cox) back in the lineup and some of the guys who have been playing banged up get some rest so we can close the season out strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You did very well until your parting remarks. The bye is this week , then we are at Detroit .

[CurBeatElite]

2 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

You did very well until your parting remarks. The bye is this week , then we are at Detroit .

 

Thanks, sorry I screwed that up.  People had responded before I caught it so I couldn't edit.

[dw49]

1 minute ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Thanks, sorry I screwed that up.  People had responded before I caught it so I couldn't edit.

 

You are forgiven .

BTW.. I also noticed Blankership was really drilling his kicks yesterday. Looked like more power and less finesse than previous games ?

[Superman]

16 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Yes, the DL is definitely a solid unit.  Hopefully we get Turay back and it improves further.

 

I agree with you about the pass rush being more consistent... though, considering we rarely blitz (I think we send non-DL players after the QB the least out of any team in the league), it's really not too bad (granted we haven't had much experience this year against top-notch OLs).  

 

For a team that blitzes so little (11.1%, last in the league), we have a respectable pressure rate (21.2%, 14th ranked, 4th among teams that blitz less than 20%). Also best in the league in adjusted net yards/attempt (4.3). We have the best pass DVOA in the league, and that's with giving up a few big plays here and there. 

 

So we're pretty good for not having a consistent pass rush. Imagine how good we could be if we were able to get more consistent pressure... 

 

Also, obligatory "we haven't played any good offenses yet" should be inserted here. I'm glad the defense is playing well now, but we have some good offenses after the bye. A nice five week stretch includes the Lions (not great, but Stafford is dangerous), the Titans twice, Ravens and Packers. We'll have a better idea what we look like after that. And we don't really get a break after that -- still have two against the Texans, the Steelers and the Raiders. I don't think we'll finish top five in total or passing defense this season. Maybe top ten if we stay healthy.

 

5 minutes ago, dw49 said:

BTW.. I also noticed Blankership was really drilling his kicks yesterday. Looked like more power and less finesse than previous games ?

 

They were right down the middle.

[dw49]

12 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

For a team that blitzes so little (11.1%, last in the league), we have a respectable pressure rate (21.2%, 14th ranked, 4th among teams that blitz less than 20%). Also best in the league in adjusted net yards/attempt (4.3). We have the best pass DVOA in the league, and that's with giving up a few big plays here and there. 

 

So we're pretty good for not having a consistent pass rush. Imagine how good we could be if we were able to get more consistent pressure... 

 

Also, obligatory "we haven't played any good offenses yet" should be inserted here. I'm glad the defense is playing well now, but we have some good offenses after the bye. A nice five week stretch includes the Lions (not great, but Stafford is dangerous), the Titans twice, Ravens and Packers. We'll have a better idea what we look like after that. And we don't really get a break after that -- still have two against the Texans, the Steelers and the Raiders. I don't think we'll finish top five in total or passing defense this season. Maybe top ten if we stay healthy.

 

 

They were right down the middle.

 

Yes they were. 

Also crazy that he's not had an attempt over something like 44-45 yards.

[CurBeatElite]

21 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

You are forgiven .

BTW.. I also noticed Blankership was really drilling his kicks yesterday. Looked like more power and less finesse than previous games ?

 

What @Superman said -- he was putting his XP's perfectly down the middle.  Not really sure if his power increased or not, but his accuracy was insane.  I'd like to see one of those 'ghost' videos they do w/ bowlers to see how close each one of his kicks were to the others, to me it seemed like every kick hit the net directly in the middle (between the uprights), but I'd like to see if they were all hitting the same height on the net.

 

16 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

For a team that blitzes so little (11.1%, last in the league), we have a respectable pressure rate (21.2%, 14th ranked, 4th among teams that blitz less than 20%). Also best in the league in adjusted net yards/attempt (4.3). We have the best pass DVOA in the league, and that's with giving up a few big plays here and there. 

 

So we're pretty good for not having a consistent pass rush. Imagine how good we could be if we were able to get more consistent pressure... 

 

Also, obligatory "we haven't played any good offenses yet" should be inserted here. I'm glad the defense is playing well now, but we have some good offenses after the bye. A nice five week stretch includes the Lions (not great, but Stafford is dangerous), the Titans twice, Ravens and Packers. We'll have a better idea what we look like after that. And we don't really get a break after that -- still have two against the Texans, the Steelers and the Raiders. I don't think we'll finish top five in total or passing defense this season. Maybe top ten if we stay healthy.

 

 

They were right down the middle.

 

Yes, I think it's pretty inevitable that our defensive ranking will decline as we play better offenses.  

 

Aside from being interested to see how our passing D does against Stafford, Jackson, Rogers, Big Ben, Carr and Watson -- I'm a bit nervous about how our D will hold up against the run with Derek Henry.  Additionally, with the lack of blitz, it seemed like our DL can struggle with QBs who can get outside the pocket (ala Baker Mayfield) -- so I'll be interested to see how 'Flus game plans against Lamar Jackson who is, IMO, a much more mobile QB than Baker.

[dw49]

16 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

For a team that blitzes so little (11.1%, last in the league), we have a respectable pressure rate (21.2%, 14th ranked, 4th among teams that blitz less than 20%). Also best in the league in adjusted net yards/attempt (4.3). We have the best pass DVOA in the league, and that's with giving up a few big plays here and there. 

 

So we're pretty good for not having a consistent pass rush. Imagine how good we could be if we were able to get more consistent pressure... 

 

Also, obligatory "we haven't played any good offenses yet" should be inserted here. I'm glad the defense is playing well now, but we have some good offenses after the bye. A nice five week stretch includes the Lions (not great, but Stafford is dangerous), the Titans twice, Ravens and Packers. We'll have a better idea what we look like after that. And we don't really get a break after that -- still have two against the Texans, the Steelers and the Raiders. I don't think we'll finish top five in total or passing defense this season. Maybe top ten if we stay healthy.

 

 

They were right down the middle.

 

17 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

For a team that blitzes so little (11.1%, last in the league), we have a respectable pressure rate (21.2%, 14th ranked, 4th among teams that blitz less than 20%). Also best in the league in adjusted net yards/attempt (4.3). We have the best pass DVOA in the league, and that's with giving up a few big plays here and there. 

 

So we're pretty good for not having a consistent pass rush. Imagine how good we could be if we were able to get more consistent pressure... 

 

Also, obligatory "we haven't played any good offenses yet" should be inserted here. I'm glad the defense is playing well now, but we have some good offenses after the bye. A nice five week stretch includes the Lions (not great, but Stafford is dangerous), the Titans twice, Ravens and Packers. We'll have a better idea what we look like after that. And we don't really get a break after that -- still have two against the Texans, the Steelers and the Raiders. I don't think we'll finish top five in total or passing defense this season. Maybe top ten if we stay healthy.

 

 

They were right down the middle.

 

I think to really excel in pass defense , we need to get Turay back and he needs to stay healthy. When Leornard returns , we will have 2 really good LB's in pass coverage. We need the LB's to do a little better job of play recognition and get into their drops. Then we can better defend all those quick passes Jack and Cinn succeeded with. Leonard is great and Okereke is also going to be outstanding in pass coverage. The DB;s are IMO good enough .

[Superman]

8 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

What @Superman said -- he was putting his XP's perfectly down the middle.  Not really sure if his power increased or not, but his accuracy was insane.  I'd like to see one of those 'ghost' videos they do w/ bowlers to see how close each one of his kicks were to the others, to me it seemed like every kick hit the net directly in the middle (between the uprights), but I'd like to see if they were all hitting the same height on the net.

 

 

Yes, I think it's pretty inevitable that our defensive ranking will decline as we play better offenses.  

 

Aside from being interested to see how our passing D does against Stafford, Jackson, Rogers, Big Ben, Carr and Watson -- I'm a bit nervous about how our D will hold up against the run with Derek Henry.  Additionally, with the lack of blitz, it seemed like our DL can struggle with QBs who can get outside the pocket (ala Baker Mayfield) -- so I'll be interested to see how 'Flus game plans against Lamar Jackson who is, IMO, a much more mobile QB than Baker.

 

I don't worry too much about Henry, but if their OL gives him space he'll be very productive. So still, it's about run fits. If you don't let him get going, our defense will be okay against him. We gang tackle, there's always five guys at the ball carrier by the time he goes down (which is why Rock's penalty was so bad, just wrap up and wait for the help), we'll fly to Henry. I'm more worried about the bootleg, which Baker hurt us with.

 

I'm excited for the Ravens game. That will be a good test. Lamar is still a limited passer. Very talented, he can make some insane throws, but he's not consistent and will have some shaky plays here and there. We'll have to be disciplined to contain their offense. They didn't let Burrow run at all yesterday.

[Superman]

2 hours ago, dw49 said:

I think to really excel in pass defense , we need to get Turay back and he needs to stay healthy. When Leornard returns , we will have 2 really good LB's in pass coverage. We need the LB's to do a little better job of play recognition and get into their drops. Then we can better defend all those quick passes Jack and Cinn succeeded with. Leonard is great and Okereke is also going to be outstanding in pass coverage. The DB;s are IMO good enough .

 

I felt bad for Okereke yesterday, that cast robbed him of a pick.

 

The DBs are inconsistent. To my eye, Kenny Moore made some mistakes yesterday, Rhodes is kind of hit and miss (but mostly a positive), Rock is still unknown. If they play with good technique, especially at the snap, and the pass rush is good, the DBs should be fine. But if the QB has time, our coverages tend to break down and leave receivers very open.

[Dogg63]

 

[dw49]

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I felt bad for Okereke yesterday, that cast robbed him of a pick.

 

The DBs are inconsistent. To my eye, Kenny Moore made some mistakes yesterday, Rhodes is kind of hit and miss (but mostly a positive), Rock is still unknown. If they play with good technique, especially at the snap, and the pass rush is good, the DBs should be fine. But if the QB has time, our coverages tend to break down and leave receivers very open.

 

Yeah , the coverage is often not great.

Strange enough but I think Okereke's drop helped the team. We took a bunch of time off the clock and still kicked the FG that put us up 4.