The Gruden Files - Year Two

[Knightingale]

That was my long winded way of agreeing with Boone.... ;P

 

[fansince62]

11 guys on offense - we've lost 6 starters - SIX!!! No. Not every team 'has them' - not to that extent. We played last week without Niles Paul, without Desean Jackson, without Jordan Reed, and without 3 OL starters. You think that's typical? Give me another NFL offense who has lost 6 starters many of who for the year (or indefinitely)?

1. Niles Paul - what quality NFL TE wld you rate him to be? I looked at him as more of a ST loss than anything else.

2. So what on DJ and Reed - they're constantly out due to injuries.

3. Trent? yup. Lauvao? eh. average at best. maybe in run game - but by how much? lich? eh. I bet McRib might be better in the long-run simply due to size. point being....there's not that much of a drop off to make a big difference....IMO

had you argued continuity....that is a better path. though the comparison wld hard to make since the o-line did not play all that much as a full unit during preseason either.

 

[Boone]

Come on Al - they are starters - they're the best players at their spots on the team. They've gotten nearly every snap I practice and previous games. The guys behind them are largely unproven and unprepared. So, yeah, losing them is a big deal. I don't mind everyone's opinions, mine are no better than anyone else's. But the point at which folks are going to argue that losing more than half your starters on one side of the ball is not that big a deal - I don't even know how to respond to that....


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[micks113]

I don't think there really needs to be a debate on Cousins. He is what he is. That should be no surprise.

McCoy? He's just another Cousins. Maybe instead of 4-12 he'll lead us to 5-11.

What I want to know is ... and I know we are rebuilding and have no talent and everyone's hurt and all, but ... are our players magically not scrubs and not injured during the first half? The team is clearly capable of playing at a passable level. And after six games it's not a coincidence or bad luck that the team massively collapses in the third quarter.

Gruden is being out coached, plain and simple. He devises a game plan, the players execute it well enough to hang with the opposition, and then the opposing coach adjusts.

Ballgame.

Every. Week.

Anyway, let's see how it goes in Tampa. No way we should lose that game. If we've truly turned some sort of corner, if things are really different this time around and not just early season flashes like we see every year, we should win that one by 10 at least. If we don't we're looking at 4 wins tops again. Just like last year.

That will make for an interesting offseason.

Liked your post Henry.

Last year we couldn't make it out of the first quarter without going behind and playing catch up. Now we can at least make it to the third qtr. Gruden knows the score and what we got. He knows we must go with our strength, bread and butter, running game. He knows when that gets stuffed we become one dimensional and all is lost. That is that part I am hung up on. Reading between the lines in his quotes, I get the feeling he doesn't know what to do about it. He says "we got to have a meeting with the staff and players and have to get better at it." First scrap the playbook for the second half and focus on the matchups then execute.

Therein lies the rub. The whole friggin staff doesn't get it. I want to see us move the ball and chains by knowing what we are doing for the next 5 plays. Just like billiards, its not the shot you are making that counts, its where you leave yourself for the next shot. Set yourself up for success. Gruden seems to be taking what the defense gives us, only THEY know what that is and we can't respond in a more unpredictable manner. He's just too predictable imho.

Now onto the second biggest problem. Where the heck is McClou??? He needs to be working that roster right now, not sitting pat. We can't keep DeSean taking up a roster spot only for the coach to say, a hammy is a tricky thing. Baloney, shelve him and work on our roster needs McClou. Shelve Griffin, its obvious he won't be playing, and if we need to bring in another QB then we do it for insurance. The Griffin joke is no longer funny. Activate the practice squad, then re-supply the practice squad, make some moves for God's sake. And as far as bringing in new folks next year, hello McClou, avoid at all costs any player with an injury, drug, or domestic violence history. Don't waste our time with that, just beef up the depth, and find a veteran QB until a rookie can emerge. Hell I'd go get Matt Schaub or equivalent for crying out loud. We are still not that great at sizing up talent, especially talent that fits into what we are doing. Partially because we haven't figured out yet what we are doing.

I hope Snyder is sitting back and saying, I've got to let it play out, and let the GM Coach and President get this thing turned around. Hopefully he'll let the GM find a coach that fits our philosophy. Hopefully someone knows what philosophy that is.

 

[MattFancy]

Liked your post Henry.

Last year we couldn't make it out of the first quarter without going behind and playing catch up. Now we can at least make it to the third qtr. Gruden knows the score and what we got. He knows we must go with our strength, bread and butter, running game. He knows when that gets stuffed we become one dimensional and all is lost. That is that part I am hung up on. Reading between the lines in his quotes, I get the feeling he doesn't know what to do about it. He says "we got to have a meeting with the staff and players and have to get better at it." First scrap the playbook for the second half and focus on the matchups then execute.

Therein lies the rub. The whole friggin staff doesn't get it. I want to see us move the ball and chains by knowing what we are doing for the next 5 plays. Just like billiards, its not the shot you are making that counts, its where you leave yourself for the next shot. Set yourself up for success. Gruden seems to be taking what the defense gives us, only THEY know what that is and we can't respond in a more unpredictable manner. He's just too predictable imho.

Now onto the second biggest problem. Where the heck is McClou??? He needs to be working that roster right now, not sitting pat. We can't keep DeSean taking up a roster spot only for the coach to say, a hammy is a tricky thing. Baloney, shelve him and work on our roster needs McClou. Shelve Griffin, its obvious he won't be playing, and if we need to bring in another QB then we do it for insurance. The Griffin joke is no longer funny. Activate the practice squad, then re-supply the practice squad, make some moves for God's sake. And as far as bringing in new folks next year, hello McClou, avoid at all costs any player with an injury, drug, or domestic violence history. Don't waste our time with that, just beef up the depth, and find a veteran QB until a rookie can emerge. Hell I'd go get Matt Schaub or equivalent for crying out loud. We are still not that great at sizing up talent, especially talent that fits into what we are doing. Partially because we haven't figured out yet what we are doing.

I hope Snyder is sitting back and saying, I've got to let it play out, and let the GM Coach and President get this thing turned around. Hopefully he'll let the GM find a coach that fits our philosophy. Hopefully someone knows what philosophy that is.

I'm not sure what you want McCloughan to do? Could they have put DJax on IR-designated to return? Sure, but I don't think anyone thought he would be out this long. It sounded like he was going to play last week until he reinjured it in practice. I don't think you put our best offensive player on IR just to clear up a roster space if he isn't going to be out for the year.

As for Griffin, I'm not sure anyone outside of the organization has any idea what the plan for him is. Not sure what they would do at this point. I don't think you can put a player on IR that isn't injured, so unless they cut him, not sure what else you would want them to do there.

At this moment, I don't think there's much out there in FA that can help the team. Sure, we could add some bodies, but that's about it. Would bringig in Cooley really help this team? Doubt it. I mean that's pretty much the quality of players out there right now. Old veteran type guys that don't have much in the tank and certainly offer little value to a rebuilding team.

I'd say we have a pretty clear philosiphy going forward: smash mouth football on offense and defense. McCloughan has made it clear from Day 1 he wants a physical football team on both side of the football. No one in their right mind thought he would accomplish that in 1 season. I like the moves he made in FA and the draft picks have contributed so far when called on. That's about all you can ask out of in this season.

 

[fansince62]

Come on Al - they are starters - they're the best players at their spots on the team. They've gotten nearly every snap I practice and previous games. The guys behind them are largely unproven and unprepared. So, yeah, losing them is a big deal. I don't mind everyone's opinions, mine are no better than anyone else's. But the point at which folks are going to argue that losing more than half your starters on one side of the ball is not that big a deal - I don't even know how to respond to that....


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viable pov Boone. not being argumentative. just how I see it. in a different vein...and I know it ticks some folks off....I see Trent Murphy the same way and have since the Dallas game last season (he's just not an option as a pass rusher. I see too many plays where he is totally out of it - Rams game or not)

only speaking for myself. while I like Lich I have always thought he needed to be replaced.....smart guy, good team player but he is physically manhandled too often. Lauvao doesn't rock my boat either. I think McL plans on replacing him next season - one reason the Alabama guard was drafted.

do I think the o-line has improved? yes. do I think that is largely because of better starters? yes. do I think for the players just addressed there is a big drop off when the backups are in. no.

 

[Boone]

I hear you, I really do - but it's all relative. We may not have all stars at all those positions (I've never been impressed with Paul for example) but the guys behind them are far less talented. Whether the starters are Pro Bowlers or not, when starters are out we aren't deep enough not to see a major drop off on production. Not making excuses for poor QB play, but surrounding talent does matter.


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[fansince62]

I hear you, I really do - but it's all relative. We may not have all stars at all those positions (I've never been impressed with Paul for example) but the guys behind them are far less talented. Whether the starters are Pro Bowlers or not, when starters are out we aren't deep enough not to see a major drop off on production. Not making excuses for poor QB play, but surrounding talent does matter.


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got it.

running game should tick up against Tampa. I'll be waiting to see how we fair against NE to judge where we're at. Gotta mark against the best...right?

Good deal Djax has going! how much is he banking with almost half the season complete?

 

[MikeSr619]

I hope you aren't planning on judging us after we play the hottest team (that happens to be the super bowl champs) in the NFL in Foxboro. You might as well get the snark machine tuned up now and test drive it pronto if thats the case.

 

[DieselPwr44]

My son's JV 3/4th grade team scrimmaged against the 5/6 grade varsity.

It wasn't pretty and my 3rd grader got rag dolled a few times.

It's kind of prepared me for the Redskins trip to Foxboro.

We won't learn a whole lot there....

 

[fansince62]

I hope you aren't planning on judging us after we play the hottest team (that happens to be the super bowl champs) in the NFL in Foxboro. You might as well get the snark machine tuned up now and test drive it pronto if thats the case.

nope...using it as a measuring rod to see how much we have progressed.

 

[micks113]

nope...using it as a measuring rod to see how much we have progressed.

Heard that fan, but I track progression from the stats. But admittedly, we know stats are somewhat bogus. For instance, we had what, 3 penalties sunday. Sounds good but didn't mean squat. Here's the problem judging progress from how we stack up against the Pats. Its like this, we can beat the losers, we get crushed against the winners. Pretty much every year, this is not a team for upsets at all. In other words, you won't see any progress. All I want to see is some innovative play calling. Lets start there.

Tampa is probably a better game to see where we are at. But hey, they beat us last year for what that's worth.

 

[micks113]

I'm not sure what you want McCloughan to do? Could they have put DJax on IR-designated to return? Sure, but I don't think anyone thought he would be out this long. It sounded like he was going to play last week until he reinjured it in practice. I don't think you put our best offensive player on IR just to clear up a roster space if he isn't going to be out for the year.

As for Griffin, I'm not sure anyone outside of the organization has any idea what the plan for him is. Not sure what they would do at this point. I don't think you can put a player on IR that isn't injured, so unless they cut him, not sure what else you would want them to do there.

At this moment, I don't think there's much out there in FA that can help the team. Sure, we could add some bodies, but that's about it. Would bringig in Cooley really help this team? Doubt it. I mean that's pretty much the quality of players out there right now. Old veteran type guys that don't have much in the tank and certainly offer little value to a rebuilding team.

I'd say we have a pretty clear philosiphy going forward: smash mouth football on offense and defense. McCloughan has made it clear from Day 1 he wants a physical football team on both side of the football. No one in their right mind thought he would accomplish that in 1 season. I like the moves he made in FA and the draft picks have contributed so far when called on. That's about all you can ask out of in this season.

I thought I was clear and said so. I'll say it again, I don't know the guys available for McClou to bring in and try out, but if we aren't bringing up the practice squad on the roster, (and quess what, someone thought they were good enough to keep, ) then we need to move the practice squad out. The practice squad is not for practice. It is for stashing potential players that you have rights to and can come in and help out. I don't see it. I don't see us bringing in players to try out. As fans we don't know squat and can't evaluate from the couch. But lets see some evidence of roster manipulation.

I'm in Dallas unfortunately, and I see jerry bringing in players right and left, several at a time to try out. They have virtual try out camps. Their defense is filled with "no name" players I never heard of. They turned out serviceable. In this league, there are tons of players. You have to judge the veterans to see what they have left in the tank, you have to judge the injury rehabs to see if anything left for a couple games. You have to bring in undrafted free agents to try out, there are a ton of them. To say no one is available is simply not true. They may not be real good players, but some can be overachievers, and that's something this team needs for sure. Dammit if Jerry can do it for crying out loud McClou should run circles around him. One mistake a GM can make is to "wait on an injury player to get better". That is a recipe for disaster. Like Gruden said, Desean less than 100% can't be played due to the risk. So we wait to be eliminated then get excited about him returning? I don't think so. Get me another receiver, I don't know the rules but if we can steal one from another teams practice squad for the active roster, we are in a better position at least temporarily. By the way, there is a IR designation as a temporary deal where the player sits but can come back.

sorry for the rant, I'm all about doing something, not sitting back watching us go in the tank. What's the worse that can happen, we lose game? Pullleaze. We need our GM and coaches to be just as aggressive as they are asking the players to be tough and gut it out.

Now a lot of what I just said does not smack of a rebuild. It speaks directly to helping win games right now, filling out the roster with players, not guys waiting to heal. Like Boone pointed out, we are one game out of first. We need to get our act together at the coaching level, player level, and front office has to be leaders as well. No skating on games just because the opponent has a losing record. I'm not criticizing McClou, but I'll ride his ass just as hard as anybody else in the organization. And he dam well better not be taking a drink when he watches us play. Let me do the drinking.

 

[DieselPwr44]

a GM who has disappeared
.

Is this a serious question/statement?

What NFL GM holds weekly press conferences or weekly interviews when it's not draft season?

Totally irrational.

 

[stevenaa]

Is this a serious question/statement?

What NFL GM holds weekly press conferences or weekly interviews when it's not draft season?

Totally irrational.

Jerry Jones. buhahahahahaahh

 

[fansince62]

Heard that fan, but I track progression from the stats. But admittedly, we know stats are somewhat bogus. For instance, we had what, 3 penalties sunday. Sounds good but didn't mean squat. Here's the problem judging progress from how we stack up against the Pats. Its like this, we can beat the losers, we get crushed against the winners. Pretty much every year, this is not a team for upsets at all. In other words, you won't see any progress. All I want to see is some innovative play calling. Lets start there.

Tampa is probably a better game to see where we are at. But hey, they beat us last year for what that's worth.

bright minds can disagree!

what I have in mind: the delta between being crushed in all phases versus showing up and being respectable in some. kinda like 34-17can be better than 50-10. if we are able to execute certain aspects of defense or offense capably against a quality team like NE, then I have firmer gorund for believing we have indeed made progress since last season. for example, Kirk may continue to have accuracy issues, but if there are two or fewer sacks and the pocket is there for 4+ secs on average...then I'm thinking "ok....we're getting somewhere." I understand your premium on winning.....hard to argue the point...but believe we're already at or near the "let's see what we have and what we need" point.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Yes, irrational.

We get it, you hate the current team and coaching staff and 3/4ths of the roster.

You're also hoping/praying that someone can coax a controversial statement out of McCloughan that will throw the team's proverbial crap right into the fan.

As I've said before, a lot of fans actually crave the dysfunction and the drama that comes with it.

You're certainly one of them,if not in the hierarchy .....

 

[Smoot Point]

We've had injuries, for sure... However, let's discuss each injury... Let start with IR:

Junior Galette - Some were afraid that picking up Galette would stunt the growth of Smith & Murphy. I consider this a big loss, but not one that should have had a significant impact on the team this year. We didn't have Galette last year and there were other additions that were made to bolster the DL & the fact we got a subpar season from Hatcher last year (hoping he would do more). Really, we don't know what Galette would've provided for us this year... You can't really miss what you never had.

Adam Hayward - Our special teams has been atrocious at times, but do we hear any other teams complaining of losing a 3rd/4th inside linebacker/special teamer?

Duke Ihenacho - This injury stung at the time, but I believe Perry Fewell has done an excellent job and it has minimized the impact of Duke's absence...

Shawn Lauvao - Our running game has taken a step back since he left... I'd say this is a significant injury. While the OL has performed well in passing situations & mistakes have been cut down (penalties), the first few games we were running really well with Lauvao at RG, teamed with Trent Williams.

Niles Paul & Logan Paulsen - These injuries hurt both our backup TE & Special Teams. I think this was significant, even though Derek Carrier has performed well. Niles & Logan are both steady players. I don't think their presence changes the outcome of games, but it bolsters some weak areas on the team.

Other injuries that have impacted games:

DeSean Jackson - Significant... nothing much to add here. This is probably the most significant injury in the impact that it has to other positions on the offense.

Trent Williams & Lichtensteiger - Both missed one game so far, and the backups played well... It wouldn't have altered the outcome of the game, so I will say that so far this isn't significant.

Chris Culliver - Questionably significant... While the defense has played well, Culliver's injury was most significant in the Eagles game (which we won anyway).

DeAngelo Hall - Questionably significant... Defense has played well, and games have mostly been decided by our inability to score points. DHall is a team leader...

Matt Jones - Insignificant... we weren't going to be running the ball much anyway.

Ryan Kerrigan - Even though he hasn't missed a game, he is dealing with injuries and his game appears to have taken a hit... He isn't making big plays, but he is occupying blockers and helping generate a pass rush.

Overall, I'd say that DeSean Jackson is the most significant injury and maybe the TEs (since they clearly had significant roles on Offense & Special Teams). I think other injuries are probably more about team chemistry and player experience than the actual performances that we've seen on the field.

 

[Knightingale]

ESPN released their rankings of the most banged up teams. We're in at number 3!

Here's the stats for those who haven't seen it....

Players out for season: DE Junior Galette (Achilles), TE Niles Paul (ankle), S Duke Ihenacho (wrist), TE Logan Paulsen (foot), OLB Adam Hayward (knee), G Shawn Lauvao (ankle), OLB Martrell Spaight (concussion), RB Silas Redd (knee), DB Justin Rogers (foot)

Players injured: WR DeSean Jackson (hamstring), CB DeAngelo Hall (toe), CB Chris Culliver (knee), TE Jordan Reed (concussion), ILB Perry Riley Jr. (calf), C Kory Lichtensteiger (shoulder/finger), T Trent Williams (concussion), RB Matt Jones (toe)

Total starts missed: 63 -- Galette (16), Paul (16), Ihenacho (15), Jackson (5), Hall (3), Culliver (2), Reed (2), Riley (2), Lichtensteiger (1), Williams (1)


My opinion is that the injuries have been a pretty significant blow, not so much for the people we're missing, but for the way it allows opponents to play us. It looks like a domino effect to me.

I agree that we're not missing Jnr Galette as we never had him. Would have been nice, but that's the way it is. Maybe next year if he's still with us.

On the Offense I think we're seeing a cumulative effect of the injuries and where they are. Before the season we were geared up for power run, short pass and occasional deep threat. Regardless of Cousins skill level opponents had to respect all three, because Jackson was always a threat deep, Jordan Reed and Garcon are excellent in the short yardage game and We had a decent line with some good run blocking TE's that could really shift people out of the way.

That started to change when we lost the Paul(son) twins at TE. Jordan Reed is not a great run blocking TE. Now it was all on our line to carry that load. Which we did admirably for a couple of games, but our margin for error in that area was diminished. Still opponents had to respect Reed and Jackson, so couldn't put all the pressure they'd probably like to have on our line and stopping our run.

Then we lose Jackson. No deep threat.

Suddenly opponents don't need to worry about that anymore. Then we lose Reed, and it's clear that Roberts and Grant aren't the best receivers in the world.

So the opponents philosophy becomes stack the line, stop the run, let Cousins try to beat you with limited options. It's the football equivalent of "Living by the 3pt line!". They know Cousins isn't ready as a QB to carry that weight.

Factor in the injuries across out O-Line and suddenly even treading water in the run game is a tough propect. It's one thing to hold the line in pass protection, it's a different discipline to open up running lanes in run blocking. And the players we have suck at the latter. So opponents are cutting down our running backs in the backfield and daring us to beat them over the top, and our only real threats in those areas are Garcon and Crowder and they're totally dependent on Capt Kirk having a good day. If he has a mediocre or bad day we're stuffed.

The Defence is a bit harder to work out in my opinion. I kinda think it's workload related to a degree.

The Defense is not bad by any stretch. We're currently ranked 8th in yards per game and a middle of the pack 18th in total points allowed. (Last year we were 20th and 29th respectively by seasons end) We're much improved to be honest.
But the games where we've kinda been blown out a bit is the ones where they've been forced out onto the field alot, mostly as a consequence of our Offence being unable to move the ball and going 3 and out.

Game 1 this year we only allowed 17 points, but our Defense only played 22 mins.
by Game 6 our defense was playing 32 mins and gave up 34 points.

If you take into account the Offences inability to stay on the field and the injuries on Defense killing our depth, I just feel like our defensive players tire out as the game goes on. Due to injuries we're just running our defensive players a bit ragged. Our points allowed splits bear that out.

We've conceded:

19 1st Qtr points, 16 2nd Qtr points, 46 3rd Qtr points and 51 4th Qtr points. Over 6 games.

If you just take the first 3 games (before the majority of the injuries hit...

12 1st Qtr points, 10 2nd Qtr points, 13 3rd Qtr points and 24 4th Qtr points.

A spike in the 4th, but still much more stable. Granted the sample size is tiny, but it's worth bearing in mind.

It also seems to have shown up considerable in the level of our tackling. We look sloppy lately where we looked sharp early in the season.
When I get some time I might have a dig into the Snaps played stats and see if or how they've escalated over the season for our key surviving defensive players.


(side note: Maybe this is a load of bollocks, but I do wonder if this is part of the issue we have with 3rd quarters. It's easier I think for the Defense to kinda play through tiredness and pain when we've got momentum and the adrenaline is pumping, so hence the first half is pretty steady. Then they all go to the locker room for 20 mins and cool down, calm down, ice their knees, but the aches and pains and tiredness sets in... Then we're back out on the field looking slow and flat and sloppy. Takes them a little while to get back up to speed again.)

 

[MikeSr619]

46 and 51 points...my gosh. He should be embarrassed by that.