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Well, I got asked to do this... So I figure I can do these for at least the remainder of this season. No commitment for longer than that!
First off, let's start with our passing game. I am not down on Jayden Daniels yet. I think there were moments where he looked a bit off but I think he played relatively well. The problem we have is multi-faceted on offense. First off... defenses have figured out that the goal is getting the ball out of Daniels hands and if he can't throw to get as much as he can with his legs. They are clogging rush lanes and not giving a lot of room to our receivers. So, the natural inclination is, "okay, let's run", right? Awesome. Oh, wait, BRob is down.
Alright, so the next thing is lets give the ball to McNichols - well, they didn't do that.
So what's the next way to combat coverage that isn't giving breathing room? Throwing it over the top. And we did try that... But it wasn't all that effective aside from the zone coverage that McLaurin blew by late...
Why wasn't it effective, you may ask? Well, that would be because our receivers aren't very good. I like Noah Brown as much as a lot of people here do. But reality is that he was WR7 for Houston and is now our second best receiver. That is a major issue for us. That's not to down Noah. He could be a really solid 3/big target type. But he is our two. And he led the team in targets today. He had 10 targets. So McLaurin was second... had to be!
Guess again. Ertz was second with eight.
McLaurin clocked in third.
So why didn't we keep trying to push it deep? It wasn't connecting but we could loosen them up a little. Well, that would be because our line has crashed back to reality. We are lacking talent at both tackle positions, and it certainly didn't help that Coleman and Wylie were out.
Our defense doesn't really have a lot to talk about aside from the fact that I'm not sure if we're ever going to see Lattimore. I'm hoping he's around after the bye... because I thought that trade was about this year but it turns out it may have been about next year. Daron Payne is definitely playing up to his contract, though. Which is a major positive. Oh, and I feel like it's my duty to mention Frankie Luvu every time I do a NDT.
Special Teams - Yikes. But then Yes! But then - Yikes.
Seibert went from being an outstanding addition to being a "what are we doing here?" real quick. Now, we have to be fair - the last missed extra point was an awful snap. But... Way saved it. That ball was down and in place in time for Seibert to kick it true. But we also blocked a field goal. And then missed another extra point. But we blocked a punt!
This whole game had the feel of a game where we just didn't have any juice. The offense has been figured out, Jayden's legs have been figured out and we don't have the war chest to pull out the big guns and deliver against quality defenses.
However, I still think we are very much ahead of the curve and still better than expected. At the beginning of the season I thought 5-6 wins for our season total would have been a good start to the Jayden Daniels era as long as he played well. We have seven wins with five games to go. We are going to surpass those expectations. But we have a long way to go to be a true contender. And Jayden Daniels was healthy today, so we can't point to that being the issue.
The truth is we are lacking talent.
Running back has good players - but their availability is a major question. Brian Robinson has been routinely banged up (some not his fault) in his career. Austin Ekeler seems to get hurt every other game, and after that hit today I'm not sure he's even back after the bye. We need to start utilizing McNichols more. And running back has to be a major target in this year's draft. The class is loaded with running back talent.
Wide Receiver - Well, we have McLaurin. Noah and McCaffrey are good pieces to have in your corps, but they aren't enough. I think we need to spend big FA money on this position if we can. A Tee Higgins would do a lot for this group.
Tight End - Ertz has been okay. I'd like to see Sinnott getting more burn. Bates is a blocker. We may need to look to upgrade here, but I'm not sure that's going to be an easy task.
Tackle - Yes. Both. Urgently.
Safety - We're okay back here but okay isn't great. Can improve. Though Chinn has been solid.
Linebacker - For the first time since London Fletcher I actually like our starters... and I think Frankie Luvu is in the running for team MVP.
Corner - Lattimore, Lattimore, whereforartthou Lattimore? We are using Mike Sainristil exclusively on the outside, despite him being a slot corner. I think that sums it up.
Defensive Line - We have solid talent here, and good rotational pieces for sure. But we could use a big time edge rush presence.
Kicker - The curse lives.
Punter - We have The Way.
Look, no one likes losing three in a row. And it's been ugly as hell. But I'm not down on this team yet. Even while we were winning my expectations have remained fairly low. I thought we'd make the playoffs when we were 7-2 and that dream isn't dead yet, so that's still where I am thought wise. But we need to start finding life again... real soon.
Studs and Duds:
Studs:
Terry McLaurin - ***
Frankie Luvu - ***
Jayden Daniels - **
Daron Payne - **
Duds:
Austin Seibert -
Whoever Our LS is Now:
Season Totals:
No idea. They were lost in an explosion.
First off, let's start with our passing game. I am not down on Jayden Daniels yet. I think there were moments where he looked a bit off but I think he played relatively well. The problem we have is multi-faceted on offense. First off... defenses have figured out that the goal is getting the ball out of Daniels hands and if he can't throw to get as much as he can with his legs. They are clogging rush lanes and not giving a lot of room to our receivers. So, the natural inclination is, "okay, let's run", right? Awesome. Oh, wait, BRob is down.
Alright, so the next thing is lets give the ball to McNichols - well, they didn't do that.
So what's the next way to combat coverage that isn't giving breathing room? Throwing it over the top. And we did try that... But it wasn't all that effective aside from the zone coverage that McLaurin blew by late...
Why wasn't it effective, you may ask? Well, that would be because our receivers aren't very good. I like Noah Brown as much as a lot of people here do. But reality is that he was WR7 for Houston and is now our second best receiver. That is a major issue for us. That's not to down Noah. He could be a really solid 3/big target type. But he is our two. And he led the team in targets today. He had 10 targets. So McLaurin was second... had to be!
Guess again. Ertz was second with eight.
McLaurin clocked in third.
So why didn't we keep trying to push it deep? It wasn't connecting but we could loosen them up a little. Well, that would be because our line has crashed back to reality. We are lacking talent at both tackle positions, and it certainly didn't help that Coleman and Wylie were out.
Our defense doesn't really have a lot to talk about aside from the fact that I'm not sure if we're ever going to see Lattimore. I'm hoping he's around after the bye... because I thought that trade was about this year but it turns out it may have been about next year. Daron Payne is definitely playing up to his contract, though. Which is a major positive. Oh, and I feel like it's my duty to mention Frankie Luvu every time I do a NDT.
Special Teams - Yikes. But then Yes! But then - Yikes.
Seibert went from being an outstanding addition to being a "what are we doing here?" real quick. Now, we have to be fair - the last missed extra point was an awful snap. But... Way saved it. That ball was down and in place in time for Seibert to kick it true. But we also blocked a field goal. And then missed another extra point. But we blocked a punt!
This whole game had the feel of a game where we just didn't have any juice. The offense has been figured out, Jayden's legs have been figured out and we don't have the war chest to pull out the big guns and deliver against quality defenses.
However, I still think we are very much ahead of the curve and still better than expected. At the beginning of the season I thought 5-6 wins for our season total would have been a good start to the Jayden Daniels era as long as he played well. We have seven wins with five games to go. We are going to surpass those expectations. But we have a long way to go to be a true contender. And Jayden Daniels was healthy today, so we can't point to that being the issue.
The truth is we are lacking talent.
Running back has good players - but their availability is a major question. Brian Robinson has been routinely banged up (some not his fault) in his career. Austin Ekeler seems to get hurt every other game, and after that hit today I'm not sure he's even back after the bye. We need to start utilizing McNichols more. And running back has to be a major target in this year's draft. The class is loaded with running back talent.
Wide Receiver - Well, we have McLaurin. Noah and McCaffrey are good pieces to have in your corps, but they aren't enough. I think we need to spend big FA money on this position if we can. A Tee Higgins would do a lot for this group.
Tight End - Ertz has been okay. I'd like to see Sinnott getting more burn. Bates is a blocker. We may need to look to upgrade here, but I'm not sure that's going to be an easy task.
Tackle - Yes. Both. Urgently.
Safety - We're okay back here but okay isn't great. Can improve. Though Chinn has been solid.
Linebacker - For the first time since London Fletcher I actually like our starters... and I think Frankie Luvu is in the running for team MVP.
Corner - Lattimore, Lattimore, whereforartthou Lattimore? We are using Mike Sainristil exclusively on the outside, despite him being a slot corner. I think that sums it up.
Defensive Line - We have solid talent here, and good rotational pieces for sure. But we could use a big time edge rush presence.
Kicker - The curse lives.
Punter - We have The Way.
Look, no one likes losing three in a row. And it's been ugly as hell. But I'm not down on this team yet. Even while we were winning my expectations have remained fairly low. I thought we'd make the playoffs when we were 7-2 and that dream isn't dead yet, so that's still where I am thought wise. But we need to start finding life again... real soon.
Studs and Duds:
Studs:
Terry McLaurin - ***
Frankie Luvu - ***
Jayden Daniels - **
Daron Payne - **
Duds:
Austin Seibert -
Whoever Our LS is Now:
Season Totals:
No idea. They were lost in an explosion.
