BGO Blind Pig: Week 7 Commanders at Giants

[Boone]

The guys dissect an imperfect but important road win in Atlanta, and pray the Commanders shed some serious road baggage next weekend in New York against the hapless-so-far-in-2023-but-it's-the-Giants.

 

[Chris]

My view of the Atlanta game was that is was a match up of two equally talented teams. The difference was between two QBs: one who was poised, one who wasn’t. A difference that more often than not has not fallen in our favor.

I also think that the defensive scheme against the NYG will be similar to last week and the Philadelphia game. In those two games D’Andre Swift and Bijan Robinson, two dangerous and talented backs, were held to a combined 93 yards rushing and 66 yards receiving. If Saquon Barkley can be corralled into similar results Washington can and should win. If.

 

[Boone]

The Giants QBs have been sacked nearly as many times as Howell. If our pass rush performs as they should against a patchwork Giants OL made up of backups and backups to backups, this game could be easier than any of us is anticipating.

 

[Primus Porcus]

The Giants QBs have been sacked nearly as many times as Howell. If our pass rush performs as they should against a patchwork Giants OL made up of backups and backups to backups, this game could be easier than any of us is anticipating.

Forgive me if I'm a smidge tentative..... lol

 

[Neophyte]

The Giants QBs have been sacked nearly as many times as Howell. If our pass rush performs as they should against a patchwork Giants OL made up of backups and backups to backups, this game could be easier than any of us is anticipating.

Who are you and how did you access to Boone's account?

 

[Boone]

Not predicting they will just that they should be able to

 

[Boone]

Listened to the pod yesterday at work - nice job guys!

I felt you guys were a bit negative on the Atlanta win if I'm being honest. You all added the caveat that 'any win is a good win' but you were still a lot more critical than I would've been. Atlanta is a very solid team with one exception - QB. Their D is top 5 in total yards allowed and total passing yards allowed, and 11th in total rushing yards. And they are a top 10 rushing offense. The point that I would've made on the pod was that I thnk EB/Rivera made a conscious decision when we got to 24-10 with the BRob TD that they were going to go conservative and not take a lot of risks. They held Atlanta scoreless the whole 3rd quarter. Yes - Atlanta made a push in the 4th, but the bottom line is that the approach worked. We did not turn the ball over and relying on the defense to hold the line worked perfectly with 3 forced turnovers. Would I have loved to see us tack on more points to seal the deal? Yes. But again - this was a very good Atlanta defense we were playing. I suspect that you guys would agree with most of that - except you were much harder on the offense for getting shut out down the stretch n the 2nd half than I'm inclined to be. But I felt it was a great team effort to get a win most of us didn't believe they'd get.

We'll see if they can do it again in New York.

 

[Om]

We did spend a fair amount of time talking about the negatives ... but I also thought we took pains to put those comments in context. For myself, I will again note that I felt that game was a HUGE one in terms of the direction of the 2023 season. A loss in ATL puts at 2-4, with a tough division road game on tap and then a gauntlet. To me, at 2-4 the season could have spiraled out of control pretty quickly. A road win to get to .500 makes at least the next month of games meaningful in terms of keeping pace for a possible wildcard spot.

I also maintain that both of these things can be true: one can celebrate a win--any win--in the NFL, while also being "constructively critical" of those aspects of the game that merit dissection. Particularly to an audience as knowledgeable and discriminating as this one.

 

[Boone]

Agree. I guess the distinction I was trying to make is that the 2nd half may have been the consequence of deliberate decisions by the coaches vs. just offensive ineptitude. I think they felt comfortable with a 14 point lead to an extent and decided not to take a lot of risks. No guarantee even if I'm right that that approach works out as we have seen many times over the years.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I think we all were very conscious of how negative it was coming across, as we all pointed out on more than one occasion that we could feel it as we were saying it.

That said, we also all agree that the feeling around Atlanta would feel a lot different had we not gotten bet up by the Bears, and it can still feel a lot different if we show up against another struggling team on the road on Sunday. If we take it to New York, win convincingly, and dominate a team who is signing offensive lineman off the street, we will all likely look back and accept 2 wins, on the road for what they are and how difficult they can be in the NFL. It can be a launching point if we can push for some momentum.

If we lay an egg on Sunday, get beat by New York, the win in Atlanta again remains hollow, aided by poor decisions from the other sideline / QB.

I admit I was very happy we won, but I remain concerned about the health of the team. This win could end up just being a hollow win where the opposition beat themselves... depending on how things play out.