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Hello everyone,
I am in the same boat as most of you; I am more than a little concerned about the O-line this season. I like your post, Om. I am so excited about the upcoming preseason games, probably more than I have ever been in the past. Anyway, here is my current thinking about the team, and what I'm looking for and expecting as we head in the Preseason game # 1.
First off, the O-Line is a big concern. I don't care what Buges may say to everyone and the media, but it is a legitimate concern. We all know that we do not have much depth in terms of quality. We can only judge the back ups on what they have done so far, which is make Renaldo Wynn look like Bruce Smith circa early 90's. I mean, unless those guys can play solid football if and when they are called upon, we can suffer NO injuries. We've gotta' put our faith in Samuels being a monster without any major injuries (as he usually does) and we gotta' hope that Heyer can play like a beast. I do not want to beat a dead horse, because we all know where we stand here. I believe the preseason games will provide us with a much more realistic picture of what kind of O-Line we have, and let us hope it is not OFFENSIVE (as in bad breath).
Secondly, what about everyone else on the offense?
Portis is going to mirk people game in and game out; no questions there. However, whether it is Betts, or some other guy (with more speed I hope) coming off the bench to spell him, Portis needs to carry less of a load this year. It seems to me the best way to do this is to have as our goal, a fresh Portis for the 4th quarter. I really believe we have enough quality RB's to provide great compliment to Portis, but also keep him fresh when we could really use him pounding the D in the 3rd, and especially 4th quarters. Simply put, Portis was run into the ground AGAIN, last year. What in the world do we have all these RB's for anway?????!!!!! As for Campbell, Om has said it all, basically. I just hope he has a chance to succeed, and is not picking himself off of the ground each play.
Receivers:
Hey, I don't need to rehash how much we need Kelly and Thomas, or even just one of them, to step up and be a serious threat opposite Moss every single week. If we can get even one of them to be a threat, things will be so much easier for all the other receivers and our RB's. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SLEEPY DAVIS. This guy has more athleticism in his heavy eye lids, than Chris Cooley has in his entire body. WAIT A MINUTE!! Before ppl come at me saying I am hating on Cooley, I am most certainly not. I love Cooley. He is a monster, but the fact remains that Davis is simply more athletic and more dangerous once he gets the ball in his hands. Davis should get on the field quite a bit, and this guy will cause big problems. I doubt you can put most DB's on him because he will be too big and strong; and most LB's will likely not be able to keep up with him. Nonetheless, I'm expecting him to be a big positive for us on 3rd downs, and in the red zone. Ladies and Gents, if someone can step up for us opposite Moss, I don't see how Moss isn't killing teams. Think of all the damage he has done in the past when he was the only receiver we had. Anyway, I feel like we might be looking at a pretty bad offense, coupled with a dominant defense (I'm setting myself up for what I envision to be the worst we could be looking at, of course I am hopelessly and blindly optimistic every season). Which, we have seen, is a recipe for success provided the Defense is good every week, and the offense does not make many turnovers, and can make some plays in the clutch. And I will take that. If I have a strong run game, coupled with pretty solid pass game and a great defense, I think we are looking at more W's than L's, and potential playoffs. But, as optimistic as I want to be, we have to wait and see if we even have an O-line to begin with. As well as what our receivers can do. Not to mention, JC.
I think Om hit the nail on the head with Campbell. Time will tell, but I hope that he actually has a pocket to pass from, and we actually field an O-line, that is not Offensive. 4give me if this rambles or is incoherent; I would like to write a book, but I am at work. Later everyone. HAIL!!!!
I am in the same boat as most of you; I am more than a little concerned about the O-line this season. I like your post, Om. I am so excited about the upcoming preseason games, probably more than I have ever been in the past. Anyway, here is my current thinking about the team, and what I'm looking for and expecting as we head in the Preseason game # 1.
First off, the O-Line is a big concern. I don't care what Buges may say to everyone and the media, but it is a legitimate concern. We all know that we do not have much depth in terms of quality. We can only judge the back ups on what they have done so far, which is make Renaldo Wynn look like Bruce Smith circa early 90's. I mean, unless those guys can play solid football if and when they are called upon, we can suffer NO injuries. We've gotta' put our faith in Samuels being a monster without any major injuries (as he usually does) and we gotta' hope that Heyer can play like a beast. I do not want to beat a dead horse, because we all know where we stand here. I believe the preseason games will provide us with a much more realistic picture of what kind of O-Line we have, and let us hope it is not OFFENSIVE (as in bad breath).
Secondly, what about everyone else on the offense?
Portis is going to mirk people game in and game out; no questions there. However, whether it is Betts, or some other guy (with more speed I hope) coming off the bench to spell him, Portis needs to carry less of a load this year. It seems to me the best way to do this is to have as our goal, a fresh Portis for the 4th quarter. I really believe we have enough quality RB's to provide great compliment to Portis, but also keep him fresh when we could really use him pounding the D in the 3rd, and especially 4th quarters. Simply put, Portis was run into the ground AGAIN, last year. What in the world do we have all these RB's for anway?????!!!!! As for Campbell, Om has said it all, basically. I just hope he has a chance to succeed, and is not picking himself off of the ground each play.
Receivers:
Hey, I don't need to rehash how much we need Kelly and Thomas, or even just one of them, to step up and be a serious threat opposite Moss every single week. If we can get even one of them to be a threat, things will be so much easier for all the other receivers and our RB's. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SLEEPY DAVIS. This guy has more athleticism in his heavy eye lids, than Chris Cooley has in his entire body. WAIT A MINUTE!! Before ppl come at me saying I am hating on Cooley, I am most certainly not. I love Cooley. He is a monster, but the fact remains that Davis is simply more athletic and more dangerous once he gets the ball in his hands. Davis should get on the field quite a bit, and this guy will cause big problems. I doubt you can put most DB's on him because he will be too big and strong; and most LB's will likely not be able to keep up with him. Nonetheless, I'm expecting him to be a big positive for us on 3rd downs, and in the red zone. Ladies and Gents, if someone can step up for us opposite Moss, I don't see how Moss isn't killing teams. Think of all the damage he has done in the past when he was the only receiver we had. Anyway, I feel like we might be looking at a pretty bad offense, coupled with a dominant defense (I'm setting myself up for what I envision to be the worst we could be looking at, of course I am hopelessly and blindly optimistic every season). Which, we have seen, is a recipe for success provided the Defense is good every week, and the offense does not make many turnovers, and can make some plays in the clutch. And I will take that. If I have a strong run game, coupled with pretty solid pass game and a great defense, I think we are looking at more W's than L's, and potential playoffs. But, as optimistic as I want to be, we have to wait and see if we even have an O-line to begin with. As well as what our receivers can do. Not to mention, JC.
I think Om hit the nail on the head with Campbell. Time will tell, but I hope that he actually has a pocket to pass from, and we actually field an O-line, that is not Offensive. 4give me if this rambles or is incoherent; I would like to write a book, but I am at work. Later everyone. HAIL!!!!
), nor too low during the preseason. As long as we escape with everyone healthy, you gotta take most of it with a grain of salt. Nothing matters at all (outside of the injury bug) until week one against the g-girls. Let's all remember too, that JC can help himself greatly by being hard to catch in the pocket, a la other great QB's, and most prominently displayed by big Ben. Someone else posted something to this effect above. But if JC can prolong plays he will keep himself clean, and will have the opportunity to make big plays. I mean the steelers one it all last year behind a poor pass protecting line, and ben made up for it by being ridiculously hard to sack. On a side note, as good as ben is, i think he looks like such a tool when he is running around avoiding people. You all will soon realize that as much as I respect the game and players that play it the right way, I hate 31 teams in the league. That's just the way I am. I respect good football teams, but I still hate 'em if you aren't Burgundy and Gold baby!