Official Game Thread - Week 1 - vs Cardinals

[Primus Porcus]

Holy crap what a throw

 

[DixieFlatline]

Holy crap what a throw

Yeah.... Watching on TV, you had no idea how crazy that throw was until they showed the replay looking from behind Howell

 

[Primus Porcus]

Howell missed a gimme TD here

 

[MikefromOH]

Did the corner come in once he saw Howell change targets? Just wondering if Brown was as wide open as it appears once he moved his eyes.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Did the corner come in once he saw Howell change targets? Just wondering if Brown was as wide open as it appears once he moved his eyes.

It was when he turned the other way. So before he threw it, but after he decided not to throw that pass. That’s one I think that looks like a bad decision on film, but being on the field in real time, it was probably the right decision to find Dotson. The only way he gets that wide open is if he pivots to the middle, then pivots back to throw left. Unless it’s a planned look off, that’s a lot of mental processing to do that quickly.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I think a good number of qbs miss brown, but the ones who have taken that next step would understand that brown went in motion and nobody followed him, so it’s zone coverage with a line back on the flat and Terry is on that same side so it might be worth an extra half second to see if the outside DB turns and Carrie’s brown, or stays down focused on terry. It’s not something you expect to see this early so this is not an indictment on Sam. These are the plays they make a top ten QB. Sam isn’t there yet and that’s ok. These are the plays that make the difference between 20 and 27 points. A Td there, and no forced fumble for a touchdown and this team is feeling great going into halftime

 

[burgold]

At the same time, the chief complaint about Sam was that he held onto the ball too pond. And here, they’re complaining that he needed to hold onto it longer.

 

[Primus Porcus]

At the same time, the chief complaint about Sam was that he held onto the ball too pond. And here, they’re complaining that he needed to hold onto it longer.

The same though crossed my mind lol. Ball would have come out a second sooner if he hit brown but your point is very valid

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know how good Sam Howell is going to be down the road, but after TWO games I think he compares favorably to a number of quarterbacks around the NFL that were very high draft picks and stunk the joint up after such a limited sample size.

Trevor Lawrence looked god awful in a number of games his rookie season.

A player like Zach Wilson that simply doesn't seem to have the feel for the speed of the NFL game are easier to spot as guys that are likely bust material.

Looking at Wilson last night, he seems like the former #5 pick starting his second game, not Howell.

Howell can play, if he had an offensive line that gave him even a modicum of protection, he would probably develop faster.

But he is an NFL player and will be in the league as a starter or backup for a number of years. As a baseline that's solid given where he was drafted.

We will see how high his ceiling is. The key will be if he is missing the same things in Week 17 that he did in Week 1.

Guys like Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and some other younger quarterbacks don't seem to learn from their experience on the field. They look the same today as they did in their first start in Year 1.,

 

[Boone]

I like the way Kevin Sheehan put it. We don’t know what Howell’s ceiling can be, but he’s got a very high floor. It’s certainly better than any recent Washington QBs based on his arm talent, instincts, escapability, and demeanor.

 

[burgold]

What's interesting is that I felt much better about the first half than the second half. My fear isn't that Howell or the game plan was figured out, but the o-line.

 

[Primus Porcus]

As my disappointment subsides and I try to wrap my brain around the game... we had almost a 3 - 1 pass / run ratio well into the game and i'm wondering if Bieniemy was pushing Howell out there to get him going, instead of sheltering him behind a run game. Almost like utilizing the first half as an extension of the preseason. We didn't see a lot in the preason with the starting 11 on offense... so i wonder? I may be reaching here..

 

[Neophyte]

Here is how I'm looking at the O-Line today:

Nick Gates is our starting Center. The Giants let Gates walk because he wasn't good enough. The guys that beat Gates out just gave up 7 sacks on national TV in a 40-0 spanking.

I'm having an issue with this.

 

[Boone]

As my disappointment subsides and I try to wrap my brain around the game... we had almost a 3 - 1 pass / run ratio well into the game and i'm wondering if Bieniemy was pushing Howell out there to get him going, instead of sheltering him behind a run game. Almost like utilizing the first half as an extension of the preseason. We didn't see a lot in the preason with the starting 11 on offense... so i wonder? I may be reaching here..

Week 1 NFL games are different - so while I wanted to see a lot better outing from our offense, it’s been interesting to see half the league come out sputtering which gives a little bit of context to our performance.

I have tried to tell myself, being disappointed by a win in week 1 with all the changes on offense is irrational.

 

[burgold]

The thing about this first NFL game is it did a lot to support whatever narrative you want to tell:

If you're a weak o-line guy there you go.
If you're a weak run D and fear any edge rushing attack guy, there you go
If you're a Howell holding onto the ball too long guy, there you go
If you're a "I'm sick of Del Rio rushing four and QBs are going to eat him up again" guy, you saw signs of that, too.
If you're a "Robinson is a sledge hammer but not a lead back" guy, there go.

And yet we won. We won and there are more reasons to feel worried than excited.






but there are reasons to be excited...

 

[Boone]

I cannot criticize the D in this game - I just can’t.

I believe we had 15 plays (one quarter of all Arizona offensive plays) FOR A LOSS. We held them to 250 yds or so of total offense and under 100 rushing yds. We held them to just 4 /14 on 3rd down conversions, we sacked them 3 times, and forced 2 fumbles.

Their D also played well.

Our Defense took that game over in the 2nd half, plain and simple. They played rock solid. In the first game. And yes - it was the Cardinals but they did what they had to do.

 

[Boone]

The thing about this first NFL game is it did a lot to support whatever narrative you want to tell:

If you're a weak o-line guy there you go.
If you're a weak run D and fear any edge rushing attack guy, there you go
If you're a Howell holding onto the ball too long guy, there you go
If you're a "I'm sick of Del Rio rushing four and QBs are going to eat him up again" guy, you saw signs of that, too.
If you're a "Robinson is a sledge hammer but not a lead back" guy, there go.

And yet we won. We won and there are more reasons to feel worried than excited.






but there are reasons to be excited...

It was definitely a mixed bag kind of a game. Some really good things we want to see more of, and quite a few things that make us all nervous.

 

[Chris]

And on one of only two explosive plays, the reverse, our rookie DE shit the bed badly when completely failing to set the edge.

The defense was great outside of that play and Barton.

 

[Chris]

I’m waiting not so patiently for the fines to be announced for at least two plays. If what happened to Howell had happened to a star quarterback there would probably be suspensions handed out.

It seemed to be a point of emphasis from Arizona.

 

[Boone]

Hoping the NFL sends a message. I also hope Rivera screamed bloody murder to the league.