Random Commanders Thoughts

[Dead Money]

That defensive performance will generate more than one WHOOP! from that big headed windbag with the combover tomorrow night.

 

[Cycleans]

It wasn't as bad as some suggest. The Oline on the right was getting Blown up by Watt and Reed...That is the single issue that was the most troubling. The defense for the most part was way better than last year. A couple of Gaff's by the special teams, still a much better effort than what we saw last season. The running game was clicking outside of a fumble. Griffin was accurate and played a good game overall. We only scored 1 TD so obviously he needs to improve.
Palumbo was dreadful however...can't say I'm pleased with Paul fumbling inside the redzone. I would have liked to see a win but losing a non conference away game is easier to deal with. It's all about winning the division in my eyes.

 

[Dead Money]

It wasn't as bad as some suggest. The Oline on the right was getting Blown up by Watt and Reed...That is the single issue that was the most troubling. The defense for the most part was way better than last year. A couple of Gaff's by the special teams, still a much better effort than what we saw last season. The running game was clicking outside of a fumble. Griffin was accurate and played a good game overall. We only scored 1 TD so obviously he needs to improve.
Palumbo was dreadful however...can't say I'm pleased with Paul fumbling inside the redzone. I would have liked to see a win but losing a non conference away game is easier to deal with. It's all about winning the division in my eyes.

Why yes, Yes it was.

Same Db's letting the same routes eat us up, same DL getting push in the first qtr then disappearing, same gaping holes and or missed tackles, same stupid personal foul calls by someone who couldn't cover a pot of boiling water.

I heard some say well the punter was good? He got one blocked and had piss poor hang time all night. Returners were moving 5 yards before anyone was in sight.

It WAS bad, against a bottom ten offense bad.

I'm gonna try to stay positive about the rest of the season today but don't need someone blowing smoke up my ass. We were not a couple of bad plays from winning. This was a very bad performance all the way around.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Why yes, Yes it was.

Same Db's letting the same routes eat us up, same DL getting push in the first qtr then disappearing, same gaping holes and or missed tackles, same stupid personal foul calls by someone who couldn't cover a pot of boiling water.

I heard some say well the punter was good? He got one blocked and had piss poor hang time all night. Returners were moving 5 yards before anyone was in sight.

It WAS bad, against a bottom ten offense bad.

I'm gonna try to stay positive about the rest of the season today but don't need someone blowing smoke up my ass. We were not a couple of bad plays from winning. This was a very bad performance all the way around.

I have to disagree. We were a few bad plays from winning. The punter wasn't at fault for the block, that 100% was on Helu and he took ownership of it after the game. Way booted the hell out of the ball. When you're kicking from your own side of the field, distance is more important then hangtime. I'd rather have a 60 yard punt, with an 8 yard return, then a 45 yard punt with a fair catch. Our Defense outside of 1 play, played very well against two players who were considered to be the best at their positions no more then 2 years ago. Andre Johnson and Arian Foster have been considered elite level players for a long time. Our weakest unit (O-Line) understandably struggled against arguably the best player (hands down the best defensive player) in the league.

I am not happy about the loss in any way, but I sure as hell cant sit here and say the season is lost. Were 1 game into this thing and all of the problems are addressable. We didnt lose because they were the better team. We lost because we beat ourselves.

 

[Dead Money]

I have to disagree. We were a few bad plays from winning. The punter wasn't at fault for the block, that 100% was on Helu and he took ownership of it after the game. Way booted the hell out of the ball. When you're kicking from your own side of the field, distance is more important then hangtime. I'd rather have a 60 yard punt, with an 8 yard return, then a 45 yard punt with a fair catch. Our Defense outside of 1 play, played very well against two players who were considered to be the best at their positions no more then 2 years ago. Andre Johnson and Arian Foster have been considered elite level players for a long time. Our weakest unit (O-Line) understandably struggled against arguably the best player (hands down the best defensive player) in the league.

I am not happy about the loss in any way, but I sure as hell cant sit here and say the season is lost. Were 1 game into this thing and all of the problems are addressable. We lose because they were the better team. We lost because we beat ourselves.

I'm not saying the season is lost by any stretch. I truly can't accept that. Good points ST and of course you can disagree all you want. Hell I disagree with those few here trying to put makeup on the pig. We did beat ourselves. Again and again. Like years before. We lost our only guy who resembled a NT. Inexcusable. I keep hearing we'll fix it but I see more of the same. " our great receivers" hung their heads on the sidelines in this game so I reserve the right to hang my head a little too.

Let me go into a different direction for a change....

I like Keenan Robinson.
I like Andre Roberts.
I like how the team spoke about the game after the game.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I'm not saying the season is lost by any stretch. I truly can't accept that. Good points ST and of course you can disagree all you want. Hell I disagree with those few here trying to put makeup on the pig. We did beat ourselves. Again and again. Like years before. We lost our only guy who resembled a NT. Inexcusable. I keep hearing we'll fix it but I see more of the same. " our great receivers" hung their heads on the sidelines in this game so I reserve the right to hang my head a little too.

Let me go into a different direction for a change....

I like Keenan Robinson.
I like Andre Roberts.
I like how the team spoke about the game after the game.

Im with you there. The beating ourselves thing is getting very old and it's a discipline thing.... but that is addressable. I find myself not being as critical with the mental farts because everything right now is new, so growing pains are expected. Paul COULD have covered the ball with both hands, but even Arian Foster fell victim to that same swat from behind. That stung really bad, but that play happens to everyone.. Bad break. Griffin tripped over the O-line and he tried to salvage a play and it backfired. He SHOULD have fallen on the ball, but in that split second he made a decision. That is a learning experience. If he makes a mistake by trying too hard... I can live with those, as long as it's not him getting himself hurt. The blocked XP and blocked punt are inexcusable.

I will say here, I was pleased with Griffin's decision making for the most part. He threw the ball away, he used his legs to buy time and instead of running he was looking downfield, only to hit his checkdown on a few occasions, or throw it out of bounds. He attempted to slide, and it didnt look like a wounded duck hitting the ground when he did it. This is all part of a learning curve that should be expected.

 

[Dead Money]

Yeah I would have hoped that the team could grow mentally tough enough not to make those kind of multiple gaffes when in a dire situation. Coaching, youth discipline... Whatever it is the team has got to outgrow it. Everything is new every year. There are only gonna be a few teams that are solid all the way around. Adapt and overcome. It's a loser mentality not to and you could see it on Garcon and Jackson's faces in the second half.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Absolutely, and Gruden and McVay were victims of it themselves. After that fumble recovery, you cannot run an end around there.. Play action deep for a big blow, I agree with... but a gimmick play there is doomed because the defense is going to key on any movement Jackson makes.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Every team that plays us from now on, is going to have a good time watching film of the Houston game, and have an easy gameplan.
Just blitz blitz blitz

 

[MikeSr619]

they are going to lose if they do that...we ran past Clowney and the LBs 100 times yesterday.

We will start clicking.

 

[Goaldeje]

Every team that plays us from now on, is going to have a good time watching film of the Houston game, and have an easy gameplan.
Just blitz blitz blitz

We were gashing them with the run. If teams elect to go blitz crazy on us, we run a few draws and that solves that pretty quickly. By and large, our offense played OK. You can pin the problems on the offense to Gruden not running enough, imo, and the two fumbles. Very correctable.

The ST problems are concerning because it is a continuation of what we saw last year which was maddening.

 

[Fear The Spear]

they are going to lose if they do that...we ran past Clowney and the LBs 100 times yesterday.

We were gashing them with the run. If teams elect to go blitz crazy on us, we run a few draws and that solves that pretty quickly. By and large, our offense played OK. You can pin the problems on the offense to Gruden not running enough, imo, and the two fumbles. Very correctable.

14 carries for Morris.

If yesterday is any indication, nothing has changed in the play-calling from the days of Kyle.
It doesn't matter who we run past, if we only do it a handful of times a game.

 

[MikeSr619]

Morris...but you didn't include Helu there with another 4 carries for 46 yards. we ran 18 times for 137 yards. Teams HAVE to respect that. Griff threw for 267 and only missed 8 times. We are executing...the points should come...its just the fumbles that we need to stop.

 

[Fear The Spear]

4 carries more doesn't change anything
18 carries is still embarrassing
Same conclusion.
Play-calling was severely lacking

 

[MikeSr619]

4 carries may not change anything...but 4 carries for 46 yards is a first down each time he touched the ball.

that is 18 carries and almost what normal backs get per game...i think that is around 22-25.

 

[Goaldeje]

I thought Gruden should have called more runs in the first half. We looked out of rhythm and disjointed all half long, and I think running the ball behind TW would have helped with some of that. Gruden's playcalling was average at best, imo, I think a fair amount of the blame for our performance falls on his shoulders.

 

[Primus Porcus]

if Roberts foot comes down in bounds, and if Griffin and Paul dont fumble... were grading this offense at an above average score. All 3 instances are examples of how important inches are in the NFL. The run game was a very bright spot in a rather frustrating game yesterday. We ran the ball seemingly at will and for some reason (i think it's rookie mistakes) we went away from it. Teams will worry about our ability to run the ball.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

I'm over it, yeah we kicked our own ass, yes right side of the line needs work, yeah a rookie head coach called some head scratching plays. Its week one, we still have talent on this team and I'm not going all chicken little over losing a game. I had expectations we'd win a squeaker and minus a few f ups, we would've. Time to see gruden make adjustments against Ajax.

 

[Enforcer]

Morris...but you didn't include Helu there with another 4 carries for 46 yards. we ran 18 times for 137 yards. Teams HAVE to respect that. Griff threw for 267 and only missed 8 times. We are executing...the points should come...its just the fumbles that we need to stop.

Agreed. Had those fumbles not happened, the narrative of the game changes...

Gruden is not absent from blame. But, this was his first game as a HC in REAL action with THIS set of players. I could be totally wrong, but I don't think Gruden is too stubborn to adjust his playcalling going into game #2.

 

[Dead Money]

Yes the fumbles have to stop. Agreed. Without those fumbles does out defense look a little better against lets be realistic a poor to fair offense? Yeah I think so. Without those fumbles do we score some points instead of coughing the ball up in the endzone? Percentages say its like a Rod Gardner catch. 52% of the time we were in the redzone last year we scored. (27% in the last 3 games. 61% in 2012 with 87% in the last 3.)

So most of you guys are right we moved the ball but lets not ignore the blooper reel we saw. The smell test was awful. That kind of stuff matters. Its game one in the books. The have 15/16 of the regular season left to correct the host of other issues... Pass rush went missing again, coverage went missing again, we put the "special" in special teams again. All correctable yeah I hear you all... but you can't say there's nothing wrong here and there's reasons for concern here. I often refuse to acknowledge the good but hey let not refuse to acknowledge the bad either.

Lets hope that next week everybody cleans it up a little and we can show some progress. That'll be a big step in the right direction before the divisional games start.