Just Looking at the KC Numbers

[AZ54]

Watching in the bar again so it's hard to pick up on some of the details on how guys played. Here's some thoughts on the KC game:

 

Offense

Oline: Forte managed to run for 3.9ypc behind a rookie center and 7th Rd pick Leno while going against a stacked box all game long with no credible deep threat on the outside. There was nothing spectacular in the run game but it was effective enough. On the edges Kyle Long and Leno shutout Hali and Houston from getting any sacks. The line often had help from Cutler who was elusive in the pocket but he also had places to move to on most plays. It seems to me that when the QB has space to move around it's a credit to the blockers for at least staying with their guy even if they get beat to one side. I didn't see very many free-runs at the QB like we've seen in the past. Leno has done well enough IMO that the team is not going to be in a rush to get Bushrod back on the field.

 

RBs: Forte was his usual jack-of-all-trades again. I still want to see a little more of Langford but with the banged up WR corps and the way the game went it is understandable.

 

WRs: Wilson is finally getting it. I see reports of Cutler getting on him during practices to run his routes better (he needs that) and it's paying off. Hopefully that light is coming on for Wilson. Bellamy is not flashy but is productive. Meredith had 4 rec 52yds and might be the real gem long-term among this backup trio. Meredith made a great shoestring grab and turned upfield for a 1st down. He has a quickness to his cuts and acceleration once the ball is in his hands that the other two don't have and he has really good hands. There is a steep learning curve for him but I don't think he'd be safe if the Bears put him on the practice squad once Jeffrey and White are healthy.

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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000047...om-fcs-runnerup

Wide receiver Cameron Meredith (6-3 3/8, 207) ran the 40 in 4.42 and 4.45 seconds. He had a 39-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-7 broad jump. He did the short shuttle in 4.17 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.76 seconds. He performed 12 lifts on the bench press. He had a good positional workout and could be a priority free-agent pickup following the draft.

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QB: Two weeks, two game winning drives late in the game. With all the changing pieces around him from WRs, C, LT he's leading them. I'm leaving it there.

 

Defense

Dline: I expected more pressure in this game and it never really materialized. That was disappointing. Our sacks were more coverage sacks (which is a good thing too). Ratliff didn't show much in his first game back but maybe after a month off I shouldn't have expected much. I love Unrein's hustle chasing down plays from behind but I'd like it better if he made more plays going forward. While it wasn't flashy the effort across the board was again productive giving up just 10pts on the road. Having Charles out late in the game helped but no sympathy from me given all the injuries and the fact we had two rookies playing safety and a ILB we signed 12 days ago.

 

LBs: McPhee. Everyone else was ok but we did see a couple splash plays from Jones (finally) with a big hit on Kelce to stop a 3rd down play, and Reynolds ran through some blocks to make a nice stop for a loss. Lamar Houston is not fast nor quick, expect to see one of our early draft picks (of FA pickup) to get some speed on the edge. Loved seeing Willie Young on that sack, hope to see more of that from him. I think the biggest take away is that Kelce didn't have a big game 3 rec / 35 yards. Not sure if that was DBs, LBs or a combination of the two but he was not nearly as effective as KC wanted.

 

DBs: This was not a tough challenge given KC WRs and Alex Smith. Aside from Porter's mistake taking the inside gamble and giving Thomas a 19yd TD they kept everything in check. Smith helped with several bad throws this game. We started two rookies at safety and yet there has not been a single thread, either pre-game or post-game, mentioning this as an issue. Doesn't mean it's not an issue but it does indicate how far down the list of concerns it is. I'm not putting our safeties in the Pro Bowl, and this was a game with little deep threat, but the rookies held up.

 

Coaching: With so little talent these coaches on both sides of the ball are getting production. Fangio gets guys into the right spots on the field. Did you notice our defense is now ranked 4th in yds/game given up? Passing defense is 3rd in yds/game but rushing D not so good at 24th. I know stats don't tell the whole story and we're far from a shutdown defense. But we're also far from where we were last year when we couldn't stop anything. Gase likewise has been able to get productivity from backups at many positions as long as Cutler is on the field.

 

 

 

 

 

[adam]

I think the lack of pressure was tied to Charles and the Bears wanting Smith to beat us. At times we only rushed 3, and they seemed to leave a 6th blocker back most of the time. I also like how we contained Charles for the most part. He had one big play, that 26 yard reception that he juked SMC on. Other than that, he wasn't dominant and didn't score. The defense has only allowed 4 offensive TDs in the last 3 games (that is a great trend).

 

Both OT's played awesome against some great edge rushers. After the shaky start Grasu played solid. Wilson has really stepped up, and he is technically our #4 WR (Jeffery, Royal, White).

 

Porter really shined, and I believe Porter, Fuller, and Amos played every defensive snap. Hats off to them.

 

McPhee is a beast, we need to feed off him.

 

In regards to stats, those don't mean that much right now (especially yards per game) but promising nonetheless. The Bears have only allowed 1x 100 yard rusher and the longest run against them is 21 yards. The longest pass allowed has been 34 yards and I believe that is the only play more than 30 yards against our defense all year. In terms of 3rd Downs, our defense is allowing a conversion 43.5% of the time on the season (which is higher than we would like it), but only 37% over the last 3 games (so we are seeing improvement). This is also coupled with sacks, in the first two games we had zero sacks; in the last 3, we have 9.

[AZ54]

I think the lack of pressure was tied to Charles and the Bears wanting Smith to beat us. At times we only rushed 3, and they seemed to leave a 6th blocker back most of the time. I also like how we contained Charles for the most part. He had one big play, that 26 yard reception that he juked SMC on. Other than that, he wasn't dominant and didn't score. The defense has only allowed 4 offensive TDs in the last 3 games (that is a great trend).

 

Both OT's played awesome against some great edge rushers. After the shaky start Grasu played solid. Wilson has really stepped up, and he is technically our #4 WR (Jeffery, Royal, White).

 

Porter really shined, and I believe Porter, Fuller, and Amos played every defensive snap. Hats off to them.

 

McPhee is a beast, we need to feed off him.

 

In regards to stats, those don't mean that much right now (especially yards per game) but promising nonetheless. The Bears have only allowed 1x 100 yard rusher and the longest run against them is 21 yards. The longest pass allowed has been 34 yards and I believe that is the only play more than 30 yards against our defense all year. In terms of 3rd Downs, our defense is allowing a conversion 43.5% of the time on the season (which is higher than we would like it), but only 37% over the last 3 games (so we are seeing improvement). This is also coupled with sacks, in the first two games we had zero sacks; in the last 3, we have 9.

 

 

A good point about the scheme and lack of pressure with the focus being to take the running game away. I didn't think about it at the time but I do remember seeing just 3 guys rushing a few times in the game.