Some players I felt did pretty well

[nfoligno]

Okay, w/ all the negative criticism, I wanted to mention a few players I thought had a pretty good game. You know how I am a glass half full guy and can't stand all this pessimism

 

Offense

 

Forte - Lets start w/ the obvious. I thought this may have been his best game. Sure, he may have had others w/ better stats, but they were against cream puff defenses. Here, he faced an elite defense, and had a solid day rushing, and a great day receiving. That TD catch was a freaking thing of beauty.

 

OL in general, but Beekman and Kreutz specific. Sure, Rex faced pressure, but there were many downs he seemed to have plenty of time. Add to that how we were able to run the ball fairly well against a great run defense, and I think the OL should get some credit. I felt Beekman was pretty solid. Kreutz has gotten a lot of flack this year, and deservedly so IMHO, but I felt he had a pretty good game. I did see him blow a block, but overall, felt he did a pretty solid job. He was helping both Garza and Beekman, especially on Haynesworth, and helping open some holes for Forte. And he is w/o question still the leader of this OL, and for the OL to play as well as it did against Tenn, I think the leader of the OL deserves some credit.

 

Olsen - More than most, he really showed a lot of fight. When he made the catch, he really fought for the extra yards. A couple of his catches were on poor throws which he made solid catches on, then showed athleticism/balance getting some YAC, and really pushing hard for the 1st down.

 

Defense As poorly as the D played v the pass, we did play well v the run, and a few players I felt stood out.

 

Dusty - Starting on the DL, I was really impressed w/ Dusty yesterday. No, he did not get to the QB, but more than any other on the DL, I felt he was disruptive and penetrating in the pocket. Especially on run downs, he often got penetration, forcing the ball carrier to change direction, often into the waiting arms of Briggs or another. IMHO, Dusty's play inside was very noticable yesterday.

 

Briggs - He showed a solid ability to fight and get off blocks and take the ball carrier down. I think he had a couple tackles for loss, and really showed a great motor yesterday.

 

Mike Brown - It would be easy to say he played poorly as he is the FS, in a cover two scheme, and we were shredded through the air, but I don't think we played a lot of cover two yesterday, and think Brown spent most of the day in the box. I would have expected Payne to play in the box, but it was far more often Payne playing the one deep position, while Brown was run blitzing and playing in the box. Brown was a big reason we shut down their run game.

 

Graham - He made some mistakes, but is looking like our best CB. It didn't seem like his man was often targetted in the air, and he made numerous plays v the run.

[Pixote]

It seems every time the opposing team is running an offensive series with limited time on the clock they go to a sideline pattern towards Nathan Vasher. Vasher is always out of position so that when the receiver makes the catch in order to make the tackle he drives the player out of bounds, exactly what the receiver wants. Is it that difficult for the defender to realize what is going on and position himself to the outside of the receiver and drive the sucker back into the field of play? That is what basically cost us the game with Atlanta. If the receiver is driven back into the field of play instead of out of bounds, they would not have had time to kick the field goal.

[nfoligno]

Maybe the most unbelievable thing about this is, according to Vasher himself, we use our CBs to cover the outside. Vasher uses this to explain why WRs are so easily able to connect on slants, explaining that is part of the scheme. Per him, our CBs play the outside, and are supposed to (I guess) funnel the WRs inside, where the safety or LB is expected to play the slants.

 

But if this is true, and he is excused (some) of WRs hitting on so many slants, this would at the same time all the more seem to highlight his play on those occasions you mention. If what Vasher says is true, we should not see a WR capable of those out patterns, especially when that is the only play the offense has.

 

I liked Vasher when he was drafted, and felt he would become a very solid nickel. I never thought he would be a legit starter, and it appeared I was proven wrong. Now I wonder. W/ the play of Graham, I think it is time for a change. Graham should be starting, and Vasher moved back inside. Frankly, he was always an excellent nickel, and may regain his form there. At the same time, we may find a new solid (or better) starting CB in Graham. The question is, will the staff make this move, which field play screams for, or will the man w/ the fatter wallet continue to start?

 

It seems every time the opposing team is running an offensive series with limited time on the clock they go to a sideline pattern towards Nathan Vasher. Vasher is always out of position so that when the receiver makes the catch in order to make the tackle he drives the player out of bounds, exactly what the receiver wants. Is it that difficult for the defender to realize what is going on and position himself to the outside of the receiver and drive the sucker back into the field of play? That is what basically cost us the game with Atlanta. If the receiver is driven back into the field of play instead of out of bounds, they would not have had time to kick the field goal.