It hasn't been all bad for the Fins tonight. But whatever good we have seen has been equaled by some aspects of the game that were pathetic. Starting with the special teams, they seem to be setting the pace for another very mediocre year. If they weren't getting poor returns they were holding and forcing the offense into poor field position. There is no excuse for the special teams. They have had plenty of time to get the players and coaches.
I think the defense was largely pathetic. They couldn't get lined up because they were tired and confused. Some of that has to go on the coaching for not having them prepared enough for the Pats' hurry up offense. But even when they got lined up they weren't getting pressure on the QB, they weren't covering well, and they didn't tackle quite as good as they needed to. The biggest problem was the pass rush, especially up the middle. You can't let Brady step up in the pocket and buy time. He was able to do this all night. The only time he was pressured was when Wake got around the corner quickly.
As I type this the offense has driven down the field and is about to score. Bess appeared to be down just short of the goal line. The biggest problems with the offense are the interior of the offensive line. Richie Incognito has been terrible. He had at least two holding penalties and at least one sack. Reggie Bush didn't seem to have much room to run the ball. But Henne has been pretty good. He has avoided some pressure and made some plays despite that pressure. He has been pretty accurate and hasn't been afraid to push the ball down field. The receivers appear to have been able to get open a bit and have caught most of the catchable passes.
Though as I get done typing this Henne's inaccuracy shows up as he throws about four passes that weren't even close to being catchable. And the secondary just blew it and allowed a 99 yard TD pass. So the defense was even more pathetic than I was ready to call them. And looking at the replay it looks like a big reason is the safety play. Jones and Bell simply aren't good in coverage. They aren't fast enough to play deep and they aren't quick enough to cover good TEs, which the Pats have.
To wrap it up, the offense showed signs that it could be an average unit. We were all expecting the defense to be good, maybe even very good. But they have had a terrible night against the Pats, who were the best offense in the league last year and will probably be one of the two or three best this year. Even so, the effort they gave tonight won't be good enough to keep even average offenses from putting up points. If that doesn't change this could be a really long season.
I think the defense was largely pathetic. They couldn't get lined up because they were tired and confused. Some of that has to go on the coaching for not having them prepared enough for the Pats' hurry up offense. But even when they got lined up they weren't getting pressure on the QB, they weren't covering well, and they didn't tackle quite as good as they needed to. The biggest problem was the pass rush, especially up the middle. You can't let Brady step up in the pocket and buy time. He was able to do this all night. The only time he was pressured was when Wake got around the corner quickly.
As I type this the offense has driven down the field and is about to score. Bess appeared to be down just short of the goal line. The biggest problems with the offense are the interior of the offensive line. Richie Incognito has been terrible. He had at least two holding penalties and at least one sack. Reggie Bush didn't seem to have much room to run the ball. But Henne has been pretty good. He has avoided some pressure and made some plays despite that pressure. He has been pretty accurate and hasn't been afraid to push the ball down field. The receivers appear to have been able to get open a bit and have caught most of the catchable passes.
Though as I get done typing this Henne's inaccuracy shows up as he throws about four passes that weren't even close to being catchable. And the secondary just blew it and allowed a 99 yard TD pass. So the defense was even more pathetic than I was ready to call them. And looking at the replay it looks like a big reason is the safety play. Jones and Bell simply aren't good in coverage. They aren't fast enough to play deep and they aren't quick enough to cover good TEs, which the Pats have.
To wrap it up, the offense showed signs that it could be an average unit. We were all expecting the defense to be good, maybe even very good. But they have had a terrible night against the Pats, who were the best offense in the league last year and will probably be one of the two or three best this year. Even so, the effort they gave tonight won't be good enough to keep even average offenses from putting up points. If that doesn't change this could be a really long season.
Comments
Post a Comment