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- Aug 24, 2011
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So if you logged on to the app at 3:30 looking for us to play a much more complete game, and dominate a middling G-5 team, you logged off disappointed. If you wanted to watch an entertaining football game, you logged off disappointed. Other than the last five minutes there was no entertainment value whatsoever. (And extra credit in that regard to the home — I can’t call it a “crowd”, maybe an “audience?” I hope my funeral one day has more juice in it than yesterday’s game.). But a team that had improbably grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory in consecutive weeks on the road gutted out a boring, middling effort on the road and came out with a win. And to be truthful, if that happens twice more in our remaining G-5 road games, this season will end up o.k. So take the victory and move on.
Let’s start with special teams this week. Hats off to Freeman, who for the second time in a month made a FG at the death that we desperately needed, but I hope the special teams coaches take a hard look in the mirror this week because on specials we were caught with our pants down twice. The semi-blocked punt and their successful fake FG should not happen. It’s not enough that we fixed our long snapping problem and want talent to take over. And while the fake FG punt accomplished what we wanted there, and put for their guys 65 yard punt might have set us up for a FG that would have put us up 10, I don’t get it. I would have let Freeman try to put us up 10, and if we were going to punt don’t get why we didn’t let our punter do it, which one would think would have been less risky.
Defense statistically had a better game — both total yardage and points were way down — but Buffalo’s offense isn’t good and was banged up, so while they gave us a chance to win I’m not sure how much improvement was shown. If we didn’t miss tackles on their long, early TD run I could say that we kept everything in front of us all day, and made sure that we weren’t going to beat ourselves on D, but that one play did occur, and it was just handing them 7 points out of nowhere. I’d love to see a dominant performance at home next week to give the D some momentum going into the off week and the trip to Chestnut Hill, but we’ll have to see it to believe it,
The offense did not have a good day. Look, credit needs to be given for playing mistake free. No penalties for a game, and no turnovers in 5, are both fairly remarkable accomplishments. For the players and the staff. But we need a secondary WR to step up big time, presumably either Neider or Porter, we need much better play in the passing game from Honig and Harris, and we need a secondary TB to emerge. Again, I’m more and more puzzled at the failure to give Rosa carries on a day when Edwards was out for a while. A TB who succeeded 3 years ago, and looked to be an emerging star, has 2 carries for 10 yards and then no more carries. Would someone please explain? But yesterday, for 80% of the snaps, we looked conservative but competent, and then once every five plays or so we would run a play that had no chance of going anywhere. Totally blown assignments? Their DC having the right schemes and keys to stop the plays we called — said another way, being totally outcoached? Don’t know. But just no explosiveness in the offense when are two weapons are contained by injury or scheme. And last point — we had major success with JF running the ball. If teams are giving us that, please continue to do it until the other team takes a DB off Bell to make sure JF is contained.
So that’s it. Just like our performance this week’s 241 will just do enough, and not be anything that anyone will treasure or remember. Let’s get to 4-2 next week in a game we’ll be comfortable favorites at home. Let’s hopefully look somewhat better in doing it. And then let’s take our week off and figure out what this season can still look like.
Let’s start with special teams this week. Hats off to Freeman, who for the second time in a month made a FG at the death that we desperately needed, but I hope the special teams coaches take a hard look in the mirror this week because on specials we were caught with our pants down twice. The semi-blocked punt and their successful fake FG should not happen. It’s not enough that we fixed our long snapping problem and want talent to take over. And while the fake FG punt accomplished what we wanted there, and put for their guys 65 yard punt might have set us up for a FG that would have put us up 10, I don’t get it. I would have let Freeman try to put us up 10, and if we were going to punt don’t get why we didn’t let our punter do it, which one would think would have been less risky.
Defense statistically had a better game — both total yardage and points were way down — but Buffalo’s offense isn’t good and was banged up, so while they gave us a chance to win I’m not sure how much improvement was shown. If we didn’t miss tackles on their long, early TD run I could say that we kept everything in front of us all day, and made sure that we weren’t going to beat ourselves on D, but that one play did occur, and it was just handing them 7 points out of nowhere. I’d love to see a dominant performance at home next week to give the D some momentum going into the off week and the trip to Chestnut Hill, but we’ll have to see it to believe it,
The offense did not have a good day. Look, credit needs to be given for playing mistake free. No penalties for a game, and no turnovers in 5, are both fairly remarkable accomplishments. For the players and the staff. But we need a secondary WR to step up big time, presumably either Neider or Porter, we need much better play in the passing game from Honig and Harris, and we need a secondary TB to emerge. Again, I’m more and more puzzled at the failure to give Rosa carries on a day when Edwards was out for a while. A TB who succeeded 3 years ago, and looked to be an emerging star, has 2 carries for 10 yards and then no more carries. Would someone please explain? But yesterday, for 80% of the snaps, we looked conservative but competent, and then once every five plays or so we would run a play that had no chance of going anywhere. Totally blown assignments? Their DC having the right schemes and keys to stop the plays we called — said another way, being totally outcoached? Don’t know. But just no explosiveness in the offense when are two weapons are contained by injury or scheme. And last point — we had major success with JF running the ball. If teams are giving us that, please continue to do it until the other team takes a DB off Bell to make sure JF is contained.
So that’s it. Just like our performance this week’s 241 will just do enough, and not be anything that anyone will treasure or remember. Let’s get to 4-2 next week in a game we’ll be comfortable favorites at home. Let’s hopefully look somewhat better in doing it. And then let’s take our week off and figure out what this season can still look like.
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