I took some time to digest this one before posting. To say I am disappointed is understatement. I hate to say that this was not unexpected to me. We are playing in a new D system with guys recruited to the old D system. For the kool aid drinkers who thought this system was a magic pill, we now know better. CNW has my confidence still. As I said before, I think he was a good hire. I don't think he was a great hire, but I didn't see GT being in position to get a great hire right away. I do think, however, that CNW can become a great hire if we give him time to develop his system here. Increasingly, however, I am losing confidence that our fanbase is capable of making rational assessments of our football program.
I am as big a fan of CPJ as anyone, yet I understand that ultimately he is responsible for the entire team. If we have another 5 win season, or worse, I have my doubts he will survive the winter here. I think we still have a chance to win at least 6 more games.
My takeaways on Offense:
1. The QB situation is solid, if not spectacular. We don't have JeT 2.o, but the TQM/TO combo can win games for us.
2. The BB sistuation is similar, but the backups need to get better with their blocking.
3. The OL is talented but spotty in execution. This has to get better.
4. WR is very promising. Camp looks like the real deal.
5. AB is outstanding, if we can get it to them. I am not worried about this group, even with the late game fumble Saturday.
My takeaways on Defense:
1. DL is spotty, with some promise.
2. LB is above average, but needs to execute better.
3. Secondary has the potential to be the strength of our D.
4. We still can't tackle.
5. We are still getting pressure on the QB with no results because we can't finish the drill.
6. I was assured that CNW would not line up DBs that far off the receivers, and have them backpedal at the snp, but he does.
I spoke with a few of you in person at the game a week ago and told you I was less than impressed with our D in that game, in spite of the score and gaudy numbers. The sheer amount of missed tackles was going to hurt us against a better offense. yesterday they did.
My takeaways on Special Teams:
1. KO coverage is a dumpster fire.
2. FGs will be a gut check for us this year.
3. Our punter, despite his shank, is all world.
4. We really need to fix a lot of problems here in a hurry.
As a whole, I came away reassured that our offense can win games, our defense can lose them, and our special teams are the wrong kind of special right now. That's an improvement from last year when our O wasn't always capable of winning a game on it's own. This season is salvageable, and I won't give up on the team because of a bad loss.