We have an offense!

Plenty of things to fix on defense but I'm not sold on this offense. 10 of GB's points were handed to them by our offense - a 3 yard field where the defense held but got hosed on the FG block and a turnover at our own 38 that the defense held to 3 points - again 10 pts on turnovers by the offense.

One of our drives was set up by a punt return to the GB 45 that yielded a FG and another drive was salvaged by a fake punt.

The defense scored 7 and set the offense up at the 17 yard line for the winning score. We might have scored 7 on our own but it's pretty clear that GB let have that touchdown so they could get the ball back with time enough to tie it. Special teams almost cost us the game but the defense, helped by costly false-start penalty held on by the skin of its teeth to save the game.

In the fourth quarter the offense went three-and-out on one drive and punted on the other. They are terrible at managing the clock and as they have many times of the past few years, disappeared for long stretches late in the game. They still struggle in the red zone.

Maybe next year we'll have a healthy offensive line and get younger and faster on defense. I like the way we're finishing and I give Tomlin some credit for keeping them playing. But we need work on all aspects of the game not just the defense.

 

Speath's TD reminded me of the offense of the past. Using big bodies in the redzone..

Too often do I see us trying to throw lob passes to AB or Sanders or Cotchery instead of our taller TE's....we do need a taller WR imo.

If they can incorporate more passes to taller targets, I am satisfied with the direction of the offense.

 

I'm not 100% sold on the offense either, the same mistakes but they are doing well even with a make shift oline. As for the defense, are you kidding???? Yes, they mange a stop or two but take a look at these scores, the offense has to score 30 or more points to win game, when you score 30 points and lose it isn't an offense that is a problem. I agree, the offense still needs some help but the defense needs a lot of holes filled, bad secondary and terrible DTs, they have to sell out with 9 in the box most times to stop the run, Eddie Lacey was making it look easy as did others.

 

The offense has shown improvemwnt in the last few weeks; however, I'm still not sold. There are still too many mind boggling stupid plays. For example yesterday we are at 3rd and 6 and throw a 1 yard pass to heath in hopes he can pick up the next 5. Running a route past the marker and coming back has a far more likely to succeed. We also had outstanding field position thanks to a couole of great returns that were just squandered with three and outs.It also bothers me that we have a very capable reciever in Will Johnson and rareky use him despite practicing his use all during training camp and preseason. Haley has done some good things, but he isn't some godsend by any stretch of the imagination. There's also the embarassment of the lawsuits caused by the actions of Haley and his wife.

 

Thats exactly how we should of used Moye this year in the red zone.

 

Ben makes up for a ton of deficiencies on this team....

 

If we can have an offensive line that stays healthy and therefore plays consistently, then we can have a fairly good offense. With a fairly good offense, teams have to pass more on us when they are on offense. This allows the zone blitz to work better and suddenly our defense gets better. Find an inside linebacker so Troy doesn't have to play half the game there and suddenly our defense is back to being good. We aren't that far from being a decent team. Although, with a few more injuries, we aren't far from being horrible.

 

This was the first time the team had a 100 yard rusher in the last 23 games. The difference between Bell and Lacy is, Lacy was first contacted 5 yards beyond the LOS, whereas Bell was first contacted 0.5 yards beyond the LOS. Our run blocking is terrible. We have a bad Oline. With Ben, Bell, Heath, AB we have playmakers on O, just need some time and blocks to let it all happen. So, yes the offense is clicking better now than they have in the last 13 months.

 

Just imagine us with a stable offensive line and one more wide receiver weapon. Either another TE or a Wide out.

If everyone comes back healthy on the oline, I think we will be ok, but I would fine us another weapon on offense either through the draft or free agency.

 

Its so refreshing to watch a game and actually have some confindence in our team! I am really feeling so much better about this team as a whole than I was in September!

 

Are we losing Sanders and cotchery? If that is the case then I'm all for a big wr in round 1. This offense has been rolling since switching to the no huddle and I believe we will be seeing it more times then not as long as Ben in in there. I honestly feel like we have a good shot at being pretty good next year.

 

hopefully he does what wheaton is doing and works out with brown all summer long.

 

I started out saying there's plenty to fix on defense. The numbers are down all across the board. No question about that but they made some plays - as did the offense. To think that our offense has somehow arrived is getting ahead of the game. This team needs work on personnel, coaching, game management, offense, defense, and special teams. Other than that we're all set.

 

Our offense is still adept at keeping both teams in the game. Struggles with the red zone, play calling, turnovers, clock management, and lack of ability to close out games have been going on for years and are still there.

Is it better? Yes. Is it good - Maybe. It's still not great. There's plenty to keep the organization busy on both sides of the ball though if I had to pick a side that needs more personnel help I'd say defense. If our offensive line is healthy next year and Ben and Haley have worked out their issues I'd expect a big improvement in the offense's play.

 

a big fast catching te is what could make this offense even more dangerous

 

we need to keep adding on both sides of the ball. I don't really want a big WR that makes ben want to just throw jump balls to. TE's are crucial to this offense.

with heath back looking more like heath. the move of beachum to LT. another decent TE in spaeth to help heath. velasco's help to seal the middle. wallaces help to not miss a beat in keeping that middle sealed off. bell becoming what some of us knew he would. all these things made this offense better. they just came later this year then we would have liked.

I'm torn in leaving some of these changes in place though moving forward. do we leave beachum at LT and just go with him and adams on that side? I hope not.

do we keep spaeth? another year older next year. probably. we need to draft another good one. these two are not spring chickens anymore.

velasco? pouncey? Wallace? what to do?

foster? too heavy, and it shows in his run blocking. do we just stay OK at that spot?

there will be a lot of questions and decisions to be made from our staff and front office. they have not been great at drafting of linemen for several years. we have done pretty well with a couple of in season additions this year. can we and will we keep them and add to what seems to be an improving group? is that improvement enough? how will we find the money? who do we keep going forward? those questions will have to be answered soon.