Now.... Lancelot, Galahad and I.....

Was at Heinz Field today for the latest debacle. Not too much more can be said about the defensive effort. Was it Jim McKay who responded when asked about his team’s execution that he thought it was good idea? Somehow that quote came to mind.... I mean what strikes you about the individual plays is just how not close we are to even contesting a catch.... I’m seeing Chiefs players slip on their routes yet still be able to get up and right themselves and still no defensive player is even close. We weren’t close enough to a receiver all night to even commit pass interference. And, while some might complain about pressure on Mahomes, much of the time there wasn’t time for pressure. He’d release in 1-2 seconds a pitch and catch to a streaking receiver that somehow already had time to get 2 steps behind whatever defender had lined up against him. Heck, Mahomes’ few incompletions were overthrows to wide open receivers as well. Could’ve been WORSE than 42 and they would’ve needed to create a new passer rating higher than 158.3

I mean, we all saw it.... there’s no reason to relive it (until next Monday I suppose).... which is what made it all the more curious down 42-30 facing 3rd and 20 with about 9 minutes left when the Steelers checked down for a 14 yard gain that I thought.... okay, nice play... we understand we have to go for this and we now have a very manageable 4th and 6 to keep the drive going....and punted.... So what’s the thinking coach? You can’t stop them (unless they’re on their own 1), you’re not close to stopping them, so why punt down 2 TD’s? Because that way we can set ourselves up to need to stop them TWICE???? OH! I get it....

Then after you’ve let them drive BEYOND where you punted from, you force a fumble (after our umpteenth missed tackle of the game).... and get down to the red zone on the very next play (as an aside, I couldn’t believe how many negative comments I saw about Jesse James in the game thread. You kidding me? Guy was BALLING today) Miraculously they’ve accomplished all this with over 4 minutes to play and all timeouts. Hopefully get a quick score but IMPERATIVE to score with over 2:00 to play to preserve that 4th timeout. Cue the slowest hurry up in the world with fans getting more and more restless on every down as more and more time ticks away culminating in a gutty run by Ben.... with 1:59 to go.

Okay, the 2:00 warning is gone and you need a possession. Odds of stopping them still doesn’t look good based on history but if you onside you at least get one more chance to possess. Either way, a first down ends the game, doesn’t matter where on the field it occurs.... but we kick deep and lay it entirely on the feet of the defense again... heck we just forced a fumble.... things are looking up, right?

A first down ends the game....you absolutely need to sell out to stop the run because they want you burning your timeouts. Normally I’d say there’s no way they’d pass because it’s higher risk. Even though we’ve proven that conclusively false (passing carries zero risk) you need to sell out to stop the run.... and you give up 9 yards....

What comes after the Trojan Rabbit?

Still fun to be there at Heinz with the fans....just hard to be nervous about the outcome.... it’s a script we’ve seen too many times...

 

Eh I think we all need to sleep this one lol. A TB win would feel great but a loss could also mean we should not invest in the season

 

We already have a large Badger: #90.

 

Perfect post, except I think it was John Mckay and he has some of the best quotes of all time.

 

Thanks for that. Oh yeah I think Jim McKay sold Timex watches at the olympics.... or something like that....

Tampa Bay has come a long way since those days.... but hopefully our defense can make a showing next week.... or at least, “fart in their general direction.....”