Looking over the charred remains...
kom526 said:
Carlos Rogers actually makes an interception.(But not without some drama.) The pass he broke up on 4th down in the 4th was great, but I don't think he realized that the last chance for the Saints, he wanted the offensive pass interference call.
Where has this defense been all year?
HTTR!
...of our season of discontent, with a play or two per game going our way, we could be 9-5 right now with losses to Dallas week 2, the Giants, Colts, Eagles I and the Falcons. We needed 4 points against Minny, 4 against the Titans, 4 v. TB and 3 v. the Eagles II. Call it 8-6 if we give back the miracle against Dallas II.
Now, this is not to say we are somehow
this close to actually being a true contender because we did get thoroughly beat 5 times. So, what to expect for next year?
1. Jason Campbell. He simply opens up the field more than Mark, a good bit more. Teams packed it in against us when Mark was playing because he not only threw a lot of short passes but didn't make teams feel threatened deep. That means more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage which means harder to run
and more pressure on the qb.
The book on defending young qb's is crowd them, shut down the run and make them throw. Well, Jason has passed that test and makes defenses worry about getting back. He will throw it deep and his check down passes are going to receivers 10-20 yards deep, crossing the field, not dump off screens.
The result is a better running game as opponents have to spread out and defend more of the field. Gibbs can say all he wants that they suddenly rediscovered running football and, to some extent, I guess we'll just accept that at face value. Yeah, and Ladell Betts
suddenly learned how to run the ball. I look for Portis to be traded. How about, oh, for a corner?
While it's not reasonable to expect a Superbowl next year, we're a better offensive team with Campbell, period. Sickening to think of where we'd be now had Jason started the season.
2. The defense. The off season player moves that turned out bad, real bad, are self evident. Injuries exacerbated the problems. Right now, it is anyones guess as to what happens in the off season and how that pans out both in talent and chemistry, but, the good news is that there is more room to go up than down. Rogers deserves credit for being there every down. He's tough and hits hard and being in position to drop 6-7 pics is still a good thing. Anyone remember how Walt Harris went from gas can to fire extinguisher over a three year period?
3. Special teams. They have gotten little mention, but, other than field goal kicker revolving door, coverage has been great and Frost has made himself a solid punter. True bright spot here.
4. Coaching. Who knows? Some kid talks to the qb's. Al runs the offense, along with umpteen other big names. Joe just kinda stands there and looks stern. We're still chaotic in terms of clock management and discipline penalties. I think it was asinine, in a lost season, to kick a field goal in the first quarter yesterday on 4th and, what, 2. That is one area where the 'Old Joe' is in evidence; very conservative as to going for it on 4th down.
All in all, it's hard to have the biggest payroll in the NFL and only win 5 games. We, along with the Lions, Bucs and Cards are the only teams in the NFC out of it as of now. It's easy to make an argument that happy days are ahead of us but it is also easy to see how this more is more, committee and bureaucracy based approach to the intensely personal world of football coaching will always find ways to cost us a play or two a game.
And, as I started out, that, a play or two a game, is the difference between being 5-9 and 9-5.
Just saw it a little bit ago(listened to game on the radio)..Should they have gift wrapped it?? D-line played well today, makes all the difference in the world for the LB and D-backs.
that was an easy safety in the making. :hometeamnocall:
