Defensive let downs

[PantherLove]

1 hour ago, VerticalThreat said:

First, we got pressure. We blitzed. Hell, we blitzed Norman on a corner blitz. I've only seen us do that one other time this year. We blitzed our FS (Boston). Pressure was applied. Playoff teams make plays. Seattle made plays.

If you're a coach, and you go into the half up 31, what would YOU do? Our coaches didn't spend 2 weeks creating a game plan based on being up 31. So, at the half, you can continue doing what you've done, or change it up completely. Knowing the history of past games, you know its going to be tight and not easy to score points. So, you can either toss the ball around trying to get more points (and possibly give the other team more chances with the ball and more time on the clock) OR you try to shorten the game knowing that they're going to score, but you believe you can bleed the clock before they can score enough. Our coaches decided to not take unesscessary risks with the ball and to get 3-4 yards per play get 3rd and short and try to keep the clock running. Could they have done it better, of course, and RR said as much, but they were successful. You can say, "well, if Seattle had another possession or another minute..." Guess what? They didn't. That's not how the clock works, you have the time you have. The plan was successful. Not flawless, but it worked. We were able to experience it, and now have a better familiarity in how to deal with it. 

When you watch this team from now until the end of your days, keep this in mind. "It's a process." You hear RR say it all the time and it applies to everything. There's no top of the mountain. It's all part of growing, experiencing, adjusting. RR knows he's not perfect, so he immerses himself in the process and what he can take away as a learning experience for next time, and there will ALWAYS be a next time. 

The Norman blitz wasn't called. He acted based on what he saw and it paid off. 

[VerticalThreat]

5 minutes ago, PantherLove said:

The Norman blitz wasn't called. He acted based on what he saw and it paid off. 

You're thinking about the one where he got the sack. I'm talking about the one where he blitzed and RW threw over Kurt Coleman to Tyler Lockette for a touchdown. That was a called CB blitz. Norman's sack was not.

[PantherLove]

26 minutes ago, VerticalThreat said:

You're thinking about the one where he got the sack. I'm talking about the one where he blitzed and RW threw over Kurt Coleman to Tyler Lockette for a touchdown. That was a called CB blitz. Norman's sack was not.

Ahh you're correct sir. My apologies.