Benching Delhomme is NOT...

[Mr. Scot]

...enough, not by itself :nonod:

There are other steps that need to be taken to keep us from just being in the same boat with a different captain.

Here are the ones I'd suggest:

Replace Keydrick Vincent - My choice would be with Duke Robinson. Others would say Bernadeau but I think he needs to stay in the utility role. We have no push up the middle and too much pressure is coming from the inside. As good as he was last year, the injury was just too much. Is Robinson ready? Don't know, but Vincent is a liability. Thus, it's time to take the chance.

Elevate Kenny Moore - It may not be the best time to be pro-Moore right now (at least Kenny) but separate Moore the receiver from Moore the returner. It's time to move Moore to the number two and Moose to the number three role. Otherwise, teams can just continue to crowd the box and double Smith. What to do with Jarrett? Debatable, but I don't think he's the answer.

Use Goodson as a receiver/runningback - We talked early on about having a three man backfield, and it still hasn't happened. Neither has the use of Goodson as a receiver. Truthfully, I'm more interested in his receiving than his running, but I think we need that third man too (all predicated, of course, on his fixing the ball security issues).

Fix the fullback spot - This is one of the areas where I'm hedging a bit, but I don't think Hoover can do what he used to an a consistent basis. Problem is I'm also not sure Fiammetta's ready for full duty either (similar quandary with Vincent/Robinson). If you put a gun to my head though, I'd bet that Fiammetta will improve before I'd believe that Hoover will recapture his youth.

Involve the tight ends more - There's some progress in this regard. It needs to continue. This has more to do with something else I'll say later.

Find a return man - Most likely option here is to give Dexter Jackson a try. Not sure he'll be the answer, but I am sure that at least in this spot, Kenny Moore isn't. Munnerlyn is competent, but not a threat. At this point, we need a threat. Hard to come by this far into the season, of course. Thus, we may have to hope Jackson can do it.

And last, what may be the most controversial point, and the toughest...

Fix the playcalling - Specifically, if John Fox is having a say in it, get him out of it. If, on the other hand, it's all Davidson, then take it away from him. Give those duties to Jim Skipper, or even to Rip Scherer, but remove them from Davidson IF he is the guy truly responsible right now (and that's likely something we can't know for certain from here).

These are my suggestions, for what they're worth.

[Guest BradThomas]

Fire Danny Crossman.

[scpanther22]

Get D.jarret in there

[Mr. Scot]

Fire Danny Crossman.

Yep.

[PntherPryd]

Fire Danny Crossman.

not sure Fox can afford to have those pictures released.

[Guest]

*waits for Mr. Scots points to be stolen by douchebag Observer and printed tomorrow*

[rippadonn]

If someone came in and threw 2INTS a game we'd be better off with that guy. Sad but true.

[Acewalker]

While I would not be opposed to moving up Kenny Moore to the 2nd string receiver, I don't know about using Captain in his place as a return man. He looked pretty awful against Buffalo and exhibits no explosiveness or playmaking ability whatsoever. Jarrett is far from being a starting receiver so I agree, we shouldn't even mention him. Moose, while still good at blocking, has definitely lost a step and doesn't seem to have the hands he once did.

I think we can utilize Goodson in more of a way that the Saints use Reggie Bush, as a reciever/hb, as he has a good amount of speed and quickness. I'm not sure about the fullback position though, as Hoover has been injury plagued this season, yet we've still ran the ball well in the last 2 games.

Another thing I'd like to mention, that's been said numerous times here, is that something needs to be done with Danny Crossman. Incompetent.

Good post.

[Claws]

Get D.jarret in there

at the risk of being laughed at, ridiculed and having my opinion swayed, I agree wholeheartedly with you.

[rippadonn]

OOOOOOOh Scott O'Brien where art thou???

[Khyber53]

Mr. Scott, as always, you make good points.

-- Keydrick Vincent: Not sure on the need for this right now. However, it might be nice to see some rotation into the line.

-- Kenny Moore: I've been wondering why we don't see him more in the passing game. I believe it is because we are making a concerted effort for more tight end work. Since we can only have 11 at a time on the field, it's hard to get him and double tight ends. I do think the kid is worth it and he'll pay dividends, but there's still more to see.

-- Goodson: I'm lukewarm on this right now. With increased play from the tight ends and the need to get passes to Jarrett and Moore once in a great while, I'm not sure where he fits.

-- Fullback spot: It's a harder position to learn than most would think, but we're phasing it back greatly right now. And that's a shame. I believe a battering ram fullback plays havoc on defensive linemen and linebackers over the course of the game. We should be using them more effectively and more often, particularly in the first half.

-- Tight Ends: Yep, we are doing more with them.

-- Return Man: Munnerlyn, Goodson and Moore have all had their good moments. They've all also had their moments when they've showed just how young they are. I'm most amazed that with that last punt yesterday, Smitty didn't go in and take it. I'd love to see Dexter Jackson in to take some punts and kick offs, but I'm not sure he is ready. At this point, though, what could it hurt. Perhaps someone who has no idea what we are trying to do might succeed where the plan can't.

-- Play calling This is the biggest glaring problem right now. Bills are 31st against the run and 4th against the pass before yesterday, with interceptions galore. So we throw it 42 times? Even when our running game was going great guns? Here's where we come to the situation. Where does Davidson call the plays from? The sidelines... where he has limited view of the game. Where do most offensive coordinators of talent work from? The coache's box. Remember that Henning always stayed there. Perhaps Davidson's problem with reading defenses is that he simply can't see the whole thing...

Sadly, and as big of a Jake supporter as I am, I think he needs to ride the pine for a week or two. I want him to be on the field against Arizona and get his revenge, but right now, he might just come off worse than he did in the playoffs last year. If he ain't crushed completely yet, then he sure would be. And he deserves better. Fox needs to put him back in the stable for a while.

[Lt Pinkerton]

I think Keydrick Vincent has played well the last few games.

[Lt Pinkerton]

Also I think that the 44 pass play-calls were a bit skewed. If you watched the game yesterday you would see that most of them were extended running-plays. Designed short throws to Smitty, Deangelo and Stewart. There were probably under thirty true designed pass plays called yesterday.

[Darth Biscuit]

Nice as usual Mr. Scot... one question that just occurred to me... didn't Munerlyn return all punts yesterday prior to Moore's muffed return? I'm not saying that Munerlyn did a good job, he didn't... but his problem wasn't catching the ball, it was being indecisive after the catch...

I do feel bad for Moore... sh*t happens and he just happened to step in it at a very bad time. His error hurt bad, but didn't lose the game.