FP's Observations

[fieryprophet]

I'm going to focus on some areas that aren't quite as evident as who caught what or tackled whom.

- Outside of one big hiccup from the 3rd stringers, the secondary did a great job in not letting receivers get wide open. Considering the number of times we'd watch players running free on the back end last year it was very encouraging to see them limit the big plays and generally keep the ball in front of them.

- Although they missed some stunt and run blitz pickups the offensive line generated a good push and made holes for the running backs until the third string came in, at which point Chicago was trying to generate pass pressure and crowding the line of scrimmage.

- The kickoff and punt return coverage teams did a good job and held their lanes much better than in previous preseasons. I still remember Rainey's two TD returns on us last preseason, and even though they were called back they still showed how poor those units were. There wasn't any of that last night, so that's a positive.

- I want to single out Kawann Short for playing very well. His burst and nimbleness seems to have translated to the next level and he was a split second away from several sacks or tackles for loss. You can see the stress he puts on the offensive line, they started to double him up later in the game.

- Although the offense was obviously pretty vanilla, it had purpose and didn't abandon the run at the first chance it got. Outside of one or two plays with the first team, Cam generally got to the line with 10-12 seconds to spare, much better than the 6-8 average of the last few years. The more time Cam has to survey the defense the better his pre-snap reads will be. To make a positive from a negative, on Cam's INT the play call gave him options on multiple levels of the field: my worry regarding Shula's play call history is that he would utilize obvious plays in short down situations, but at least in this instance it was a call that put pressure on the defense rather than vice versa. Too bad Cam went conservative here, lol.

- Barner should carry a football all week, because he flashed too well to not have a major impact on this team. The transitition to the NFL requires an understanding that defenders are always looking for ways to rip the ball away, and Kenjon seemed to take exception to one of the Bears defenders pulling at his arms after the play was over. It's just how this level is, rook. On the positive side, he limited his dancing and made good cuts between defenders and followed his blocks well. You can tell he is working to allay his pre-draft criticisms.

- Finally, I think it's apparent that Rivera isn't holding back as the head coach anymore; he was very outspoken on the field and communicated directly to his players. If this persists what will we do with our stoic Ron GIFs? :(

[top dawg]

Kenyon  :blink:.   I like the idea of Kenjon carrying the ball all week.

 

I'm not too keen on our defensive efficiency on that slant though. There were a few times (perhaps mostly with the third stringers) that I was holding my breath because it seemed like we were a missed tackle away from being burned. But we didn't, for the most part, and that's all good.  I suspect we'll do better next week.

 

 

 

[fieryprophet]

Kenyon :blink:. I like the idea of Kenjon carrying the ball all week.

A friend of mine is named Kenyon, stupid phone autocorrected.

[TheRumGone]

i'll also point out Dockery played very well even if it was 2nd and 3rd string

[panthers55]

You can expect there to be blown plays when you are mixing and matching guys in the secondary through out the game.  It takes time to develop chemistry and know what each other is going to do in a particular situation. Then new guys come in and everything has to develop again.  

As long as the starters are making plays, the rest is just game experience for the backups so when they are put in the rotation they will fill in.  Overall I was pleased with their performance for a first game.  Lets see where we go from here before deciding how they will be this year.

[koolkatluke]

I got a few as well.

 

Gano with the 50 yarder look strong and down the middle.

 

 

Joe Adams look more like the player from College we thought we were getting last year. He made the 1st guy miss all the time on punt returns.

 

 

[koolkatluke]

Barner isn't just a Scat back. I saw some strong inside runs. He reminds me a little of Emmit Smith.

[Cape Fear Cat]

Generally speaking, I was very pleased with what I saw, too. I understand this was just the first preseason match up, but if I were to nitpick, I would address the following:

 

- Tackling - it's improved from last year, but some of the guys are still trying to throw a shoulder and bowl the ball carrier over. That doesn't work often enough. The only sure way to make a tackle is to wrap the carrier up and ride him to the ground. It's hard to unlearn bad habits, but here's to hoping the young guys can do it. 

 

- Underneath coverages - yeah, we were dicey on those slant plays, but really, that's why the slant is so popular, because it's hard to defend. Still, if we can tighten up our defense underneath, maybe we can at least limit the damage it does us.

 

That's the two big buggaboos I saw last night - or at least the ones that seem to be sticking in my head. Over all, I was ecstatic with the way we played. I think most of the mistakes we saw were a result of shaking off the rust of a long off season and being under the lights against a real opponent for the first time since the start of the year. I think we're just going to get better as we go along, and I have a really good feeling that we're going to give the Seahawks all they can handle on September 8!

[micnificent28]

Was it just me or did anyone else see Armanti coming open on that deep post on the same side as olsen cam could have hit.

[iamhubby1]

I have two takeaways from last night.

1. Very few penalties and we played very disciplined.

2. 4 turnovers and we still won.

All in all, a very encouraging start to the year.

[fieryprophet]

I have two takeaways from last night.

1. Very few penalties and we played very disciplined.

2. 4 turnovers and we still won.

All in all, a very encouraging start to the year.

 

Both are excellent points, and I forgot to mention the penalties. I was VERY impressed with the few number of penalties (5) for the first preseason game, as that has been a sore area as well in the past. That speaks well to the preparation and focus by both the players and coaches.

[iamhubby1]

Both are excellent points, and I forgot to mention the penalties. I was VERY impressed with the few number of penalties (5) for the first preseason game, as that has been a sore area as well in the past. That speaks well to the preparation and focus by both the players and coaches.

Even the bottom of the roster played well. Offense, Defense, even ST. I give a lot of the credit to the staff, and of course Rivera. They had this team ready to play. And it showed.

I think this bodes well for the season. If we can play this well during preseason, the regular season should be a snap.

[tiger7_88]

- Tackling - it's improved from last year, but some of the guys are still trying to throw a shoulder and bowl the ball carrier over.

 

Yeah... at any and every level, this drives me effin' crazy.

[Everfrost]

- I want to single out Kawann Short for playing very well. His burst and nimbleness seems to have translated to the next level and he was a split second away from several sacks or tackles for loss. You can see the stress he puts on the offensive line, they started to double him up later in the game.

 

This +1