2003 Phinz : My Opinions Thus Far....

[XoPhinsoX]

Originally posted by BLITZKRIEG
Maybe it's just me, but I expected more on both sides of the ball during the Jacksonville game. I will admit it was a better showing than the Tampa game, but the Jags aren't nearly as complete as the Bucs are as a team....

We should have easily put this team away when it was 13-3. Instead, the Jags rallied back, and ended up winning on a last minute TD. It was very sickening, and an all too familiar problem this defense has been dealing with for years now...

If someone asked me if I think this problem is fixed, as of today, I'd have to say no. I don't care if it's the 2nd or 3rd string defense out there or not. They need to play better. The 2nd and 3rd string offenses have been moving down the field with ease against us....

That bothers me because it's a direct reflection of the lack of solid depth on our defense. Even though it's only pre-season, and these players aren't considered starters, they should still be good enough to shut down opposing 2nd and 3rd string offenses IMO.....

It's just my opinion, and I guess I'm worried becuase I expected more from this team at this stage.....

PHINZ RULE!!!!

Heh, what state? It's game 3 of the preseason coming up :goof:

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

Alright, I guess I'm just taking all of this too seriously. I'm just venting right now because I expected us to dominated the Jags in all phases...

I'll wait an see how we do against the Falcons. We'll get to see more of the first team, and then we should have a better picture of where we are.....

PHINZ RULE!!!!

 

[DrAstroZoom]

BLITZ ... don't expect too much of the starters, even in the Atlanta game. Deserving more attention are those involved in position battles. Watch the fire they bring to the game.

I would rather enter the season with first teamers warming up than overextended.

Two final words for you: Michael Vick.

 

[savoy]

How much?

How much should a team show during the meaningless preseason? Would you like the jets to get a handle on our strenths and weaknesses this early? Better just to lay chilly until the real season starts.

 

[Coral Reefer]

Originally posted by ckparrothead
On a team with younger players you see a lot more excitement during preseason. Our defense is stacked with veterans that just view preseason as glorified practice with the added danger of increased injury risk.

Zach doesn't take it seriously, JT doesn't take it seriously, even Junior Seau doesn't take it seriously and you can see this when he goes toward a tackle pile and tries to actually AVOID laying the wood on the guy he's tackling so as not to hurt either of them. These are the guys who make the most plays on our D. When season starts up, I agree because they didn't take PS too seriously they might be a little sluggish in Game 1, but we could sleepwalk through the Texans game and still come away with 15 sacks and 10 interceptions. Vets know when to turn it on and off and have the ability to do that. Younger guys aren't able to just go from lacsidaisical preseason play to serious season play.

Well preseason sure seemed important to the Buccaneers when they came down and their first stringers absolutely handed the Fins first string their own arses to them.

Maybe that's why they are the Super Bowl champions and why they have had the better defense all these years.

The score in preseason means nothing..... BUT you do expect a team that should be a superbowl contender to show a higher level of play especially since they are only going to be in games for 2,3,4 series max.

Chances are (fingers crossed) that the Fins will work everything out and be ready for the regular season. However, you can't ignore how OBVIOUS it was during the Bucs game whose 1st string Offense and Defense were super bowl champions and whose team didn't even make the playoffs.

 

[DrAstroZoom]

One huge factor you overlooked, Trekbiz ... the Bucs were playing their second preseason game, while we were playing our first. There's a huge learning-curve difference in a team's level of play from preseason game #1 to game #2.

 

[ZOD]

You guys don't understand. Let's help Blitz through this.

Blitz, it's the season now. Get off those other message boards. It's all good to hear all the "downers" and honestly assess in the offseason with those guys but not now.

Now they just send you into depression.

BTW In all practice or preseason when something new is implemented, it's going to look worse before it looks better. Two more games Blitz and if they still look like crap in the first half of the second, then we worry. :D

 

[dolfan4good]

Originally posted by ZOD
Two more games Blitz and if they still look like crap in the first half of the second, then we worry. :D

And that should be the end of this thread!:D

 

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

Originally posted by BLITZKRIEG
I've been to the camps, and I've been to both pre-season games. I just got back from Jacksonville, and here is what I've seen thus far....

OFFENSE
=======
The passing game must improve. For some reason, and I can't quite figure out why, but our WR's aren't shining quite as bright as I once expected. WR D. Thompson has been invisible thus far, and even more perplexing is the lack of contribution that WR C. Chambers has shown. Neither one of them has really done anything impressive so far, and that bothers me.....

The OL is not looking all that good either. The thought of starting C S. McKinney over T. Ruddy bothers me as well. I don't think S. McKinney is ready to start at C, and if he is thrown into the starting line-up, I doubt very seriously he'll be considered an upgrade over Ruddy. Ruddy is solid, and he's a safe bet to get the job done. I don't feel the same way about McKinney yet.

The run blocking hasn't been all that great, and the pass protection looks worse. They must protect Jay much better if we plan on staying healthy at QB this year. All of the QB's have been under constant pressure this pre-season, and all have been sacked or hurried far too often. This must improve.....

The offense overall doesn't look improved. I like the thought of the new WR's catching on, but thus far, only WR S. Simmons has shown anything worth mentioning. That's a shame because he wasn't even really considered a possibility of making this team until just recently....

The other WR's, like D. Thompson, C. Chambers, and J. McKnight need to step up very fast. They haven't done anything to ensure any confidence thus far, and that is a very frustrating thought considering we were in the bottom of the NFL in passing offense last year.....

DEFENSE
=======

You may hate me for saying this, but from what I've seen thus far, our defense has not improved. This is really scary, particularly because the new players {J. Seau / S. Knight} have not been getting the job done IMO. OLB J. Seau is a strong contributor in the lockeroom, but his play thus far on the field has been less than impressive. The same holds true for SS S. Knight. I've yet to see him make any contribution in the pass defense. Both of these players have made our defense slower, and this could come back to hurt us once teams start game planning against that weakness.....

Right now, the defense worries me. There have been gaping holes in the middle of the field all pre-season long, and QB's, {even the bench riders}, have been picking us apart with ease.....

The penalties!!!!......There have been far too many penalties and mistakes IMO. This team doesn't look like they're on the same page half the time. They look confused at a time when they need to be more focused. This must change.....

Poor tackling. The defense has had serveral opportunities to either sack the QB, or stuff the RB, and have not been doing it consistantly enough. I've seen more missed tackles than ever thus far, and once again they aren't finishing teams off when they have a chance.

All around, the defense looks sluggish. I don't understand why, but they don't seem motivated to the task at hand. This defense is not looking nearly as comfortable as the defense in New England right now, and they changed their whole formation. This bothers me because if this doesn't improve, I've got a sad feeling we'll be seeing more 4th quarter meltdowns this year.....

The team as a whole looks confused. I guess that's the best word to describe it. I'm not saying "the sky is falling", but this team still has plenty work to do IMO.....

Pre-season stinks, and it's hard to get an accurate assumption of what your team will look like after it's all over. Let's hope things get better from what we've seen thus far......

PHINZ RULE!!!!:fire:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ? YOU ARE SO WRONG..ATLEAST WAIT TILL THE FIRST GAME IS PLAYED. MANY OF US WILL CONTINUE TO TELL PEOPLE LIKE YOU "IT'S ONLY PRE-SEASON". WE HAVE THE BEST FO AND COACHING STAFF IN THE BUSINESS AND THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. I'M GLAD THAT YOU ARE NOT THE HC..