It was just one game, that's important to keep in mind.
That being said, a few thoughts:
1. Henne impressed me. You don't have a game like that against the Pats by accident. He's going to play teams with worse defenses and with worse preparation/scheming than the Pats for the most part. We may, only 1 game, we may have a real qb. Maybe this is why they passed on Orton.
2. I am severely concerned about our defense. Yes, it was Brady. Yes, it was Belichick. Yes, we had a shortened preseason. However, we had zero, absolutely zero, pressure on the QB. We had zero pressure even after they lost their starting center. Who is going to rush beyond Cam Wake? If they double him, which they did some, who else is going to rush? Jason Taylor?
3. I'm not just concerned about the defensive personnel. I am concerned about our lack of conditioning and the lack of strategic adjustments during the game. The conditioning was flat out embarrassing. We had Davis and Smith cramping, guys were just completely gassed. I know Brady was running the hurry up all game, but these guys play football for a living. I was a little bit shocked that Nolan didn't seemingly make any in game adjustments, we got torched all game by Brady. It was historic, he threw for 511 yards!! I know he's a unique player, I get that, I get that his coach may be a genius, but how about an adjustment at some point?? What's the worst that happens, he continues to torch you? This doesn't bode well for our defense, it really doesn't. And for the record, we should cut Nolan Carroll.
4. I am confused about our running game. Did they they think Clay and/or Thomas would function as the fullback? Maybe Hilliard? We had the ball on the goal line, begging, absolutely begging for the 1 yard plunge. We throw a fade to Hartline? Well yeah, I guess that's what you do when you have only Reggie Bush to try to run it down the middle against Haynesworth. There is a reason why the FB position exists in the NFL. We are seemingly going to run a bunch of spread this year and that's all well and good, but you still need a run blocker and you still need short yardage gains. I assumed when we cut Polite that we'd have another FB to fill that role. I have a hard time believing these coaches think that Bush will be durable enough to run the ball up the gut for more than a few more games without getting hurt and without failing at that role, he's not cut out for that. I love watching him, but he's not cut out for that type of running. I guess Thomas, although he's a rookie and he's hurt, is more of a power running back, but it doesn't eliminate our need for a FB. Our goal-line offense may be in trouble if we can't figure out how to run the ball in short yardage situations.
Overall, pleasantly surprised with Henne, hopeful he continues to evolve, quite concerned about our defense and hope it was just a case of first game rust and playing against that Pats, and really concerned about our run game. Should be an interesting year, I say 7-9.
That being said, a few thoughts:
1. Henne impressed me. You don't have a game like that against the Pats by accident. He's going to play teams with worse defenses and with worse preparation/scheming than the Pats for the most part. We may, only 1 game, we may have a real qb. Maybe this is why they passed on Orton.
2. I am severely concerned about our defense. Yes, it was Brady. Yes, it was Belichick. Yes, we had a shortened preseason. However, we had zero, absolutely zero, pressure on the QB. We had zero pressure even after they lost their starting center. Who is going to rush beyond Cam Wake? If they double him, which they did some, who else is going to rush? Jason Taylor?
3. I'm not just concerned about the defensive personnel. I am concerned about our lack of conditioning and the lack of strategic adjustments during the game. The conditioning was flat out embarrassing. We had Davis and Smith cramping, guys were just completely gassed. I know Brady was running the hurry up all game, but these guys play football for a living. I was a little bit shocked that Nolan didn't seemingly make any in game adjustments, we got torched all game by Brady. It was historic, he threw for 511 yards!! I know he's a unique player, I get that, I get that his coach may be a genius, but how about an adjustment at some point?? What's the worst that happens, he continues to torch you? This doesn't bode well for our defense, it really doesn't. And for the record, we should cut Nolan Carroll.
4. I am confused about our running game. Did they they think Clay and/or Thomas would function as the fullback? Maybe Hilliard? We had the ball on the goal line, begging, absolutely begging for the 1 yard plunge. We throw a fade to Hartline? Well yeah, I guess that's what you do when you have only Reggie Bush to try to run it down the middle against Haynesworth. There is a reason why the FB position exists in the NFL. We are seemingly going to run a bunch of spread this year and that's all well and good, but you still need a run blocker and you still need short yardage gains. I assumed when we cut Polite that we'd have another FB to fill that role. I have a hard time believing these coaches think that Bush will be durable enough to run the ball up the gut for more than a few more games without getting hurt and without failing at that role, he's not cut out for that. I love watching him, but he's not cut out for that type of running. I guess Thomas, although he's a rookie and he's hurt, is more of a power running back, but it doesn't eliminate our need for a FB. Our goal-line offense may be in trouble if we can't figure out how to run the ball in short yardage situations.
Overall, pleasantly surprised with Henne, hopeful he continues to evolve, quite concerned about our defense and hope it was just a case of first game rust and playing against that Pats, and really concerned about our run game. Should be an interesting year, I say 7-9.
