SCall13
Finheaven QB
Last night I was angry. Very angry - as were all of us. I was disappointed and frustrated because everytime we got some momentum, we'd let the Steelers take it back. I'll be honest: even though it was the first game, we didn't play like potential champions - of the NFL or even the AFC East. Is the season over already? Is it time to throw in the towel? Absolutely not. Some of the things that are being said are ridiculous. It blows me away what some people say. BUT, there is some truth in it all.
Our O-line didn't play well. Particularly when it came to running. We didn't mix it up well or run it enough. SO the blame can be spread around from poor execution, getting out played, bad play calling, etc.
We gave up alot of plays in the secondary, had some metal errors, and had some game changing penalties. This is where I was most disappointed. A HUGE, and I MEAN HUUUUUGE, hands to the face penalty on Lehan may have been what ultimately cost us the game. These types of penalties are inexcusable and are what have plagued us in the past.
We were pretty good defensively on 3rd downs in the 1st half. In the second half, we seemed to do alot more bending when we needed stops. Particularly on the long drive after the big 3rd down penalty. We seemed to be very determined not to give up anything deep, but in doing so, we gave up easy first downs on quick hitches. Really, we made Charlie Batch's job easy.
On the long TD to the Tight End: That one is on the coaches. I have no idea what kind of formation they were in. But there was absolutely no help over the top and we had Zach matched up one on one with Heath Miller. Big advantage for Miller because he had a VERY open field, is faster than Zach,and Zach has never been very good in coverage anyway. Mistakes all the way around on that play.
Culpepper was throwing the ball pretty well on the short passes. But alot of his passes lacked zip, particularly the outs and deep comebacks. His passes seemed to float a little and take too long to get to the recievers. He got lucky on one on the sideline earlier in the game that Troy P. missed. Pep also threw one right to a defender in the endzone that was missed.
I think Culpepper will be alright. He needs to regain confidence I guess. No excuses for him though. He made some bad throws and he wasn't very aggressive with the ball. Some will say he was constantly pressured, but he wasn't CONSTANTLY pressured. There were some plays where he had a lot of time and got a mild case of happy feet and rushed some passes.
At the end of the game, when we still had a shot, Culpepper made mistakes. Call them what you want to call them, but they were bad throws and bad decisions.
There are plenty of other directions to point a finger. There IS A LIST of things that went wrong. There is no way to realistically point a finger in anyone ONE direction. It seems everyone who is bitching is right, but at the same time, wrong. RIGHT because there were mistakes by individuals and units that were mentioned and wrong because blame is being laid in a particular area's lap. This was a team loss. Blame can be spread pretty evenly around. The team put themselves in position to win the game several times, only to somehow blow it for themselves.
I'm disappointed. But I'm not going to be too concerned. There is 15 more games to play. If we lose to Buffalo next week, then there might be a little more cause for worry.
Our O-line didn't play well. Particularly when it came to running. We didn't mix it up well or run it enough. SO the blame can be spread around from poor execution, getting out played, bad play calling, etc.
We gave up alot of plays in the secondary, had some metal errors, and had some game changing penalties. This is where I was most disappointed. A HUGE, and I MEAN HUUUUUGE, hands to the face penalty on Lehan may have been what ultimately cost us the game. These types of penalties are inexcusable and are what have plagued us in the past.
We were pretty good defensively on 3rd downs in the 1st half. In the second half, we seemed to do alot more bending when we needed stops. Particularly on the long drive after the big 3rd down penalty. We seemed to be very determined not to give up anything deep, but in doing so, we gave up easy first downs on quick hitches. Really, we made Charlie Batch's job easy.
On the long TD to the Tight End: That one is on the coaches. I have no idea what kind of formation they were in. But there was absolutely no help over the top and we had Zach matched up one on one with Heath Miller. Big advantage for Miller because he had a VERY open field, is faster than Zach,and Zach has never been very good in coverage anyway. Mistakes all the way around on that play.
Culpepper was throwing the ball pretty well on the short passes. But alot of his passes lacked zip, particularly the outs and deep comebacks. His passes seemed to float a little and take too long to get to the recievers. He got lucky on one on the sideline earlier in the game that Troy P. missed. Pep also threw one right to a defender in the endzone that was missed.
I think Culpepper will be alright. He needs to regain confidence I guess. No excuses for him though. He made some bad throws and he wasn't very aggressive with the ball. Some will say he was constantly pressured, but he wasn't CONSTANTLY pressured. There were some plays where he had a lot of time and got a mild case of happy feet and rushed some passes.
At the end of the game, when we still had a shot, Culpepper made mistakes. Call them what you want to call them, but they were bad throws and bad decisions.
There are plenty of other directions to point a finger. There IS A LIST of things that went wrong. There is no way to realistically point a finger in anyone ONE direction. It seems everyone who is bitching is right, but at the same time, wrong. RIGHT because there were mistakes by individuals and units that were mentioned and wrong because blame is being laid in a particular area's lap. This was a team loss. Blame can be spread pretty evenly around. The team put themselves in position to win the game several times, only to somehow blow it for themselves.
I'm disappointed. But I'm not going to be too concerned. There is 15 more games to play. If we lose to Buffalo next week, then there might be a little more cause for worry.
