RoninFin4
FinHeaven VIP
First of all, lemme just say that Reliant Stadium and the staff were phenomenal, some of the best tailgaiting I've ever partaken in. On to the game...
Offense
Well, the Offensive line was just that, pretty offensive. Other than Vernon Carey, I don't think any should be brought back next season. I'm not sure if that's a reflection of Houck's old school, big is better teaching, or just the fact that they simply lack talent and athleticism. Sitting in the endzone, it was easy to see the missed blocks and lack of holes for Ronnie Brown to run through.
Brown runs hard, catches well, blocks well...everything you'd need in an NFL back, he just doesn't get to showcase it due to the lack of an O-line, though he still managed 111 total yards today.
Culpepper, well, he looked better to me, IMO, than in any game yet this year. However, he was still on his arse every other play it seemed, and abandoning the run early again certainly didn't help. Though when given time, he looked solid. I strongly believe Daunte WILL prove to be a better investment than Brees, just not this season, not with the horrendous O-line we have.
Chambers has a right to be pissed, he didn't get involved at all, Marty Booker dropped a very easy 3rd down conversion (luckily Welker bailed him out on 4th) as well as dropping several other passes during the game. McMichael finally got involved in the offense and didn't dissapoint, from my perspective at least. Again, it goes back to the O-line, if they were halfway decent, we have a lot of weapons to work with.
Malarkey's playcalling - I really can't say anything, I spilled my drink all over some Texan fans after the 2pt conversion failure, who luckily laughed it off as they were both huge. But he needs to go, he's not running anything close to Linehan's offense, and his physical philosophy just sucks, get rid of him!
Defense
Let's start up front. Matt Roth got significant playing time today. I was impressed with his play and, as Kevin Carter said, will be the reason Kevin Carter retires. JT is JT as always. But you can definitely see the age in that D-Line. They are not as quick off the ball as they once were, and veteran savvy gets you only so far. I for one would like to see some of the young guns like Evans and Vickerson at least be activated for the games. The Holliday/Wilkinson/Zgonina rotation is very average at best. Keith Traylor played pretty well today.
Zach Thomas was all over the field as usual. He reminds me of a general preparing his troops as he and Donnie Spragan were talking all through halftime in the endzone. I still don't understand why Zach goes on blitzes though, he gets engulfed. Crowder had an okay game, I still think his true potential will be realized when he moves in the middle, dare I say it, when he replaces Zach. I do think it's apparent that several linebackers are drafted this year, especially in the Shawn Merriman/Joey Porter pass rushing mold.
As for the secondary, I really like Will Allen and Travis Daniels, but they are left alone way too often, and it shows. Hill and Tillman are both too slow at safety, and I think Hill would be better served as a dime corner. Jason Allen, why did you have to hold out and get lost on the depth chart?
Overall
I think this team is a long way from being a playoff team this year, I'll still hold out hope until they're mathematically eliminated, but I have to keep it real in some perspective. The O-line and Mike Malarkey need replacing ASAP. I apologize if you feel I'm being overly critical, but I just got back to Dayton and had a long flight, the sting of a loss never helps. This team's got talent (except maybe on the O-line), they just haven't put it all together for an entire game yet this year. Here's hoping they can get something started and get on a roll for when I head up to Chicago to see them in a month. Feel free to rip this apart, just my opinions and I'm sticking to them. Go Fins!
Offense
Well, the Offensive line was just that, pretty offensive. Other than Vernon Carey, I don't think any should be brought back next season. I'm not sure if that's a reflection of Houck's old school, big is better teaching, or just the fact that they simply lack talent and athleticism. Sitting in the endzone, it was easy to see the missed blocks and lack of holes for Ronnie Brown to run through.
Brown runs hard, catches well, blocks well...everything you'd need in an NFL back, he just doesn't get to showcase it due to the lack of an O-line, though he still managed 111 total yards today.
Culpepper, well, he looked better to me, IMO, than in any game yet this year. However, he was still on his arse every other play it seemed, and abandoning the run early again certainly didn't help. Though when given time, he looked solid. I strongly believe Daunte WILL prove to be a better investment than Brees, just not this season, not with the horrendous O-line we have.
Chambers has a right to be pissed, he didn't get involved at all, Marty Booker dropped a very easy 3rd down conversion (luckily Welker bailed him out on 4th) as well as dropping several other passes during the game. McMichael finally got involved in the offense and didn't dissapoint, from my perspective at least. Again, it goes back to the O-line, if they were halfway decent, we have a lot of weapons to work with.
Malarkey's playcalling - I really can't say anything, I spilled my drink all over some Texan fans after the 2pt conversion failure, who luckily laughed it off as they were both huge. But he needs to go, he's not running anything close to Linehan's offense, and his physical philosophy just sucks, get rid of him!
Defense
Let's start up front. Matt Roth got significant playing time today. I was impressed with his play and, as Kevin Carter said, will be the reason Kevin Carter retires. JT is JT as always. But you can definitely see the age in that D-Line. They are not as quick off the ball as they once were, and veteran savvy gets you only so far. I for one would like to see some of the young guns like Evans and Vickerson at least be activated for the games. The Holliday/Wilkinson/Zgonina rotation is very average at best. Keith Traylor played pretty well today.
Zach Thomas was all over the field as usual. He reminds me of a general preparing his troops as he and Donnie Spragan were talking all through halftime in the endzone. I still don't understand why Zach goes on blitzes though, he gets engulfed. Crowder had an okay game, I still think his true potential will be realized when he moves in the middle, dare I say it, when he replaces Zach. I do think it's apparent that several linebackers are drafted this year, especially in the Shawn Merriman/Joey Porter pass rushing mold.
As for the secondary, I really like Will Allen and Travis Daniels, but they are left alone way too often, and it shows. Hill and Tillman are both too slow at safety, and I think Hill would be better served as a dime corner. Jason Allen, why did you have to hold out and get lost on the depth chart?
Overall
I think this team is a long way from being a playoff team this year, I'll still hold out hope until they're mathematically eliminated, but I have to keep it real in some perspective. The O-line and Mike Malarkey need replacing ASAP. I apologize if you feel I'm being overly critical, but I just got back to Dayton and had a long flight, the sting of a loss never helps. This team's got talent (except maybe on the O-line), they just haven't put it all together for an entire game yet this year. Here's hoping they can get something started and get on a roll for when I head up to Chicago to see them in a month. Feel free to rip this apart, just my opinions and I'm sticking to them. Go Fins!
