After all the pathetic doom and gloom rantings over the last 12 hours, I thought I would add some positive observations to the fray. These are things I saw which give me hope and assurance we are headed in the right direction:
Both Henne and Beck made decent decisions with the ball - and no turnovers. The sacks and hurries came mostly with the second unit linemen. This really underscores what we already know - our depth on the line is poor.
The quarterbacks were accurate for the most part - there were certainly more drops than there were bad passes.
The running game is going to be fun to watch, even if Ronny stays out for while. Ricky ran like old Ricky. And Jalen Parmale hit the hole like a tank looking for Taliban. I remember one play where his momentum carried the pile an extra three yards.
David Kircus caught some good passes like a man possessed with winning a job. Ernest Wilford didn't. And though Davone Bess had poor throws coming his way, he was diving for those bad boys - even when they were clearly out of bounds. I think Hagan went .500 (drops/catches). Anthony Armstrong plays fast and catches well - hope he makes the team.
Mental errors which were not of the quarterbacks making are the only reason for stalled drives last night - penalties. Penalties kept us from getting deep in the red zone where we could punch this thing in. If this was a real game, I imagine we would have continued to run the ball much more - and run it down their throats. Much of the play calling was experimental if you ask me; kinda like "let's see what we can do in this situation?"
The most important positives: the new rooks on the offensive line.
More positives: the new rooks on the Defensive line. Merling and Langford played well. Loved watching those pockets collapse with Tampa's #1 unit and our Jason Ferguson and our rooks on the ends. LB play was adequate considering Porter did not play and Roth started in his spot. They will still need to shore up their run support.
Kicking game was good. Carpenter has won himself a job. And looks like Jay Feely will be heading west - to Tampa. Their kicker had a bad night. Though we lost the game - I keep in mind that Tampa's scores came with experienced journeymen quarterbacks - Brian Griese and Chris Simms going against our 2's and 3's. Michael Bennet ran 1 score and Griese threaded 1 in on 3rd down and a prayer to go. Though Tampa won the game, there were certainly positives on which to build.
Though we didn't get the ball into the end zone - more time and continuity between QB, #1 line, and receivers will get there. This is the first preaseason game for what was once the Bad News Bears. I don't know about some of you who thought the sky was falling, but I saw alot of confidence building and guys who are learning how to play together. They won't become the Indianapolis Colts or the Patriots or the Chargers overnight, but they will become.
Both Henne and Beck made decent decisions with the ball - and no turnovers. The sacks and hurries came mostly with the second unit linemen. This really underscores what we already know - our depth on the line is poor.
The quarterbacks were accurate for the most part - there were certainly more drops than there were bad passes.
The running game is going to be fun to watch, even if Ronny stays out for while. Ricky ran like old Ricky. And Jalen Parmale hit the hole like a tank looking for Taliban. I remember one play where his momentum carried the pile an extra three yards.
David Kircus caught some good passes like a man possessed with winning a job. Ernest Wilford didn't. And though Davone Bess had poor throws coming his way, he was diving for those bad boys - even when they were clearly out of bounds. I think Hagan went .500 (drops/catches). Anthony Armstrong plays fast and catches well - hope he makes the team.
Mental errors which were not of the quarterbacks making are the only reason for stalled drives last night - penalties. Penalties kept us from getting deep in the red zone where we could punch this thing in. If this was a real game, I imagine we would have continued to run the ball much more - and run it down their throats. Much of the play calling was experimental if you ask me; kinda like "let's see what we can do in this situation?"
The most important positives: the new rooks on the offensive line.
More positives: the new rooks on the Defensive line. Merling and Langford played well. Loved watching those pockets collapse with Tampa's #1 unit and our Jason Ferguson and our rooks on the ends. LB play was adequate considering Porter did not play and Roth started in his spot. They will still need to shore up their run support.
Kicking game was good. Carpenter has won himself a job. And looks like Jay Feely will be heading west - to Tampa. Their kicker had a bad night. Though we lost the game - I keep in mind that Tampa's scores came with experienced journeymen quarterbacks - Brian Griese and Chris Simms going against our 2's and 3's. Michael Bennet ran 1 score and Griese threaded 1 in on 3rd down and a prayer to go. Though Tampa won the game, there were certainly positives on which to build.
Though we didn't get the ball into the end zone - more time and continuity between QB, #1 line, and receivers will get there. This is the first preaseason game for what was once the Bad News Bears. I don't know about some of you who thought the sky was falling, but I saw alot of confidence building and guys who are learning how to play together. They won't become the Indianapolis Colts or the Patriots or the Chargers overnight, but they will become.
