12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by #56fanatic

my point is this - how many games did we blow last year when leading by 10 or more in the second half. If we are still doing the same as last year(albiet on game) how is that encouraging? I find it discouraging. of course I will be glad that we beat lions. If we have a hard time stopping Manning w/ and injured shoulder and Plaxico, I think we may have trouble stopping Kitna, Williams, Furrey, Johnson. Just a huntch.

I hope I am wrong.

You're right about last year, but this is a bit of a different team if you ask me. Last year's team didn't start 2-1 either.

I bet we'll have something for the Lions too. And I'm not just saying that. However, if we blow this game against the Lions in similar fashion, then I'm worried. Not concerned, but worried.

[Rajmahal33]

I agree there are reasons to be encouraged although I think its better to refer to them as 5 silver linings b/c for every one of those 5 reasons we have a bigger, recurring problem.

1) Injuries to a line: No matter who we fill in as a stop gap solution the fact is that we are missing 2 VERY GOOD lineman from the beginning of the season (and one more if you count Dock's departure from last year's squad). For a team that prides ourselves on running the ball like we say, its important to have talent on the O-line. Ppl will cite the fact that we have had some great rushing performances but I think that a) they were against poor run defenses b) the rushing success came at the cost of the teams overall offensive production...we had a lotta attempts so we got yards...but we weren't exactly successful at putting points on the board and putting the game out of reach

2) Jason Campbell and the receiving corps' chemistry: Call me crazy, but for some reason our passing game is not clicking. That could be a product of not enough reps in the preseason (but by the 3rd regular season game that theory is pretty much disproven). Campbells immaturity and hesitance to trust receivers enuff to throw it before they break is another big indication of this. Balls are being overthrown left and right and it just looks sloppy

3) Inability to put the game away: In every game this season and what was symptomatic of last year's team, we can't hold a lead. Though our Defense is talented we can't rely on them to shut down a team in the 2nd half (its like they are getting tired and defocused). Also the offensive isn't helping them out by sustaining drives in and putting points on the board in the 2nd half. If it wasn't for Landry's hit we very well could have lost that eagles game as well.

4) Lack of leadership: Offensively and Defensively, to me it seems like the skins don't have an emotional leader (at least vocally) who is getting people fired up on the field. Yes, when landry or mcintosh make a big hit people get fired up and jump around. But when we are on our heels and the game is on the line, it doesn't seem like anyone is smacking people on the helmets and getting the troops riled up. JC is a young QB so he may not be in the position to do this, but nobody else on Offense is stepping up...Clint Portis would be the guy but this new strategy of splitting time with betts makes it seem like he is distant and kinda outta the game. Defensively, there is nobody calling out defensive adjustments and putting people in the place they should be...there is just not enough communication. Which leads me to my final point

5) Confusion: Our football team looks like they are really confused sometimes. The whole situation in Philly when JC couldn't get the play in on time was a debaucle and it is indicative of the confusion of our players AND coaches. It's like they aren't thinking in advance and they are sitting back and watchin to see if the last play was successful. Also this confusion might be the reason that JC seems a little hesitant and probably is the reason why he holds the ball for so long (almost second guessing himself). In addition, when we line up defensively it seems like we wait until the last second for the DB's to find the receiver they are supposed to cover. This confusion also adds to an overall trend that we are not playing as fast as we are. We lose a step when players are second guessing their assignments & coverages and i think this is what is happening. We used to be a swarming defense in 05 (and even in preseason, though it isn't a fair comparison, but we were really gang tackling ppl). It doesn't seem like we are a very cohesive bunch that is beating with one heartbeat at this point. This may also be attributed to our injuries forcing guys who havent gotten reps with the 1st team to be thrust into game situations.

The silver lining as i see it is that most of these problems are fixable with reps and practice, if everyone gets on the same page. But they are not gonna get fixed on their own and certainly not if we don't acknowledge that they are there. The best way to put it is that looking back on these 3 games in retrospect, i am more RELIEVED that we are 2-1 not upset. That in itself is not very reassuring to me because we have our toughest games yet to come and if we play like we did in any of those 3 games against teams like Dallas, New England, Green Bay, (even) Chicago, and others we may not be looking at very many more wins.

[MTK]

I think it's funny some keep complaining about the lack of pressure from up front but I really don't see it as a major issue especially when compared to recent years. Andre Carter is off to a nice start.

[#56fanatic]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I think it's funny some keep complaining about the lack of pressure from up front but I really don't see it as a major issue especially when compared to recent years. Andre Carter is off to a nice start.

why not complain about pressure - teams that can apply pressure are able to produce more turn overs, win field position battles, force more 3 and outs. Lets compare defensive units from 04 and 05 to 06 and 07. 04 and 05 - consistant pressure style of D - top 5 in 04 and Top 10 in 05. Granted the pressure was not from the front 4 on a consistant basis, but we got to the QB. year 2006 - changes styles to a cover 2 read and react, got beat like a drum week in and week out - couldn't stop the run, nor the pass - set record for fewest turnovers - ended up 31st. This year is still in question.

The pressure or lack of is an issue - even coaches talk about getting pressure on the QB consistantly. No Defense is successful sitting back and letting people pick you apart. Do you think the Lions, Pats, Packers, Cowboys aren't going to air it out and lets those QB's just pick us apart? Not saying it will, but hard to think it wont happen.

[Monkeydad]

Hey, we're 2-1. If we win 2 out of every 3 games for the rest of the year, we'll have 11 or so wins.

We should beat the Lions, Cards, Jets, Bucs, Bills, Vikings the Giants next time and yes, even the Bears who look horrible. Favre looks great but they have no RBs, can they keep THAT up? The Pats and Cowboys won't win every game, maybe we can ensure that. Anything can happen in the NFL.

[GiantsSuck703]

Originally Posted by Buster

Hey, we're 2-1. If we win 2 out of every 3 games for the rest of the year, we'll have 11 or so wins.

We should beat the Lions, Cards, Jets, Bucs, Bills, Vikings the Giants next time and yes, even the Bears who look horrible. Favre looks great but they have no RBs, can they keep THAT up? The Pats and Cowboys won't win every game, maybe we can ensure that. Anything can happen in the NFL.

With that said, we should have beat the Giants, the team was horrible and in absolute dissaray, no excuse for that loss at home. The Lions and Cards both have explosive recievers which doesnt bode well for Carlos Rogers, Im still on the C-Los bandwagon, I love the kid and think he has a world of talent, but he needs to start showing it. The buccaneers is nowhere near a (we should beat) game, they are improved and absolutely dominating teams, there really good. This is the first time in a long time that we have a quarterback with a ton of talent and a monster defense, my only problem is that our coaching staff doesnt seem like there up to the challenge, Joe Gibbs is the man for the job and I dont think we should have picked up Al Saunders. Constantly reverting back to the cover-2 is killing this defense in important situations, I just dont understand it. Im very optimistic about this team, there just seems to be too much talent to lose, but we have had teams like that before. Were always the team that plays up to the competition and then the next week down to the opposition, it was sad to see the Giants jumping around on fedex field like they accomplished something great, if the players dont start taking this season seriously theres going to be more sundays like that.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by GiantsSuck703

With that said, we should have beat the Giants, the team was horrible and in absolute dissaray, no excuse for that loss at home. The Lions and Cards both have explosive recievers which doesnt bode well for Carlos Rogers, Im still on the C-Los bandwagon, I love the kid and think he has a world of talent, but he needs to start showing it. The buccaneers is nowhere near a (we should beat) game, they are improved and absolutely dominating teams, there really good. This is the first time in a long time that we have a quarterback with a ton of talent and a monster defense, my only problem is that our coaching staff doesnt seem like there up to the challenge, Joe Gibbs is the man for the job and I dont think we should have picked up Al Saunders. Constantly reverting back to the cover-2 is killing this defense in important situations, I just dont understand it. Im very optimistic about this team, there just seems to be too much talent to lose, but we have had teams like that before. Were always the team that plays up to the competition and then the next week down to the opposition, it was sad to see the Giants jumping around on fedex field like they accomplished something great, if the players dont start taking this season seriously theres going to be more sundays like that.

You know, you guys are pointing out a lot of "intersting" things in these so called arguments.

The Giants are horrible, this and that. Whatever. First of all, stats mean very little to me during the first three games. And for the record, I personally picked the Giants to finish last in the division this year, but I hedged myself by mentioning this team can explode on any team on any Sunday. We saw it against Dallas and we saw it against the Redskins.

Fact is, somebody in our division will be 1-3 come Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins. So If we want to bitch and moan, there's something to bitch and moan about.

[GiantsSuck703]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

You know, you guys are pointing out a lot of "intersting" things in these so called arguments.

The Giants are horrible, this and that. Whatever. First of all, stats mean very little to me during the first three games. And for the record, I personally picked the Giants to finish last in the division this year, but I hedged myself by mentioning this team can explode on any team on any Sunday. We saw it against Dallas and we saw it against the Redskins.

Fact is, somebody in our division will be 1-3 come Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins. So If we want to bitch and moan, there's something to bitch and moan about.

No, the Giants were a bad team missing there starting RB, not to mention the bickering back and forth in the locker room, and the talk of firing Tom Coughlin running rampant. The Giants were dismantled the week before at home by the Packers, its not bitching and moaning, it was a game we let slip away, if someone is not allowed to be upset about it, then whats the point of being a fan, are we just supposed to walk around with a smile on our face all week? It sucks to lose like that, but I will never leave the Redskins side, there my team, Im just not always happy with them.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by GiantsSuck703

No, the Giants were a bad team missing there starting RB, not to mention the bickering back and forth in the locker room, and the talk of firing Tom Coughlin running rampant. The Giants were dismantled the week before at home by the Packers, its not bitching and moaning, it was a game we let slip away, if someone is not allowed to be upset about it, then whats the point of being a fan, are we just supposed to walk around with a smile on our face all week? It sucks to lose like that, but I will never leave the Redskins side, there my team, Im just not always happy with them.

Was it a game we should have one, absolutely. But not because the Giants are so horrible, but because we just let them off the ropes.

I'm a bit concerned now that we've given them just the boost they needed to climb back into this thing.

[Rajmahal33]

Sorry to sound pessimistic, but it truly wasn't my intention. I was just trying to be realistic and say that i just have a bad feeling about the season ahead of us if we don't change some things. I am not trying to be one of those people who says we r headed to the Superbowl after a win and calling for Gibbs' resignation when we lose but I had this feeling even before the giants game that we were going to lose it. In fact, I was telling my friends that and have been voicing these thoughts to my friends (also skins fans but the more rowdy type) all this time when they were bouncing off the walls after those first two games. Sorry again but i just thought that this would be a good time to voice a dissenting opinion to 12th's thread.

[Cowell]

Yeah, I have noticed a lack of moves in Andre's "arsenal". I would like to see him not get pushed around the outside almost every down. Atleast he is getting to the QB a little more this year.

[MTK]

Again, I think Carter is off to a nice start and has consistently applied good pressure, and I think Washington has done a nice job rushing as well. Has the problem been fixed completely? No, but it's been improved.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Again, I think Carter is off to a nice start and has consistently applied good pressure, and I think Washington has done a nice job rushing as well. Has the problem been fixed completely? No, but it's been improved.

I don't think Carter has consistently applied good pressure.

He's got 2 sacks, on pace for ten, and one great strip of Manning. But going over the stats last year, I noticed a disturbing trend. Carter had one third the hurries of Phillip Daniels. Yeah, hes going against better tackles, but he also takes himself out of a lot of plays with his speed rush. Sure 2-3% of passing plays he beats the LT clean and gets there for the sack. But what about the 90% where he's nowhere near the passer? I personally would trade 4 sacks for 20 hurries from the DE position.

One thing I have to give him, he's been a LOT better against the run this season. You can still beat him by running straight at him, but in general he's doing a better job not overpursuing and taking away cutback lanes beautifully. He's just nothing more than an average pass rusher at best.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I don't think Carter has consistently applied good pressure.

He's got 2 sacks, on pace for ten, and one great strip of Manning. But going over the stats last year, I noticed a disturbing trend. Carter had one third the hurries of Phillip Daniels. Yeah, hes going against better tackles, but he also takes himself out of a lot of plays with his speed rush. Sure 2-3% of passing plays he beats the LT clean and gets there for the sack. But what about the 90% where he's nowhere near the passer? I personally would trade 4 sacks for 20 hurries from the DE position.

One thing I have to give him, he's been a LOT better against the run this season. You can still beat him by running straight at him, but in general he's doing a better job not overpursuing and taking away cutback lanes beautifully. He's just nothing more than an average pass rusher at best.

10 sacks is a nice pace to be on. He seems to have picked right up where he left off last year.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I don't think Carter has consistently applied good pressure.

He's got 2 sacks, on pace for ten, and one great strip of Manning. But going over the stats last year, I noticed a disturbing trend. Carter had one third the hurries of Phillip Daniels. Yeah, hes going against better tackles, but he also takes himself out of a lot of plays with his speed rush. Sure 2-3% of passing plays he beats the LT clean and gets there for the sack. But what about the 90% where he's nowhere near the passer? I personally would trade 4 sacks for 20 hurries from the DE position.

One thing I have to give him, he's been a LOT better against the run this season. You can still beat him by running straight at him, but in general he's doing a better job not overpursuing and taking away cutback lanes beautifully. He's just nothing more than an average pass rusher at best.

Have you or anyone else noticed that Carter never mixes up his pass rush moves? He always tries to beat the guy around the end. I guess it works if we are getting pressure up the middle but I'd like to see him mix it up every now and then.

I think Carter is playing solid football. He's certainly not dominating but he is what he is and he's the best pass rusher we have.