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View Full Version : My take-aways from the Faiders game last night...


Shag
09-19-2005, 09:23 AM
The Good:
- The defense showed real heart when it counted. Getting that stop late in the game will be HUGE for their confidence throughout the season. The D was far from flawless, but they won us the game last night.
- Trent Green. Despite not putting up big numbers and no TD passes, Trent did exactly what he needed to do, particularly in the 2nd half. The TOP in the 2nd half was huge, and played a big factor in the win. No major mistakes.
- This is a gigantic win for the Chiefs, IMHO. A gritty, divisional road victory will also be a big confidence builder - shows the team they can win the close ones, even when they're off their game.
- DJ once again looked great, and was around a lot of plays. Didn't notice any major blown coverages this week, either.
- O-line was solid in pass protection, despite missing 2 starters.
- Sammy Knight always seemed to be around the play. Needs to work on actually defending the pass better, but seems to always be in good position. Huge play on that last Faiders 4th down.
- Tynes. Despite getting the first one blocked, the last two were clutch, and in less-than-ideal conditions (kicking off the dirst).
- Mitchell. Looked good against the run again, and blanketed Moss downfield to the GL. Who'd a thunk it?
- Horn. Made some big 3rd down catches late in the game.
- Dante. Some great returns last night, even though the big one was called back.
- We won. Faiders lost. 2-0. :)


The Bad:
- Offensive playcalling was very suspect all night, particularly in short-yardage situations. I can recall probably 5-6 3rd-1 situations, and we only converted 2 - one on a QB scramble. Oddly, our playcalling on 4th-1 was MUCH better.
- O-line struggled in run blocking - the backs had very little room all night. Missing Roaf definitely hurts. On the upside, this may be the biggest D-line we face all season, and I think they're legitimately stout against the run. Also, blocking on the last Priest 1st down was beautiful and VERY clutch.
- D-line was very innefective in pressuring Collins. The front 4 just didn't get much of a push - from what Sims showed in the preseason, we're definitely missing him.
- Questionable playcalling on D. The lack of blitzes really frustrated me all night, and when we did blitz, it was typically one blitzer (which was usually picked up). With a QB like Collins, pressure is paramount - we should have blitzed much like we did against Pennington - multiple blitzers at a time.
- Surtain. Surtain seemed like a non-factor most of the game, and really blew it on the Moss TD. If you watch the replay, Surtain just jogs downfield after Moss blew by him - he made no effort to recover. It wasn't until Moss caught the ball and got by Knight that Surtain actually showed some effort - too little, too late. This one really concerns me, and the lack of effort is very disappointing.
- Too little LJ. While I don't think LJ would have had huge success considering the lack of running room, I would have liked to see him get 5-6 more touches.
- The offense really let the team down, IMHO. Red zone TD% needs to be higher, and they need to take much better advantage when they have a short field. 2 first-and-goal situations ended in FGs - that shouldn't happen with our offense.
- Sammie Parker. Hang on to the ball!!! That has to be your first priority in that situation. A couple dropped passes as well.
- Bell. Missed numerous tackles, and failed to make an impression. Hopefully, still getting in game shape.
- ST coverage. Too many long returns and missed tackles.


I'm sure I'm missing stuff, but those are the big ones that stick out to me...