I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death but i don't really see a lot of emphasis placed on this. We are priding ourselves on building a defense that will limit opponents to 10 points or less. Our offense is supposed to be a ball control smash mouth run oriented offense, with lots of screen passes to the backs and TE's. How the hell are we supposed to run this type of offense when we have NO F'N TE THAT CAN BLOCK? Also, i'm sure most of you read in the weekend papers that Rex jokingly said that "I told Henry (Ellerd) that he is the best WR we have on the field" Are you F'n kidding me! Why hasn't this team addressed these glaring weaknesses on offense? How the hell can we be expected to win games with teams stacking the line against our inexperienced QB(whoever it is) and shutting this team down? If you ask me the FO has seriously missed the boat by not addressing these HUGH holes, and without doing anything has pretty much put us in an impossible situation to succeed this season. I am not a gloom and doomer, just a realist. This ain't gonna be pretty.
I've seen a few reports that Keller has improved his blocking quite a bit. Ryan also reported that he's been working with D'Brick to improve his blocking technique. He said Keller wants to improve his blocking, so I don't see any reason why he can't. It's just a matter of learning technique and practicing it. As for receiver, yeah I'm a bit worried. Someone needs to step up.
What is there to PANIC about really? New coaches, new defensive schemes... new QBs, new rotation of WRs... this team is going to be a couple of years retooling itself now. That is just the facts. We are going to have a couple of up/down years likely. Nothing to panic about... its to be expected.
Rome wasn't built in a day. This franchise is on the brink of something huge. We have dominant players along both lines, a rookie QB w/ a ton of promise, 2(possibly 3) very good RB's, A pass catching TE w/ unlimited potential,and possibly the best young secondary in football. W/ that said, Sanchez needs time to development, the defense needs time to master the scheme, and frankly we don't have championship calibur depth at this time. This year is kind of a stepping stone. Let's get this dominant young defense in place, develop more cohesion along the OL, set that "Physical" tone that the HC wants, and gain some confidence. Then next offseason lets tighten those loose ends(like a blocking TE), add some quality depth and shoot for a championshiop within the next 3-5 years. We're right next to that proverbial "championship window". This year we get our ends along the knobs and we open it next year.
I'm still okay with our DEF even with the Ellis/Pace situation and the fact that some people are nicked up right now (Jenkins and Revis). But I am concerned about our OFF, yes. There's been a lot of emphasis on the DEF in the offseason and not much to address the OFF. Now it's coming home to roost because we've still not only got a questionable situation at QB (no clear cut answer), we've got a WR corps that is not going to intimidate many teams, IMO. You can't have smash-mouth without making the other team concerned about the pass, otherwise they shut down the smash-mouth and laugh at the possibility of completing meaningful passes. And suddenly you're right back where you were with Pennington. No deep threat and facing a DEF that closes up your field and stuffs you. 3rd and Out. 3rd and Out.
calm down, evo. The offense is a WIP....it will evolve as the season progresses...hopefully in a positive way. Remember....we're in a transition year.
i don't know why its panic. if anyone thinks this offense will crack the top 16 in the NFL, i feel sorry for you. its a 18th-24th ranked offense. The defense will rank somewhere in the top 8-14 - making the team a 15-18 power ranked team. Its a transitional year.
You make excellent points but putting Sanchez in this offense is asking for trouble. the O-line is going to have a HUGH load to carry in protecting him against teams stacking the box. Woody and Faneca ain't youngsters so in the "window " you speak of for our championship run i see them being on the decline. I'm not expecting a championship run this year. I'm not that nieve but i want us to be in all our games, and with the holes on offense i don't see us as much of a threat.
Faneca and Woody are old, but the faith is needed that replacements will come and do a job that will either keep steady the talent of the line or increase their efficiency. both QBs will struggle, their not being handed the keys to a Ferrari, their being handed the keys to a Lincoln Towncar.
i love how some posters are already playing the "the sky is falling" card.....and we haven't even started playing the preseason games yet. Just fucking relax...and let Schotty/Rex coach this team up. Nobody knows how well we're going to do. I, for one, feel optimistic that we'll be competative this season. But at the same time...I try to look at our chances in a realistic light....we're in a transitional year...so there will be bumps along the way. For example...everybody threw the Falcons and Ravens under the bus last year at this time...because they had a rookie head coach and a rookie QB coming in.....I'm not saying the Jets will repeat that success....but to say it isn't possible is inaccurate too.
Speaking of panic, why does everyone give the D a free pass for dominating an O that apparently sucks? It might be interesting to see our D against a good NFL O before assuming our D is going to be great?
