we are an average team with a slightly beow avg QB... BUT, this is the weakest the AFC (and really the NFL) has been in like 10+ years. other then the pats, what great team is there in the AFC? The broncos have an excellent defense and manning, but weve seen them have issues vs defenses that can get pressure on manning. outside of that? *CRICKETS* maybe the steelers when roethlisberger comes back? the ravens look to have taken a step back. the way i look at it: Pats, Denver = division winner locks Pittsburg - could be very good later once ben comes back after that, there is really no good team. and at 3-1 we are at least ahead of the curve. even looking NFL wide, if you add the NFC how many more good teams are there? 3? Packers and Seahawks are playoff locks. then you have maybe atlanta and who else? dallas if they got healthy? as long as we dont turn it over we should make a run at 9-10 wins. but we cant lose to teams like the redskins who we see after the bye. i dont mind being an "average" team. since there are so many crap teams this year
id love to see us sign a return specialist like when we added cribbs. get someone back there who can change field position.... especially since every opposing punter seems to drill 75 yarders out of their own endzone every week
I can live with cro, he makes some big plays 1 on 1 and is always a threat to pick one off. bowles just needs to reel him in a bit. Davis has looked terrible and our ILB/Safety play in coverage could use alot of improvement. agree 100% on fitz, he forces it in to marshall way to much. also taking too many chances.
i think we absolutely should have beat the eagles at home, so i dont think we are there yet. you cant turn to geno when its going to be tough to win 9-10 games as it is. playing geno even 1 game could kill our playoff chances.... and the reasoning being that "our ceiling is higher with geno" is a terrible reason, since he has shown 0 signs of being an elite qb or someone who can carry a team.
The TRUTH: We are an 8-8 team at best with Fitz at QB. If he isn't under throwing it, having it batted down, he's missing wide open targets. 7TDs 6INTs = not very good.
No amount of pass rush is going to slow the Pats offense down considering how fast Brady gets rid of the ball. You'd have to get through unblocked to even have a chance to hit him. This is where being very creative comes in handy and this is why Rex always did so well against the Pats. The pass rush itself won't be that important. The key will be to confuse Brady with new looks. Dropping Sheldon & Mo back in zone coverage, blitzing Skrine off the edge and stuff like that. Bowles is just as creative and aggressive as Rex is, maybe even more than Rex, plus he's smarter than Rex and he now has better players than Rex did the last few years. The confusing formations and coverages will buy us enough time to actually get to the QB the old fashion way, by beating their guys like we would any other week. But blitzing itself and crazy amount of pass rush with generic coverages (man to man etc) won't help, Brady is going to shred those defenses.
I think defense is usually ahead of offense. 4 games in seems like a lot, but it is not. Pregame is fine but playing against grown up defense in the regular season is how offenses refine their talents. I expect the offense to get sharper and better. I expect Smith to improve game by game. It is really just a question of health. Ivory, of course, is crucial. Hopefully Ridley will have something when he gets back in. Stacy has not looked very quick off the ball, although he was decent yesterday.
Maybe a WoodStrock situation. While I loved the Devin Smith pick at the time he's pretty much useless with Fitz at QB. The team has no vertical game with Fitz unless you call the constant double coverage jump balls to Marshall a vertical threat. Eventually the smarter teams will realize Fitz is a huge liability when throwing down field and they'll crowd the zone between DL and LB to cut back on big gains in the run game, cut back on crossing patterns and force Fitz to air it out. On the one hand I don't mind a turnover deep down field, its better than watching their punt coverage but on the other hand he can't keep going back to a dry well time and time and time again. That's on Gailey and he doesn't seem to get it that that play call isn't going to work. Maybe that was his problem in Buffalo with Fitz, he doesn't seem to know Fitz's limitations.
The ints are a problem, but the one yesterday was a bogus noncall. With that said, he is on pace for 28 td passes, more than two seasons worth of geno smith. It's been years since a jets qb had that many. The 2009 and 2010 teams made playoffs with -8 and +4 td to int ratios from sanchez. I'm not too worried. The easy schedule and great defense help a lot.
Gailey has still got to call the deep routes to keep the defense honest regardless of Fitzpatrick's ability to complete them. It would be even worse out there if they never called deep routes. You'd have a defense knowing full well they aren't going to be tested deep stacking the box and teeing off on the crossing routes
I really think the bomb to Marshall to open the game had the Shitfins thinking twice about stuffing the box with 9 guys opening up the run
Every post in this thread should begin with THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH: We are 3-1. Our ceiling is a lot higher than 5-7 the rest of the way, IMO. Games against Wash, Jax, Raiders, Texans, Titans, Giants, Fins all point the way to a 12-4 being our ceiling, with 9-7 our floor.
yeah he doesn't need to call it as much I agree. but 2nd down @ midfield is about the safest time to call a deep route. also, Fitzpatrick doesn't need to throw them like he is. He can throw up and out of bounds if the guy is covered or he knows he can't hit him. Under throwing them isn't helping too much
THE TRUTH: This wasn't a Superbowl contending team before the season started and nothing we can fantasize about will make it so. Enjoy what is hopefully an entertaining season where we are not irrelevant by the first week of October (hey, lookee here) and sack up. If we happen to make the playoffs, that would be fantastic. But don't be disappointed when we're not hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year. _
THE TRUTH: I can't see us winning a Super Bowl title with Fitz, but you never know, the important thing is getting into the playoffs. Then anything can happen.
You remember incorrectly. christ i cant even. Are you talking about pass rush or run defense? Not that it matters, we've been good at both without our player that is best at both.
Have to disagree. I'm with you on Fitz, he is not the answer, he is a below average starter. However, if you look at our schedule, a 10 win season is very possible. We still play the Redskins, Raiders, Jags, Texans, Dolphins and Titans. Those are all games we should win. We also have the Giants who are very beatable, a banged up Dallas, Buffalo twice, and the Pats twice. I do understand that we don't always win our "winnable" games, but other than the Pats, there isn't a very strong team left on our schedule. Edit... sorry missed post up top which basically said this, verbatim.
