Random Thoughts™ on the Cardinals game in Seattle

[volsunghawk]

Imagine if all five of our lineman today had the kind of day Breno had. You'd have 100+ yards in penalties, 5 sacks, and a ton of confiscated yards from those penalties. It wouldn't exactly be a good line, would it?

You are right it would not be a good line it would be great, it would rack up 300 yards a game rushing. I understand your point, but his nastiness is what makes him good and drives those piles. Seriously I would take five Brenos. It would not be 3 yards and a cloud of dust. It would be 6-7 yards and a pile of bodies.

Richie Incognito begs to differ.

 

[kearly]

Thanks for the correction Hasselbeck. That said, Arizona's rush defense ranked 12th in DVOA coming into this game. It wasn't a bad unit. The effort was laughable though. Completely true.

 

[Atradees]

I was trying to judge Breno today. I hope he gets it together too. I saw him blocking down field; hold his own against a decent D line. Playin through the whistle all that. He has great strength and some motor.

 

[mikeak]

I also loved the play action screen pass to McCoy

Great call just great

 

[Fudwamper]

Imagine if all five of our lineman today had the kind of day Breno had. You'd have 100+ yards in penalties, 5 sacks, and a ton of confiscated yards from those penalties. It wouldn't exactly be a good line, would it?

You are right it would not be a good line it would be great, it would rack up 300 yards a game rushing. I understand your point, but his nastiness is what makes him good and drives those piles. Seriously I would take five Brenos. It would not be 3 yards and a cloud of dust. It would be 6-7 yards and a pile of bodies.

Richie Incognito begs to differ.

Not even close the same player. One is good and nasty the other is bad and dumb.

 

[canzag]

I also had a chuckle when Ryan accused them of running up the score.They were playing backups the entire second half except the 1st possesion.What are they supposed to do,take a knee?

 

[AROS]

Yeah that was Ryan's one misstep in the booth. As if we should take a knee to canzag's point with our backups in.

I see kearly's points with Bruno. You have to tame that beast at some point. Yes, you want a flat-out mauler, a destructive force that takes no prisoners, but if it is at the cost of senseless, destructive penalties that hurt your team, than it's the old "one step forward, two steps back" paradigm that just doesn't pan out in the NFL. Personally, I love the guy for the same reason most of you do. But I also see that he has to learn from his mistakes or he has to step aside. Right now, I'm not so sure he's learning from his mistakes and that is a scary thought come playoff time.

 

[olyfan63]

It wasn't running up the score... As a coach you want all the players to play hard ALL the time, and today the backups did that, and showed that the level of dropoff is not really that much from the "starters" in many cases, especially in Pete's system. As another poster pointed out, Flynn and other backups were in, and PC wants them to get real game time so they are ready/as close to rust-free as possible if called upon. One RG3 moment for Wilson, and Flynn could be the guy pulling the trigger in the playoffs, so we want him in rhythm. Gotta say, Flynn today reminded me of (a 2003-2004) Hasselbeck, just his style his reads, the way he moves, quick decisions, etc. Even though I don't think Flynn had great stats, he looked good, looked ready, and I would be confident he could perform well if called upon with a game in the balance.

 

[AROS]

I agree oly, I think Flynn is totally Hasselbeck Part II.

Personally, I think we should do everything in our power to retain him moving forward. I get that that may not be practical in this era of the NFL, but man, to have that kind of insurance in case (GOD FORBID) Mr. Wilson got injured...

What a backup plan that could be. He strikes me as someone who could get the job done. Maybe not with the flash and panache of Wilson, but all that matters is moving the chains, scoring and victories.

 

[kobebryant]

Thought I had: Paul McQuistan is seriously one of the most underrated players in the league. The Hawks have the 2nd leading rusher in the league, are breaking in a rookie QB to great success in part because he can lean on a great run game. McQ starts all season at LG or RG and you barely here his name.

IMO one of the top 20 guards in the NFL so far this season. There's talk about Carp, Moffitt, Sweezy and Johnson going forward, and for good reason, but IMO it will take a very strong effort to bump this dude out of his job. Notice that the 3 oline starters that sat first : Okung and Unger (the elite talents) but also McQ. Like Heath Farwell, theres something to be said for just showing up everyday and being very good at your job.

Stream of thought over.

 

[Zebulon Dak]

I love Breno. I do. I don't care.

 

[AROS]

I love Breno. I do. I don't care.

I feel ya.

 

[kobebryant]

I love Breno. I do. I don't care.

I do too. He is really quite good. Like Jon Runyan before him, massive a-hole on the field, that combines dominance with crossing the line aggresiveness and the occasional brainfart.

Give me the guy that you have to reel in over the guy that needs a fire lit under him, everytime.

In close games it bugs me from time to time. But in a blowout where the Cards are getting scrappy, Breno flattening a dude late and Sweezy headbutting another guy are pluses in my book. I remember when we didn't have single olinemen that stood up to thiose guys. Now, heck, even our punter is jacked and firey.

 

[sc85sis]

Who is Tim Ryan?

The color commentator.

Did anyone else notice him chastising us for "running the score up"? That irked me. And I usually like what he has to say.

There will be people who say that Pete ran up the score and that going for it on that 4th down, passing later in the game, etc. proves it. But Pete has always felt that it's more likely a defense can stop a 4th down conversion (or TD attempt) than prevent a field goal from being scored. The truth is he pulled his starters early in the third, and he used the running game far more than the pass.

If Pete had truly wanted to run it up, he'd have left Russell in longer and had him throw the ball all over the field. And when Russ wasn't doing that, Beast Mode would have continued to ram it down their throats.

A coach can't ask his backups not to try for the sake of the other team's ego. That wouldn't be fair to guys who are finally getting a chance for meaningful play time. And it would essentially be telling the other team they suck so badly that you pity them. These guys are pros, not eight year olds.

 

[HawkRiderFan]

Who is Tim Ryan?

The color commentator.

Did anyone else notice him chastising us for "running the score up"? That irked me. And I usually like what he has to say.

The criticism of running up the score really bothered me. Belichick and th Pats have done that many times in the past....and they do it keeping Brady and the starters in. But of course they get a free pass. It's smart to let Flynn get some live reps throwing the ball vs just having him turn around hand off up the middle play after play.

 

[SundayNiteBlackout]

Who is Tim Ryan?

The color commentator.

Did anyone else notice him chastising us for "running the score up"? That irked me. And I usually like what he has to say.

There will be people who say that Pete ran up the score and that going for it on that 4th down, passing later in the game, etc. proves it. But Pete has always felt that it's more likely a defense can stop a 4th down conversion (or TD attempt) than prevent a field goal from being scored. The truth is he pulled his starters early in the third, and he used the running game far more than the pass.

If Pete had truly wanted to run it up, he'd have left Russell in longer and had him throw the ball all over the field. And when Russ wasn't doing that, Beast Mode would have continued to ram it down their throats.

A coach can't ask his backups not to try for the sake of the other team's ego. That wouldn't be fair to guys who are finally getting a chance for meaningful play time. And it would essentially be telling the other team they suck so badly that you pity them. These guys are pros, not eight year olds.

Well said!

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

The unfortunate thing with Breno is that he's to the point where is reputation preceeds him with the refs. Until he dials it down for pretty much an entire season, this will continue. He will not be given the benefit of any doubt the rest of this year at the minimum and likely well into next year.

 

[hawker84]

I love Breno. I do. I don't care.

I feel ya.

i hear ya , but i can't stand the dude... i understand he's giving 100% out there.. but the guy is just not smart, these bone head penalties have been going on all season, at what point do you sit him down and say enough is enough.. why was he even back there pouncing on the guy? it was no where near the play that had already ended by the way... just not a smart player, and is constantly hampering drives with these just plain stupid penalties... that is not championship football...

 

[Largent80]

Conrad Dobler was another "dirty" player for the St. Louis Cards. The refs knew of his tactics but he never changed and retired after a decent career of maulings, bitings, ball pinches etc.

Just sayin.

I like Brenos high intensity, but seriously, he might not be the sharpest tool in the shed to keep making these boneheaded penalties.

 

[Sarlacc83]

Righteous ass-beating? Yep. The NFL is on notice. The Hawks are hot heading into the playoffs.