Oline blocked well enough for an UDFA to gain 169 yds

23 carries 169 yds 7.3ypc.

UFDA's don't get those numbers without great run blocking.

btw, Wilson didn't get sacked the first half (he ran out of bounds instead of throwing the ball away for a 1 yd loss). He got sacked 3 times in the second half, but one of those was a scramble for 0 yds on 3rd and 4 and I am not sure if that's on Wilson.

Will be interesting to see the All-22 on that oline to see how much better it improved since the Detroit game.

Kearse also proved value on that play. Does he get a bone too?

They clicked a game earlier than I thought they would, which made this loss very frustrating. I expected another week before they got it together, leading us to a 3-3 then 6-4 start to the season before going on a tear to close it out.

Frustrating that we couldn't pick up a win when our biggest impediment showed such significant improvement. Still, I'm not worried yet. It's how you finish.

-bsd

There are so many moving parts to this, suddenly RW getting time confused his rhythm for sure. He will get better, things will start settling down.The team is going through an adjustment phase so to speak, coming home and playing the Panthers should help.

Yeah, when your rookie RB has 169 yards you SHOULD win the game. If one of many things go the Hawks way, they win.
Time to regroup and focus on the Carolina kitties!

The line played a lot better this week compared to last week.
But it's not just the sacks, there was plenty of pressures and hits to Russ.
Not all on the line, Russ ran himself into at least 1 sack and didn't throw the ball away on another.
But when he stayed in the pocket waiting for those couple deep routes to develop, I think to Kearse & Lockett, he got destroyed.

This team isn't very good. Many of the same players... I have a couple theories.

1. XLIX crushed their spirits.

2. They got paid & are fat/happy.

3. They were 3-3 last year! Just wait for the 8 game win streak! lololol

4. Any combination of 1, 2, and 3.

I am awaiting the "fan" police to accuse me of not being a true fan.

Not that they would actually have Rawls in the game in OT. Not that they would call a run play on 3rd and short when the running game was on point :roll:

Sports Hernia":1x9ku0rn said:

Yeah, when your rookie RB has 169 yards you SHOULD win the game. If one of many things go the Hawks way, they win.
Time to regroup and focus on the Carolina kitties!

Click to expand...

It's ironic that if he'd got a few less yards we may have won the game.

Of course a few more yards and we could have put the game out of reach as well, but it's really not on him either way, he had a fantastic game.

The offensive line did improve in the first half, but they were outmanned in the 2nd half. It was almost a Jekyll and Hyde type of thing. it was painfully obvious. I am very hopeful from the strides I saw them make earlier, but I am still quite a ways from having faith in them getting us hard earned yards on short down and distance situations, or for protecting Wilson to the level necessary on a consistent basis.

idahohawk":3vohi9jm said:

This team isn't very good. Many of the same players... I have a couple theories.

1. XLIX crushed their spirits.

2. They got paid & are fat/happy.

3. They were 3-3 last year! Just wait for the 8 game win streak! lololol

4. Any combination of 1, 2, and 3.

I am awaiting the "fan" police to accuse me of not being a true fan.

Click to expand...

For Gods Sake.

By the way, how is #3 a theory on the team's struggles?

bigskydoc":304bct2d said:

They clicked a game earlier than I thought they would, which made this loss very frustrating. I expected another week before they got it together, leading us to a 3-3 then 6-4 start to the season before going on a tear to close it out.

Frustrating that we couldn't pick up a win when our biggest impediment showed such significant improvement. Still, I'm not worried yet. It's how you finish.

-bsd

Click to expand...

It's interesting that you feel that we'd click against Carolina, a team with one of the best front 7's in the league that has historically stopped us in the ground game and forced us to beat them through the air. Not that I'm arguing with you, just that I find it interesting.

Look at Rawls, he did really well (I forget the numbers) in yards before contact, which means the OL was doing it's job. I didn't see the game, but in looking at the highlights, it looked like he has good vision and is making decisive cuts and moves into the hole.

This is one of the optimisms I took from the game. I've been dreading Lynch's decline, but there's no reason to think Rawls can't improve, and he's already had two 100 yard games. If nothing else, finding an heir apparent is a win this season.

I really think Rawls ran well despite the OL. They did look good at first, but declined as the game progressed.