MontanaHawk05
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 1, 2009
- Messages
- 18,130
- Reaction score
- 799
1. I'm not going to blame the injury situation...not entirely. That defense did not looked coached and it did not look confident. The back seven was marked by hesitation, bad fundamentals, and missed assignments all night. That isn't explained by the DL struggling. You have to line up right, have to hand things off right, have to fill your run gaps, and you have to tackle. That was on Mike.
2. That being said, this really was the perfect storm - there's a reason we were all panting over OC Ben Johnson for the job that Mike McDonald got. He's a miracle worker, his offensive line is the best in football, and the tandem of Montgomery and Gibbs is the best at their position. You couldn't ask for a worse possible matchup.
3. THE GAME WAS STILL WINNABLE. That's on Ryan Grubb. I'm sold. Screens, run packages, receivers open, HOOK-AND-LADDER PLAYS for God's sake...not just the creativity, but the execution is what's got me sold.
4. That's what drives me insane - we could have won but for DK's lack of discipline and a couple dumb ref calls. I really don't even think we were the worse team out there last night. Did anyone see how bad Detroit's defense was? And that defense was healthy. What's their excuse? Instead, we lost what could prove a crucial conference tiebreaker.
5. GENO SMITH IS THE BEST QUARTERBACK IN THE NFL. He's leading in passing yards and completions, second in completion rate amongst starting QB's, and without a star RB for a couple games - who predicted this?? But you can also see on the field that he deserves it. He's executing Grubb's system and yet creating when he needs to. And that third-down bugaboo? Wasn't a problem last night! This team needs to not waste his best season.
6. Everyone knows now why Kenneth Walker is such a big deal. He completely changes the game. We don't sniff 29 points without him last night, no disrespect to Charbonnet. Walker's cutting ability, change of direction, and pure tenacity are highlight-reel stuff. It's infuriating that we've barely seen him his first two seasons.
7. Myles Adams continues to be an utterly inconsequential signing.
8. I have to call two defensive guys out for effort and perseverance on plays - Devon Witherspoon and Dre'Mont Jones. The hustle was there for both guys, even if the production wasn't.
9. Jarran Reed is still commanding double teams, but he was also fairly ineffective outside of a sack early. Seattle needs to remain in the first-round DL market next draft.
10. Gipson doesn't belong on an NFL field. He was dogging plays even before the Goff catch.
11. Too many linebackers not staying home. They'd rush up to the line and hand-drum a rhythm on a teammate's back, then wave vaguely at Gibbs as he darted through the hole they left. Again, that's Mike. No excuses. It was a problem the whole game.
12. That long Jameson Williams TD worked because it was a good play call against our safety blitz. Can't take risks like that on defense when we're this unprepared.
13. Somewhere I shared a tweet (against my better judgment) of Matty Brown calling out DT Johnathan Hankins for strong play. Now I'm thinking it might have just been Matty being contrarian again.
14. The refs totally cost us eight points.
15. Derick Hall is still on a terrific trajectory. Being able to produce at all next to a patchwork DL is immensely comforting.
16. Can Pharoah Brown start producing something besides penalties, please? He was better than this in New England.
17. This team will be okay, I think. Mike isn't stupid, he knows what happened, and there's a lot of green defensive and recent signings back there. The offense, however, was just brilliant. Mentally tough. Executing well. Nobody's talked about the offensive line for a couple weeks now, which means Grubb is scheming around it effectively. But the offense will face a tough test against the Giants defense next week.
2. That being said, this really was the perfect storm - there's a reason we were all panting over OC Ben Johnson for the job that Mike McDonald got. He's a miracle worker, his offensive line is the best in football, and the tandem of Montgomery and Gibbs is the best at their position. You couldn't ask for a worse possible matchup.
3. THE GAME WAS STILL WINNABLE. That's on Ryan Grubb. I'm sold. Screens, run packages, receivers open, HOOK-AND-LADDER PLAYS for God's sake...not just the creativity, but the execution is what's got me sold.
4. That's what drives me insane - we could have won but for DK's lack of discipline and a couple dumb ref calls. I really don't even think we were the worse team out there last night. Did anyone see how bad Detroit's defense was? And that defense was healthy. What's their excuse? Instead, we lost what could prove a crucial conference tiebreaker.
5. GENO SMITH IS THE BEST QUARTERBACK IN THE NFL. He's leading in passing yards and completions, second in completion rate amongst starting QB's, and without a star RB for a couple games - who predicted this?? But you can also see on the field that he deserves it. He's executing Grubb's system and yet creating when he needs to. And that third-down bugaboo? Wasn't a problem last night! This team needs to not waste his best season.
6. Everyone knows now why Kenneth Walker is such a big deal. He completely changes the game. We don't sniff 29 points without him last night, no disrespect to Charbonnet. Walker's cutting ability, change of direction, and pure tenacity are highlight-reel stuff. It's infuriating that we've barely seen him his first two seasons.
7. Myles Adams continues to be an utterly inconsequential signing.
8. I have to call two defensive guys out for effort and perseverance on plays - Devon Witherspoon and Dre'Mont Jones. The hustle was there for both guys, even if the production wasn't.
9. Jarran Reed is still commanding double teams, but he was also fairly ineffective outside of a sack early. Seattle needs to remain in the first-round DL market next draft.
10. Gipson doesn't belong on an NFL field. He was dogging plays even before the Goff catch.
11. Too many linebackers not staying home. They'd rush up to the line and hand-drum a rhythm on a teammate's back, then wave vaguely at Gibbs as he darted through the hole they left. Again, that's Mike. No excuses. It was a problem the whole game.
12. That long Jameson Williams TD worked because it was a good play call against our safety blitz. Can't take risks like that on defense when we're this unprepared.
13. Somewhere I shared a tweet (against my better judgment) of Matty Brown calling out DT Johnathan Hankins for strong play. Now I'm thinking it might have just been Matty being contrarian again.
14. The refs totally cost us eight points.
15. Derick Hall is still on a terrific trajectory. Being able to produce at all next to a patchwork DL is immensely comforting.
16. Can Pharoah Brown start producing something besides penalties, please? He was better than this in New England.
17. This team will be okay, I think. Mike isn't stupid, he knows what happened, and there's a lot of green defensive and recent signings back there. The offense, however, was just brilliant. Mentally tough. Executing well. Nobody's talked about the offensive line for a couple weeks now, which means Grubb is scheming around it effectively. But the offense will face a tough test against the Giants defense next week.
