Are You Concerned?

[rsm650]

My brain: ARE YOU KIDDING ME WE BARELY BEAT THE 0-8 BUCS AT HOME AND THE 3-6 RAMS HOW ARE WE GONNA BEAT THE PLAYOFF BOUND SAINTS??? WE LOST BOTH POST-BYE WEEK GAMES IN 2011 AND 2012

My heart: WE NEVER LOSE AT HOME WITH WILSON AT THE HELM!!! WORLD RECORD HERE WE GO AGAIN

 

[Anonymous]

Funny, but we were all doing cartwheels when the bye came in the latter stages of the schedule after it being toward the front for so long. Now, it seems the bye cannot come soon enough.

Anybody have any stats regarding how teams are doing after their byes this year. I'm too lazy to look.

 

[Largent80]

With the rotation that we have it seems hard to believe that the d-line is "tired".

I don't see it. What I did see is a Tampa and Ram line that wanted it, and got it.

Stay in your lanes, try to get off blocks, back to basics.

 

[volsunghawk]

Funny, but we were all doing cartwheels when the bye came in the latter stages of the schedule after it being toward the front for so long. Now, it seems the bye cannot come soon enough.

Anybody have any stats regarding how teams are doing after their byes this year. I'm too lazy to look.

16 teams have played at least 1 game after their bye weeks so far and the record is...



8-8

W: PIT, IND, TEN, OAK, CHI, GB, NO, ATL

L: MIA, BAL, HOU, SD, WAS, MIN, CAR, TAM

 

[hawk45]

I'm concerned. Ordinarily I'd say this team is above minor factors such as this, but after watching them try to piss away HFA to a winless team at home, my confidence in their ability to maintain focus is...shaken. I realize maintaining focus for a crappy team is different than maintaining focus after a bye, but both are mental discipline things.

I have faith in Russell's focus, though. The fact that we'll have (please please please) our OL back intact means he can be a bigger factor, if he survives until that game. If Russ is able to affect the outcome more, I will worry a lot less.

 

[TwistedHusky]

I have a weird sense of worry, but only because I feel a sense of urgency.

I feel like the stars aligned for us last year and we did not take advantage of it. (though the Clemons thing might have been the stars spitting on us at the end).

I feel like we got the golden path this year as so many teams were without key players or are noticeably weaker than expected, and though it seems like we are out almost all our OL, a lot of teams lost dreams to injury this year (GB, Atlanta, etc) and we are probably more fortunate than many.

It just feels like a now or never thing because of all the contracts coming up and the feeling that we cannot possibly keep them all. My animosity toward Harvin is firmly rooted in the feeling that his large contract is going to prevent us from signing one of these guys : Sherman, ET, Bennett, Tate and Wilson (I cannot imagine any future where we cannot sign Wilson but I have to include him because his signing will probably eat a lot of the cap too). So he seems like an expensive luxury, one that cost us a useful 1st rounder, needed cap space and 1/2 through the season hasn't scored a point or made a single yard for the team.

If this was a wildcard team and we were projected as such, I would point out that we have the ability to beat anyone in the playoffs because in spite of all the weaknesses we have guys that are difficult to defend and a defense that can do amazing things. Since we are a favorite, the issue is we are not consistent. And yes, that is worrisome. We can beat anyone but we can also lose to anyone. Our greatest weaknesses are strengths of our greatest competition for the top spot.

The team chasing us is strong at all the things we are struggling with recently, and was the team we soundly beat last year only to watch them race into the SB last year as we stumbled and they almost won it.

We got this golden path to the SB this year and it feels like we are not taking advantage of it. We will see how the Saints and 49ers games go, but for now I just want us to beat Atlanta and Minnesota.