colin

a point i see in this: Simms points out correctly that we are running an offense based heavily on the old NE O. does anyone remember brady getting huge credit for beating up on teams after they ran the ball effectively and then passed out of heavy formations to wide open guys? or when they would spread, hit the quick hitter on first down a few times, and then mix in draws and just grind the d up? dabo gets into insane ruts where he comes in with no balance at all, and it takes earth and heaven to move him off of his stubborn perch. was it against KC or something we ran the ball like 1 time w an rb in the first half? his choice to line up empty (4 and 5 wide, he just can't let a drive go without going empty) vs what is prolly the best 4 man rush in the nfl after it hasn't been working just shows he has an idea coming into the game, and it has nothing with taking advantage of the D on the pitch. the 4th and 1 call was a great example of not doing anything to help your players out. if we convert that we have a really good shot at winning the game, and that's with bad play all over the place otherwise. i was wrong to stop bad mouthing him last year!

i still think dabol has too much junk in the playbook, and too many tricks. he's trying to make the O be about his clever stuff, instead of getting the best results. real basic stuff in practice, running bread and butter plays over and over with some wrinkles to them so you have something to go to get a rhythm or when you are in a bind. just throwing out 5 wide vs nickle and the best pass rush in the nfl, or going 4 wide empty back field, and that garbage on 4th down is no way to get to the superbowl.

i remember the super windy game vs philly, where we were like 6-1 or something and they ran down our throats in 2019. in that game, philly's good O coaching leaned on what was working and mixed it up some but really attacked where the d was weak. dabol tries to run a fine line between dictating everything and overwhelming the d, and just being too cute by half. he was way over the line today. we were vanilla and pressing into a rush that handled us and really frustrating coverage, and took ourselves out of being able to run the ball, along w as said above very predictable allen runs. when allen ran vs pass d it was murder on them, when we ran the ball vs pass d it was very effective, when we run into a wall or most importantly passed against what looked to me like sometimes disguised but really just steady disciplined coverage we were trash passing the ball. i said it the last few years and sadly i have to say it again, other teams play us at a lower level of difficulty than we play them. they take the easy money when it's there and set us up to make their bigger plays easier. we just like dial up stuff like we are playing a video game. mcd made some dumb goofs too, but this is all on hiim. he's got to crack down on dabol and force him to string together drives with fewer wasted plays.

We had the same yards per play, and 130 more yards, we had a much better 3rd down conversion rate, and we won time if possession. The fumble cost us a drive, but not much else. The score shows we lost on the blocked punt, and the stats show it as well. Allen was trash, but pittz d is sick. The blocked punt and trash penalties killed us. I honestly think food coaching would have had us walking away winners, but our coaches were worse than our players today. Lots of trick plays and no bread and butter did us in.

Well, they found some runs and then quickly went to play for the tie. Obviously we need a hard stop now.

Just awful football since the first half. Both sides of the ball making just the right mistakes to lose. I don't think this team is as well prepared as pittz, but the execution is plumb terrible. One good drove all day.

Awful, this team needs to catch fire to win this game

Allen and the o need to pull their heads out and put together some drives. Pittz is tough on d but this kinda play leaves much to be desired. I've been ripping them for the chip this season, they better do it, or I may look slightly foolish!

You hate to say it, but honestly that's what the data shows thus far. He can turn this around with a quickness tho

Agree, they seem to want to keep in the 5 wide but can't handle the pittz rush. They gotta make a lil change up

a new jeep for his mom and a wrangler for himself?!?! these new players are living way too high off the hog I tell ya. i liked it better when players rode the bus, hoping on without paying half the time, with open wounds because they didn't need any fancy medical treatment, just drinking whiskey and walking it off.

well, given how he was one aaron rogers away from being the mvp, and the team only had their season ended in the afc chip game (granted, it wasn't a good contest), there is a pretty solid chance, just by the law of large numbers, that this next season will not be as astronomically good for allen (stats) or the team (wins). the idea that a player must be monotonically non-decreasing in his performance as measured by what are essentially fantasy football statistics or else he has actually regressed in his ability is pretty nerdy and out of touch with reality. it also shows how sabremetrics and fantasy stuff has made people think of football as some kind of video game simulation and i think has them missing the forest for the trees. i remember when rothlessburger started his first season, and the team went 15-1 (i think i might not have played in the losing game, and he didn't play when they beat us and kept us out of the playoffs). on the nfl network a bunch of people were talking about if rothlessburger will have a better season, rod woodson was fairly adamant that no he would not, but it doesn't matter because they just have to focus their team more for the playoffs. after brief confusion, one of the network people pointed out how he didnt' have that many yards and whatever, and woodson says "oh, you mean like stats wise? better stats? ya sure." with a look of "why does this matter?" on his face. in woodson's mind, your regular season is what gets you in the best position for the playoffs, and 15-1 is about as good as it gets. while i do think allen will have some shocking and potentially record breaking stats this year (17 games, less preseason, all things seem to be lining up) for me it just comes down to how we do when we get to the tourney, and im pretty sure that's what is on the players and coaches minds too.

great thread. this is solid evidence of why mcd puts so much into the dline. he schemes and disguises all over the spot, so if his deep squad on the front 4 can get some pressure, with the big play taken away w disciplined coverage and making it hard to dial up good plays, the opposing O gets a step behind and can't manufacture yards and points. it also shows why it is so frustrating to watch as a fan sometimes. when the dline can't get pressure, on a post snap basis its a bit of an open book and without a ton of size it makes us look small and passive. I really hope AJ, and our two new rookies (and that obada guy too) really make a contribution because i think we are striking distance from being a top 3 d again.

i find the announcing crew vary week to week. sometimes romo and nancy are great, sometimes they are partisan hacks. i loved dedes and wilcots, ya wilcots says some words funny, but that's part of his charm and he knows the game and has huge enthusiasm.

ok, so obv i'm way way ahead of myself, but the way this guy uses his hips and arms looks just so much like julius peppers to me. i remember the one game in our darkest season, when we beat carolina with alex van pelt at qb. as i was cheering after a late ish touchdown, i remember thinking wait, no i want to lose this game. only game i ever wanted them to lose. and they got peppers and we got mike williams. anyhow, ya i think this kid has some stuff.

i like the change up, always interesting. i even like the all red unis, looks fast.

he's gotta drop his level a bit at an angle across the qb's body so he can wrap up and disrupt the ball if possible. i agree w the above that it wasn't dirty, but in the nfl today that's a flag on a qb. with that clip of the jets game where josh was clearly and illegally head hit and targeted after throwing, i think josh moving so much (even when he's just throwing) and being big and strong and fighting off pass rushers is leading to him not getting as many calls.

good stuff alpha. i think we drop an OL to keep jouhnson

i think the biggest gains would be from a bosa, donald, young player. instant disruption and pass rush, and it makes all of our rotation better. if i have to pick one i pick the older bosa. he's just such a wrecking ball and so skilled, i think would put us up in the 60+ sack range and turnovers tend to come with that and if allen gets the ball a couple extra times we win the chip.

you often contribute chortle worthy levity to our threads, but this was just the right mix of subtle and ham handed to really kick up a Tuesday take thread. Thank you for your service.

he's either gonna play his way into a similar contract, or just get let go (after 5th year). he's got this season and post season, and outside chance of some of the following season to do so.

Allen sets insane records/numbers/advanced stats which of course get questioned because of the extra game. at least one, possibly two, of our new super athlete rookie OL end up starting by the end of the season and dominate bills O combine our big play ability with sustained drives (improving on our 20 first downs per year last season) and end up top of the NFL with TOP Bills D comes together and plays a high speed efficient but most of all nasty brand of D that intimidates and batters the opposition league wide: there is only one NFL champion at the end of this season, and they play their home games in the empire state.

feel some juice watching this, i think these guys have a nasty taste in their mouths from how last year ended.

honestly, for the way they do these things, i think it's fair. they remember allen falling apart in his first playoff game (obv not the whole story, and his roster did worse than he did, but that's what it is), and his bad stats out the gate, and use that to think well his third year might be a fluke and he still makes mistakes (obviously pure bias, given that everyone makes mistakes, the 3 awful picks brady threw against GB was just a chance to show his great leadership). the bottom line, he played as well or better than any qb last season w the exceptions of a aron, and will show exactly what he's made of this season (gold, he's made of solid gold by the way).

no idea if he fits in contract wise, but he'd be a huge addition to our team. maybe only for a season or two (will say, the jones bros like to use drugs and party, but they just don't get that out of shape, they put in so much work when they are on the wagon that it tends to pull them through so he might have more longevity). i remember reading something about that kid w the african name taken 1st over all out of psu, monster athlete, smart and straight and narrow kinda golden boy, but some nfl front office thought that his lack of like chaotic mindset/temperament lead to him under performing his abilities in the NFL. we have high strung houghs who brings juice all day, and ed oliver seems to have a motor too, throwing in jones as well might mean we always have a real tasmanian devil all though our rotation. would love to see it.