32-0 in the second quarter. Rather than wait until my eyes roll completely back into my head and start the witching thread a the regular time, I thought "I would beat the traffic" and start it now.
This team cannot start games and take the initiative. It is beyond chronic, As member Crash stated in the game thread, we have nobody on the offense that scares anyone. There is a lack of breakway speed on the edges and we do not have defenders in enough chase positions. The playcalling is predictable. More than a question of execution, there is an alarming tendency to move away from what IS working in a given series to try something else...for the sake of "out-thinking" the opponent. Often this means the running game is jettisoned in mere minutes instead of maintaining balance. I am only a fan...and I see this!
The defence is a hot mess largely because of injuries in the back end and an inabilty for the pass rush to generate enough turnovers and offensive breakdowns to compensate. Too many times it seems that the Ladies Auxiliary's Re-Enactment of The Battle of Little Bighorn would make a better spectacle than these guys gassing it in the fourth quarter because we cannot keep the ball enough and/or score enough to keep up any momentum.
As for special teams, our kicking and punting has been solid IMO. Banks has regressed as a returner and the inability of our return teams to spring him is clear,
We are being beaten in all three phases of the game. Ultimately it rests at the feet of the front office and the coaching staff. Unlike our recent seasons with Houdini acts of starting slow and somehow righting the ship to make a second-half run, this team is going nowhere as it is now. Something has to give.
Thoughts?
Oski Wee Wee,
Russ
