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Nate -> RE: General Vikes Talk (8/22/2021 12:42:51 PM)
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Well, 2 games in and I'm still fairly unsure of what kind of team we'll be. Going 4-0 or 0-4 doesn't predict the regular season but it would be nice to see some promise from our non-starters.
Defense:
- even with our wall of humanity DTs playing we still gave up 4-5 yards per rush. Granted we had no Hunter but the fact we still can't stop the run just seems like we have a scheme or coaching problem. It's like they are coached to hold ground and let the LBs tackle, they don't really fire and penetrate through the line. Pierce and Tomlinson could be blowing that up and our DEs should make a run tackle more than once or twice a game.
- the back-up secondary is pretty atrocious. There are still WRs running around wide open, like we've never run a cover 1/2/3 before. This doesn't bode well if we get injuries or quarantines, talent drops off really quick.
- the DL has had almost zero pass rush in two games. Someone has to be able to do more than go from a 3pt stance to a slow dance with their OL partner, good grief!
- all that being said, my confidence level in this D is notches higher than in last years group. We at least have players that have started and played well in most positions. Stopping the run and rushing the passer will be key to us being a dominant D.
Offense:
- so "work in progress" is an understatement. In 2 games, we haven't generated any TDs, made almost no down field throws and none of the QBs have looked like they could've led us anywhere other than away from a vaccination clinic.
- I don't know if we're even running a Vanilla level offense right now. Is it a brand new scheme with kub Jr or are we really this out of sync? There were some decent holes at times in the run game but for the most part it looked like the strategy was to get our punter plenty of reps. Mission accomplished!
- Pass, Run, Pass, Punt; Run, Run, Pass, Punt. Our MO is the same... I've seen more 1 WR sets than I can remember, particularly on passing downs. My concern is high.
Special teams:
- now here we can have some positivity. The punting was waaaaaay better and the coverage was outstanding. The return game wasn't half bad either. Post Sherels, rather than hope we didn't muff a punt return, it looked like we could actually advance one. If we get that kind of effort this year that will be a huge advantage in field position and our sanity.
- Joseph missed one but overall he looks like he has an NFL leg and seems fairly accurate. The term "split the uprights" actually could be used on some of his kicks, not the typical "boy that one just squeaked in there". I hope he can stabilize the position this year. I can't tell if he is a touchback kicker or if they're working on kick return coverage but hopefully it's a touchback type of year.
Intangibles:
- I lost track of our TOs at the end of the game but the scoreboard showed like 1 TO left and 1:14 on the clock. We didn't call timeout on their 3rd down run so we got the ball back with 1 timeout left and 29s remaining. If that is true, why on earth didn't we call timeout and give our QB 1:08 to try and muster something? Boneheaded clock management again!!
- Does anyone we play commit penalties? I have seen a lot of key penalties called on us but almost none of any significance against our opponents. And these are our home games, grrrrrrr.
Welp, game 3 is next week, we'll see a lot of the same crew as in game one I'm sure and we'll be left wondering what we have going into the regular season. I hope the starting offense can get it together before game 3 and hopefully the defense can be dominant like we look on paper.
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