The Quarter Mark

[KempBolt 498]

Four games in, and we're only just beginning to figure out who's who in 2013. I think the quarter marks are a good time to take a look at what your team has done and see what's surprising, what you were right about, what has been good, and what has been bad. So here it goes.

 

 

Called It:

• Rivers' Resurgence: I expected him to return to form with slight improvements around him and a much more adaptive offensive philosophy. I didn't expect him to be quite this good, but I figured he would be much better than what we saw in 2012.
• Freeney's Pass Rush: This is much less gratifying now that he's on IR, but Freeney was a top 10 pass rusher in this league while it lasted. He had an especially great game against All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown. Shame.

Surprising:

• Front 3: I definitely thought the defense would perform better than this. The secondary struggles are to be expected as they learn to gel as a group, but I thought the defensive line would be a lot more impactful than they have been so far. They flashed some good production against Dallas, so hopefully the switch is in the process of being flipped.
• Receivers: Our pass catchers have been somewhat surprising. It's totally predictable that Floyd and Alexander would get hurt, but it's rather shocking to see guys like Eddie Royal and Keenan Allen having big games. I'm also a little surprised at how quiet Vincent Brown has been.
• D.J. Fluker: He's still trying to find his stride in the running game, but his pass protection has been much better than I expected. Seems he has one bad play a game in protection, and other than that he keeps his man quiet. This was exactly the opposite of what most predicted. Hopefully he keeps it up as his run blocking improves.

I'd Like to See...:

• More Pressure: Liuget, Reyes, and Thomas are capable of much more than what they've shown. They are natural one-gap penetrators, so perhaps now that Freeney is out they will be allowed to just cut loose and make plays. Seemed that Pagano was asking them to do a lot more block eating when Dwight was in, just to free him up. That's not what they're skilled at.
• Less Injuries: Enough already. Ingram, Freeney, Floyd, and Alexander all out for the season or most of it. I still think we can make a push for a WC berth, but we won't be able to absorb too much more of this. If we're fortunate, we'll be in position to make a push late in the year and Ingram will be able to return and help the effort.
• Running: Run blocking requires more synchonization than pass protection. So I'm not surprised that we're behind in that phase. But I'd like to see continued improvement, especially from Fluker. More running success will only help Rivers' comeback season along.
• Trade?: As long as we make it through the next three weeks with at least two wins (we should... OAK and JAX are 2 of the 3), I wouldn't mind seeing Telesco make a deal to suppliment the pass rush. Everson Griffen would be my choice. But only if the price is right.

Prediction:

 

Sticking with my preseason call of 10-6. I can only hope that it will be enough for the WC if we indeed achieve it. Beside us-- Denver, KC, Indy, Houston, Tennessee, NE, Miami, Baltimore, and Cincy all look like they could be in play late into the season. That's 10 teams and 6 spots. Might possibly take 11+ to get in this year, and tie breakers will be extremely important regardless.

[BJORN 679]

Agree with Kemp for the most part on the Bolts. I'd lean towards saying our front 7 as a whole has been disappointing. But in terms of predictions and where we finish, I really have no clue. I'm still not entirely sure Rivers is back for good. However, while he has made some mistakes, I've really been impressed with his composure afterwards. I do worry that our two losses will come back to haunt us in the WC race, both Tennessee and Houston should be in the hunt. Also, our division is off to a really strong start even the Raiders aren't as bad as I thought.

[KempBolt 498]

Agree with Kemp for the most part on the Bolts. I'd lean towards saying our front 7 as a whole has been disappointing. But in terms of predictions and where we finish, I really have no clue. I'm still not entirely sure Rivers is back for good. However, while he has made some mistakes, I've really been impressed with his composure afterwards. I do worry that our two losses will come back to haunt us in the WC race, both Tennessee and Houston should be in the hunt. Also, our division is off to a really strong start even the Raiders aren't as bad as I thought.

 

Rivers' one huge mistake was going to his hot read on a blitz against Houston. Trent Dilpher characterized it as a throw that 32/32 quarterbacks make in that spot. A mistake it remains, but not exactly boneheaded. The pick 6 against Dallas came when Ohrnberger tried to keep playing after getting hurt. He got beat immediately and Phil's arm got hit as he threw what would have been a 1st down. Hard to blame him for that.

[BwareDWare94 723]

Four games in, and we're only just beginning to figure out who's who in 2013. I think the quarter marks are a good time to take a look at what your team has done and see what's surprising, what you were right about, what has been good, and what has been bad. So here it goes.

 

 

Called It:

• Rivers' Resurgence: I expected him to return to form with slight improvements around him and a much more adaptive offensive philosophy. I didn't expect him to be quite this good, but I figured he would be much better than what we saw in 2012.
• Freeney's Pass Rush: This is much less gratifying now that he's on IR, but Freeney was a top 10 pass rusher in this league while it lasted. He had an especially great game against All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown. Shame.

Surprising:

• Front 3: I definitely thought the defense would perform better than this. The secondary struggles are to be expected as they learn to gel as a group, but I thought the defensive line would be a lot more impactful than they have been so far. They flashed some good production against Dallas, so hopefully the switch is in the process of being flipped.
• Receivers: Our pass catchers have been somewhat surprising. It's totally predictable that Floyd and Alexander would get hurt, but it's rather shocking to see guys like Eddie Royal and Keenan Allen having big games. I'm also a little surprised at how quiet Vincent Brown has been.
• D.J. Fluker: He's still trying to find his stride in the running game, but his pass protection has been much better than I expected. Seems he has one bad play a game in protection, and other than that he keeps his man quiet. This was exactly the opposite of what most predicted. Hopefully he keeps it up as his run blocking improves.

I'd Like to See...:

• More Pressure: Liuget, Reyes, and Thomas are capable of much more than what they've shown. They are natural one-gap penetrators, so perhaps now that Freeney is out they will be allowed to just cut loose and make plays. Seemed that Pagano was asking them to do a lot more block eating when Dwight was in, just to free him up. That's not what they're skilled at.
• Less Injuries: Enough already. Ingram, Freeney, Floyd, and Alexander all out for the season or most of it. I still think we can make a push for a WC berth, but we won't be able to absorb too much more of this. If we're fortunate, we'll be in position to make a push late in the year and Ingram will be able to return and help the effort.
• Running: Run blocking requires more synchonization than pass protection. So I'm not surprised that we're behind in that phase. But I'd like to see continued improvement, especially from Fluker. More running success will only help Rivers' comeback season along.
• Trade?: As long as we make it through the next three weeks with at least two wins (we should... OAK and JAX are 2 of the 3), I wouldn't mind seeing Telesco make a deal to suppliment the pass rush. Everson Griffen would be my choice. But only if the price is right.

Prediction:

 

Sticking with my preseason call of 10-6. I can only hope that it will be enough for the WC if we indeed achieve it. Beside us-- Denver, KC, Indy, Houston, Tennessee, NE, Miami, Baltimore, and Cincy all look like they could be in play late into the season. That's 10 teams and 6 spots. Might possibly take 11+ to get in this year, and tie breakers will be extremely important regardless.

 

He's not going anywhere with Jared Allen an FA at the end of the year.

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

 

Called It:

 

- Uhhh... nothing? I am completely shocked with pretty much every aspect of this team. We suck.

 

Surprising:

 

- The Offense: Never was expecting the offense to be as bad as it is. Bad execution, drive-killing penalties, drops, bad QB play, awful playcalling. This offense is garbage. The scheme sucks and is wasting all of the talent on offense. While the offense has been playing like dogshit, the defense has been playing great and has played more than well enough for us to win in 3 out of 4 games.

 

- The Defense: That last sentence leads me to the defense. These guys have been great. I was more worried about our defense than I was with our offense this year, but it has been the exact opposite way. We're actually getting pressure on the QB this year and our new secondary looks very good. It's a shame the defense's play is going to waste because of how bad the offense is.

 

- Coaching: I liked Schiano coming into this season, but now I want him fired. This guy sucks. He's a gap toothed control freak that is ruining this team because of his stubborness. I thought Schiano was going to adjust this year, but he just hasn't. He's handled the whole Freeman situation awfully and has turned a very talented team into the laughing stock of the league. Being 0-4 right now with all of this talent is completely inexcusable.

 

- Josh Freeman: Thought with a full year under Sully's offense, all of the weapons on the offense and an improved defense, Josh would have a breakout year and prove to everyone he is our franchise guy. Unfortunately, he played like shit, and now we are hoping to tank for a new QB. Before the season, I thought Freeman would definitely get the entire year to play, but even I wanted him to get pulled after the Patriots game.

 

I'd like to see:

 

Adjustments: Easily my biggest complaint. Schiano needs to make adjustments and start playing to his players strengths. The offense is sucking and the scheme has a lot to do with it. He needs to change it up or we won't be winning anything this year.

 

Less penalties: I think we're second in the league in penalties. This can't continue. This is on Schiano too. Goldson needs to stop leading with the head, I feel like he's had at least one 15 yarder in every game.

 

Better play from the offense: Less drops, less penalties, better QB play, better blocking, etc. Everything needs to improve, including the scheme and playcalling.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

 

Called It

• Defense still sucks.
• Vick is still not awesome.

Surprising

• DeSean Jackson. It's amazing what proper coaching can do to maximize player talents.
• LeSean McCoy. We all knew he was good, but not this good. Again, great coaching gets the most out of great players.
• Our upgrades on defense have been...wait, we upgraded on defense? We did? Because I don't see it.

 

I'd Like to See...

• General progress as far as discipline and execution.
• Better play from our safeties, if possible. We're in a rebuilding stage, so it's tough.

[KempBolt 498]

 

Four games in, and we're only just beginning to figure out who's who in 2013. I think the quarter marks are a good time to take a look at what your team has done and see what's surprising, what you were right about, what has been good, and what has been bad. So here it goes.

 

 

Called It:

• Rivers' Resurgence: I expected him to return to form with slight improvements around him and a much more adaptive offensive philosophy. I didn't expect him to be quite this good, but I figured he would be much better than what we saw in 2012.
• Freeney's Pass Rush: This is much less gratifying now that he's on IR, but Freeney was a top 10 pass rusher in this league while it lasted. He had an especially great game against All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown. Shame.

Surprising:

• Front 3: I definitely thought the defense would perform better than this. The secondary struggles are to be expected as they learn to gel as a group, but I thought the defensive line would be a lot more impactful than they have been so far. They flashed some good production against Dallas, so hopefully the switch is in the process of being flipped.
• Receivers: Our pass catchers have been somewhat surprising. It's totally predictable that Floyd and Alexander would get hurt, but it's rather shocking to see guys like Eddie Royal and Keenan Allen having big games. I'm also a little surprised at how quiet Vincent Brown has been.
• D.J. Fluker: He's still trying to find his stride in the running game, but his pass protection has been much better than I expected. Seems he has one bad play a game in protection, and other than that he keeps his man quiet. This was exactly the opposite of what most predicted. Hopefully he keeps it up as his run blocking improves.

I'd Like to See...:

• More Pressure: Liuget, Reyes, and Thomas are capable of much more than what they've shown. They are natural one-gap penetrators, so perhaps now that Freeney is out they will be allowed to just cut loose and make plays. Seemed that Pagano was asking them to do a lot more block eating when Dwight was in, just to free him up. That's not what they're skilled at.
• Less Injuries: Enough already. Ingram, Freeney, Floyd, and Alexander all out for the season or most of it. I still think we can make a push for a WC berth, but we won't be able to absorb too much more of this. If we're fortunate, we'll be in position to make a push late in the year and Ingram will be able to return and help the effort.
• Running: Run blocking requires more synchonization than pass protection. So I'm not surprised that we're behind in that phase. But I'd like to see continued improvement, especially from Fluker. More running success will only help Rivers' comeback season along.
• Trade?: As long as we make it through the next three weeks with at least two wins (we should... OAK and JAX are 2 of the 3), I wouldn't mind seeing Telesco make a deal to suppliment the pass rush. Everson Griffen would be my choice. But only if the price is right.

Prediction:

 

Sticking with my preseason call of 10-6. I can only hope that it will be enough for the WC if we indeed achieve it. Beside us-- Denver, KC, Indy, Houston, Tennessee, NE, Miami, Baltimore, and Cincy all look like they could be in play late into the season. That's 10 teams and 6 spots. Might possibly take 11+ to get in this year, and tie breakers will be extremely important regardless.

 

He's not going anywhere with Jared Allen an FA at the end of the year.

 

 

Griffen is also a FA at the end of the season. If he hasn't been receptive to an extension in Minny, they may move him.

[theMileHighGuy 656]

 

Called it:

• Julius Thomas is a beast.
• Rahim Moore rebounded quite nicely from the playoff loss.
• Knowshon Moreno is the best back.

Surprised:

• Danny Trevathan has come out of no where as a sideline to sideline tackling machine who can cover.
• Montee Ball sucks so far.
• Duke Ihenacho another UDFA coming out of nowhere, leading the defense in tackles.
• Defense has been fine without Von, Champ, and Doom.

Want to see:

• More aggressive playcalling. Still occasionally falling into Foxball when we get up by two scores. Need more foot on the throat.
• Commitment to balance. It's easy to get sucked into passing all day with all the weapons, but I want to Moreno and Hillman toting the rock going forward. It gets the o-line going and forces defenses to account for yet another attack. They also have to get Ball going if he can hang onto the damn ball... he has been a huge disappointment.
• Play for 19. I doubt it will happen but if we get through Dallas (trap game) and NE I won't write off 16-0. If we get into week 13-14 and are still undefeated, I don't want to sit starters and get rusty going into the playoffs. Go for legendary status. Of course, once you're 16-0, the only logical next step is 19-0. I think they'll drop one before then, but if you get in that position, you've gotta go for it.

[oochymp 2,393]

Called it

Jake Locker's improvement: I said coming into the season that he's shown plenty of promise and just looked like a young QB, the only reason he hasn't gotten much attention is the number of guys who have been spectacular early in their careers, Locker has turned the flashes we've seen the last two years into the norm, the mistakes are still there, but they've become the exceptions

 

Secondary improvement: more on this later, but I've been saying all offseason that our secondary is not as bad as it looked last year largely due to deficiencies at the second safety spot, with the additions of Pollard and Wilson I knew the secondary would have a resurgence, and they have

 

Wide receivers: I don't know why there was talk of dealing Nate Washington in the offseason, I knew that was silly and so far he's proven why, this is easily the best receiving corps we've had in Tennessee even with Britt's question marks

 

Surprises

The running game: I struggled with whether to say this or the oline, but I think there's blame to go around, the biggest issue is the interior of our oline hasn't improved as much as expected, we put a lot into it this offseason between signing one of the best guards available to signing some quality vets to using the #10 pick on a guard, this unit should be better, at this point the center is still a question mark but I think the biggest issue has just been gelling, when you add three new starters to a five man oline there are going to be some growing pains, I'm hoping that's all it is, CJ hasn't done well, it looks like he's trying to shift into taking what's there (as opposed to his usual strategy of looking for a homerun at every opportunity) but there's just not much there, I also expected more out of Shonn Greene but he provided a mediocre partial game before getting injured, though Jackie Battle has basically provided what I was expecting from Greene, so that's kinda a wash (but two surprises)

 

Cornerbacks: I've been a huge fan of Alterraun Verner since we drafted him (if only because of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DGO01HBs_Y) but he has turned into a much better corner than even I anticipated, and I think we all (at least among Titans fans) knew McCourty was good, but he's been great this year, both have been asked to do more man coverage, which seems to be a strength for both, so maybe the credit here goes to Gregg Williams for the schematic shifts he brought in

 

Turnovers: we're one of two teams in the Super Bowl era to make it through four games without a turnover, anyone who says they saw that coming is lying, some of that is a matter of not asking too much of the QB, some of it is good decision making, a lot of it is luck, either way it's a huge part of our early success, and our defense is forcing them in huge numbers, a lot of that is Verner who has four interceptions and two fumble recoveries

 

I'd like to see

hard to say, I think 3-1 is the most optimistic projection you could get for the Titans at this point, obviously I'm hoping we can maintain momentum through Locker's injury, at least not do too much damage, if our defense keeps up I think we can stay above .500 with Fitzpatrick at QB, then with Locker back for the stretch run we should be able to push for a playoff spot

 

Give Alterraun Verner an extension, I really want to get his jersey, but I won't do that in a contract year, the guy has amazing instincts, if he's anywhere near the ball he will get it

 

Prediction

If the playoffs started today (yeah, after four weeks, whatever) we'd miss out on tiebreakers (Indy's got us by divisional record, KC (or Denver) has one WC and Miami has us for the other by conference record) since the playoffs don't start today: we're headed into a tough stretch, facing KC, @ Seattle, and San Francisco before our bye, so without Locker I'll feel good if we go into our week 8 bye any better than 3-4, get Locker back at the bye and our schedule gets a lot easier, so even though before the season I said 9-7 was an optimistic prediction, I now think that's entirely reasonable, the toughest games we have after the bye are @ Denver (go ahead and call that a loss) two games against Indy (best case, we split) and hosting Houston (who knows what Houston's got at this point, and it's so far way, we'll see) in the last week of the season, the other five are two games against Jacksonville, Arizona, @ Oakland, and @ St. Louis, so if we win the games we should win (counting the next three as games we shouldn't win) and grab one of the borderline games, we'll hit 9-7, take one more and we're at 10 wins, which should be a playoff spot (sorry 2008 Patriots) we should be in the playoff conversation in December, which is great for this team

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Called It:

Stafford Improvement: He had a semi off game last week but he's been stellar thus far.

Team Bouncing back: Its still early in the season, but I expected a better season the one we had last year (everyone pretty much expected a better season). We've been winning despite shooting ourselves in the foot, which is vintage Lions, but I'll take it.

Suh being Suh: People can say what they want about his physicality or him being "dirty", but despite still garnering the majority of the attention defensively, he's played amazing so far.

Surprising:

Reggie Bush: I know how much of a difference a HB who can catch out of the backfield and play well in space can make for a Scott Linehan offense. But I never expected Bush to be that because I thought he was way past his prime. Turns out he's still got a lot in his tank. But his health is still a heavy concern.

 

Defense: Despite our improvements on the defensive line, they aren't playing as well as I thought they would together. Obviously Suh's been great, and Ansah's been great (for a "raw" rookie) but outside of that, its been OK at best. We had the dominant perfomance against the Bears, but even that was mostly Suh.

I'd Like to See...:

More Pressure: Defensively they should be getting to the QB more.

Less Pettigrew: The man sucks.

Running: Keeping the offense as balanced as possible FTW.

WRs: SOMEBODY needs to step up. ANYBODY.

Prediction:

Still think we are either a 9-7 or 10 win team. Ask me again after this weekend and I may think we are better if we win, but the team has perfomed about as well as I figured they would. No real surprises.

Edited October 5, 2013 by DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F

[badgers 380]

I know it's week 5, but this was the Packers fourth game so I posted it.

Called It:

• Improved Defense: Aside from week 1, our defense really hasn't had a bad showing. And our offense is the reason we're 2-2 and not 3-1.
  

Surprising:

• Run D: I didn't expect our run defense to be this stifling. This is nice.
  
• Run Game: Nearly 3 straight 100 yard games (Lacy got 99). I wish they would become more of a focal point of our offense instead of an afterthought.
  
• The lack of hair: A few players cut their hair this year.
  

I'd Like to See...:

• More running: We have good running backs now, it's time to use them.
  
• Less Injuries: Copied this from you Kemp. We're been getting spanked by injuries. Luckily, only a few of them have been devastating so far.
  
• Better blocking: They didn't do too bad against Detroit, but I'm not holding out hope for that to continue.
  

Prediction:

One and done in the playoffs.... however... If we get Eddie Lacy going and keep him going, this could change. I think that our success in the playoffs will depend entirely on keeping the ball on the ground and in our hands. Yeah, we got Rodgers. But the more we run the ball, the more rest our defense gets and the less time the ball is in the other team's hands to score. Our defense isn't elite, yet, and I think it'd be best to take an approach against elite teams where we keep their offense off the field. Instead of relying on us to win the game purely on talent. Record of 10-6, idk whether we get WC or win division, probably win division cuz I don't think the Bears will go to the playoffs. Choke .

Edited October 7, 2013 by badgers