Mario Williams has 10.5 sacks this season...A combo of him and Watt... Im so disappointed in Barwin...and Reed, for that matter. Both have seriously underwhelmed this season. I didnt think I'd miss Mario when he left, but with each passing game, it's clear how big of a hole we have at OLB.
Rick Smith said last week the college scouts are already out there looking for rookies. I bet this is already on his radar.
11-2, we lost to the best NFL teams in 2011 season in GB (15 wins) and NE (13 wins). I rather lose to them than lose to Chiefs, Browns, Jags and Raiders. We still can fix our running game and definitely fix our defense, we still have time to change for the better. We did not lose in the postseason.
tom brady did an awesome job beating the right guard and center combo block to keep schaub throwing flat footed all night. what still ticks me off, and it's like watching batum drop 50 on us only for him to score 14 against charlotte, is the way the Patriots D were blitzing and getting to the target almost every time. If that patriots d played like that every game, then I'd side with our own trolls..patriots would go 19-0 and nobody would have a chance.
I think I've managed to build a mental wall surrounding this game. I'm not dwelling on it nearly the way I did Cushing's injury or the GB loss. 1) this wasn't the blindside hit that Green Bay was (2-3 at the time) 2) away game 3) I'm actively trying to convince myself that Kubiak and Wade wanted this game, but intentionally decided to limit themselves to our general offensive and defensive schemes. Avoid particular game planning for the Patriots. Give them our best, but keep it standard. Hold off on the chess moves until January. I'm having to do that to keep sane. Because lord help us if Wade seriously thought leaving James or Sharpton in man coverage on Hernandez was sensible. If he thought Kareem Jackson could stay with Welker out of multiple breaks. The pass rush simply isn't going to pay major dividends against the Pats. Their entire passing scheme is designed to negate a pass rush and break down secondaries in less than 3 seconds. You're much better off employing a dense zone against them (10-20 yards) with a safety deep. Bend but don't break. You can't get away with off man or a soft zone against this team. Offense...I'll just say I can't wait for Newton to come back. Gardner and Harris simply aren't ready yet. There's something to be said for coaches sticking solidly with their system - you have to believe in it and can't abandon it at the first sign of trouble. But you also can't be so married to it that you can't adjust when someone busts it wide open. In the regular season, fine, take 80% of your games and you've got 13 wins. But in the playoffs? Only the best remain, and you better be able to add something special to the mix. My worry is, Wade Phillips historically has not shown that he'll make significant adjustments to his scheme against top opponents. That's been one reason he's come up short in the postseason.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I've been trying to convince myself of this as well. Why let the cat out of the bag scheme-wise when were weren't likely to win anyway? Bye week will be critical for game planning against Brady/Manning
I've been wondering this too. It's been shown to be the case in the past, that sometimes teams will gameplan slightly more vanilla in the regular season against likely playoff foes. Still, vanilla as it might have been, the execution, which is totally out of the hands of the coaches, was horribad.
I haven't listened to any sports radio since Monday night. And apart from this site, I've stayed away from sports websites that might have reaction to the game.
And this is why I am not worried about seeing them again in the playoffs. A flavorful gameplan +At home +Players executing +Nobody in the media giving the Texans a chance Texans Domination
i can see that from an offensive stance. I mean after Mayo came clean for the eighth time, busting the 1/2 line slide protection, usually we run a boot but nada, no adjusting. Schaub was a sitting duck, like brady just a week prior against miami's front 7. On defense, We really have serious issues. Fantasy dorks want to make it a " we can't beat elite qbs" dilemma but it's a deeper problem. 3 of the past 4 qbs we faced have looked like 1994 steve young. Crap, Rusty Smith might sneak in a 400 yard performance on us right now. Plenty of time to get healthy and cure those defensive woes.
