has anyone noticed that when mario has put a pressure on the QB another texan swoops in for the sack a second ahead of him. I can recall three instances off the top of my head. for instance the helmet to helmet penalty was a result of barwin taking down the QB right as mario was about to give him a flying bear paw... I think I am starting to favor the idea of keeping mario. if he is our weak link for the pass rush that means we are doing something right...
I'd like to chime in on the Mario thing as well...Not sure what game The Real Shady was watching. Mario has definitely had incremental improvements with each game. The stat sheet is a completely pointless tool to use. Mario is quicker of the snaps and he just looks more and more comfortable rushing the passer. He even jumped over a RB trying to cut him...I recall that happened during the first game of the preseason and Mario's reaction to that was terrible at the time. Definitely happy to see his progress and like it was just posted, if Mario is the area of the pass rush that is weak, then I'll take that every day of the week. I love our front 7...they look like a bunch of rabies infested beasts.
Mario looked a lot more active this game. As someone mentioned during the game, he seemed to be starting from a lower point of attack. He had some good moves and seems to be settling in. San Fran's offensive line doesn't suck. It's their skill positions that suck.
They brought Mario down to the line more, like a DE. We'll probably see that more often. He was much quicker off the snap that way.
the helmet to helmet pressure where he leap-frogged the RB was from a standing position. very encouraging
mario looked okay. i thought it was funny, rhester mentioned mario's long legs in the first preseason game thread as a hinderance. in the pre game, he said he's having problems getting out of his stance quickly. on the game overall, like people told me to calm down in my tate/foster thread because of the opponent, well frisco's offense truly sucks. the second stringer qb was totally overwhelmed against the texans first team and alex smith still sucks. dude was a number one pick
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And Ryans is yet to be back!!! (drooling smiley) Everybody knows how important that leadership from the middle linebacker is. I laugh at those that think Peppers made the chicago a great d last year, when history has shown that as urlacher goes that bear defense goes. The run defense will improve when Demeco returns and Mario will continue to be mario, a great player that does cause havoc no matter his haters say. Once the regular season begins he will be probably be standing up less than half the snaps. However, if someone offers you 2 first rounders, you do that trade, this is the nfl. =) Can't wait til sept 8th!
I was gonna post this myself. Mario Was very close to having about 4 sacks on his own last night, another texan just happened to get there first
I agree that Antonio Smith has been the most pleasant surprise..I knew we could turn things around on defense from the beginning, I just didn't think Antonio would be such a highlight thus far. . .
quoted again for the pure ridiculousness. As mentioned before, Mario actually looked the best he has all season.He got good pressure on passes and really did a great job on run holding up onthe run defense. Antonio Smith is always targeted for his high contract and i find it laughable when people called for him being cut, but he is a good player and has been the most consistent on the D line. He is also a good vocal leader.
Antonio made a comment (don't remember where I saw so no link... hope/don't think it was on the board though) that when the defensive players walk off the field now they are getting pulled aside and talked to the way we have always seen Kubiak pull over the quarterbacks to review what they did right/wrong. This was something that apparently wasn't happening with the rookie defensive coordinators at all on the defensive side of the ball. I'm glad to hear it, but I also find it fairly depressing that for five years the defense really hasn't been coached at all. It's why Wade is claiming that he is finding more talent on the roster than expected. Hopefully we'll see more out of a lot of the players that had been on the roster prior to Wade's arrival.
I have a feeling Mario is going to be franchised next year and traded for a 1st and 3rd, which, from what I've seen from Reed, Barwin, Watt, and Smith, would be a great risk to take.
No way Peyton suits up week one. Not with their Oline and how often our D got to the QB this preseason. The record may be important to Peyton, but not as important as his long term health. Besides, if the Colts keep him inactive, he can't play no matter how many records he has a chance to break. If most, he plays for one drive then sits, but even that's really risky.
There was never any surprise with Smith. Last year he consistently blew up the offensive line. He dominates single coverage. He makes plays. And thats why last year and so far this preseason, he has been our best defensive player.
Its good to see that most of you watched the game and didn't take your thoughts straight from the stat sheet. Mario seemed to always be around the QB when those pressure plays were made. Assuming he gets more comfortable at that spot, he could have big games. What did he play yesterday? A half?
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