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- Mar 31, 2014
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- Steve
Some guy wrote on another board (paraphrased): we have the same players on offense! We will still really suck. Yes, he is right about the players, however, our offense has a chance to inch up a bit, and control the ball, and maybe put up 6 point more per game, and gives us a chance for 3-4 more wins. Read on at your emotional peril:
Here is the 2016 O compared to last year:
1. Brown, Wichmann and GRob will be much better.
2. Barnes and Saffold (because of surgery) a little bit better. Barnes looks pretty now, right?
3. Kendricks looks natural catching the ball for the first time, and he looks lighter and faster.
Higbee at some point will be making catches that Cook wouldn't or couldn't.
4. Austin should be able to run better routes, and a few deeper routes a game.
5. Gurley and Cunningham are faster and lighter than last year; and Gurley will be 'integrated' in to the passing game, and can catch some key swing passes to convert 1st downs ala Cappeletti, McCutcheon and Dickerson in they hey-day...no, he isn't Faulk yet
6. Britt the same, but with better sharper patterns.
I think the coaching is a a bit better going in to this season. The WRs look smarter IN THEIR short routes. If you watch last season we threw plenty of deeper routes. But, on 3rd down, when we needed 7-12 yards we never threw the dig/crossing routes or deep come backs. I suspect the same this year. However, We will not have games like this exhibition season where we only threw 3-8 yard outs (comical---or does fisher really believe that will work over 16 games). That was for show.
If you watch the 2015 Green Bay game, that was typical of our offensive season. We had many chances, and a few missed field goals, and a bad throw returned for a TD. Really, Foles lost that game. Though Foles threw some nice 'clean' deep balls that Case won't, he really handicapped the offense I think. I don't know if we would have won that game, but we would have been tied in the 4th quarter if Foles manages the game better. Our O line looked pitiful, too.....I think those days are mostly gone...mostly. We still don't have great pass blocking (I am not high).
So, maybe we will be 22nd in offense this year, but if we control the ball like we did against KC's first team D (though they missed 2 probowlers) we can be like the 99-2002 Titans who kept finding ways to win.
Going back to the Fisher's Titans and 'ballers':
Fisher won by guys making 1-2 plays in the late 3rd and 4th quarters. A lot of times they looked 'lucky' but Wycheck or Mason would make some key plays on McNairs toss ups....I think Fisher really, really missed those tow guys. We have the Power O line and Gurley, but we need guys to 'ball"---like Spruce. Cooper, Spruce, Higbee are ballers. I don't think they will contribute so much the first 4-5 games, but by midseason they will make plays.
When Fisher last made a playoff run (13-3 in 2008 ) he has a) a huge O line, b) fast Christ Johnson
and c) Kerry Collins who could consistently make accurate passes from a clean pocket. Well, we have the first 2 parts, and Goff is the answer for the 3rd part....but, we may have to wait 8-17 games for that (2017).
Kerry Collins was NEVER a smart QB, but he was big, durable and sometimes was pretty damn accurate when he wasn't mentally flustered. Case doesn't have the arm, or the WRs we will have eventually, but he has enough to get us some 17-13 and 19-17 and 23-20 victories.
Put this years offense into last years games against the Ravens, SF (#2), Green bay, Steelers and the Vikings and those 5 LOSSES could become 3-4 wins. That puts us at 10-11 wins. SOUNDS crazy right, but that is how Fisher rolled for 15 years in this league, and he ain't stoppin'. This is 1970s ball.
If each of Cooper, Higbee and Spruce make 5-8 key catches this year for first downs then those drives will be converted into FGs or TDs. Last year we didn't have that (duh). They are ballers who are much beter thinkers than Britt/Quick. When you have an O line like we do you wear people down. That is how Dickerson and the Rams went to the playoffs form 1983 to 1986. It worked then, and it will work now.
Here is the 2016 O compared to last year:
1. Brown, Wichmann and GRob will be much better.
2. Barnes and Saffold (because of surgery) a little bit better. Barnes looks pretty now, right?
3. Kendricks looks natural catching the ball for the first time, and he looks lighter and faster.
Higbee at some point will be making catches that Cook wouldn't or couldn't.
4. Austin should be able to run better routes, and a few deeper routes a game.
5. Gurley and Cunningham are faster and lighter than last year; and Gurley will be 'integrated' in to the passing game, and can catch some key swing passes to convert 1st downs ala Cappeletti, McCutcheon and Dickerson in they hey-day...no, he isn't Faulk yet
6. Britt the same, but with better sharper patterns.
I think the coaching is a a bit better going in to this season. The WRs look smarter IN THEIR short routes. If you watch last season we threw plenty of deeper routes. But, on 3rd down, when we needed 7-12 yards we never threw the dig/crossing routes or deep come backs. I suspect the same this year. However, We will not have games like this exhibition season where we only threw 3-8 yard outs (comical---or does fisher really believe that will work over 16 games). That was for show.
If you watch the 2015 Green Bay game, that was typical of our offensive season. We had many chances, and a few missed field goals, and a bad throw returned for a TD. Really, Foles lost that game. Though Foles threw some nice 'clean' deep balls that Case won't, he really handicapped the offense I think. I don't know if we would have won that game, but we would have been tied in the 4th quarter if Foles manages the game better. Our O line looked pitiful, too.....I think those days are mostly gone...mostly. We still don't have great pass blocking (I am not high).
So, maybe we will be 22nd in offense this year, but if we control the ball like we did against KC's first team D (though they missed 2 probowlers) we can be like the 99-2002 Titans who kept finding ways to win.
Going back to the Fisher's Titans and 'ballers':
Fisher won by guys making 1-2 plays in the late 3rd and 4th quarters. A lot of times they looked 'lucky' but Wycheck or Mason would make some key plays on McNairs toss ups....I think Fisher really, really missed those tow guys. We have the Power O line and Gurley, but we need guys to 'ball"---like Spruce. Cooper, Spruce, Higbee are ballers. I don't think they will contribute so much the first 4-5 games, but by midseason they will make plays.
When Fisher last made a playoff run (13-3 in 2008 ) he has a) a huge O line, b) fast Christ Johnson
and c) Kerry Collins who could consistently make accurate passes from a clean pocket. Well, we have the first 2 parts, and Goff is the answer for the 3rd part....but, we may have to wait 8-17 games for that (2017).
Kerry Collins was NEVER a smart QB, but he was big, durable and sometimes was pretty damn accurate when he wasn't mentally flustered. Case doesn't have the arm, or the WRs we will have eventually, but he has enough to get us some 17-13 and 19-17 and 23-20 victories.
Put this years offense into last years games against the Ravens, SF (#2), Green bay, Steelers and the Vikings and those 5 LOSSES could become 3-4 wins. That puts us at 10-11 wins. SOUNDS crazy right, but that is how Fisher rolled for 15 years in this league, and he ain't stoppin'. This is 1970s ball.
If each of Cooper, Higbee and Spruce make 5-8 key catches this year for first downs then those drives will be converted into FGs or TDs. Last year we didn't have that (duh). They are ballers who are much beter thinkers than Britt/Quick. When you have an O line like we do you wear people down. That is how Dickerson and the Rams went to the playoffs form 1983 to 1986. It worked then, and it will work now.
