"We didn't play well/get the job done. You can't turn the ball over. We have to play better." About what John Madden would tell you.
The elephant in the room was Kizer. He was terribly inaccurate (and admitted it). The Ravens covered quite well, but as he said, a good quarterback can get the ball into tight windows.
Terry Pluto wants to focus on the receivers. It wasn't the receivers! Until Hogan had his brain-fart, he moved this team up and down the field. He played better than Kizer, and might have pulled the game out.
And they couldn't run again (Duke was better than Crow). And the defense caved in.
As usual, people are hallucinating about things, like the amount of time Flacco had. Flacco was decisive, and got rid of the ball quickly. There was usually good pressure on him. Stop piling on.
Higgins was terrific, substantially because he can leap, dive, and reach back to salvage inaccurate throws. He was impressive, and needs to start. Good for him!
Coleman broke his hand heroicly trying to catch another inaccurate pass...jeez what the hell Kizer?
He looked like a promising rookie vs the Steelers, but he was just terrible in week two!
Hue remains confident that he'll take this in stride and continue to develop. We can only hope. But uhh...I liked Hogan better shhh!
Well it's the Colts next week, and they're not the Steelers or Ravens. The talent and the coaching are here. They stunk the joint up in this one, but it's still very, very early, and Kizer is still very raw, and starting because he had to.
The Ravens defense surprised nobody, but Flacco stunned me, and that offense deserves credit as well. If Flacco goes down, they'll be in trouble, though. Unlike Kizer, he was exceptionally quick and accurate, except for that one dumb throw.
Now, I'm still getting "message could not be delivered" from Hue Jackson, but I have recommended that if Kizer stinks the joint up again like that, he should get another migraine and not return next time.
Kevin Hogan is a second year player, familiar with this offense and these receivers, with more experience in college as well as the pros. Don't go digging your heels in, Hue. You said you wanted to win.
Kizer will still be here, and a short vacation might be just what the Doctor ordered.
...of course he might be just fine next week, in which case nevermind.
And the defense will be fine. Coaching and talent.
Just read some comments. Corey Coleman doesn't suck. What the hell is the matter with you?
Coleman breaking his hand for the second year in a row is disturbing, but unless he has osteoschlerosis doesn't mean he's fragile (although he might be).
Kenny Britt? Yeah ya got me on that one. This time he didn't drop anything, but that pushoff was really obvious (and unneccessary). There's your vedderrunn wide receiver (Terry with respect shut up with that please).
Higgins is inexperienced, but he got open and caught the ball, ok? See? See?
Apparently Collins was playing concussed (don't bash the coaches it's seldom obvious). Odds are they go to Indi minus Collins, as well as Coleman.
The recent free agents signed have been here for a couple weeks now, and one should replace Coleman. Higgins or another should replace
As I've said it's not that urgent, as Duke can return to the slot and the two tight end sets are prevalent.
How they'll handle the Collins absence is more complicated. Gregg Williams might "check down" to a 4-2 with an extra strong safety, or might give Burgess more opportunities. Collins is different from the rest of these guys.
There's always a silver lining when starters miss time. Younger players get more reps, and as a result overall depth improves.
They also might re-sign Jordan Leslie, and give him the same opportunity they gave Higgins...nah!
2017 is, afterall, a developmental season. We hope that by the last few games of 2017, DeShone Kizer will be getting rid of the damn ball and throwing accurate passes, for example.
Guys like Njoku are like that too.
Live and learn.
THIS JUST IN:
Peter Smith just blistered Hue Jackson's playcalling. I disagree (somewhat), but always link Peter's articles, because even when he's wrong, he makes good points.
Peter's main issue is that Hue has not actually run a balanced offense since he's been here. This season, he's passing about twice as often as he runs.
That is irrefutably very bad, especially for a raw rookie quarterback.
But the fact is that the running game was not working, and as a result of that, Kizer kept finding himself in second and third and longs.
Early vs the Ravens, Hue did keep hammering the run, then put Duke Johnson in instead of Crowell. There were a few signs of "Infantyization"; using dumpoffs--these are backfield passes, and in effect run plays.
As the team fell behind, and the run still didn't work, Hue resumed passing more again.
Vs Pittsburgh, Bitonio talked about the mostly new line not being integrated yet, and failing to pick up stunts. I assume the Ravens pulled the same stuff, and also that Tretter was driven back by the Ravens version of Danny Shelton.
Pete says the offensive line will turn on Hue. That doesn't make sense. They are not getting the job done, and they know it. Hue had to pass, and they know why. These guys don't blame other people when they fail to execute!
Peter also talked about Crowell being hesitant. Well, Laveon Belle is hesitant. Even so, that wasn't accurate. He didn't have anywhere to go! Jeez the guy can't win! Last season, people knocked him for his lack of vision because he slammed into the line head-first when he had nowhere to go!
Peter does make sense when he talks about certain situations, such as inside the five yard line with downs to burn. Hue should have run it. But having Kizer peel out on an option pass there is playing to that quarterback's strengths.
Yes, the Browns need to put on their big boy pants and start knocking people around, but when it doesn't work, it doesn't work!
The offensive linemen (and tight ends) are the guys who need to get this thing fixed--not Hue Jackson. The Browns will run the ball when they CAN run the ball.
Peter is right that until they do present a serious and consistent running game, DeShone Kizer will keep getting hammered, and isn't learning a damn thing.
...of course, there's always Hogan...
No comments:
Post a Comment