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BwareDWare94

Praise Your Team/Rip Your Team

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Use this thread to give praise where it's due, criticism where it's needed.

 

Praise for the Minnesota Vikings:

1. I'd like to give a shout out to Rick Speilman for being a draft mastermind over the past two seasons, securing three first round picks last year and two first round picks this past season. 3 out of 5 of these picks have already turned into good players with sure signs of greatness. Rhodes and Barr have been fantastic, so far, and Floyd is well on his way to being a very good DT. Brdigewater and Patterson have shown flashes, and I expect them to turn out, and not too far down the road at that.

 

2. Props to Mike Zimmer for turning this defense into a very solid, very competitive unit.

 

Criticism for the Minnesota Vikings:

1. How on god's green earth is this offensive line so goddamn bad? It makes no fucking sense, under any circumstances, in any scenario, in any dimension of thought. John Sullivan, Matt Kalil, and Phil Loadholdt have all been absolutely dominant players at certain points during their careers. How the hell have all 3 just fallen off of a fucking cliff? I know Charlie Johnson is bad. I know Vladamir Ducasse is a second stringer, but how do all 5 just get manhandled on a regular basis.

 

2. Why the fuck can't this team go one game without a stupid, unnecessary special teams penalty, more often that not penalties? What is so goddamn hard about not holding on a punt return? Or not committing a block in the back? Where's the difficulty here? These are black and white rules. Don't do either. Why can't this team figure that much out?

 

3. Fuck you, Greg Jennings. If I could cut you right this instant, I would, and if I could freeze you in a time warp where you repeatedly get drilled by Toby Gerhart in that play from the first Green Bay game last year, I would. You are a completely fucking useless diva whose career I hope is completely over unless there's an immediate change in attitude.

 

4. Brian Robison and Everson Griffin have no excuses to not have a few sacks, at this point. Both of them can take a flying leap if they don't have at least 6 sacks apiece by the end of the year, and one of them better approach double digits. This shit is unacceptable.

Edited by BwareDWare94

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:Chargers:

 

Praise:

  • Phil & Co. are absolutely on fire. He's the MVP so far unless they decide to recognize Watt's brilliance. He's 3rd in total yards, 1st in YPA, 1st in completion %, 2nd in TD, 1st in passer rating, 3rd in INT, he has a 7.5% TD rate, and a 1% INT rate (compare to Luck's 6.5% and 2.7% respectively). His rushing support is 24th in yardage and 32nd in YPC. He's been missing his RG all season, and has played with 4 different centers. 11 different players have caught passes from him.
  • The secondary is a bright sunshiny day compared to last year's dark night. Brandon Flowers has been one of the best corners in the league right out of the gate, and Verrett is in the DROY conversation. Shareece Wright is much improved, and fits way better as a 3rd corner than a #1. Eric Weddle continues to be his reliably awesome self. Their depth is solid. And as a group they mitigate weaknesses at the SS spot.
  • The next man up mentality has really worked out for this team so far. Nick Hardwick, Jeromey Clary, Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead, Donald Brown, Melvin Ingram, Manti Te'o, Shareece Wright, and Brandon Flowers are all hurt at the moment. Several others have missed games this year and are now back. Several others are playing hurt. Guys like Rich Ohrnberger, Branden Oliver, Jerry Attaochu, Andrew Gachkar, Ricardo Mathews, Chris Davis, and Richard Marshall have really stepped up to keep this train going.

Rippage:

  • The offensive line has been just good enough, but has taken a step back in year two as a group. Injuries have exacerbated the issue but some starters have played poorly as well. Chad Rinehart has disappointed me at LG, and while Fluker has been good in pass pro his run blocking hasn't come along like I had hoped. He's undisciplined. Combined with injuries to our backs, they're really to blame for the terrible rushing efficiency. And Rivers has escaped/dealt with a ton of pressure this season to play as well as he has.
  • Our front seven is still vulnerable to the run if we aren't playing with a lead. Kendall Reyes has disappointed after an exciting rookie season. Donald Butler has looked bad this year after a big pay day. And in general, we don't have a big presence to man the nose and clog things up if we need too. It rarely comes up, as we have had a lead for most of the season, but you could see it rearing its head in our close win over the Raiders on Sunday.

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Praise:

 

1. Aaron Rodgers has been playing quite well and seems to be flying under the radar as other QBs are getting the media's attention. He didn't trust the new receivers at first but him and Adams have established a nice connection. Having only interception through 6 games shows his mentality when it comes to protecting the ball.

 

2. Jordy Nelson is proving that he is a top 5 WR. He is one of the most dependable receivers in the league and constantly comes up with a clutch reception when we need him the most. He can go up and make ridiculous catches even if that means leaving his body vulnerable to a big hit.

 

3. HaHa Clinton-Dix is living up to the hype. He was my favorite pick, even with the doubts surrounding him and how Bama players have not lived up to the hype. He has really come on the past few weeks and is already our best tackler and his coverage skills are improving. Also amazes me how with a good safety partner, Burnett has started playing a lot better. Watching Clinton-Dix, his playstyle and potential remind me of LeRoy Butler.

 

Rip:

1. The O-line has been lacking with both pass pro and run blocking. We have faced some great D-lines but we cannot be considered a contender if we get dominated in the trenches. The run blocking has been very hit or miss this season with big holes being opened for Lacy/Starks at times and at others there is wall and nowhere to go.

 

2. Eddy Lacy has been subpar this season. His vision seems to be lacking as he is constantly just trying to bull his way into a wall which does not work. At times, he seems to have happy feet and just starts "dancing" instead of running with purpose.

 

3. The offensive playcalling has been very inconsistent and worrisome. McCarthy is a great offensive mind but I feel like he outsmarts himself quite often which usually leads to the offense stalling. We will be moving the ball with ease and then stall due to some poor playcalling in my opinion. Nelson has been destroying CBs with the comeback route or the outside post route, yet we will just go away from those routes at times. Throughout the offseason, there was a bunch of talk about getting the RBs involved in the passing game, I have yet to see a screen or anything. When facing a great d-line with premier DEs, like the Dolphins, a screen would help a lot. Was one called? Nope. The lack of using Kuhn to block for Lacy is weird in my opinion, hardly ever see him in and when he has been in, he has been getting the ball. Against the Dolphins, we faced a few 3rd and shorts and tried running it right up the gut which never worked, instead of throwing a quick pass to Nelson and letting him break a tackle for a 1st down against CBs that had been struggling to tackle our receivers all game. How times do we have to see the sweep with Lacy getting either no yards and very few yards to finally scrap that playcall? He is a north and south runner, not east and west...

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Praise: our defense is good so if the offense shows up we'll usually win.

 

Rip: the offense doesn't like to show up.

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Praise

1. Have stuck to their guns well. The games against Cowboys and Colts are evidence of that.

2. Have performed reasonably well with new coaches and many new players after a dumpster fire season last year.

3. Special Teams has turned 180 degrees from last season.

4. Turnovers eluded Texans last season - they have re-emerged.

 

Rip

1. Slow starts or lack of early urgency have cost Texans two games they could have won.

2. Offensive line has lost it's way since first two games.

3. Secondary needs to concentrate more on wrapping up the tackle. They too have gone off from earlier games.

4. Depth is once more a problem for this team.

Edited by Wattafan
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Praise: J.J. Watt is playing at an unbelievable level. Arguably the best overall football player in the league, and playing at an MVP level. Just when I think I've seen it all from him, Watt still finds ways to amaze me.

 

Rip: Why on earth is the guy that is consistently doubled the only one that can get to the quarterback? That means the rush linebackers and other d-linemen are not winning 1-on1's by any means. Hopefully when Clowney returns from injury, that changes things...

 

Praise: Arian is running the ball extremely well, and is literally carrying the entire offense on his shoulders. So far so good, as Arian has been able to stay healthy. (Knock on wood)

 

Rip: Not having a quarterback has pretty much doomed this season, and the high workload Arian will receive over this season almost seems like it's going to waste. He's already shown signs of being worn down, and it looks like O'Brien has no reserves for running Foster into the ground.

 

I'll post some more later. These two things are what primarily come to mind for me at almost 3am.

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Praise: For the most part, the defense has turned it around at least somewhat. Playmaking defense i sback.They may give up some yards, but they have been coming up in the clutch with stops and turnovers when they need them the most. Bend but not break defense if I have ever seen it. This secondary leads (or did at the time our game ended Sunday) the league in INTs... The defense has already almost topped their INT total from all of last year.

Rip: The offense just hasn't been able to keep up with the defensive success in most cases. Even though we have been winning and putting up points, the offense is often times stagnant. In the game against Miami, we had an excellent drive to begin and end the game -- that was it. The Minnesota game was pretty sloppy and while a lot of points were scored it was an uneasy performance. We got stopped far too often and the score + epic defense made it seem a lot more lopsided than it was. The Bears game remains the only game where the offense actually clicked for 60 minutes. 1/6 is not a comforting success rate.

 

Don't get me wrong... We are winning for now, and I like winning. But there is A LOT of improvement to be made. Aaron has been mostly good, but also erratic. He's protected the ball well, made mostly good throws.. But the accuracy needs to improve. The Oline is horrendous in every fashion and they should all be taken out back and shot. Eddie Lacy has lost his confidence, IMO... He won't take his cut and run North and South, but would rather jump to the outside...

Pro: Julius Peppers may be old, but the fact that he is our best pass rusher is both exciting and depressing. He's made the impact we wanted, but we just aren't getting the production elsewhere....

Con: Clay Matthews is hurt again... Go figure. He has the most fragile hamstring on the planet. Ya, he's out there playing through it every week, but it is an issue and one that won't go away. The question here is... Are we better off with Clay at 50% or with a Nick Perry in his place instead? Call me crazy, but Perry has turned it on in a back up role so far this year and he may just be better.. Especially in run pro, where Clay has regressed to over pursuing like his old self from a couple years ago.

Pro: Packer fans have been getting on Ted Thompson over the last couple years for seemingly weak drafts. Pundits, too, wer ebeginning to wonder if the loss of big front office names like Schneider (SEA), McKenzie (OAK), and Dorsey (KC) finally caught up to Ted and his draft boards. I know it's early... but Ted may have responded in full force. Clinton-Dix has shown some of his rookie status at times, but overall he has made big plays and big hits at big moments. He is the future, for the time being anyway, at the S position in Green Bay. He still has growing to do, but I am confident he will do that.

 

Davante Adams... I wasn't all that high on him coming out of college... But he has proven to be a hard worker and is putting in the time at the facilities. He's earned Aaron's trust, and he has moved up the depth chart to our clear #3... Excellent. If it were my choice, 5th round pick Corey Linsley is the future at C as well. He hasn't been perfect... His pass blocking leaves some to be desired and I am not sure he fully understands all of the blocking assignments yet.. But overall... For going into camp as a backup and being thrown into the starters role last minute and to face Dlines right away like Seattle, New York, and Detroit? I've liked what I have seen. I also really like the potential of Richard Rodgers, Abbrederis, and Jeff Janis. Again. I know it's early.. but what a good draft this could turn out to be in Green Bay.

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Praise

 

1. It's perennially led by the most underrated QB in the NFL.

 

2. The talent level on the rest of the offense has improved markedly in the last three seasons.

 

3. There's a youth movement underway on the defense, with only two starters in their 30s.

 

 

Criticism

 

1. The youth movement on the defense involves inexperienced players looking totally lost at times.

 

2. For one reason or another, the offense keeps having to settle for FGs instead of TDs.

 

3. The team overall is maddeningly inconsistent.

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Praise: Well...lol...at this point, not much. Julio being Julio and Matt Ryan being Matt Ryan.

 

O-line was playing a lot better too before they were decimated by the injury bug. I still like what Im seeing out of Asamoah and Matthews so far though. Run blocking could be alot better.

 

Trufant is playing well even though he has to cover for 10 minutes every play.

 

Also Hesters been a nice surprise.

 

Rip: Where do I start...pull up a chair.

 

The defense is nonexistent.

 

Mike Nolan insists on trying to be cute with this 3-4/4-2-5/4-3/Hybrid/Amoeba/Mutant/X-men/Idontknowanymorewhatthefuck defense when they're not even close to having the talent, smarts, or players to do so.

 

They wanted to make the D-line bigger and they accomplished that. Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai were supposed to come in to take on blockers, free up linebackers, and stop the run. How is that supposed to work though when you don't have any linebackers? Your best linebacker goes out for the season in training camp, and you have 2 UDFA and an already average at best Kroy Biermann coming off of an achilles injury as starters, that's not good.

 

As a result the bigger d-line takes up said blockers, but there's nobody to get to the QB or fill the gaps and stop the run(especially in a 4-2-5 wtf). The linebackers are either dropped into coverage or don't have the speed/talent to provide a pass rush, even if we did blitz, which we don't.

 

Back to that 4-2-5, throw that out the window please. It hasn't worked AT ALL so far. If they run, when they do get to the 2nd level its pretty much a wrap because its a wide open field in the middle. If they pass, once again there's nobody over the middle of the field. The DBs are down the field in coverage because the QB has enough time to do his taxes before there's pressure of any kind. Then the 2 linebackers we do have in are off somewhere in "coverage" if you can call it that. That leads to dump offs to the RB/short, dink and dunk passes over the middle which turn into big gains. I watched that happen at least 8 times against the Bears this past Sunday and not one adjustment was made.

 

That leads me to the coaching staff... we need an overhaul. Except Tice, Robiskie, Armstrong, and maybe Cox, everybody needs to be gone.They're incompetent. Mike Smith gets out coached regularly and plays favorites (why is Biermann still on the field over Massaquoi? Why does Antone Smith score a TD every time he touches the ball, then goes right back to the bench afterwards never to be heard from again??). Then there's Mike Nolan, like I stated above, he's trying to out scheme the world and be cute when it's obviously not working at all. Dirk Koetter, while at times looks like a genius, makes boneheaded decisions regularly(most notably running Steven Jackson up the middle 95% of the time on 1st down for 1 yard..ugh). I might let him stay if we had a running game to speak of, and those first down runs actually did something. Just to see what he could do with everything clicking.

 

The front office also needs changes. I've been a supporter of Dimitroff up until the end, but I think we need a new GM. His "build through the draft" philosophy just isn't working, especially when you only build your team by trying to find gems in the draft and dumpster diving in free agency. Hes also ignored glaring holes for years (Pass rush/ D-line/ O-line/ depth) only to have them come back and bite him in the ass which should cost him his job.

 

There's alot more I could get into, but I've gotta cut it short. I've gotta leave for a wedding...bleh.

 

Long story short.... Offense is good except for run blocking and O-line depth along with wtf moments from the coaching staff. Defense is atrocious and needs to be blown up. Coaching staff needs to go as well, except for a select few. Also a new GM needs to take over and right the ship.

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In my opinion, Dimitroff cooked his goose when he invested two 1st rd picks, a 2nd rd pick, and two 4th rd picks in a wide receiver. I don't care how good he is. He could be twice the player he's become and it still would have been idiotic.

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Guest Phailadelphia

Praise: The offensive line might be the best in the NFL.

Rip: The defense is only marginally better than last year and is being made to look good because the offense keeps them off the field.

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Praise:

 

Defense. We're 4th in overall defense, 4th against the run, and the big three FA additions have been nothing but spectacular. The 'Manning effect' isn't relevant either because the offense at times has been ugly, not only has the defense kept us in games, but we're tied for 2nd in fewest yards per play allowed. The pass rush has been great, notching 15 sacks so far, Von Miller who finally looks really healthy again has 6 of em after a shaky start knocking the rust off. 4 in the last two games.

 

Emannuel Sanders. Sanders is a much, much better receiver than I ever gave him credit for when he was in Pittsburgh. Explosive, great hands, great underneath, better than I expected over the top... I've been constantly impressed. He has made Manning look good a couple of times.

 

Bradley Roby. Has had a great season so far. He's had matchups with the other team's number one receiver every game this year and hasn't backed down. All the corners in general have been great. Talib is nothing but solid, and Chris Harris Jr. has all-pro flashes.

 

 

On the fence:

 

Peyton Manning. He's on pace for 48 touchdowns, but sometimes he looks like he's just out there floundering. He's thrown some lasers this year, and then some of the worst ducks I've ever seen. It's like if he's not mechanically perfect the ball's not gonna get there. Sometimes, I believe it's an effect of our absurdly conservative offense.

 

 

Rips:

 

John Fox. If this team was coached by a Pete Carrol, or a Trestman, even a McCarthy... it would be damn near unstoppable. We get any lead whatsoever, and we go into Foxball mode, forcing the run which we absolutely can't do, bubble screens that the entire league is ready for... and the other team can climb back into it. Run, run, bubble screen, punt. We were much more aggressive towards the end of the Arizona game, and it paid off.

 

Offensive line. Our o-line was for the most part excellent last year, so I genuinely don't understand this one. As much as I dislike Montee Ball, I know that it's not really all his fault that he's so unproductive. Defenders are in the backfield immediately a lot of the time. Orlando Franklin is just as bad of a LG as he was a RT, so I'm not sure that switch was as good as advertised. Clark has struggled moving to RT. We can't run block to save our lives, there's usually zero movement from anyone besides Clady and Vasquez.

 

Football Jesus' vendetta against Danny Trevathan. I thought we got really lucky when his first injury was only a couple weeks... apparently the football gods do not want us to have him this year.

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Peyton's ducks are the result of lost arm strength and him not realizing how much effort he needed to put into throwing the ball on that particular play. Can you imagine the damage he'd do to his arm if he didn't throw with perfect mechanics? The dude looks like he has to put everything into any throw over 15 yards. He really had to launch that 4th TD to DT last night.

 

I hope he's not jeopardizing his future health.

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4. Brian Robison and Everson Griffin have no excuses to not have a few sacks, at this point. Both of them can take a flying leap if they don't have at least 6 sacks apiece by the end of the year, and one of them better approach double digits. This shit is unacceptable.

 

 

Well Everson just won NFC Defensive Player of the Month. I'm not sure if he was truly the best defender in the NFC, but it shows he's being productive. The defensive line in general seems like it's been productive as of late, although granted we've played dogshit lines.

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Well Everson just won NFC Defensive Player of the Month. I'm not sure if he was truly the best defender in the NFC, but it shows he's being productive. The defensive line in general seems like it's been productive as of late, although granted we've played dogshit lines.

 

Well, at least I made that post before he took off lol

 

He's producing. Robison, while not producing sacks, is making team plays in situations where he could pursue sacks. They'll come, eventually.

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A thread from last year I thought would be interesting to revive for this year.

Praise - Texans seem to be having fun out there again. The defense is now what we fans thought they would be pre-season.

Rip - They need to do what they have to do to get that running game working. Oline and RB's have to step it up to match the defenses enthusiasm.

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Rip - They need to do what they have to do to get that running game working. Oline and RB's have to step it up to match the defenses enthusiasm.

Yeah... Because the Texans are capable of a good running game with Blue, Grimes, and/or Polk. :yao:

 

Sorry, but it just aint gonna happen. They're three JAGs. Hopefully they can draft either Elliott or Henry in the top two rounds, otherwise next season will be just as pathetic offensively as this one.

Edited by FartWaffles

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Praise - We aren't 4-10 to start the season

 

 

Rip - We may very well finish 4-12 to finish the season

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Praise--This team is incredibly well-coached and after years of senseless mistakes costing games thanks to the Childress/Frazier combination, it's great to see a coaching staff emphasize discipline.

 

Praise--This defense is the real deal without question so long as Mike Zimmer doesn't deviate from the way he generally calls a game like last Sunday. Hopefully he's learned his lesson.

 

Praise--This coaching staff makes in-game adjustments, which is a foreign concept to so many fans of so many teams. I love it.

 

 

Rip--Is this supposed to be an NFL caliber offensive line?

 

Rip--Who's going to hold Adrian Peterson responsible for his bad habits? Yes, he is having a nice season running the ball, but he is always primed to fumble the football. It's time to tell him to quit that shit. The staff got him to quit dancing and just hit the hole, they should be able to get him to wrap the fucking ball up, too.

 

Rip--Teddy Bridgewater has too much Russell Wilson in him. He wants to suck for 55 minutes then show up late and try to be a hero. That shit has to stop, and he has to find some consistency. I don't want a quarterback who relies on a defense and running game in spite of what the media tells you. I want a quarterback who averages more than less than a passing touchdown per game. Jesus Christ, kid. Get your head out of your ass.

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