Concerned...

So far in our 3 wins, we have had a very distinct advantage in turnovers.

Denver +5 in turnovers -- +8 margin of victory
Arizona +2 in turnovers -- +2 margin of victory
Detroit +3 in turnovers -- +7 margin of victory

Now look at our loss

Whiners Even in turnovers -- -7 margin of defeat


The reason I am concerned is one would think with the huge advantage we have had in turnovers our biggest margin of victory should be more than 8 points, especially when it was a +5 in the turnover department. It can be argued that we have been quite lucky to be 3-1 at this point and I must admit there is no real evidence to thwart that argument.

That being said, I'd feel much better about the team if we either A) had a margin of victory of 14 or higher in one of our 3 wins or B) had a victory where either we lost the turnover battle or the turnover battle was even.

Now, I know other factors obviously factor in to the equation, such as a new offensive and defensive scheme, but it still is a cause for concern, imo.

What do you guys think?

As a sidenote, I will admit, I'm not 100% sold on Linehan. I have been and always will be a Martz supporter. What really annoyed me about Linehan in the Lions game was when he went for the field goal on 4th and goal from the 1. IMO, it was an early chance to really put the Lions away early in the game and he went conservative. It doesn't really matter imo if we had gotten stuffed on the 4th down. Any time you have a 1st and goal from the 1 and fail to score a touchdown the other team gains momentum even if you end up a field goal. I just haven't really seen a killer instinct yet from Linehan.

Am I blinded by my support of Martz?

Yes, you are blinded by your support of Martz. We're not blowing people out because we're not one of the more talented teams in the NFL. We have a gaping hole in the center of our offensive line, a mediocre pass rush, and inconsistent (at best) coverage in the secondary. Yet we're still winning (which is the bottom line) and we're winning because we're (finally) playing smart. I'd contend that we would have lost nearly every one of these games if Martz was still the coach -- our ST coverage would still be terrible, we would've turned the ball over a ton against Denver instead of playing it smart, and we'd still be running backwards on defense. Linehan has done an excellent job of getting a lot out of a team with some serious holes so far.

Just my $.02.

No ,not blinded by support of Martz but perhaps relying on turnovers as a statistic, a little too much in isolation of other factors. I'm not sure how well turnover ratio translates into points differential, but I know that a positive ratio translates into a win more often than it does anything else.

It would be true to say that our offence has undergone some inconvenient growing pains of late and that this is reflected in the statisitics that you quote. However, I would say that this is something that looks to be improving.

I'm a big Martz fan as well but I recognise the underlying stability that Linehan's appraoch has brought to the team. An approach that is responsible for our current record.

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Am I blinded by my support of Martz?

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No, tanus, you're not. Watching those early games, it was obvious to the world that Bulger simply was not comfortable. But when trying on a new shoe, no matter how great that shoe is, it won't be as comfortable as our old shoes. He had to work into it, and he has appeared more comfortable with each passing game, and certainly this past weekend. It would have been nice to put up a ton of points in those first three games, but it would seem that was the breaking in period Bulger needed.

Hopefully, that new shoe is quickly becoming more comfortable.

On the defensive side, Haslett has shown the right proportion of aggresion and bend-don't-break to keep points off the board. However, the Martz shoe is becoming more comfortable in Detroit, so not even the improved Haslett D is going to keep a Martz O off the board.

It's now a 12 game season and the pieces appear to be sliding into place. If we can play just one game over .500 from here on out, we have a good shot at the playoffs.

We're playing smart, not making DUMB mistakes, managing the clock, and saving our time-outs, (although Martz's disregard for time-outs never really bothered me).

You just get the feeling watching them, that they have an overall plan, don't panic, and just keep playing like they know they can.

AND...they're getting better each week.

Nice to see Linny's got a little fire in him.:)

I also think, in a way, (and responding author's initial post - what a concept), that it's a GOOD thing the Rams are NOT blowing these teams out. Rams have a habit of getting a little cocky sometimes, and after the ***** and squeaks by Cards and Lions, they are aware that yes, they're getting better, but aside from Denver, they haven't played any real heavyweights yet.

I'll report (FIRST HAND) from Lambeau next weekend.:)