Sick And Tired

[Bar-bq]

You know what? It's getting to the stage where I'm reading some posts (by different posters) over and over with the same sort of arguments. And it annoys me to think that there are posters who don't see the bigger picture.

What I'll be targeting here is the Playcalling of Linehan and Olsen, The Criticisms of Bulger that have arisen, and the crap that is being heaped on our secondary.

Firstly- to Linehan's playcalling. I would like to go right ahead and challenge anyone--anyone at all-- to call plays and be effective in doing so with this offensive line and with the unbelievable amount of injuries we have to our franchise Quarterback, our 2006 All-Purpose yardage leader and a recieving core that has been shell shocked.

Linehan's playcalling has hence had to compensate for these injuries. You have a rookie Runningback starting, an injured QB, and this OL-- Just how complex can these plays afford to be? You can't expect Bulger to have all day to throw. In some circumstances he hasn't even had three seconds. He has to get the ball out of his hands-fast. This is due to two reasons a) To stop him doing more damge to his ribs--and b) to prevent him from getting mauled. The result? Hitch plays- plays designed to get the ball out of the passer's hands, and alloow the reciever to make the play.

Let's not forget, our reciveing core has been beat up, too. Bruce isn't healthy, Bennett and Holt haven't been running on 100% all year. Hall is out. They, too are beat up, which must be a mitigating circumstance in their inability to make plays. That, or blanket coverage, which has been made possible becuase our OL hasn't been able to stop the pass rush-- are they too banged up? 4/5 starters can't be wrong. As a consequence, we made Darryl Tapp look like Julius Peppers. Four of his 5.5 sacks were against the Rams.

Then, this makes it necessary to run the ball on first and second down, even if it is for small gain. A small gain is much better than taking the sack or getting Bulger crushed.

I can't defend the boneheaded calls, but I empathise with Linehan because he is copping it from all sides. He is making adjustments to cater for a Banged up Offense, and even the adjustments don't work, because the players are unable to make the plays, either throough injury (Offense) or mediocrity (Claude Terrell et. al.)

Secondly I'd like to plead for a stop to the barrage of criticisms against Marc Bulger. He is our man, and there are 65 Million reasons why. Yes, he's not been able to make plays, but who has? Honestly, He's injured, 100% of his OL is different to the way it finished the preseason (Barron now on left side) and yet, we still have people who want to make him accountable for our losses.

You want to blame something? Blame the injuries. Blame the miscast starters who are unable to hold up. Blame he missed opportunities. Blame some of the (obvious) bad calls Linehan made. You can even blame Bernie! But do not blame Marc Bulger. He's doing the best he can with what he's got. The fact that he pops back up time after time after time is, quite honestly, remarkable, and for that reason, the very notion of drafting a first round QB to replace bulger after just two years of his deal is preposterous.

Last Point- The Secondary

Some people don't realise that the pressure generated by your defensive line is in every way conducive to your success defending the pass. And who have we got? Little and Hall? Give me a break. They have not been able to turn it on. Little has been hurt and hasn't produced. Hall has been the epitome of mediocrity. Thus, if you even want to get something that resemble pressure, you have to send your linebackers or safeties on the blitz, in turn leaving more and more players open. If you can't get pressure, the QB will pick you apart.

Case in point, Derek Anderson to Braylon Edwards. We touched him once, I swear, and he and Edawrds cashed it in. You can't expect the corner to cover a guy if he has all day to get open.

Further evidence? The Brett Favre pass on Monday Night to beat Denver, who supposedly have the league's top cornerback tandem (Though Mcallister and Rolle May say otherwise). Favre has all day to throw because there is nobody even close to him. The result? Pinpoint accuracy and a W in OT. The Bulger pass? You'd better believe there was a pass rush.

The moral of the story? It all starts up front.

Thanks for reading.

[majorram]

Real interesting post mate... great read......


steve:l

[Fat Pang]

Very accurate take on our current situation. After the first couple of sentences I was nodding like Pavlovs dog.

Occasionally, its hard to see the wood for the expanse of dense forest that stretches into the distance as far as the eye can see in every direction.

[itsguud]

Bulger bit, I agree with. The secondary bit I agree with. The DL and OL bits I agree with. The play calling I do NOT agree with.

There are other ways besides WR screens to get 2-3 yards. Runs to get 2-3 yards I agree with. But its not just the short runs or the screens, Linehan has been running WRs into coverage all season. not giving Bulger a chance to look at them. Instead of waching Bulger and how much pressure hes getting Nov. 11th. Watch our WRs constantly running straight into zones. Either Linehan is sharing his gameplan (not likely) or he sucks at play calling (very likely).

[AvengerRam]

You make some good points, but, to borrow (and reverse) a cliche already used in this thread, you also have to be careful not to ignore the trees because you are overwhelmed by the forest.

There are few problems with this team that can be described as "the problem." That said, each aspect should be evaluated.

In my opinion, the playcalling has been bad, though the offense would be having problems this year even with good playcalling.

Bulger has played poorly, but you simply can't separate that from his injuries and the injuries to others on the offense. To do so is to ignore that he has been a Pro Bowl QB twice in his career.

The DBs have had no help from the pass rush, and given that fact, I think they've held up pretty well. That said, I think we need an upgrade over Corey Chavous.

[laram0]

The trenches are killing us.

[letsgoramz]

Bulger bit, I agree with. The secondary bit I agree with. The DL and OL bits I agree with. The play calling I do NOT agree with.

There are other ways besides WR screens to get 2-3 yards. Runs to get 2-3 yards I agree with. But its not just the short runs or the screens, Linehan has been running WRs into coverage all season. not giving Bulger a chance to look at them. Instead of waching Bulger and how much pressure hes getting Nov. 11th. Watch our WRs constantly running straight into zones. Either Linehan is sharing his gameplan (not likely) or he sucks at play calling (very likely).

Agree the playcalling is a big part of the problem linehan plays the "lets play conservative not score too many points role and see how many wins we get" well after 8 weeks you have your answer

[laram0]

Agree the playcalling is a big part of the problem linehan plays the "lets play conservative not score too many points role and see how many wins we get" well after 8 weeks you have your answer

Actually Linehan plays the protect the ball approach. Limit the turnovers. Well we have a -13 turnover ratio. Worst in the NFL. Is that Linehan's fault?

[mde8352gorams]

The trenches are killing us.

There it is. Our lines which is where it all starts on every play are decimated by injury and lackluster players. Linehan's playcalling is unable to compensate for this shortcoming. We must use next April's draft and the FA period to solidify our offensive and defensive lines.

The injuries are a problem ,but every team has that problem and fiinds a way out of the woods. We have a less than competant coaching staff who cannot cope.

Great thread, agree with the points on Bulger who is great when given time and the receivers! The secondary will benefit when our pass rush improves. In my backyard the NY Giants have a mediocre secondary but because of an outstanding pass rush mask that weakness. We'll have great coverage players next year (Hill, Wade, Otogwe, et al), but they could flourish with a better defensive line pass rush.

Go Rams!

[BIG-BLUE]

Great thread. I would like to add 1 part to it. Steven Jackson, we need him in there. It's a total different ballgame when Jackson is playing. The 1st 2 drive against the Brown's showed what can be done even with all the other injuries. Sorry guys but Brian Lenoard is nothing more than a change of pace back, he will never be an every down feature back. And should not really be counted on for a solid backup. With SJ in there they have to put 8 in the box & account for him on all plays, he simply opens up the play calling.

[itsguud]

Actually Linehan plays the protect the ball approach. Limit the turnovers. Well we have a -13 turnover ratio. Worst in the NFL. Is that Linehan's fault?

But you hit the nail on the head again. It is Linehans fault. If you read what I posted and letsgo quoted, Linehans plays are continuously running our WRs into coverage. This is one reason why our turnover ratio is so bad. So your are right, but so were myself and letsgo!

[HUbison]

Very accurate take on our current situation. After the first couple of sentences I was nodding like Pavlovs dog.

Sans slobber, I hope?

[keith m. klink]

great post , i even wrote a post a while back about drafting our new franchise QB , ( i wasn't serious , just wanted to see what everyone thought outloud ) but all of the problems this team has and had all started from the same root cause . everything , and i mean everything has come from the bearing of unbelievable bad luck in the injury status of this team. all other problems are the children of this injury epidemic . and their is no other explaination . it's not bulgers fault , it's not the coaches fault , it's not the coordinators fault . the fault lies on the injury bug .

[Fat Pang]

Sans slobber, I hope?

Hell no, I was drooling so much I included a cliche .

Disguised, but seemingly a cliche.

Irony, irony they've all got it infamy.

Something like that at any rate..................................

[laram0]

But you hit the nail on the head again. It is Linehans fault. If you read what I posted and letsgo quoted, Linehans plays are continuously running our WRs into coverage. This is one reason why our turnover ratio is so bad. So your are right, but so were myself and letsgo!

It's Linehan's fault that the receivers are running into coverage? Isn't up to the chemistry or lack of between Bulger and the receivers to adjust to the coverages that the defense plays? A-u-d-i-b-l-e?