Jesus. What an awful game.
Good:
1) Duke Johnson, Travis Benjamin, and Gary Barnidge. All three of these guys look like they could be part of a winning team's offense. And two of three of them are free agents... I hope we retain all three.
2) Teshaun Gipson. This dude is a monster. He changes the way the defense plays when he is in the game. And yet, he also may leave this summer...
3) Danny Shelton finally had an impactful game. I hope this is a trend.
4) Josh McCown had a mediocre game, even before the injury, but hell, the guy plays with a ton of heart. I've criticized the "play like a Brown" mantra Pettine keeps propagating. But if "play like a Brown" means play tough, smart, and with a lot of heart that is, by definition, Josh McCown. He looked like he was in a ton of pain and kept playing at his hardest.
Bad:
1) This team just sucks, guys. I keep saying this but there are under ten guys that I think could be starters on a winning team. Farmer needs to be fired.
2) The offensive playcalling was awful. On offense, we already struggle running the ball. So, as a solution, we decide to only throw short passes! I mean, what the fuck guys?!? Then, after Duke had a great first half catching passes out of the backfield (which are short pass plays that actually help the run), we decide to barely play him in the second half! I mean, you can't make this shit up. A few weeks ago I thought Flip was getting it. Now I just think he was lucky. Geez.
3) The defensive playcalling was awful. I don't know what to say, guys. We were blitzing on third and long after it was clear Palmer and his receivers can make plays fast. We played with three men at the line on first and ten. Just pathetic.
4) The defense, for being so highly paid, is embarrassingly bad. There were two players today, TWO, that I thought played well (Gipson and Shelton). Haden is a joke. Kruger is a joke. Mingo is jokes on jokes on jokes. I think our players are allergic to pass rushes. I did enjoy the number of turnovers but some were more luck than actual defensive plays. Nonetheless, I can't take that away from the unit, they got some stops and did change possession. Ultimately it didn't matter because most of the game they were awful.
5) The dropped passes. This hasn't been a big problem before today. But it was awful. Hartline dropped two. Gabriel dropped (or didn't get in good position) for one. And there were one or two more.
6) The line does a terrible job of run blocking. This gets to problem seven...
7) The running game is embarrassingly bad. Turbin was always a decent pass catcher and decent blocker. He's not a good runner. So why we needed to let him fumble it twice is idiotic. Crowell has talent, but it may be as more of a third down back. DJjr. is a legit pass-catcher, but he hasn't shown much as a runner. I'd like to see him get more carries per game.
8) Pettine and his decision to keep playing McCown. Let me be clear: I think McCown was playing well enough to continue playing, and if healthy, that he should continue to be the starter. BUT, he was clearly in a tremendous amount of pain. And Pettine blaming Josh (at the presser he said "well, Josh said he was healthy") is bullshit. You are the coach and you see Josh in serious pain. Why in the fucking hell do you let him play? We know Josh is a great leader and tough competitor. No way in hell he says he needs to come out unless he literally cannot play anymore. Pettine needs to take responsibility for that decision.
Honestly, we need to have this reported firesale. Mack clearly doesn't want to be here so we should definitely trade him. Mingo sucks and is in the wrong defensive system. He needs to go. I love Joe Thomas, and would be sad to see him leave, but he deserves to play for a winner. If someone offers us a first round pick, and they are a winning team, we need to let Joe go. Clearly the coaching staff doesn't trust Manziel, add him to the list. Either Haden is complacent or he forgot to play football, throw him on the block too. Kruger, Gilbert, Kirksey, and Hitner are all others I'd throw on that list. I'm as sick of the continuous rebuilding as everyone. But if you think this team has a core that can turn around the team you're blind. We need to rebuild that core, asap.