Out of the Rafters at the Q
Out of the Rafters
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2008
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I agree with you about the who we beat part. I don't like the argument. Eye test had us as one of the better teams in the AFC towards the end of last year. I'm just pointing out what arguments others could make and why hedging towards a mediocre record isn't head-in-the-sand ignorance.I'm not sure I see why our average season should be discounted because of who we beat - especially when you look at games like home against Pittsburgh, and New Orleans that we so easily could have won. The Oakland loss was just horrible coaching. We were beaten badly by KC while missing huge chunk of our back 7 on defense, but beat a good Denver team in Denver, and split two really tight games against the Ravens.
To me, that seems typical of an average team - generally beat the bad teams and lose to the good, but beat some good ones and lose to some bad ones. Maybe even a bit better given how close we were against some really good teams.
We lost only one guy from a highly ranked OL, and brought in some new guys to compete for the job. I don't see how that constitutes "ignoring" the OL.
True. I mean, if we have some really bad luck, 9-7 is certainly possible. But if we have just "ordinary" luck, and still only manage 9-7, I think that would be pretty crushing. I would be at a loss to see what else we could realistically do to get better.
I'll disagree with you on the offensive line. Our offensive line was not good last year. However, once Freddie took over and Baker came into his own, we did a lot of things to reduce our reliance on our tackles holding blocks for extended periods of time. We moved the pocket, spread the defense out, and Baker got the ball out quickly. Greg Robinson still sucked, but if the defensive end is off balance and then only has two seconds to get to the QB? The result is that Baker doesn't get sacked and Greg Robinson looks fine.
If we can continue to scheme out a need for high end tackle play in the passing game, that gives us a financial advantage in the league. I'm still worried about the impact of our right guard spot. You can scheme away edge pressure, but no play call in the world can fix pressure coming up the middle right into Baker's face.
My personal take on our record this year is that the loss of Zeitler makes our running game less efficient than it was last year. However, one of the RG's steps up and is adequate. My money's on Kush, but don't be surprised if Forbes comes into his own after one injury on the line. Tretter looks worse without Zeitler next to him and we're looking to replace him next year. The passing game improves dramatically by adding OBJ (as well as natural improvement from Njoku, Higgins, Calloway and Baker). The defense takes a huge step forward, partly due to talent, mainly due to replacing Gregg. If we stay healthy, 12-4 and we're a media darling heading into the playoffs where, honestly, the sky is the limit. If Derwin James doesn't come back 100% this year, it's Cleveland/KC/NE ahead of the field and we might get our first of many Baker/Mahomes AFC Championship Games.