So much to love about this game.
I was hoping for a stand, just cuz (cf., Larry Foote denies the Brownies), but we're allowing 11.0 per. Taint bad.
Seemed like Blount was gouging the crap out of us; he had 27 yards on 6 carries, and Batch had 26 on 5. I've noted before that I expect our run D to be so stout that when they do allow chunks, it pisses me off to the point that I lose all perspective. We allowed 75 total yards of rushing, but didn't it seem like much more?
Once Batch shook the rust off, he was clicking. TB has a decent D, so I'm hoping Charlie has a good day against the Ravens. I feel a lot better about it, especially given some of the OL blocking. The thing that pleases me on that is the consistency that they were opening holes for the rush, and even though they sometimes allowed the edge on pass blocking, there were some dominant moments in that game. On a 3rd and 6 that we didn't convert (to Heath), Starks had his man down and was giving him CPR, and LeChuckles had a couple of minutes to scan the field and do his nails. Late in the game when they knew we were gonna run, and we knew we were gonna run, and every damned person from her to Timbuktu knew we were gonna run, the OL was gashing their big uglies and Mendy was running with motherfucking authority.
The D wasn't as dominant as last week, but if this is the worst they play all year, LOL. Last week was astounding. This week was merely excellent. Oh, the impossibly high standards of Stillers fans. We were thiiiiis close to having TWO of our DL running in TDs, if not for Freeman batting one away from Zigs. Tips to Clark (INT) and Wallace (TD) showed the ball was just bouncing our way, but there were plenty of defensive opportunities we just missed on too (Ike coulda-shoulda INT, bunch of near sacks, Woodley tip to Williams).
Gotta say, my biggest worry was that BA would turtle up and we'd lose a war of attrition, but with a week to prepare Chuck, BA had a real nice game plan, maybe one of his best ever. He was attacking deep relentlessly, powering the ground game, and getting some nice work over the middle. Batch didn't throw a bunch, but he was completing a lot. He, and BA, were effective.
TB also has nice STs, but I'd say that was about a draw, so in other words, a win on STs. Any time we don't get killed. Al Everest seems to be doing a pretty decent job, in fact.
With cooler weather approaching, I would assume we'd phase out some of the OL/DL rotation, or decrease it, but I think it's a good idea to a point. We're not young on DL, and I'd love to reduce exposure to injury for Snacks and Smith. But as our rookie WRs (Sanders, Brown) get more familiar with the playbook, it'd be nice to see them activated AND used in the offense more. We were hitting the weapons we have, but we could have an elite offense with those guys getting some get-and-go touches about 3-5 times a tilt, IMO. 3-5 times doesn't sound like much until you consider the proverbial thin line between hydra offenses like NE, NO, and Indy and all the other offenses that just need a little something: Brown and Sanders are that something. With Ben, and those guys baffling defenses (not much tape on them) late in the season... well, back to NOW.
Too much to hope that we could be 4-0 heading into the bye?
I want to see Ben come out of the gates and take this shit to the next level. Let's go, let's go, let's fucking GO!!!
Yeah, the OL mashed. Mendy averaged a very collegiate 7 ypc. They utilized PAP with Batch. The defense was once again, stellar. But those garbage-time TDs are irksome.
