Haven't done grades in a while. Was at the game, not sure what the fuck happened but I have some thoughts. Kyle Fuller A Game ball goes to him. Best game he's had since he was a rookie. Glove like coverage all damn day, his eyes were on Flacco and the ball, which is exactly what he should be doing. Excellent awareness and fundamentals. Leonard Floyd F Non-factor throughout the game and his boneheaded offsides penalty on 4th down nearly saved the game for the Ravens. They were then able to get a FG to pull within 8. Special Teams F+ 2 TDs allowed. Play till the whistle blows you undisciplined fucks. That punt return to tie the game was the worst punt coverage I've ever seen. Pat O'Donnell still mediocre. At least Barth didn't barf, his FG means we get a + next to that F. Coaching F Still a stupid and undisciplined team. I'm pretty sure that was the most conservative game plan since the mid-70s. 50+ runs and only 17 passes, Fox was never trying to win the game. The running game worked but that type of balance is inexcusable in 2017. Are we going to try to develop Trubs? Give him confidence? That said the WRs weren't getting open so... WRs D They weren't getting open at all. At all. Trubs had no where to go, on the few times we did pass. Big catch at the end by Wright. Bad game from Tanner Gentry, got no separation. Trubs C Wasn't really given enough chances but made two solid throws. The TD to Sims (though had he thrown it earlier on that play Sims could have walked in untouched) and the huge third down to Wright. But he took no chances at all, which was a good thing and only lost one fumble. The Ravens knew exactly what we were doing every time we passed, save for the Cohen half back option. I want to see him get an opportunity to win or lose it, Loggains took no chances today. Travathan B+ Solid game, missed a couple tackles when Collins was in but glad to have him back and hope he stays healthy. Ravens fans A All were really nice. We met Tarik Cohen's grandma too.
I recalled one playaction on first down and one on third down both were miserable sells by Trubisky and both on outside stretch runs. If teams continue to stack the box against the run and the like the Ravens did and keep him contained it sure seems there would be a huge void behind their coverage to exploit. Given the Bears receivers can't get separation they need to somehow create their own separation by misdirection. This Ravens D appears to be perhaps the model that other teams now will follow going forward. Blang you were at the game did you see these voids in coverage to exploit? Because they sure seemed intent on stopping the run, and usually when that much attention is given to stopping the run or those outside rollouts there should be holes in the defense. I might add Whitehair C- Do you think he will ever get that snap consistent? It doesn't build confidence with the new QB when he has to be concerned where the ball will be delivered from the snap.
As you probably noticed they were stacking 9 or 10 in the box all day, then playing simple man coverage when we did throw. And still nobody was open. Nobody. Trubs tried to force nothing and was content to throw it away a lot. There was one rollout where he had Miller semi-open about 15 yards downfield but given the direction Trubs was running it would have been a tricky throw. That was it. The Ravens were ready for everything. I understand that the moving pockets and bootlegs are playing to Trub's strengths, but at some point he is going to have to be an effective stationary pocket passer, just like every successful starting QB in the history of the league. And I think he can be, we saw that big time throw in OT to Wright. I don't want Loggains to only call bootlegs and such and not allow Trubs to get any confidence as a pocket passer.
Agree with Fuller getting an A. But Amos deserves one as well. He played tough making some good tackles and finally getting his first pick and taking to the house. Floyd wasn’t as bad as you think. I am sure your going off of watching the game live and don’t have the benefit of seeing the replay. Floyd played a decent game. Yes the offside hirt but he was disruptive. Had some really good rushes that just missed and forced bad throws. Got a big holding call on a second and short backing the ravens up leading to a punt. Made another nice play getting in the way and making Flacco miss the TE and almost was a TO as it was close to a lateral. Special teams were shameful. It’s like this team pays no attention to details or situational football. You have to kick it out of bounds. The only thing that lets the Ravens back into that game is a return. A deep kick down the middle of the field? WTF. I don’t put that on O’Donnell. His shank that could have cost us at the end of regulation was inexcusable. But he has been way more good than bad this season. The biggest failure to this team right now is Loggains. I cut him some slack last season when he had to call games for 3 different QB’s but he has sucked. Yea I get that out WR’s are nothing to brag about but the one guy making plays gets the least amount of snaps? Yea I know he is the slot guy but he is also the only WR getting open. I don’t know maybe let him play on the outside and move inside when you go 3 wide. How do you explain Wright getting 26 snaps to Gentry’s 75. (I’m going off of Bradd Biggs counts). Loggains need to get his ass off the sidelines and back upstairs calling games. You can talk to the QB’s on the phone.
Special teams is really only fundamentals + effort. When there's poor fundamentals and poor effort, that's on the coaching staff. I was excited to see what Gentry could bring but he could not get open to save his life yesterday. We are all in agreement that Wright should be starting and playing the most snaps. The other starting WR should be between McBride or Gentry.
Moving the pocket also cuts off half the field. They’ve got to give Trubisky some straight drop backs.
I agree with you here but the coaches also need to coach situational awareness. When your going to punt with under 2 minutes in the game and your up 8 and the other team is giving a block look the punter needs to realize the situation and not out kick the coverage right down the middle of the field.
Glad you were well treated at the game blang buddy, and most importantly got to see a Bears win! I would def add a Jordan Howard - A to the list. Dude just did not stop running hard all day and ground the Ravens D to dust. The run in OT was a back breaker. He did have a brain fart at the end of regulation when he ran out of bounds, but im giving a pass on that one cos the Bears simply don't win that game without him. Probably not even close. Rob already mentioned Loggains fail re snaps etc, but i have to point out the stupidity of his play selections, specifically the running plays. I get that you need variation, of course, but by the time you reach the mid end of the 3rdQ you should know whats what. For the most part the Ravens owned the edge in the run game, our TE's were repeatedly getting bitchslapped out there, yet time and again Loggains called stretch zone runs. AND he did when it was obvious that we were having a ton of success between the tackles. The rollouts as well. I totally get the plan, play to a Trubs strength, keep the Ravens pass rush from zero'ing in etc, but the Ravens D was onto it from the get go. They'd clearly spent the week preparing for this from the Bears. The hurry up 3rd down attempts, Loggains biggest fail of all. They tried at least 3 or 4 that i saw and none got close to succeeding. Again, your trying to prevent subbing, your stopping the DC sending in an exotic blitz call and confusing Trubs etc. But damn, it was obvious immediately that it was the Bears who were suffering for it, the Ravens were too organised and too disciplined. So why keep doing it??? Those 3 points are all to say..... adjustments! Loggains is basically incapable of them. Its all well and good coming up with your gameplan, but if its not working then adjust FFS! Loggains couldn't adjust his hobbit belt after a particularly large second breakfast! Finally, i'd give Goldman at least a B+ for yesterday too. He's quietly being very effective. The speed with which he was getting off the ball and slipping the G at times was pretty crazy. This fucker's like 320lbs! I always felt the runD dropped off sharply last season when he went down. He's staying healthy so far and playing really well. Now THAT'S what i like seeing Pace do in the 2nd round of the draft. Picking a lineman with pedigree from a big time program who could've gone in the 1st but slipped out for some reason. Not the crap he was pulling this year.
I'll disagree on the grade--yeah that penalty was bad. But I'm lighter on him, I'll give him a C+. But Floyd is having a tough year and is being asked to do a lot without much help from Young being hurt, McPhee being an ineffective, fat blob torpedo (that should have been cut), and Acho being a body to have on the roster. He's the best we got right now. I saw a lot of good, obviously not much on the stat sheet as we'd want to see. He's winning hand battles again and isn't running to contact where he gets absorbed by the tackle and taken out of the play--what he was doing a lot earlier in the year that was alarming for me. There was a beautiful play he spun off the tackle and had Flacco hit, but Flacco got rid of the ball after 2 seconds. He also had that crazy deflection, but ultimately a great game fundamentally--again--not something that translated to the stat sheet. I get this may be premature, but I think we're going to be disappointed if we're expecting him to be another Khalil Mack, Justin Houston, or Von Miller type player we want him to. I think he's going to be a tier below that, but he's hyper athletic and flexible, he can do more than just rush....... I want to see him paired with another talent at the edge position, which wont happen until next year. THen I think the switch will flip for Floyd.
The comparisons were to Aldon Smith, and right now Floyd has shown brief flashes but none of the consistent pressure/production that Smith showed in his first couple seasons. He hasn't added the strength we had hoped to see. I do remember that play but didn't realize at the time it was Floyd who caused it. From my vantage point I thought it was a lateral.
So I haven't been in here in awhile but I want to expand on this. If I could give Fox/Loggains a worse grade than an F I would. I leave Fangio and crew out of it because there has been clear improvement in players on their watch, Fuller is one and Amos is another (plenty of other examples). The defense looks like a legitimate NFL defense. The offense is just a complete unimaginitive, bullshit, conservative, basic, boring thing I have ever seen assembled. Loggains is making me miss Ron Turner and for those who have been in here long enough, you know my disdain for that man. What the f-uck kind of offense are you trying to run? I get the run heavy offense but you ran more read-option plays with with Cutler/Hoyer/Barkley than you do with an actual read-option QB. Have you heard of a slant pass? How about trying to fool the defense and try JUST ONCE to run out of the shotgun instead of it signaling for the defense to pin their ears back and rush the passer? What is Loggains/Fox trying to accomplish? Try watching Bill O'Brien in Houston Loggains who has changed his offense to suit the strengths of Watson. Did you see any film on Trubisky in college? Do you want me to send you some? You have done absolutely nothing to make him more comfortable but instead let him take snaps and turn around to hand off. Loggains/Fox cannot be fired soon enough for me, I can't watch this bullshit for much longer. I talk about the defense improving not lets talk about regression on the offensive side. Cody Whitehair. Guy looked like an All-Pro in the making but instead of just leaving him at Center all offseason/preseason, you bounce him around the inside of the line. The mother fu-cker can't even snap it in shotgun anymore. He needs to get his head out of his ass but this is the shining example of how Loggains doesn't have a clue at what he is doing. Why is Adam Sheehan in the doghouse? Does anyone know? You spend a 2nd round pick on this kid and he can't even sniff the field with the TE's playing mediocre at best? Dion Sims was a dumpster fire the last few weeks until he finally showed up in this game but still didn't block that well. There is no plan on offense, it is just a complete joke right now, I am seriously worried at this point that the stupidity of Loggains may just stunt any growth Trubisky could have this year.
Who is this guy? Wow did he have a game and has really played well the entire season. Donatell has finally gotten through to this kid and you can see the potential he had finally starting to show through. Glad the light is finally coming on. Amos has improved as well. Looks like he took his benching to heart and is playing like a man possessed at times. Love the way he has been tackling and that INT return was something I didn't think he had in him. Eddie Jackson makes some rookie mistakes but in the long run think this kid will be a steal of a 4th round pick. Love his aggression and think the more he plays the better he will get, probably the most physically gifted safety we have had since Mike Brown. Eddie Goldman, please stay healthy. Finally starting to play consistently and show the talent he possesses. Akeim Hicks is playing at an All-Pro level. This was an absolute steal of a free agent signing and think the extension was even a steal. Love this guy, sets the tone for the defense. Man I wish Freeman stayed healthy because Trevathan is coming back to form and this defense would be even more fierce with him tackling people all over the field.
Ha... parity is so prevalent now. It’s making the league exciting yet boring at the same time. Any given Sunday has never been more of a true statement. Name the best team in the league right now - GO. Good luck. The fucking Eagles have the best record in the league. Pffft... Basically everyone is still in it except the 49ers, Browns, and Giants. We are just looking for improvement from Trubisky right now and the next Randy Moss in next year’s draft.
Well im sure i speak for everyone here when i say i have total faith in Pace on that one. I mean the guy is a genius when it comes to the WR position.
Moving the pocket is fine if the receivers on the field are moving to the same side of the pocket. It's either a miscommunication or just pure stupidity on someone's part but more than a couple times when Trubisky rolled out...he rolled to the opposite side of where receivers were running their routes. Someone has to play scramble drill in that situation and come back to the QB while someone else should be going long on the side of the field the QB is rolling to.
Since Bears receivers are struggling for separation, I suggest more playaction on first down on inside handoffs where they have a better chance of being sold than the two I counted last game on outside stretch runs (one on 1st down and one on 3rd down) Trubisky did a piss poor job selling them and It could gain that one step they need in separation and it could help loosen that box in the running game.
The Bears need to run out of the shotgun, for the love of God mix in some read option. Also need to pass more on 1st down. Playcalling has been extremely predictable and it only worked versus two teams. You don't have to get crazy but Loggains has been pathetic in my opinion in these first 2 games of Trubisky's career of adjusting the offense to do things he is comfortable with. He hasn't used any of his athleticism except for an increase in bootlegs which the Ravens were prepared for and you can believe the Panthers will be as well. I don't want Trubisky running it all over the place but he is a threat so running more read option makes the defense defend 3 different threats instead of 2 on a bootleg or half the field on a roll out. As for Pace and his evaluations of WR's, the only two I like that he brought in are Meredith and Wright. After that, the rest have been hot garbage so far. The list is long and painful, hoping there is a re-evaluation of the scouting process for this position prior to going into this offseason. I'm not a huge fan of 1st round WR's picks, especially in the top 10 but this may be the top need in the offeseason the way this team is looking right now.
I agree it's easier to find value in the WR position a little later in the draft, however I would like to see a Left tackle draw some strong consideration.
