Weinke looked purty good.

>> The thing is, these plays worked in our last win vs. the Vikings. We wore them down and kept running, and kept scoring.
But it hasn't worked since.

I'm not going to pretend i know the answers on this one. But these are my thoughts. In the Vikings game, we came up with several turnovers (Grant had 3 alone). The Vikings got frustrated with our defense and self-destructed on offense, which I'm sure had to affect the confidence and effort of their defense, which i don't think is all that great to begin with. They looked to me like a team without a rudder. When things got tuff, they folded. Sorta like what happened to Detroit, only worse.

At GB, we were playing Farve who, despite getting knocked around all game, through his competitive will was able to improvise and score just enough points to win -- though we should have at least tied the score up. On our last drive it looked like the GB defense was spent and that our philosophy had worked and our running game was starting to kick their ass. At the end of the drive our offense sputtered and ended with a really weird QB draw call (hardly predictable). We miss a 22 yard FG. If we make it, I really like our chances.

In the AZ game (which I fast-forwarded through so don't really have a good feel for what happened), we were without Moose and AZ put 8 men up into the box. I think we adjusted and for the first time threw more than we ran. I think too that L. Smith had to come out late in the game and AZ was supposed to have a really strong DL so it would be tuffer to wear them down especially when they got that extra man in there to help them out. We have a big dropoff from Moose and L. Smith. AZ played us smart. They hung in there and didn't panic when we kept shutting them down. Thir defense was able to hang tuff in the 4th Q when we lost our bull and then they got the lucky bounce and you know the rest. I was impressed with their coaching and think they will do well this season.

The Dallas game we dominated. Should have won at least 23-0. We gave that game away with mistakes.

L. Smith is not a young cat. He may be wearing down now and not have the same explosion at the end of the game now as he did in those first 3-4 games. He didn't take much pounding in preseason as we were looking at Foster a lot. I think he probably started out the season fresh and is wearing down. Plus teams are ganging up more on the run against us now and daring us to throw. Teams are trying to force us to change up our philosophy but we're being pretty stubborn with it. I think cuz we still think defense and pounding the ball with our RBs is still our best bet to win. Henning seems to want to throw just enough to keep defenses honest but he's not getting much help by having dropped passes and penalties putting us in long yardage situations. As long as our defense continues to play well, I think he will continue with what he is doing. He doesn' have a good QB and he lacks good options in the passing game. Plus he could easily be 6-0 with what he has been doing. Things have just not gone our way.

>> go with what works if it's running every play. When that ain't make a damn adjustment.

the thing is that our running game usually doesn't start working till the 4th quarter and only then cuz we pounded it at them for the first 3 quarters. it's like our philosophy in the first 3 Q's is that even on 3rd and 10 we'd just as soon hit ya in the mouth one more time as try to get a first down cuz eventually ya gonna start feeling it. so ya really don't know if that tactic is gonna work until the late in the game. and again, it's tuff to adjust to the passing game when you don't have the tools to do it with.

 

I think Henning feels the same way about the passing game as Sefiert did about running. And we have thin (at best) talent in the passing game.

Something has to improve. I hope Weinke proves himself the man. We need that position filled so we can load a couple of stud WR's to the fold.

 

>>I'm not going to pretend i know the answers on this one.

You do know the answer. Stop running the same plays and stop being this predictable. If it's this easy to see tendency before film, think how someone on the field sees it.
But then again if that were true we'd be easy to stop.

Oh, wait. We are.

Regardless of the outcome we're supposed to be a ball control O. We're supposed to run the ball a lot, and do it well. Therefore you do two things: you keep them from putting 8 in the box, and you move the chains. Which of those have we done? Neither. But I guess we'll have to keep hearing you sing the praises of Henning.

Even when we passed "More" it was short. You know, where the bulk of the defenders are. And it certainly didn't keep them from putting that 8th man in. I don't get it...Smith's wearing down? He looks like what he looked like when people put 8 in the box in preseason. He's never been terribly explosive but it's not realistic to expect him to shoulder a big load when we're basically spotting the other team a yard and a half thanks to the 8th man.

 

I wonder if in the preseason they put 8 in the box out of a lack of respect for Weinke? No one had seen Peete much in pre-season.

Regardless, I expect 8 in the box this Sunday.

 

I don't know that either way. It makes no sense at all to, in the first or second preseason game, start doing something like that. The idea there is that the run game needs to be stopped, the passing situation is secondary in the process. Still, that puts Weinke in man situations and a lot of teams seem to like to put him in those matchups.

With Moose healthy, though, I think that Weinke's shown he'll force a pass in there anyway. And Smith's athleticism against man is often enough to get open despite the same fuckups you don't want to see a starting receiver do. I wouldn't mind seeing us against man, except this week when we'll see it most. Guess it's up to the TEs and the backs, so we're screwed.

 

According to Reeves press conference, Buchanon is a possibility.

We REALLY need to win this game. For so many reasons:

- snap a 3 game streak
- win a divsion game
- win a road game
- give Weinke a win
- not fall below .500

Fuck.

 

I think we should sign Grbac and put Peete on IR.

 

I don't think Grbac would play.

Hey! Jeff George is conservative! haha!

 

Nah. I keep waiting to hear the words "Scott Mitchell."

 

I actually shuddered.