interesting that you should mention that the game was before things started clicking. it kind of sounds like....ummm...like us. that game happened when chud had gone full retard with the offense and he strayed completely away from what had worked the year before. after our long time GM was fired a few weeks later the poo got real and rivera finally reigned in chud and forced him to manage the offense in according to what we knew worked and fit the strength of the players than him just showing off how creative he can be (cause it was obvious he was trying to get a HC job rather than win games). at that moment, the offense changed dramatically and things started clicking and what you had was an improved version of cam as a passer. so what you faced wasn't a good representation of what we are now.
we now have an upgraded corps of receivers. is it an elite group of studs? nope. but it's better than what we've had in a long time. smitty is moving to the slot. lafell is as reliable a reciver as you could want. we added hixon (proven to be good when healthy, which he is right now) and ginn (who is actually looking like a real receiver and finally has a QB that fits his strengths). also, a complete surprise to us, armanti edwards looks like a natural WR for the first time of his career.
and moving on to the defense....that was keek's first game in the middle. that was his first game running the show on the field. he was just in his infancy as the leader of this D. we had issues in the secondary and in the middle of the DLine. we were weak against the pass and the pass rush came from just our DEs. we were abysmal against the run (although we didn't do bad at all against lynch that game).
we now have another year in the system. we have upgrades in the secondary as godfrey has moved from SS to his more natural fit of FS and we now have quinton mikell at SS. our secondary gets it and are really helped up by a beefed up DL that totally collapses the pocket and forces throws from the QB into not so good situations and the DBs are becoming quite good at capitalizing on those forced bad throws. josh norman was a young pup with some potential, but in over his head when we faced you before. that wasn't a good representation of who josh norman is now. look up what he did in preseason and let me assure you, he's becoming the real deal.
the run D has also taken a step forward with the addition of star and the former packer and seahawk, colin cole (who isn't much against the pass, but has always done well against the run and who is now very healthy). the middle is clogged up and runners have to bounce outside where our stud LB corps of keek, beason, thomas davis, chase blackburn, and aj klein...or quinton mikell (very stout against the run) will pick them up.
speaking of kuechly, watch him against the ravens and watch that defense with him. the beefed up interior gives him and the rest of the LBs freedom to fly all over the place. keek is faster than most. he's stronger than most. he's probably the smartest person on the field. there's a reason that there is legit discussion going on around the league that he is quickly turning into not just one of the best, but the best Mike in the league. beason, before keek was drafted, said in an interview about the draft, forget RG3 and luck...the safest pick in that draft was luke kuechly. little did he know that he was talking up the guy who would replace him.
at any rate, what the new GM did this offseason was give him the personnel he needed to be free to be the elite player he's turning into. again, what you saw when we faced you guys before wasn't at all a good representation of what you'll be seeing on that field on sunday.
oh...and then there's this little thing that hasn't been discussed...special teams. we have ted ginn. we have a legit return guy. one of the best in the league. that's not what we had last year. what you saw in our return game was not a representation of what you saw last year. as a matter of fact, the special teams as a whole is not a good representation of what you saw last year. we fired that lame ST coach we had last year at that point got fired and we replaced him mid season with his assistant who proved to be an upgrade, but in the offseason the team hired bruce dehaven as his assistant. dehaven, if you aren't familiar with him, he's a STs legend in the league having coached some of the best squads for over 20 years. he's had a positive impact on coverage and return units. also, our punter has improved quite a but and the FG kicker we picked up last year has become incredibly reliable as well. the special teams you faced last year isn't a good representation of what they are now.
so pretty much, you may think that your team has improved since last year, esp. from when we played, which i don't doubt. what you may not realize, tho, is that this team has improved...and i feel very safe in assuming this...has improved more than seattle has. as a whole, the team you faced last year isn't a good representation of what you'll be facing on sunday. in fact i think this team is about to shock the league and few will have seen it coming.
