A couple thoughts about our preseason offense

[SCMunnerlyn1]

This is the Huddle. Some folks understand what is going on. Some are worried they are seeing a precursor to the regular season. Nothing anyone says will change anybodies mind.

 

I can only recall 2 screens. Both to Barner, and both from DA. Our RBs catch plenty of passes when our O is clicking.

 

We have used zero misdirection, read option, or anything other than off tackle or up the gut.

 

We are using no motion and running basic routes.

 

In other words. Our O is as vanilla as it can get.

 

On D, we are mixing and matching personnel with an eye on evaluation. Very few blitzes or stunts.

 

Running basic cover 2 and zone. Very little man to man, or bump and run. Putting no pressure on the CBs.

 

In short. The D is pretty much as vanilla as it can get.

 

tldr version. It is the preseason. We are evaluating. It sucks for fans. But it is important for the coaches.

 

Somebody who gets it

[KendrickPanther]

It's not even that bad. We've been getting a few first downs per game.

[jarhead]

Obviously we cannot tell anything about the play calling  that involves Cam running the ball but I was dissapointed in the execution by Cam, the OL.,and the coaches

 

Cam is still forcing the ball to Smitty and throwing the ball high and Bell and Aminti are getting beat regularly.

 

On the positive side I see GWilliams holding his on and Gettis looked like he was getting seperation and showed promise.

 

What bothers me the most is Rivera and his coaches  not making adjustments when confronted with  an offense they were not accustomed to. I get it that this is preseason but flashbacks of the first game with the Bucs popped in my mind playing a team with a new coach and scheme and not being able to make game time adjustments.Coahes need to evaluate themselves as well during preseason.The Eagles were able to negate the strength of our front seven.

 

[CRA]

I think the fact they aren't even using play action is the most telling....

[La Pantera]

1st time I've agreed with you in a long time.

We've shown nothing and pretty much ran vanilla stuff to evaluate players.

No QB dives, Bootlegs or Play action in the Red Zone. All are parts of our Red Zone packages.

No Read option or Smoke screens to Smitty which are a big part of this offense.

Vanilla Zone and Man coverage with simple blitzes and Dline stunts on Defense. We all know Mcdermont and Rivera got more schemes for this defense then they are showing in the preseason.

If people would take the time and look they would see we are showing nothing in this preseason.

This!

CRA is also correct. This is about evaluation NOT preparation.

[d-dave]

Thank you guys for an intelligent thread!

My knee jerk reaction is to worry, but many of us need to remember that we've had a fair amount of roster turn over. Lots of new guys, a new GM, and we have to see is those young guys will step up.

Great thread!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[OneBadCat]

Obviously we cannot tell anything about the play calling  that involves Cam running the ball but I was dissapointed in the execution by Cam, the OL.,and the coaches

 

Cam is still forcing the ball to Smitty and throwing the ball high and Bell and Aminti are getting beat regularly.

 

On the positive side I see GWilliams holding his on and Gettis looked like he was getting seperation and showed promise.

 

What bothers me the most is Rivera and his coaches  not making adjustments when confronted with  an offense they were not accustomed to. I get it that this is preseason but flashbacks of the first game with the Bucs popped in my mind playing a team with a new coach and scheme and not being able to make game time adjustments.Coahes need to evaluate themselves as well during preseason.The Eagles were able to negate the strength of our front seven.

 

I think you're looking to far into a preseason game. The Eagles have a new system that they desperately need to get as many reps practicing as possible. It was obvious we did not game plan for that game. It was just no huddle bs all game.

 

[iamhubby1]

Obviously we cannot tell anything about the play calling  that involves Cam running the ball but I was dissapointed in the execution by Cam, the OL.,and the coaches

 

Cam is still forcing the ball to Smitty and throwing the ball high and Bell and Aminti are getting beat regularly.

 

On the positive side I see GWilliams holding his on and Gettis looked like he was getting seperation and showed promise.

 

What bothers me the most is Rivera and his coaches  not making adjustments when confronted with  an offense they were not accustomed to. I get it that this is preseason but flashbacks of the first game with the Bucs popped in my mind playing a team with a new coach and scheme and not being able to make game time adjustments.Coahes need to evaluate themselves as well during preseason.The Eagles were able to negate the strength of our front seven.

I will say this about Cam's accuracy. We don't dink and dunk. We throw the ball down the field. Sure some of his passes sail on him, but he does a fine job on those longer throws.

As for the O-line. The inconsistency does concern me. One play they pick up the blitz, the next they miss. One play they make the blocks, the next play they miss. I am still not sure if it is a matter of not seeing enough of those type plays to get a handle? Or if it really is just in need of an upgrade or two? I want it to be the former, not the latter.

I believe what happened last year with Chud has taught Rivera that self coaching is a must. That they do so on a regular basis, just like watching film. I am hoping that they have grown into a staff that can recognize and adapt in a timely manner. This will only show itself during the regular season though.

All in all, we are in good shape. My only question mark headed into the season is Shula and his play calling. Not sure how much we will see this Thurs. but I do expect to see a little bit more than just vanilla. On both the O and the D.

Then again, what do I know.

[Floppin]

Obviously we cannot tell anything about the play calling  that involves Cam running the ball but I was dissapointed in the execution by Cam, the OL.,and the coaches

 

Cam is still forcing the ball to Smitty and throwing the ball high and Bell and Aminti are getting beat regularly.

 

On the positive side I see GWilliams holding his on and Gettis looked like he was getting seperation and showed promise.

 

What bothers me the most is Rivera and his coaches  not making adjustments when confronted with  an offense they were not accustomed to. I get it that this is preseason but flashbacks of the first game with the Bucs popped in my mind playing a team with a new coach and scheme and not being able to make game time adjustments.Coahes need to evaluate themselves as well during preseason.The Eagles were able to negate the strength of our front seven.

 

There's absolutely no reason to make adjustments. The coaches had a plan for what they wanted to do and see in order to evaluate the defense. They were running basic schemes so that the evaluation could be done on the very basic of football tenets. Playing the mental side of cat and mouse, by schematically altering the defensive scheme in a fuging preseason game, is idiotic and counter-intuitive to what they were actually trying to do with player evaluation.

 

I mean, lets be real here people:

 

Fua is playing with the ones, why? To see if he's even worth considering keeping around any longer.

 

Ginn hasn't done a single bit of returning, why? To see if Adams or Smith can show enough flashes to validate keeping them around: Extra Credit Hint....neither have done poo with their time on the field in their actual positions.

 

Honestly I could go on and on here. The goal of preseason isn't to win, for anyone. Sure the teams would prefer to win, but it's not necessary in preseason. This is evaluation time, time to thin the herd and decide what dead weight to cut. You run vanilla poo so you can get the 1v1 match ups you want for evaluation purposes. 

 

Very few coaches run their full playbook in preseason and the ones that do do it for very specific reasons. Like Kelly in Philly - he want's to gain fan support from an overly critical fanbase that was critical of the hire. There are other examples as well.

 

Yes, you can evaluate individual performances in preseason - like Fua sucking ass every snap, for instance - but total team evaluation, especially for teams that run preseason games like the Panthers do, is fuging asinine and makes anyone who does look like an idiot. 

[AceBoogie]

It's preseason for everyone else too

[ncsfinest21]

100% agree. People need to go back and read what Zod said about preseason and what to expect. The only thing that I would be maybe a little concerned about is cams accuracy. I think by next week he will settle in and shake off the rust. But as for play calling, they are just evaluating talent. If you playing poker are you going to show the table your cards. Hell no! All it would do is give teams a chance to view tape and figure our offense out by week one.

[Matthias]

It might be preseason, but the good teams always look good in the preseason.  The biggest difference between preseason and season is gameplanning.  Yet anyway, preseason or not, there are things that trouble me.  The O-line play is one.  Another is Cam's accuracy. (He missed Smitty who was wide open a couple of times.)  Those are things that are evident.

[iamhubby1]

I think you're looking to far into a preseason game. The Eagles have a new system that they desperately need to get as many reps practicing as possible. It was obvious we did not game plan for that game. It was just no huddle bs all game.

IMO, the most disappointing aspect of that Eagles game was gap control. Ends crashing down and allowing outside runs. LBs not filling the right lane. Not sure if it was the Eagle O that was causing the over eagerness. Or guys trying to do too much, and not staying in their lanes?

I will say this about the Eagle O. It is just a sped up version of the West Coast. Dink and dunk, nickel and dime you to death. Stay disciplined with the run, and it puts the pressure back on them. Because it ain't designed for 2nd and 3rd and longs.

[La Pantera]

It might be preseason, but the good teams always look good in the preseason. The biggest difference between preseason and season is gameplanning. Yet anyway, preseason or not, there are things that trouble me. The O-line play is one. Another is Cam's accuracy. (He missed Smitty who was wide open a couple of times.) Those are things that are evident.

Bullshit! Peyton hardly ever won his preseason games in Indy. And it also seems that way in Denver. What was Greenbays score in their first preseason game this season.

Fans forget, preseason is about finding whos makes the roster and knocking off rust. Winning is great, but its not the end all of preseason games.