WEEK 3 THOUGHTS -- AHEAD -- & AFTER THE GAME

OKAY...Trying not to beat a dead horse here. So what is the outlook for this coming game against the Saints.? What are you thinking.?  After thinking about it, I am just not certain what to think.

Do you realize that N.O. has already played two Division games.? The Panthers this week will be three straight Division games..!  The Saints lost to the TB Bucs (20-10),  and beat the Falcons (27-26).  Then in week four the Saints will 'travel', ----- Yes, that's the word. Off to Tottenham Stadium in England for a matchup with the Vikings.  Sooo...does that schedule make them "easier" this week, or will it get them more "fired up".?

Winston has not been particularly good, although it could certainly be argued that he has been better than Mayfield.!!  Of course, that wouldn't be saying much at all. Last week Mayfield completed less than 50% of his throws and looked like one of those 'Rainbird' sprinklers, spraying footballs all over the place, high, low, right, left...  Winston has completed about 65% of his throws for about 500 yards so far (which is pretty good..).  He has thrown three INTs against three TDs (which is sort of bad..).  Winston is also said to be "a little banged up".

Will our Offense break through.?  Will our Defense 'hold the line'.?  How upbeat do you feel.?

Let’s see. Our running back is definitely better, our wideouts are better, our qb is even better. It’s a home game (but probably more Saints fans).  Heck I think our defense is more solid. We should win this game. But we find a way to lose by three and Rhule is gone.

^^^^THAT^^^^

 

But seriously, here are my first thoughts:

We lose this (insert any other) game.

Baker Mayfield has at least three batted passes at the line of scrimmage, plus fumbles two snaps.

This game gets more and more interesting. Could turn out to be another Defensive battle. Winston is ailing (supposedly). The Saints have a good/great Defense. The Panthers have a QB that is very blah. Has more passes batted/deflected than any QB I have ever seen. When the balls get 'through', they're all over the place. So far his completion percentage is hovering around 50%. THAT just won't cut it. The Panthers Defense is coming on strong. Wouldn't be surprised to see a over/under of 35-40. 

This will be the first of six Division games for the Panthers.  BUT... The Saints will be playing their third Division game. The first three games to start the season are all Division games for the Saints. NEVER seen that before.  Panthers are still pretty healthy. Couple of nicks but should be okay. Hope D Jack can play.

I have this theory or viewpoint or whatever: Good teams get themselves up for every game and thus they have winning streaks. Bad teams have losing streaks because they are seriously missing something. The middle of the road teams tend to have few streaks but go back and forth. In other words, a 5-5 team doesn't typically go WWWWWLLLLL. They go much closer to WLWLWLWLWL. They do this because, after screwing up and getting a L one week, they now have the extra umph to cause them to get a W the next week. But after getting the W, they now lose that umph. And so on.

Reason I mention this is that I thought we were in that middle ground. I thought we'd come out hot against the Giants because of the extra umph we got from the Browns loss. Because we didn't, I'm really concerned that we may just be in the "something's seriously missing" bad category. Two losses is not enough to be a streak, but the losses plus the way they were played is enough to shift me from 'cautiously optimistic' to 'worried but hopeful.' I hope we pull it together but I'm not very optimistic about this week right now.

I have this theory or viewpoint or whatever: Good teams get themselves up for every game and thus they have winning streaks.  Bad teams have losing streaks because they are seriously missing something.  The middle of the road teams tend to have few streaks but go back and forth.  In other words, a 5-5 team doesn't typically go WWWWWLLLLL.  They go much closer to WLWLWLWLWL.  They do this because, after screwing up and getting a L one week, they now have the extra umph to cause them to get a W the next week.  But after getting the W, they now lose that umph.  And so on.

Reason I mention this is that I thought we were in that middle ground.  I thought we'd come out hot against the Giants because of the extra umph we got from the Browns loss.  Because we didn't, I'm really concerned that we may just be in the "something's seriously missing" bad category.  Two losses is not enough to be a streak, but the losses plus the way they were played is enough to shift me from 'cautiously optimistic' to 'worried but hopeful.'  I hope we pull it together but I'm not very optimistic about this week right now.

Coffee—- I think you and I are VERY similar on this. I am still hopeful, but what I’ve seen so far makes me wonder where the ‘discrepancy’ is. How can we have the talent we have, the “skill position” players, a solid Defense, and yet show little or no “desire” or “fire” to WIN.??
I think we are missing “direction”. We need “leadership” among the players,  AND coaches who are ALL on the same page and who work together. There has to be ONE overriding concern. Being prepared with an all-encompassing desire to win. 
We are NOT there.

Well, at least we won ONE...

Well, at least we won ONE...

To an injured Jameis Winston with broken bones in his spine.  Sad.

So..... Week 3

Once again, the Defense held the line..... Until late in the game when we went into a STUPID "Prevent" style of Defense. Everyone knows (Well everyone with at least half of a brain..) that late in a game, a loose zone is easily defeated. Why, WHY do coaches do that crap.?? The only thing it accomplishes is letting the OPFOR back in the game.  Anyway, good solid Defense for about 2/3 of the game.  I REALLY liked the QB "pressure" game we instituted. It worked well. Winston was way off his game for a long time. Then we let them come back.....SMH

Offensively, we were just plain offensive. Poor, POOR, POOR. Play calls were not great. Not terrible, but not great.  Our Offense's production was basically the rushing game. If not for ONE play, our passing game was basically invisible. O-Line was not bad overall. Ekwonu seemed ...better..? maybe.?? He needs snaps against quality pass-rushers. Hopefully, he'll get there. Liked the two and three TE sets occasionally. Sent a message.  Mayfield... I don't know.  Cam was wild at times. Usually high. But Mayfield..... Can't hit the broad side of a barn---from the INSIDE with the DOORs CLOSED.!!  I have NEVER seen a #1 QB that averaged less than 50% completions....Until  now.

So, my picks for game balls (If I were giving them out..).

Derrick Brown -- A mauler and very disruptive. AND he knows where the ball is.!!
Frankie Luvu -- AGAIN. This guy is turning into a top-line LB.
Marquise Haynes -- Most Surprising. For a big guy, this dude can move. Surprising straight-line speed.

CMC -- His usual stalwart game. Standard fare for CMC
Laviska Shenault -- Here's a welcome surprise. Nicely done.!!
Johnny Hecker -- Should be obvious why he was the "Punter of the Decade".

Shaq and Chinn played good games as well.

Disappointing.....
Pass completion % = abysmal
3rd down conversions = abysmal (4 of 14) Ugh..
We LOST the yardage game = 426--293
We lost the 1st down battle = 19--12
We lost passing yardage to a QB with 4 (??) broken bones in his spine.

Positives.....
We WON the Turnover battle (3) -- One fumble recovery for a TD. Two interceptions.
First time in a LONG time with a Defensive touchdown and a blocked Field Goal

NOT TOO MUCH TO BE HAPPY ABOUT.  (Oh,  We won the game..)

Agreed with all of that. You say "if not for one play" about the passing game and you even have to add that the one play was only slightly the pass and mostly the run. Lotta issues with QB.

Hobbit, you've said all along how unsure you were of Baker being an upgrade over Darnold. I was with you until preseason and I thought Baker won it. Now, I'm looking at this ugly win against a team that thinks it's good but hasn't noticed that they lost their HOF QB and their great coach. I'm thinking of how we started last year with W's against three teams that also didn't realize they were bad yet. I swear I think we looked better with Darnold in those games than we looked today. And certainly better than we looked the first two games.

Darnold is boring and safe and then panicky bad when pressured, but wow! Baker has looked inept for all but a handful of plays. I sure hope he can start showing us something. Otherwise, as painful as the idea is, I'll be hoping for Darnold when he gets back from IR.