Take on Carolina Game?

I put the Good last so you can leave this post on a high note.

The Ugly:

DC goes down with an injury is the most obvious.
Lack of Defensive adjustments even into the 2nd half.

5 of the first 6 possessions for the Panthers turned into scores the one that didn’t was a missed FG, which we took down to the other end of the field and lost DC for the season and then missed the FG which would have made it 7-3 Carolina. On the 7th possession, they went conservative by running the ball and then punted.

The Bad:

Missed FG by the Vikes on a bad snap again. They didn’t show a good angle on it, but BJ had to pick it up off the ground again.

Even on of our best blockers, No.40 gets a holding call on a nice gain.

No.52’s coverage on a TE for a long pass down the sideline.

K-Rob KO’d on the kick return.

4 sacks in the first half.

We get a TO and have to give it back to Carolina because of a def hold by No.27.

Bad for us anyways was the fact that DelHomme was dead on all game except for two plays. One was where Smith bailed him out by adjusting to the ball and making a one-handed grab(BTW on that play a LB hit Jake just after he released the ball and leveled him). The second was one that No.55 should have had an INT on the play.

[size=18px]The GOOD:[/size]

Napo did well in coverage on their RB.

Smoot on Gardner, playing the ball, batted ball away, flag was thrown and picked up which I thought was the right call because he was playing the ball.

The Run D was good again, even though we gave up over 100 yards to 3 RB.

We scored 2 TDs in the second half even though the 2nd was kind of a garbage TD. We matched Carolina’s TD total in the second half.

Last but not least, the play of Brad and Marcus in the pass game. Two times they connected on 3rd and long. One was 3 and 10, which Brad hit Marcus just beyond the sticks. The second was 3 and 15 after a false start penalty, where brad threw if to Marcus for 45 yards. There was no YAC on that play, it was the distance of the throw, caught in double coverage.

[size=18px]Build On:[/size]

Once again, we didn’t give up on the field. On Offense, we got a chance to get a little momentum, which we will have to carry through practice and into the next game with the Lions. I think we might have found our 3 main guys to be the recipients of BJ’s passes, Wiggins, M-Rob and T-Will. At least BJ seemed to be comfortable with those three. Before we had to abandon the run, there were a few glimpses of hope by both Moore and Bennett unfortunately they both had a nice run each that was called back due to holding.

No man should have to be an Island, so let’s give Smoot some help. He was roasted and AW was nice enough to speak up about it which I think was on Smoot’s behalf.

I think that Brad will do well in the Offense if we can get him some time. It wasn’t just DC. It is the OL too. Once BJ got in there, they were doing less blitzing and only a 4 man rush and he was having the pocket collapse on him. He was also sacked a few times. Oh and on the nice 45 yard gain to Marcus, he gave a nice pump fake, a thing of beauty. Keep your head up and keep cheering!

Any comments?

Tend to agree. I think penalties killed us again. Every drive was negated by someone holding or motion or illegal shifts, etc. It just hurts to watch.

I agree that the defense didn't adjust.

I think Brad will be ok. The main issue right now is the offensive line, and that is where our problems begin. On defense, Smoot was just overcovering and he was way out of position a lot. He comes up with big plays, but he is just out of position too often. When he was getting burned, he was getting no help, even after it was obvious that he couldn't cover Smith 1-on-1.

One thing I don't understand about Cottrell and Tice is, in the week leading up to the Carolina game, Tice was saying, "Steve Smith represents 48 % of the Panthers' offense". After him saying that all week, I was expecting us to stack the defense to prevent Smith from having a big day. Put two guys on him and keep him double-covered all day. I don't understand why they mostly had single on Smith. It makes no sense. It would be like saying, we have to stop Moss, and then putting single coverage on him.... :roll: :sad:

You would have to be BLIND to have sat through that game and not realise the coaching staff outta be lynched! Never before have I seen so much talent on a football team squandered like this.

There is no discipline on this team, which is why we struggle on the road. Our poor outdoor record is irrelevant because our outdoor games are all on the road anyway. We lose on the road because of lack of discipline and focus. It all comes back to our coaching staff.

I laughed so hard when I read about Cottrell having made adjustments to Steve Smith schooling Smooth because I saw no double teams. All I saw was Smoot backing off which gave Smith plenty of room for the dump pass. In fact the only adjustment was from the Panthers who played conservative in the second half.

We had an almost healthy roster so you can't blame injuries on our struggle. Daunte was on track for another pathetic game before his injury anyway so his injury does not factor in.

Minnesota has been very patient with Tice and his 'players coach' approach to the game. However, enough is enough... it is time for an overhaul and instill sime discipline into this team.

You are 100 % right, Guruzen. It is bad coaching. Tice makes statements like "we have to stop Steve Smith", but there is no follow-through. Cottrell doesn't adjust and you are right, there is a total lack of focus and execution. I also totally agree with you that the "players' coach" thing is just B.S. You get chemistry and the team on your side by winning, not by being all chummy with the guys. Does anyone believe that the NY Giants' coach - who was known as a harsh disciplinarian, no fun, and not a "players' coach" is actually disliked at this point in the season by the Giants ?

I don't think so...