Changes? 1/4 of the season completed

[Humble_Beast]

What changes would you want to see to see from this team? I know no one is happy with 2-2 but came close to being 3-1, my prediction before the season.. what are some of the changes you would like to see? 

OLine play with a mean streak- offense line has lost the battle at the LOS which is the big reason why we can't run and Carr struggled before getting hurt. This unit needs to get that mean streak they had last year. The team success all starts with the offensive line 

offense playcalling- sad when Tony Romo can predict most the plays... 

get Cooper going- this Is suppose to be his break out year and and Cooper is off to a horrible start. Sure he was getting double team and Denver is tough. These next 4 games is a great time for Coop to get going.. 

bench Newhouse, start Sharpe- we should try to get Sharpe up to speed while Carr is out. Newhouse is what he is... 

Roberts and Patterson- these guys got new deals, they need to produce now. Crabtree is hurt, and teams can't double team Cooper if these guys step it up... 

marshawn- I really doing blame him because there hasn't been any holes. Offense is predictable when he is in the game, possibly use him as a receiver to keep defense guessing 

insert Conely- throw him into the wolves and let him start. Woodson got burned his rookie year but it allowed him to get better. Defense has been playing better than I thought they would...

 

[RaisinBran]

Cheers everyone... been a while since I posted something or even been on the forum...Just wanted to say a few things.

Really disappointed in "Beast Mode" so far... gotta say I was honestly expecting him to dominate and i haven't seen much from him. We got him to convert short yardage situations and we either don't use him, or when we do, he fails to get a yard. Blocking hasn't been great but still he needs to be able to convert on a 3rd and 1. Need to get Richard and Washington more touches maybe.

Also really disappointed in Amari Cooper. Seems to lack mental toughness and I think that's a big reason why he drops so many balls. The physical ability is there to be great, but mentally? I'm not so sure anymore. I always thought he would get past it as his confidence grows with Carr but he always seems to lose focus for the reason I just mentioned (i think).

Is Conley still hurt? Didn't see him out there on Sunday. It amazes me how we keep drafting defensive backs that end up getting hurt in their rookie year. Amerson has been a disappointment...

One huge positive for us this year: Giorgio Tavecchio! Looks like we've finally found our future kicker and Sebas replacement. I'm thinking Sebas retires after this year as a Raider.

 

[Rolni]

To be fair Tony Romo is calling most of the plays for every team so far

 

I want the OL to be more consistent and more dominant in the run blocking department. With that said I would still keep this 5 guy in the starting line up. We don't need a rookie in there now IMO. I would love to see Sharpe get some 6th OL duties! Use some double TE packages with Lee Smith and David Sharpe. 

Lynch is interesting, since he is trying like hell, but can't really work his magic. His Seattle OL's were worse then this current group, so it is strange...I'm not ready to call for his head, since Washington is also struggling mightily...

Get Cooper fixed. I'm not sure what is the problem with him, but I'm pretty sure it is more of a mental issue. Let him be a "hero" with Carr out. Scheme the ball to him fast and early, get his confident back up, so he can get back to where he was...

Use them TE's and RB's more in the pass game. I need more from Cook, more from Walford and also more from The Smurfs and much more from Olawale...

 

On defense I would really like to see Conley more and more.

Also put Carrie in for good instead of Smith. Even McDonald played better then Smith...

Let that young LB trio develope.

Let D.Latham get some opportunity instead of Ward, who is struggling mightily...

[big_palooka]

With respect to Smith, man on man coverage, he shut down Thomas on Sunday.

[Rolni]

12 minutes ago, big_palooka said:

With respect to Smith, man on man coverage, he shut down Thomas on Sunday.

You could be right I haven't kept close attention to him specifically. To me it seemed that Siemian was really under pressure and not accurate enough to play his WR's.

[holyghost]

In regards to changes already made, I have to vent about Downing. I am starting to dislike him quite a bit.

1. I didn't like the screaming celebration on the Denver TD to Holton. Don't act like you hung the moon because you scored 7 points on Denver. Really, act like you've been there before, but more importantly, like you're actually going there again too. In a game we lost, with that being the only score, they guy is acting like it was the go ahead TD late in a championship game. 

2. He's starting to show facets of what causes every coaching failure to fail. Going against the grain. If there's one thing this overall mediocre to below average coaching staff has shown so far to do well, it is adjust, make changes on the fly, and at least try to utilize the personnel and what they can do well. And not force what they cannot. In reading the past couple weeks it seems Downing is the problem. At least to me. Apparently we were running the ball with a quick tempo against Denver and Carr was told not to check out of plays (Ted Nguyen). I have a big problem with this.

• I think a big reason we had such a good offense last year was that Carr is adept at checking out of plays. But much more importantly, he also plays more confident when doing so. I couldn't put my finger on it before, but Carr has seemed tentative this year. Even in the first two games. Now I think I know why.
• This Oline, despite it's hype, is and has always been far better at finesse pass blocking than power run blocking. Unless you're rnning behind the left guard every play, it's not going to happen like that. We pass to set up the run, the Denver game last year was the prime example of this. And that's what you can do with a smart good quarterback. But against Denver apparently we we were running against a loaded box (Nguyen) and the best run defending team in the league. Outmanned in the box, and the QB is being told to ignore this. That's called forcing the issue and clearly it did not work. Nor was it ever going to work, if Downing was paying attention to the already revealed identity of the players he is working with. This is every coaching failure ever, described. 

3. Last week it was something similar, I cannot remember the tweet. But something like he told Carr just to make the passes and let Downing worry about scheming guys open for him. Same garbage. Here's the thing about that. Only the most skilled and seasoned coaches can execute this, and even that is an illusion. If you have a Belichick you can play this game, and I am sure even Brady has planety of latitude to make it all look better than it is. In truth, I think, the best of the best coaches scheme well within the confines of what they do well. The best of the best coaches know who and what they are working with. Use what you have to it's best effect. Downing, you're not Belichick. Which brings me to my next points.

4. I do not really understand the "young" coordinators idea that Del Rio has. Between Downing and Norton it seems he wants young coordinators he can mold. They're not players. You don't need young coordinators because they're not put out to pasture once they hit their 30s like players are. Or even their 40s. The best thing that happens to a coach is all those years where they make mistakes so that when they are older they learn the most important thing, which is all of the above. Don't be arrogant thinking that you can outcall everyone else. The best teams and units run because they have good players put in good positions to do what they do well. And a good QB to make tweaks on the fly to keep it all running well. The hubris of a young coach. 

5. I'm not seeing the incredible urgency behind a potential loss of Downing in the offseason. Never hire or promote someone who isn't ready or seasoned just because you don't want to lose them to somewhere else. You take the 6th ranked offense, and on the upswing from there, and overturn the apple cart just because you don't want to lose the QB coach? I think that is stupid. 

6. This offense was a no brainer, already a good unit and the only reason this team went 12-4 to begin with. The best thing the guy (Downing) could have done was to leave it the hell alone and add wrinkles to make it hum even better. Not make wholesale changes such as - forcing them to be an offense and particularly offensive line that "imposes their will" from the getgo. They never did that, and clearly can't do that. Or start ordering around a confident QB to do things that don't really need to be done differently. Handcuffing the quarterback and his confidence in any way, shape, or form. That's the worst damn mistake ever. 

Don't like him at all, need to vent. I'm not Musgrave's biggest fan ever, but the best thing he did was let Carr be and he had some semblance of an understanding of what this offense didn't do that well. He used what he had.

[Dessie]

Another vent ?. We had the whole 'defense has no identity' in pre season now it's the offenses turn I guess. Fast losing any credence with these types of posts imo.

Offense has had 2 bad outings against 2 good defenses, little bit early (again) to be calling out Downing, Lynch etc. 

Seems as though a lot of people now like Musgrave whereas I only seem to remember a handful of us liked what he was doing whilst he was here.

[Dessie]

5 hours ago, big_palooka said:

With respect to Smith, man on man coverage, he shut down Thomas on Sunday.

Agreed, Smith played well on Sunday. We seemed to move the corners around to stay with the matchups rather than playing sides. 

[holyghost]

38 minutes ago, Dessie said:

Another vent ?. We had the whole 'defense has no identity' in pre season now it's the offenses turn I guess. Fast losing any credence with these types of posts imo.

Offense has had 2 bad outings against 2 good defenses, little bit early (again) to be calling out Downing, Lynch etc. 

Seems as though a lot of people now like Musgrave whereas I only seem to remember a handful of us liked what he was doing whilst he was here.

My post is clearly not about liking Musgrave.

I'll stand by the concerns I put forth. Saying the sky is falling is one thing, which is not my purpose nor do I think I expressed that. Raising questions is another. And I raised a number of what I think are quite valid questions, even this early. 

Presenting a first time offensive coordinator as potentially infallible until fired, even if it is early, is a bit head in the sand about it. Why does it have to be black and white almost always around here. Guys who stick by things stick until it's dead and buried. Others overreact immediately without reason. I know I am a little venty about it, but I still took the time to make actual points and try to substantiate them. And most of I went out of my way to say I just don't like the hire and don't like the OC. You can't argue my liking or not liking of something. 

[big_palooka]

@holyghost I'm interested in where you're getting this. I was under the impression Carr was allowed more autonomy over the offense to check out of plays, etc. Against Denver, he checked out of a number of plays. He checked into Patterson's TD against the Jets. So I don't get where this is coming from.

My complaint w/ Downing is he's been predictable in his play calling. Not a lot of play action, mis-direction, etc. to keep the defense guessing. And Carr has the yips. He's not seeing the field and is trying to get the ball out to quick. 

[Humble_Beast]

4 hours ago, holyghost said:

Exactly, I thought it was stupid to fix something that wasn't broken.. .changing the playcaller....  Another thing that made no sense.. Giving Donald Penn a raise after he hurt Derek Carr...Signing an old player to a longer contract -.-

 

[holyghost]

2 minutes ago, big_palooka said:

@holyghost I'm interested in where you're getting this. I was under the impression Carr was allowed more autonomy over the offense to check out of plays, etc. Against Denver, he checked out of a number of plays. He checked into Patterson's TD against the Jets. So I don't get where this is coming from.

My complaint w/ Downing is he's been predictable in his play calling. Not a lot of play action, mis-direction, etc. to keep the defense guessing. And Carr has the yips. He's not seeing the field and is trying to get the ball out to quick. 

I quoted where I am getting it on multiple notes. Ted Nguyen tweets for this past week's issues, and I do not remember last week's one about Carr letting Downing worry about doing it with "scheming". That was in an article. 

 

Downing has been predictable. We're bottom of the league in deep passes, intermediate passes, and play action. All 3. Quite imbalanced with minimal to no misdirection and going away from proven strengths. His running of the offense is a mess so far. Obviously it is early. On TOP of that issue, or better stated bundle of issues, I have more. I think Carr's yips and indecision has everything to do with Downing's desire for control of things. And the items I quoted I think illustrate a framework of that idea. At no point, possibly even as a rookie, did Carr look so mechanical and indecisive. Multiple times it looks like not only is not finding an open guy, he's not finding anybody. Apply simple logic and ask yourselves which is the greater likelihood - Carr all of a sudden lost his way (pressing becasue of the new contract? Possible..), or what his new and green OC is asking of him is messing him up? No way of knowing other than the clues we see, I'm betting on the latter. 

[Dessie]

1 hour ago, holyghost said:

My post is clearly not about liking Musgrave.

I'll stand by the concerns I put forth. Saying the sky is falling is one thing, which is not my purpose nor do I think I expressed that. Raising questions is another. And I raised a number of what I think are quite valid questions, even this early. 

Presenting a first time offensive coordinator as potentially infallible until fired, even if it is early, is a bit head in the sand about it. Why does it have to be black and white almost always around here. Guys who stick by things stick until it's dead and buried. Others overreact immediately without reason. I know I am a little venty about it, but I still took the time to make actual points and try to substantiate them. And most of I went out of my way to say I just don't like the hire and don't like the OC. You can't argue my liking or not liking of something. 

Everything you post is dripping with ' the sky is falling' attitude.

In  pre season you were venting about Calhoun not getting cut (he did) then its the no identity of the defense. We go 2-0 and you barely post. Now we have lost 2 you are venting about the offense.

It's hard to read your posts now because you come across as someone that just wants to whine, moan, complain or vent. 

[Nodisrespect]

The biggest difference this year is Carr's familiarity with the offense, last year he could go whole games without mentally missing reads, this year there are guys running wide open all over the field and he doesn't see them similar to when he was a rookie. I can deal with the inaccurate throws and the drops but if he doesn't understand the read progression and how to read the defense presnap like last year we are back to square one.

A big part of the run game and oline success was due to his ability to pass against loaded boxes with max protect and run the ball vs light boxes he's not doing that at the moment and it's exposing everything on offense.

We need to simplify the offense and focus on running plays that have a high success rate and expanding from there because the gadget plays will only take you so far.

 

[Nodisrespect]

And Downing obviously thinks we are playing Madden but you can't run 5 wide every snap it fatigues and exposes the offensive line along with qb.

If you could just run 5 wide every play all teams would do it, we need complex route progression and running backs and tightends to block if they want to convert 3rd downs and move the ball down the field.