Few things (or many things now that I read back over it) ..
Taylor makes me want to punch a kitten at times. At this point, I get it. He is never going to be a good passer. But at the very least, when receivers are running WIDE OPEN, I expect him to get them the ball (Legate). At the very least, I expect him to put his passes in a catchable spot for the receiver and not all over the place (Cooper, Bell, Turner, etc.,).
One thing I mentioned last year that Taylor needed to do is get out of the way of unnecessary contact. So far this year, he has done it with his sliding and how he is absorbing contact. I do see him running a bit more timid, but at the very least he is protecting himself for later in the season.
Burkhead is a beast, no other way to put it.
Enunwa and his stiff arm is just filthy. That kid is a monster and I wish we could find a way to get him the ball more.
Same with Kyler. He is an absolute matchup nightmare for any LB to even attempt to cover. We are doing ourselves a disservice by not getting him the ball more and exploiting the huge advantage he gives us.
Andrew Rodriguez is horrid. I laughed on the goal line in the 1st half watching this kid try to block. Honestly, his play doesn't even warrant him in any substitution patterns either to give our guards a rest.
Choi played very well again. Props to him, and especially to him for being one of the few backups who stepped up when called upon to help shore up a position.
And the defense ..
The entire defense as a whole needs to find a fire. I don't care about the score, I don't care about the stats, and I especially don't care about this game 'not being as close as the score shows.' I want to see a team tackling well and not allowing multiple players from multiple teams break tackles so easily. I want to see a team flying to the ball rather than going at it like it's a walkthrough. I want to see a team that is making plays behind the LOS forcing havoc against opposing teams.
But as positions go individually ..
At the end positions, someone is going to have to step up. Cam is playing through an injury, so I give him a bit of a break. But someone from Ankrah, Carter, Williams, Martin, or anyone else is going to have to step up and give us some sort of pass rush from that end. Today, at the very least, Joe Carter gave us as many tackles from that end position as Ankrah had given us in the first 3 games combined.
I thought up the middle we looked stronger in the run game than we had in the past. Randle and Moore showed flashes, but didn't play well the entire game. Still good to see we have some sort of depth we can rely at. Still wish Baker could get stronger so he could thrive in this scheme, because he still gets pushed around more than he should because of it.
Our LBs seemed non-existent to me. David was one of our leading tacklers, but I guess I just expect more from him after last year. I guess I miss that Lavonte that ran like a bat out of hell through would be blockers to make tackles behind the LOS. This year, he's just lacking. Fisher and Compton - LOL. I saw more from Roach in game 1 than I have from either of those two. IMO, I would go with Roach over Fisher.
I want to know who made the decision to put Cooper at CB. Whoever made that decision or wanted to 'experiment' with that idea needs pay docked this week because they didn't do their job for crap. The single #1 reason why Cooper has not seen the field to this point is his ability to cover. He has consistently had trouble turning and running because he plays WAYYY to high in his back peddle. But yet we take a safety who has trouble covering and decide we want to put him at CB? Are you freakin' kidding me?
I also want to know who had made the decision to not allow Josh Mitchell on the travel squad this week while allowing Lance Thorell to travel. I get it, Thorell is a good ST player and has an important role there. But after Mitchell having a solid game last week in his 1st action, the very next week we decide to not allow him to dress and gives his PT to Thorell, a player who has constantly blown chance after chance to carve his spot as a regular on our defense? This should have been a week to give Mitchell even more PT to get more acclimated in playing, but we passed up the chance for whatever reason.
And lastly, the safety play. PJ was PJ. Solid play and he should have his spot locked up for the near future. But we need some athleticism out of that opposite safety spot. Cassidy knows this defense better than anyone and helps guide the younger guys out on the field, but facts are facts when the kid struggles, especially when they line him up man over on another play. It's a bit of a double-edged sword since we have so many younger guys in our secondary that need that guidance, but it hurts because Cassidy has some physical limitations.
Honestly, people just need to step up on our defense. Too many questions and not enough answers on that side of the ball.
We better get it worked out before next week or we are going to have a repeat of Mizzou '08 on our hands. High hopes, and a huge game, but an extremely talented team takes us out behind the woodshed on national TV.
And trust me, that's not an overreaction. Paul Chryst, Montee Ball, James White, Russell Wilson and that massive line are going to test what our defense is REALLY made out of. If the the defense continues as it has, they are going to get gashed next week, and that's just a fact.
