Half-time grade:
Offense - A minus. Taylor Martinez has looked great. Much better. Running game has looked okay. Would like to see the OL get more of a push when blocking during the run. Mike Marrow is huge, but i don't see much power when he tries to run through the blocks. Maybe I am used to seeing smaller guys fit through there and break out for a huge gain. A few mental errors and miscommunication, that will get cleaned up though.
Defense - solid C. They have shown flashes, but tackling is horrible. There is no excuse for that. Bo mentioned that USM was gonna be a difficult game to prepare for since they had a new coach, 3 new QBs with no film, and generally didn't know what they were gonna do offensively. I give USM props for coming out with a mixed up gameplan. But this game shouldn't be this close. Minus the special teams blunder, 10 points is still too much. It's not necessarily how many points USM has, its the way we have given them up. I hope some strong words are said to the defense in the locker room. Need better play from everyone on the defense.
Special Teams - C plus. You learned the dangerous lesson that Lamprey is fast and hopefully given up the only kickoff for a TD this year. Stay in your lanes, shed the blocks, and hit the ball carrier. Its that simple. Maher going 0 - 2 on field goals, i cant help but think its a case of first game jitters. I don't know. I hope he doesn't miss any more kicks this year. Returns have been a pretty good bright spot on the special teams so far this game.
