Monday, September 18, 2006

But when I said run the ball more, I meant run it FORWARD

In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I was driving through Eastern West Virginia and Western Maryland from 12 to 4 Sunday afternoon, so I didn't actually see any of the game, other than what NFL.com gives away for free.
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So, Grossi's big thing last week was that we need to blame Carthon for the loss because he didn't establish the run immediately. So Carthon comes out pounding the run, with nothing to show for it. So how does Grossi explain this twist of events? He says that we need to do more swing passes, and we need to call DIFFERENT run plays, and we need to establish an offensive personality (whatever that means). I don't want to defend Carthon, but at least Grossi isn't calling the plays.

Personally, I suscribe to the Football Outsiders POV (as explained by that oasis for the thinking Browns fan, Mistake by the Lake): While there is a demonstrably strong correllation between successful teams and teams that run the ball alot, it is not because running the ball causes the teams to be successful.

I like Winslow's idea: Open it up. The line was able to hold up, so Frye should be able to do SOMETHING with it.
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Yesterday Wimbley got his first sack, and Edwards got his first 100 yeard game. But, while Wimbley looks like he might live up to his billing, I'm still not convinced about Edwards. He dropped passes again yesterday, and that is simply not acceptable. The thing is, big physical receivers aren't really that hard to find. Quincy Morgan was a big, physical receiver, and we know what a bust he was. A number one receiver has to first and foremost be consistent. And yesterday, even though Braylon was plenty impressive with his 75 yard completion, he dropped enough passes that we cannot really count on him to be one of our playmakers.

So, until Edwards DOES prove himself, he should get no more balls than Travis Wilson, Jerome Harrison, Lawrence Vickers, or Josh Cribbs. And until he proves himself, I'd rather see more 1 WR/2 (or 3) TE sets. Darnell Dinkins deserves the chance to drop some balls. We already know that Edwards can do that much.

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