82CardsGrad
7 x 70
With Palmer going down, it got me think about what this team could/should do to continue to move in the direction of the post season...
Up to this point, going 8 & 1, you wouldn't think there are many players that have underperformed, or otherwise not played up to their promise. But, the truth is that Stanton in not Palmer. Stanton is not a starting NFL QB. And while he hasn't done a damn thing when he's had his chances this year to freak me out or make me feel like he can't produce W's, the fact remains that he is a backup for a reason... Which, for me, means that other players will have to do more, be more, produce more.
But who? Certainly our defense as a whole can't be relied upon to do much more, can they? If anything, that entire unit has actually over-achieved when considering the losses we took on that side of the ball. Sure, Peterson is coming on and it appears we might be seeing the beginning of a resurgence with him. But, as a whole, our defense really can't be expected to play much, if any better than what they've produced so far this season...
The offense? This is where the improvement needs to come IMHO... Can the O-line, which has pass protected VERY well all year, protect Stanton just as well the rest of the way? We now enter the meat-grinder part of our season. With games against the Lions, 9ers and 2 against the Seahawks, our offense as a whole and our O-line in particular will now be facing their greatest challenges on a weekly basis.
Can they pop open bigger holes for Ellington to exploit? Can Ellington produce more on the ground? What we saw from him this past Sunday was a bit concerning... at least for me as their were many more yards to be had, yet, Ellington wasn't willing to take the additional hit to grab an extra 3-5-7 yards...
There's guys like Floyd and Carlson who clearly have significant upside potential. Will we see them become more productive features in our offense? Is it logical to expect such a thing?
In the end, can we grab another 3-4 wins? IMHO, 10 wins won't get us into the post season and I'm sure BASK are thinking the same way. With Philly, Dallas and Detroit all sitting at 7 wins, and Green Bay & Seattle with 6 each, not to mention the 9ers at 5 wins, just getting to 10 wins will leave us very exposed... 11 wins and we're in. 12 and we get ourselves a bye. So, with Stanton at the helm, how does it happen?
I'm hopeful that our offense takes this as a huge challenge and that each player takes it upon himself to do more, be more and become more productive than they've been during these first 9 games.
Up to this point, going 8 & 1, you wouldn't think there are many players that have underperformed, or otherwise not played up to their promise. But, the truth is that Stanton in not Palmer. Stanton is not a starting NFL QB. And while he hasn't done a damn thing when he's had his chances this year to freak me out or make me feel like he can't produce W's, the fact remains that he is a backup for a reason... Which, for me, means that other players will have to do more, be more, produce more.
But who? Certainly our defense as a whole can't be relied upon to do much more, can they? If anything, that entire unit has actually over-achieved when considering the losses we took on that side of the ball. Sure, Peterson is coming on and it appears we might be seeing the beginning of a resurgence with him. But, as a whole, our defense really can't be expected to play much, if any better than what they've produced so far this season...
The offense? This is where the improvement needs to come IMHO... Can the O-line, which has pass protected VERY well all year, protect Stanton just as well the rest of the way? We now enter the meat-grinder part of our season. With games against the Lions, 9ers and 2 against the Seahawks, our offense as a whole and our O-line in particular will now be facing their greatest challenges on a weekly basis.
Can they pop open bigger holes for Ellington to exploit? Can Ellington produce more on the ground? What we saw from him this past Sunday was a bit concerning... at least for me as their were many more yards to be had, yet, Ellington wasn't willing to take the additional hit to grab an extra 3-5-7 yards...
There's guys like Floyd and Carlson who clearly have significant upside potential. Will we see them become more productive features in our offense? Is it logical to expect such a thing?
In the end, can we grab another 3-4 wins? IMHO, 10 wins won't get us into the post season and I'm sure BASK are thinking the same way. With Philly, Dallas and Detroit all sitting at 7 wins, and Green Bay & Seattle with 6 each, not to mention the 9ers at 5 wins, just getting to 10 wins will leave us very exposed... 11 wins and we're in. 12 and we get ourselves a bye. So, with Stanton at the helm, how does it happen?
I'm hopeful that our offense takes this as a huge challenge and that each player takes it upon himself to do more, be more and become more productive than they've been during these first 9 games.
