TJ
Frank Kaminsky is my Hero.
Alright listen up! Put away the shotguns, untie the nooses, and keep the 30 Tylenol pills in the bottle. Let's try to take a deep breath and figure out exactly what's going on here.
Most everyone seems to be in a state of panic and making knee jerk reactions based on emotions and not facts; for example, Whisenhunt sucks, start Max Hall, the defense is garbage, etc.
I did a thread like this right after free agency started when we lost Dansby, Q and Rolle all in the same day. I hope this helps. With that said, here is my emotionless, as objective as possible analysis as to what's going on:
1) The quarterback situation. This is the main talking point of the season and it started the minute Kurt said goodbye. Right now, we are stuck with Anderson and two rookie back ups. The idea is still perplexing, but it is what it is. While we seem to be quick to bring Anderson to the guillotine, take a moment and think about what the other option is. An UDFA who although has the skills to succeed in this league, needs at least a year to come to his own. He excelled in preseason, but against a bunch of guys out of the league, one of whom delivered a package to me Fed Ex this morning (just kidding). Believe it or not, I think Hall at this moment would be worse than Anderson. In a sense, Anderson is a rookie in Whis's system and is learning the ropes. While I'm not saying he will succeed, our best option is to wait and see what happens. We have a game against the Raiders in which we should win and put up good offensive numbers. Perhaps it is a springboard for the rest of the season. I know Anderson will have at least one good looking game where he completes about 60% of his passes (no more) and throws for a couple of TDs. When is the $64 question. I hope soon because this situation is tenuous at best. Throwing Hall to the woods figuratively speaking is essentially waiving a white flag and saying we are preparing for next season. In short: wait til after the Chargers game to kill Anderson
2) The offensive line - "Dios mio." This is a terrible topic, but one that needs to be addressed. There was a ton of shuffling this season. Adding Faneca, moving Levi to LT, starting Keith at RT. All three have shown signs of weakness. Although Levi is back at his natural position, he has still been a penalty machine and missing assignments left and right. I'm very disappointed in his play. He has shown little to nothing since being drafted and I think the "bust" tag applies to him at this point. Faneca has been somewhat of a disappointment. I was naive to believe he would be a substantial upgrade, seeing that he is a 9-time pro bowler, a savvy veteran, and working with a coaching staff with whom he had success. Keith is obviously in a learning curve. I can tell. Perhaps, this line needs time to gel, but as it stands, they are not an asset. Additionally, I have not been a big fan of Grimm as an o line coach. The run blocking has always been suspect and the small # of sacks was large in part to a Warner quick release. I noticed he got hit a ton.
3) The defense - OK, im not as down on them as others are. I thought they played very well Week 1. There was a lot of fight and unity with that group. Ignore the fact that they played the Rams. It was still a good effort. They could have easily disappointed but didnt. A-Dubb won defensive player of the week and rightfully so. As for Week 2, the effort was not there. No question. There was no assertiveness in any of the leaders on the team. A-Dubb was suspect, Nine-0 seemed distracted and others followed suit, like DRC. No one had a good game. I mean, no one. My opinion is (and I loathe using this excuse) is that it was the 2nd of back-to-back road games to start the season. I think the team was content on just being 1-1 coming back to UofP. Simple. This is on the coaching staff. Davis and Whis need to hold these players accountable, even if it means verbally accosting the leaders of the group. They are talented. No question. We have at least 4 potential pro bowlers on D. They need to find that mojo...fast. In my opinion, I think they will. But Whis needs to assure us that these let down games are a thing of the past. Phili, NYJ, and NE in 2008 and SF, Indy and Nawlins in 2009.
4) The running game - Not bad, but not good. Remember that Beanie is nursing a sore knee. When he comes back, this unit will change. So far, Hightower has been alright aside from putting two on the carpet. The two headed monster will give us another dimension in the offense. It may ease some tension in the passing game because I feel defenses respect Beanie more so than Timmy simply because of potential and the threat of the big gainer. Beanie is in much better shape than last season. he is faster and stronger. I hope the injury has not effected that; otherwise, he will be better than last season. If the run blocking comes about and Beanie returns 100%, expect us to be a threat on the ground. The other thing is the fullback situation. Ive seen Maui'a make good plays, but he has the tendency to whiff. So in this respect, we need to run more two TE sets and motion into the offset-I for run situations.
5) The receivers - This situation is eerily similar to the QB situation. We have three rookies on the depth chart and three veterans. One of whom just had surgery and is out for a considerable amount of time. So after Fitz and Stevie it's Williams, Roberts and Komar. Yikes. As much as I like Williams, I need to see some proof that he is the real deal. Komar sucks (sorry Komar lovers) and Roberts is still a work in progress. This undoubtedly has an affect on the passing game as three wide sets are not a threat to a defense until one of the three rookies comes about. Almost have to run trips in obvious passing situations. And our tight ends really havent done much. As a matter of fact, combined they have 2 catches for 11 yards. So basically, nothing has changed in that department. So in my opinion, the WR core is not as solid as we want to believe. If a rookie comes out of the woodwork, then I wont be so concerned.
5) The 49ers - The love for this team needs to wear off. Those whose anxiety went up 10 notches after this game need to realize a few things. First and foremost, they are 0-2. Last in the division. Second, they had many things going for them last night. For example, the retirement of Rice's number, MNF and the home opener. So their motivation was sky high. They were definitely playing at 110%. But their 110% is the equivalent to the Saints 60% and look who pulled out victorious. I have said all along. Singletary and Smith will find ways to lose ball games. Their offense is suspect with two rookie linemen and only one receiving threat in Davis. Yes they have Gore, but they can only ride that horse until he has more foot problems. And as Westwood One said last night, there is confusion as to what their identity is on offense. Are they a spread-em-out team? Are they a run it up the gut type of group? In short, don't let this affect your train of thought. Focus on the Cards. Not the 49ers.
6) The rest of the division -Sucks. That's all that needs to be said.
OK, I have stated my peace. Overall, I think this is a 7 or 8 win team. No better, no worse. Can this get us a playoff spot? Perhaps with the way this division is set up. But I do trust Whisenhunt to right the ship and win maybe despite Anderson as the starter. Before we jump off buildings, let's see how this season transpires. It'll be interesting to say the least.
Most everyone seems to be in a state of panic and making knee jerk reactions based on emotions and not facts; for example, Whisenhunt sucks, start Max Hall, the defense is garbage, etc.
I did a thread like this right after free agency started when we lost Dansby, Q and Rolle all in the same day. I hope this helps. With that said, here is my emotionless, as objective as possible analysis as to what's going on:
1) The quarterback situation. This is the main talking point of the season and it started the minute Kurt said goodbye. Right now, we are stuck with Anderson and two rookie back ups. The idea is still perplexing, but it is what it is. While we seem to be quick to bring Anderson to the guillotine, take a moment and think about what the other option is. An UDFA who although has the skills to succeed in this league, needs at least a year to come to his own. He excelled in preseason, but against a bunch of guys out of the league, one of whom delivered a package to me Fed Ex this morning (just kidding). Believe it or not, I think Hall at this moment would be worse than Anderson. In a sense, Anderson is a rookie in Whis's system and is learning the ropes. While I'm not saying he will succeed, our best option is to wait and see what happens. We have a game against the Raiders in which we should win and put up good offensive numbers. Perhaps it is a springboard for the rest of the season. I know Anderson will have at least one good looking game where he completes about 60% of his passes (no more) and throws for a couple of TDs. When is the $64 question. I hope soon because this situation is tenuous at best. Throwing Hall to the woods figuratively speaking is essentially waiving a white flag and saying we are preparing for next season. In short: wait til after the Chargers game to kill Anderson
2) The offensive line - "Dios mio." This is a terrible topic, but one that needs to be addressed. There was a ton of shuffling this season. Adding Faneca, moving Levi to LT, starting Keith at RT. All three have shown signs of weakness. Although Levi is back at his natural position, he has still been a penalty machine and missing assignments left and right. I'm very disappointed in his play. He has shown little to nothing since being drafted and I think the "bust" tag applies to him at this point. Faneca has been somewhat of a disappointment. I was naive to believe he would be a substantial upgrade, seeing that he is a 9-time pro bowler, a savvy veteran, and working with a coaching staff with whom he had success. Keith is obviously in a learning curve. I can tell. Perhaps, this line needs time to gel, but as it stands, they are not an asset. Additionally, I have not been a big fan of Grimm as an o line coach. The run blocking has always been suspect and the small # of sacks was large in part to a Warner quick release. I noticed he got hit a ton.
3) The defense - OK, im not as down on them as others are. I thought they played very well Week 1. There was a lot of fight and unity with that group. Ignore the fact that they played the Rams. It was still a good effort. They could have easily disappointed but didnt. A-Dubb won defensive player of the week and rightfully so. As for Week 2, the effort was not there. No question. There was no assertiveness in any of the leaders on the team. A-Dubb was suspect, Nine-0 seemed distracted and others followed suit, like DRC. No one had a good game. I mean, no one. My opinion is (and I loathe using this excuse) is that it was the 2nd of back-to-back road games to start the season. I think the team was content on just being 1-1 coming back to UofP. Simple. This is on the coaching staff. Davis and Whis need to hold these players accountable, even if it means verbally accosting the leaders of the group. They are talented. No question. We have at least 4 potential pro bowlers on D. They need to find that mojo...fast. In my opinion, I think they will. But Whis needs to assure us that these let down games are a thing of the past. Phili, NYJ, and NE in 2008 and SF, Indy and Nawlins in 2009.
4) The running game - Not bad, but not good. Remember that Beanie is nursing a sore knee. When he comes back, this unit will change. So far, Hightower has been alright aside from putting two on the carpet. The two headed monster will give us another dimension in the offense. It may ease some tension in the passing game because I feel defenses respect Beanie more so than Timmy simply because of potential and the threat of the big gainer. Beanie is in much better shape than last season. he is faster and stronger. I hope the injury has not effected that; otherwise, he will be better than last season. If the run blocking comes about and Beanie returns 100%, expect us to be a threat on the ground. The other thing is the fullback situation. Ive seen Maui'a make good plays, but he has the tendency to whiff. So in this respect, we need to run more two TE sets and motion into the offset-I for run situations.
5) The receivers - This situation is eerily similar to the QB situation. We have three rookies on the depth chart and three veterans. One of whom just had surgery and is out for a considerable amount of time. So after Fitz and Stevie it's Williams, Roberts and Komar. Yikes. As much as I like Williams, I need to see some proof that he is the real deal. Komar sucks (sorry Komar lovers) and Roberts is still a work in progress. This undoubtedly has an affect on the passing game as three wide sets are not a threat to a defense until one of the three rookies comes about. Almost have to run trips in obvious passing situations. And our tight ends really havent done much. As a matter of fact, combined they have 2 catches for 11 yards. So basically, nothing has changed in that department. So in my opinion, the WR core is not as solid as we want to believe. If a rookie comes out of the woodwork, then I wont be so concerned.
5) The 49ers - The love for this team needs to wear off. Those whose anxiety went up 10 notches after this game need to realize a few things. First and foremost, they are 0-2. Last in the division. Second, they had many things going for them last night. For example, the retirement of Rice's number, MNF and the home opener. So their motivation was sky high. They were definitely playing at 110%. But their 110% is the equivalent to the Saints 60% and look who pulled out victorious. I have said all along. Singletary and Smith will find ways to lose ball games. Their offense is suspect with two rookie linemen and only one receiving threat in Davis. Yes they have Gore, but they can only ride that horse until he has more foot problems. And as Westwood One said last night, there is confusion as to what their identity is on offense. Are they a spread-em-out team? Are they a run it up the gut type of group? In short, don't let this affect your train of thought. Focus on the Cards. Not the 49ers.
6) The rest of the division -Sucks. That's all that needs to be said.
OK, I have stated my peace. Overall, I think this is a 7 or 8 win team. No better, no worse. Can this get us a playoff spot? Perhaps with the way this division is set up. But I do trust Whisenhunt to right the ship and win maybe despite Anderson as the starter. Before we jump off buildings, let's see how this season transpires. It'll be interesting to say the least.
