The Difference Between Winning & Losing...

[Flugel]

I don't know what everyone's experiences with football have been to date. As a kid, I went to countless football camps to take in everything so I could equip myself with every asset possible to START on top of overtraining like crazy (but it was a fun Hobby). Long story short, I was 5'9" tall telling everyone I was 5'10" so I had to bring something to a varsity team that had 100 boys trying out. I bulked up BUT used my lower center of gravity as an advantage. What else did I need? One camp said you don't EVER leave your stance AFTER hut 1 or what ever the cadence was. You better be WINNING position as early as the h sound of hut or no later than the t sound or the guy looking at the football in his stance gains advantage over winning the position/area inside. Sounds like a no brainer but when we looked at film of our oline coming off the ball my senior year, I was always the first one out of stance and we ran a high pecentage of plays off my ass an OG. I was an average kid that didn't want to perform as an average kid so I made it a personal priority to equip myself to be more than advertised. I had TERRIFIC coaches that were positive that inspired me. I hope I later did the same for kids when it was my turn to get paid to do something that rewarding.

ANYWAY, relating all that to a PROFESSIONAL like Shawn Lauvao in his 2nd season under a good oline coach like George Warhop - I can't throw Warhop's competance or credibility under the bus because the HUMAN part of Lauvao had his head up his ass. ANYONE that has ever coached OGs or played OG knows man basic blocking rules and the mortal sin of allowing a defender in the VERY first gap closest to QB to get through unchallenged. That mistake isn't even allowable at the Freshman football level I coached for a few years or the JV level I coached for 1 year. A replay of Lauvao last week shows he didn't even touch the 320 DT that went right through his inside gap and was hitting McCoy before he could get a 3 step drop pass off. Meaning? That dude was in full speed BECAUSE of mind under matter.

Anyway, I've seen a bunch of seemingly good gains and first downs called back because PROFESSIONALS didn't know how or where to line up. If knowing where to line up is expected in high school, I'm not gonna excuse it in the PROS or blame people standing on th sidelines UNLESS they allow a head up the ass syndrome to stay in the game and repeat the mental errors. THEN, I blame the coaches on the sidelines instead holding the PROFESSIONAL accountable. How difficult is it to know the snap count in those games we had multiple false starts? That's putting the new offense in too many 1st and 15 or 2nd and 15 situations to be successful when players were still learning each other's names in the first few weeks. The HARDEST thing to watch is our favorite beating themselves to the extent of the opponent doesn't have to. That sucks! I've seen 2 games decided in favor of our opponent because we could not execute a FG snap. When that goes plural your buddy Flugel feels like he watching Old Yeller die again Good Lord, these are mistakes you don't expect a PROFESSIONAL to make. Does Tom Cruise forget his lines in a movie? No, he's a PROFESSIONAL.

And worst of all, is seeing a PROFESSIONAL WR babied and pampered into allowing a 5th or 6th drop or just multiple drops on seemingly EVERY given Sunday. Parcells would give that kid a size 13 in the fanny before telling him to sit on the bench the rest of the day. His job is to win not to care if he hurts Terry Glenn's feelings during a terrific rookie season in NE. YES, our franchise is snakebitten but if we lower our standards to girl scout logic about the feelings of grown men - the outcomes in the AFC North will remain self perpetuated disasters. It's really as simple as this: catch the damn ball or take a seat so someone else can do what you aren't. Mike McCarthy benched James Jones late last season when he was dropping passes and Jordy Nelson caught all those same passes. Now, Jordy Nelson remains higher up in the game reps. If that's not enough, they also drafted Randall Cobb for a competitive value of may the better guy play. Has James Jones ever looked as good as what Mike McCarthy challenged him to be with TOUGH LOVE like the bench when he dropped passes so he could SEE Jordy Nelson doing what he was supposed to be doing on Superbowl Sunday? This is a man's game that requires feelings to get trampled in the land of big money incomes. Guys that play for Parcells always hate him. Guys that PLAYED for Parcells always LOVE him. That's because the guy made them all they were capable of being and it wouldn't get appreciated fully until those players reflected back on their careers. Phil Simms is a classic example.

It ALL starts with doing the little things right. Last year, we were ready to END Tampa's day very early on when Hillis fumbled when we we're going in for the kill. The rest of the day, took an inexplicable detour from the way it started. Why? We didn't do 1 thing right like secure the football or at least have it in the arm facing the sideline so the loose ball goes out of bounds instead of over to Tampa. You never know if 1 missed assingment up front means were missing a wide opne receiver downfield. Just like well NEVER know if Eric Wright opted to JUMP and try to swat a pass going over his head to the Ratbird he was supposed to be covering last year ending in a TD for our opponent. For that matter, when Eric Wright advertised his protest to the defensive algnment/coverage strategy he disapporved of - he showed BOTH the Jets and the Ravens he wasn't about to get in a competitive pre snap stance so GUESS where our opponents went? There's another LITTLE thing like studying the film to know the cue of Eric showing he wasn't about to compete enough to WIN. The OCs had those QBs well prepared as to who to exploit when the games were on the line. Speaking of the Jets last year, we seemingly had a first down at the NY Jets 30 yard line when Stuckey was trying to add more YAC but fumbled doing so. LITTLE thing. JJ Watts blocks FGs and extra points, which HAS to come in handy in close games. Again, little things decide football games. My coaches always said the team that does more little things right becomes the team that has their BIG plays most remembered (ie: Norwoods early catches vrs Green's pot of gold at the end of a rainbow). If we're gonna LOSE - I don't have a problem if this team is going down swinging and not beating themselves in the process.

[pl4tinum]

Always a great read Flugel, I love reading your posts. Always full of insight and information.

I never really notice individual players on the OL unless a glaring error occurs and they replay it. Is Lauvao really getting killed all game?

[DawgFan]

Originally Posted by pl4tinum

Always a great read Flugel, I love reading your posts. Always full of insight and information.

I never really notice individual players on the OL unless a glaring error occurs and they replay it. Is Lauvao really getting killed all game?

I don't have the insight that Flugs does, but I will tell you what I have seen.

Pinkston is by far our better OG...and he is playing out of position. He is actually a RT and from what I have heard will be a pretty good one. But we needed the inside shorted up even more than RT, so there he is at LG.

Lauvao is consistently getting beet like a drum by anyone with a quick first step. If it is a big muscle guy, Lauvao seems to be able to handle it, but as Flugs pointed out, he is getting beet on the C-G gap by guys just speed rushing on him.

Now, I can't be sure if he is worried about the G-T gap and paying it too much attention due to our RT issues and his trust in Mack, but again as Flugs stated, you always block down to the middle as it is the closest to the QB, so he is still making a mistake.

When a position on the OL breaks down, a RB/TE can usually chip a guy shooting the outside or the G-T gap, but when it is the C-G gap, the QB is toast. Honestly, I think Lauvao is getting beet MENTALLY. Physically he seems to have all the tools, but MENTALLY he is a step short reacting and it is costing Colt hits 2-3 times a game, even if they don't end up being sacks.

By the way Flugs, GREAT READ! I too was the 'little guy' (5'2" FS...starter). I wasn't much for the big hit (no kidding???) but I was quick to the ball due to tape study (yes, even in HS) and had a killer vert. The coach tried to replace me a dozen times, but I always ended up on the field despite my total lack of physical gifts. So this lack of concentration by or OL and our WR's pisses me off to no end.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by pl4tinum

Always a great read Flugel, I love reading your posts. Always full of insight and information.

I never really notice individual players on the OL unless a glaring error occurs and they replay it. Is Lauvao really getting killed all game?

I really appreciate that Pl4t - thanks! Sometimes I get things on my mind I just want to share and hope people find them interesting. I often wonder if I should post stuff about my background in the stone ages; BUT I felt like I had awesome teachers and role models in the sport that taught me the fundamentals, techniques and skills that will be important to the game of leverage, quickness and power forever. As the Braylon Edwards of the world remind us, none of that means a thing for guys without heart or passion.

Regarding Lauvao - he and Pinkston are playing a little better. Having said that, Lauvao is on his 2nd year with oline coach George Warhop here so he shouldn't be repeating the errors he repeats. Nothing is more aggravating than seeing him hit nobody on a first down gained until after the whistle blows and they march off 15 yards backward. Totally avoidable when he could have used all that energy during the play. Furthermore, when he whiffs on a 320 pound girthy guy on 2nd or a 3rd down - it has led to McCoy getting sacked or worse getting hit during the throw. Then we gotta listen to those same McCoy critics that always preferred his highlights vrs Nebraska using this Lauvao-induced opportunity to remind us of the weak arm theory they have. If they want to see the REAL McCoy with the weak arm it is McCoy's little brother not Colt.

When I gotta hear the war cry that McCoy has a weak arm - I feel like one of those Native Americans being told by Christopher Columbus that he discovered America. Then I speak native tongue with HOW? I'm not ready to cave in to those wanting this league to be flag football while some of Mccoy's biggest critics continue to mute Dan Fouts, Steve Tasker, Mora Jr and others that have done our games while those critics spend alot of time during games text messaging or readign chat room stuff while the narration at hand is second to none. More specifically, I don't pretend I know more than a HOF QB like Dan Fouts about an NFL passing game so I LEARN good stuff the tv camera doesn't always pick up when Fouts sees from above such as no routes downfield for the first 3 quarters vrs SF. When he's saying that Sunday, we have people coming in 1 day later saying McCoy sucks because he didn't throw 1 pass downfield for the first 3 quarters. They're confidently thinking it HAS to be the WEAK ARM they told everybody about. First off, those people NEED to have the volume on especially when it's not Dan "Druff" Dierdorf or Randy Cross because alot of analysts played or coached NFL passing games. Geee, could it be we didn't throw downfield because we haven't been sending ANYONE downfield like Fouts was paid to tell us from above? 1 layer deeper, could THAT be because protection problems haven't allotted time for a QB to take a 5-7 step drop required for the deeper passes they want? Why do people think we needed a flea flicker reverse pass a couple weeks ago to get off a deep pass? To get dlinemen/blitzers beating blocks up front out of position which bought McCoy more time. Deception used could have assisted seperation difficulties downfield and blocking ability upfront. It gets kind of frustrating when every Monday gets the SAME McCoy critics certain our only problem is the QB's arm strength. Seems to me passes bouncing off Little's chest aren't Charmin Soft enough.

[mikeyP]

Difference between winning and losing, between livin and dyin!:

[hiwaygal]

Difference between winning and losing? 1 point.


Yeah...I'm bein' a smartass.

What's it to you?

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by hiwaygal

Difference between winning and losing? 1 point.


Yeah...I'm bein' a smartass.

What's it to you?

Hiding behind chair and typing fast - thanks for the reply!!!

[Flugel]

Yesterday's game had many applicables:

Colt's pas to Hillis made made the arm strength critics proud the pass to him was behind him instead of out ion front of him that would have been a TD - I'll refrain from excusing pocket turbulence here and blame the QB.

That pass Norwood dropped once replay deemed it a drop instead of fumbl;e led to our punter taking the field instead of wgat SHOULD have been a first down if he secured the football.

Little was little - I don't know that coaching changes a Quincy Morgan but I'm opeb to it. I just wish the Oxymoron was a "LITTLE" better in traffic. He's NEVER the guy that gets the ball or uses his body best in traffic.

I saw Shurmur scold a veteran (Watson) for the very first time for making the wrong read and expecting the TE to make the same read McCoy and he evidently wanted from Watson. We're lucky that wasn't an INT.

McCoy's INT to the sideline was brutally avoidable.

Chris Gocong played like Casper the Friendly Ghost so all of those fans certain we just needed Fujita out of the lineup - think again! His pad height is WAY TOO high, which explains why he never sheds blockers or appears in replays of Ray Rice runnign through a ghost town after he passes the dline. The ONLY LBer I spotted making plays was D'Qwell and that wasn't always consistent yesterday either. The little thing here is understanding the keys AND pre-collision pad height for God sakes. I've been kind of quiet about Chris Gocong but yesterday he looked more like Gofish. The scary thing was our brass felt like raises to Gofish and Evan "Plays-less" Moore were of the utmost importance. I STILL say we need to Titus Brown in there. I think he's more instinctive and has more upside than Gofish. Last week he had a sack outside and we never saw him again.

Drops. Evan Moore in the end zone. Are we sure we want a STRONGER arm from QB when passes are soaring through hands as frequently as they do? I'm just saying. These guys would be petrified of an Elway fastball based on what I'm witnessing.

Avoidable penalties like throwing the ball at the defender after a first down reception. Mind boggling we repeat this stuff as often as we do. Here's a concept, put the ball on the ground or hand it to the ref when you play in an offense that scores as infrequently as our's. Then you don't have to question if the incident was an accident or not.

It's like it's still 1999 in areas in shouldn't be. It's also like Baltimore still owns the Cleveland Browns if we understand how bad the beatdown was in spite of the scoreboard yesterday. We certainly didn't need to HELP Baltimore yesterday but for whatever the reason - we had plenty of volunteers.

[Neo]

I agree about holding these professionals accountable for their poor performance on the field. I understand this is a team sport, but at the end of the day, the INDIVIDUAL players (professionals) have to perform their basic fundamentals at their respective positions. Like catching balls if you are a wide receiver, or making blocks if you are a lineman, or making tackles if you are a defensive back. If you can't do these, it is YOUR responsibility to put in the extra time to correct your mistakes.

I think our lack of success has to do with a combination of the players and coaches, they both need to step it up. I don't think Shurmur is using his players to their strengths, putting them in the best position to win. Like when he had a TE take a hand off out of the backfield in a goal line situation. If your a TE, your job is to block/catch passes, not run a dive play in the red zone. Especially if you have never carried the ball in your entire career, or even practiced it before the game.

[YtownBacker]

Great read Flugs my friend.................................I don't want to comment too much on the game because it was pathetic.

My one observation I'd like to pass on would be that our rush defense really sucked at the beginning of the year but it seemed to right itself a bit lately when we replaced Mitchell. Yesterday was Mitchell's first extended playing time at RDE in awhile. They came right at him from the first play and just blew him out of most gaps all day. It might be the worst I ever saw a DE get handled at this level in my life.

His play really sucked. I know he pissed a moaned when Sheard beat him out at LDE and he had to move to RDE. He whined again when he got beat out by a UDFA known to nobody a few weeks ago and he played uninspired and got his ass handed to him all day today. Since he was getting blown off the ball so easy it allowed the FB or pulling guard to get to the next level very easily and attack our LBs who have enough trouble filling gaps and making plays without extra men coming at them.

That was some real bad shit to watch because the other side of the line (Sheard) was playing hard and playing well. Mitchell's play affected the whole unit. Trying to put another person in that gap caused a ripple effect elsewhere and the flood gates couldn't be closed.

That said, this is a team that still lacks the talent to overcome mistakes like dropped passes and foolish penalties on offense. And, they certainly don't have to talent to hide such a large problem like Mitchell's play at RDE.

[Greythan]

Ytown, I'm just not going to buy that one guy at RDE is the reason for the explosion. The three LB's were a huge portion of the problem. Our LB's took bad angles and either clogged themselves or over pursued. They also have no ability to shed a block and DQJ is the poster child for that affliction.

We also don't have Ward playing close to the line so our run support from the safety position is completely suspect. Ward may not be there yet in pass defense skills but we miss his run support.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Greythan

Ytown, I'm just not going to buy that one guy at RDE is the reason for the explosion. The three LB's were a huge portion of the problem. Our LB's took bad angles and either clogged themselves or over pursued. They also have no ability to shed a block and DQJ is the poster child for that affliction.

We also don't have Ward playing close to the line so our run support from the safety position is completely suspect. Ward may not be there yet in pass defense skills but we miss his run support.

I'm not saying our LBs played close to good but Mitchell was simply pushed out of every play and he didn't seem to put up much resistance. That allowed to blockers to get to the next level and they simply blew up Gocong and Jackson just isn't big enough to fight through blockers like that. That said, the LBs seemed to be taking bad angles trying to get to gaps before being blown up by blockers. Often it created massive cutback lanes. I don't make excuse for them, they played bad but a lot was caused by Mitchell's very poor play.

So, no it isn't just one guy but a lot started there then continued to the LB because they are average (at best) on their good days. Our safety play also left a lot to be desired, Adams isn't a quality safety and never was one, he's a marginal backup. Neither him or Young can play SS. Yea, the whole unit pretty much sucked but I still have to take my hat off to Mitchell for having the balls to accept a paycheck for his play yesterday. Again, he let himself get manhandled and it did cause a chain reaction. In some of our worst performances against the run this year they just continually blew Mitchell out and let the lead blockers get to the next level. And our LBs just aren't good enough to handle that and never will be. That includes Jackson who some want to send to the pro bowl.

Hey, Ive been the eternal optimist and I now feel beaten down worst then Cribbs. I just can't find too much to feel good about. First time in a long time I switched the channel over and was watching some golf.

I'm beyond trying to make excuses. I just wanted to recognize what was some of the worst effort and play I ever saw from a DE in Mitchell.