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…on the rumors of Pettine not playing the younger guys. For instance, after watching a Justin Gilbert highlight video, I gotta say it has me REALLY wondering why…
I have never been impressed with Gilbert on the field. College highlights are great and got him that first round cheddar, but he looks lost on the field in the NFL
From what I understand, Gilbert has a terrible attitude. Dogs it in practice all the time, does not carry himself like a professional, and wants to use his athleticism to go out there and street ball instead of listening to coaching, learning his assignments and mastering any technique.
Veteran players have made these comments over the last 2 seasons, so Gilbert not really playing seems warranted to me.
That said, I really have no idea what the hell that guy is doing anymore. It seems that all of his decisions are completely illogical. I’m of the opinion that, and I’ve mentioned this before, that Pettine is making these calls based on his power struggle with Farmer and is doing so more as a “fuck you” to him than any realistic football decision. It’s to the point now that I’m all but convinced that anything the front office wants to see done on the field, Pettine purposefully does the exact opposite out of nothing more than spite.
Once again, stupid, childish, idiotic bullshit costs this franchise and it’s battered fan base.
The only flaw in your logic is that both pettine and Farmer KNOW they’re going to be canned after the season, why struggle over power?
I’ve brought this up before as it was evident to me. He reminds me of Gruden. Hates youth and loves old vets.
Freedom!!!
I don’t yet see where any of his decisions were based on anything but putting the best players on the field. McCown deserves to start over Manziel. Gilbert and Erving don’t deserve to be on the field. Shelton is a 2 down player at most and hasn’t make a play in weeks. Which awesome players is he sitting just because they’re young?
I’m more in the “bad coaching” camp. And that’s not to say there’s a wrong answer in this thread, but…well…
Ok, case in point, Mingo. First year under Horton’s defense, dude had what, 8 sacks (admittedly, I have a bad memory for numbers, I could be off here)? Yet put him under O’Neil and he has MAYBE 3…in TWO SEASONS? And this is somehow the player’s fault? It seems more to me like this is one of those “sculpt yourself to my defense, and forget about doing what you were good at” things. And, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Mingo is just a bad player that gets worse over time, a one trick pony. And we swung and missed on that pick. Or, maybe what he’s being asked to do now as opposed to his entire football career is handcuffing him from being the player we drafted.
Keep in mind, this is me flinging shit to see what sticks and striking up conversation based on an attempt to figure out just what is wrong with the team.
By the by, don’t mention a fucking quarterback. That, for once, is the least of our worries.
In response to your take on Mingo, I’ve been saying for a while that he is being completely misused, and played out of position. I don’t understand it. While I don’t think that mingo is an All-Pro, he’s a solid defender capable of making plays and contributing to the defense. Our coaching staff in all of its wisdom, seems to think that playing him at linebacker and dropping him into coverage is the best use of his skills, which is absolutely absurd. They did the same thing to Sheard and he disappeared. He left, went to N.E., went back to doing what he’s good at, and is having an impactful season with the Patriots. The same point can be made about Kruger. Again, not an All-Pro, but he could be very disruptive, get to the QB, get some sacks pressures and hits, and have an impact on defense. Now? Completely non-existent. These guys didn’t wake up the day before the seaon started and forget how to play football, or magically overnight just turn into 2 piles of suck. They’re being glaringly misused, and I have no idea why. You put Kruger on one end, Mingo on the other and tell them to pin their ears back and go get the QB. Period. Let the linebackers go cover the RB’s out in the flat. You don’t see JJ Watt dropping into coverage. But put him on this team and I have 10 bucks that says that’s exactly what Pettine would have him doing. It’s totally nonsensical. (and no, I’m not comparing Watt to Mingo or Kruger, I’m just making a point).
Also, I don’t think Jim O’neil or Mike Pettine have any clue what a blitz is. How to scheme one, how to coach one, or how to actually during a game call one. The very few times they actually do, it has no effect of any kind and results in us getting burned, and burned badly.
I was at the Raider game sitting in the dog pound. I watched us blitz, it was immediately picked up, and Derek Carr was standing in the pocket like “hey guys, thanks for the man coverage on Amari and the 6 seconds to let his route completely develop” before roasting us. It was stunning in it’s complete failure, and even more so when you could watch the entire thing play out in slow motion and from that angle.
On top of letting opposing QB’s have enough time to tie their shoes in the pocket, the defense also allows passing lanes the size of a Los Angeles freeway. You can’t help but walk away going “seriously, wtf was that?”
…Which leads me to believe that the team, at least on the defensive side of things, is being completely mismanaged. In the immortal words of Terrell Owens…”If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, then by golly, it’s a rat!”
But the thing is, if us, the normal fan can see it, then why can’t the coaches? Or if they do, then why, week in and out, keep trying to do the same shit that isn’t working?
I personally think we have the players. I don’t believe, for a moment, that we don’t. It’s gotta be what they’re being asked to do. And heads are gonna roll…at the latest, right after the Pittsburgh game.
But the thing is, if us, the normal fan can see it, then why can’t the coaches? Or if they do, then why, week in and out, keep trying to do the same shit that isn’t working?
This leads me right back to the point on their being a major rift in Berea, and Pettine, instead of being a solid football coach, making the smart/right decisions, and leading his team in the best possible way that he can, is being a big fucking child and running us into the ground out of sheer, unbridled spite to Farmer or whoever else he has major conflict with. Purposely doing the same thing over and over again even though he knows damn well it doesn’t work. Playing people out of position. Installing woeful gameplans. Half-assery, bland vanilla defenses, and setting us up for failure on both sides of the ball. On purpose.
That, not his abilities as a coach, are what is going to get him shitcanned. I actually think that from a coaching standpoint, Pettine is a pretty solid football guy and can build a winner. I honestly do. But the problem is that he’s a child, and instead of leading men to where they need to be, his entire focus is on a pissing contest with the idiot in the front office. It’s inexcusable and it’s jarring to actually see it taking place.
And of course the players all know it and see it now, so, they’re all quitting. Who can blame them? The whole thing from the top down has become a farce.
Just take a look at the offense. Last year for the 1st half of the season, our O-line and Crowell were absolute beasts, and we were leading the league in rushing. Then the infighting started. Since then, these guys are abysmal.
Why? It’s the same group of guys. Did they all forget how to play? No, I think it’s farmer going “we should do it this way” (which, coincidentally, is what made Shanahan bolt for the door faster than interstellar space travel), Pettine saying “don’t tell me how to do my job”, Farmer pressing more, and finally Pettine going “ya know what, fine. We’ll do it your way. Oh, that didn’t work? Get out of here?! Well, asshole, just to prove what a useless, idiot fuck you are, we’re going to do it again. Then we’re going to do it again. And we’re going to keep doing it. Oh, we’re losing? I’m shocked there Mr. Genius, but guess what, we’re gonna still keep doing it. You certainly know more than I do!”
I can understand his anger in the situation, but his reaction to it did nothing but tie his own rope.
Mingo: I’d say his real position is as a 3-4 rush end, and not a great one. That means that on some downs he’ll be dropping back into coverage. I don’t think we’re really misusing him I just think he’s as good as he’s going to get.
Kruger: Absolutely misusing him. Kruger is a 3-4 strong side rusher who’s being asked to cover too many TE’s. Also without any weak side rush at all he’s getting doubled on every play.
Sheard: We misused him for a season (2 sacks) and he left to go to NE where he’s on a much better defense. He’s got 4 sacks so far, but I think that’s as much because of the talent surrounding him as his proper use. He had 8.5 sacks as a rookie.
If you ask me, here’s the REAL problem with the defense:
Danny Shelton – Fewer tackles than Ahtyba Rubin and zero sacks on the year. Those stats would be ok if he were drawing a double team block on every play, but he’s not. He gets single-blocked which frees up another blocker to help counter any rush we throw at them. Rubin was no all-NFL player but it took 2 guys to stop his momentum.Shelton just looks terribly out of shape. Yes, I know he’s a nosetackle, but he just looks super flabby around the middle, whereas guys like Rubin and Taylor had a sort of firmness to their guts.
He also seems to completely run out of steam and is either unwilling or unable to offer any sort of pursuit in the run game.
As far as footwork, he is super easily manipulated, especially in the run game, and opposing guards or centers are always able to position themselves in between him and the runner. When this happens, he also plays too high to use his leverage to get back into position, nor does he appear to have the arm strength to do so.
I’d add Dansby to the list of players who have underperformed for this regime. I was shocked when the one commentator observed that Karlos dropped ~40 lbs to play in our current system…that’s insane. I realize aging players generally drop some weight to extend their careers, but a 40 lb weight loss really explains his sharp drop in tackles and his inability to make plays in the backfield. Pair him with Mingo, who is also very thin, and it’s no wonder that backs like Jeremy Hill can rack up tons of yards after contact against us.
I’d join in the “Gilbert just sucks, that’s why he’s not playing” camp, but the decline in production from Haden, even when he was healthy, combined with Tramon Williams looking terrible and Whitner dropping off makes me wonder if there’s coaching issues there as well.
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