Grading the Minn. game

[Matt_in_KW]

Ok, we normally do this after reg season games. But, what I saw tonight I feel we should just grade them.

QBs- Matt got hurt, not a good sign...maybe he can't stay healthy afterall. Should we bring in a QB? Dan looked pretty good, and he isn't use to the system just yet.

Overall- C-

RB's- Slaton was ok, and nothing really happened on the ground. Not really fair to grade them. 2.2 and 2.8 avg YPC....bad. But we are grading the team, so...

Overall- B-

WR's/TE's- Owen made some good gabs, and who can say AJ didn't play well. As a whole, they looked good. Still waiting for someone to play with AJ and Walters.

Overall- B

OL- WOW, LT looked darn good on Allen. The line blocked well for the most part.

Overall- B+

DL- Man, where was the big rush? After what Gary said about starters better play like them(after the Saints game)...nobody got my attention.

Overall- C-

LB's- Meco made some great plays. And saw a new spark in some fighting for a spot on the team.

Overall- B+

DB's- WTF? With D-Rob crying about cash...seems nobody can play well during a full game. Some decent coverage and some major breakdowns..like AP running through the, and the rest of the D...someone should of atleast hit him. But they didn't seem confident.

Overall- D


Bottom line, the D needs a ton of work still. And we need some DB's bad. If D-Rob won't play get rid of him and bring in a guy who will or for that 10mil we offered, get 2 guys.

[TheLBCoach]

Chris McAlister is STILL out there. Deltha O'Neal and Cletis Gordon aren't going to help out.

[houstonsportsfan09]

Chris McAlister is STILL out there. Deltha O'Neal and Cletis Gordon aren't going to help out.

McCalister and McKenzie are still out there. I dont know how much either have left as theyre obviously still on the market. O'Neal and Gordon will be cut come Friday or Saturday, whenever roster cuts come.

[houstonsportsfan09]

IMO the defense didnt look half bad. finaly saw the aggressive strategy we have been hearing so much about. yes we had a bad start and the offense was slow to put points on the board, but take away that first minnesota touchdown (which couldve been prevented) and the outcome may have been different.

overall we still need some work, but it was still a dramatic improvement over the saints game.

by the way, schaub will be back in for the regular season opener. no worries.

I'd say the defense was better, but tackling still seems to be a problem.

[Houston Texans_]

I'd say the defense was better, but tackling still seems to be a problem.

I got to agree last TD was a case of poor tackling, had they stopped that run sooner. might have been only a FG. Then when had a chance to contain Chester Taylor, let him slip into end zone...We know NFL officials were so in love with Favre, they couldn't see AJ getting mugged by defense

[TheGoaT]

wow your grades are so terrible Im not even sure you were watching the same game. For starters the dline got tons of pressure. Mario and Antonio came off the ends hard all night. Amobi got in Favre's face twice, and after the initial big AP run(which was Adibi's fault) they had a vast improvement over last week in run defense.

The secondary was weak at tackling, but the coverage tonight was quite good. Favre didnt complete a single downfield throw. All his completions were short inside routes to the tight end and slot receiver and then a ton of dumpoffs and screens to the RB. I found the secondary much improved in coverage.

As far as grades:

QB: C+. -2 turnover ratio. Matt and DanO both had a bad decision on an inside pass. Matt's injury was very minor and he came right back the next series. Bonus points for playing tough. I would expect him to be fine for week 1.

RB: C+. Playing the #1 rush defense in the NFL is going to make it hard to run, and it was. Grade goes from a C- to a C+ because of the excellent push into the end zone with the goal line offense. Every rush yard was hard earned, as would be expected against this defense.

WR: B. Kevin Walter getting hurt is scary, hopefully he is ok. AJ and Anderson got wide open alot, DanO missed them several times. He missed a sure TD to AJ by overthrowing him.

OL: B-. They couldnt open a running lane to save their lives, but the pass protection was much improved and Brown was outstanding fighting Jared Allen.

DL: B+. Mario and Antonio rushed hard all night and had the pocket collapsing very quickly. Okoye got in the QBs face twice, and the run stopping was vastly improved over last week.

LB: B. Demeco was absolutely lights out all night. 16 tackles and a sack. Diles made some nice moves in run defense stretching the play to the sidelines. The only reason they dont get an A is because of Adibi. He was the sole reason for the Peterson TD on the first play of the game. Mario got pushed outside and the DT slanted to the inside gap. Adibi as the WILL over pursued the play inside leaving the huge cutback lane for Peterson to run through.

DB: B-. Vastly improved coverage. The viks didnt get any downfield completions and had to settle for short inside routes and lots of dumpoffs and screens to the RBs. Mario even got a coverage sack because the secondary held coverage long enough for him to wrap all the way around the d line and get to Favre. The bad thing was tackling, outside of McCain's nice monster hit on a reciever crossing the middle, the tackling was subpar and Wilson actually allowed the Chester Taylor TD by trying to lazily push him out of bounds instead of wrapping up and bringing him down. They have got to get more aggressive at attacking the ball.

Overall:

Offense: C+. They were playing a very stout defense, and mid way through the second quarter they started to find a rhythm and really move the ball, but two turnovers will cost you every time.

Defense: B+. I counted and they only ran 5 blitzes the entire first half. So you can see Frank Bush is still hiding his hand for the regular season. That being said, the run defense was vastly improved over last week(the opening play of the game aside), and the downfield coverage was excellent. Demeco, Adibi, and McCain had monster hits that showed alot of intensity. The tackling is still leaving alot to be desired.

[TheGoaT]

Chris McAlister is STILL out there. Deltha O'Neal and Cletis Gordon aren't going to help out.

ever consider there's probably a reason he's still out there?

[texun]

After the first defensive series, which was one play, I thought the defense overall played much better than last week. I am still concerned with our DB's over running the play and not tackling. The Vikings second touchdown was a fluke and was aided by a bogus roughing the passer call (I guess your suppose to stop in mid air 0.2 seconds before the hit).

The D line played well and Ryans was an animal. I am hoping that the return of Dunta, Reeves and Cushing will correct some of the problems we have.

[Otisbean]

wow your grades are so terrible Im not even sure you were watching the same game. For starters the dline got tons of pressure. Mario and Antonio came off the ends hard all night. Amobi got in Favre's face twice, and after the initial big AP run(which was Adibi's fault) they had a vast improvement over last week in run defense.

The secondary was weak at tackling, but the coverage tonight was quite good. Favre didnt complete a single downfield throw. All his completions were short inside routes to the tight end and slot receiver and then a ton of dumpoffs and screens to the RB. I found the secondary much improved in coverage.

As far as grades:

QB: C+. -2 turnover ratio. Matt and DanO both had a bad decision on an inside pass. Matt's injury was very minor and he came right back the next series. Bonus points for playing tough. I would expect him to be fine for week 1.

RB: C+. Playing the #1 rush defense in the NFL is going to make it hard to run, and it was. Grade goes from a C- to a C+ because of the excellent push into the end zone with the goal line offense. Every rush yard was hard earned, as would be expected against this defense.

WR: B. Kevin Walter getting hurt is scary, hopefully he is ok. AJ and Anderson got wide open alot, DanO missed them several times. He missed a sure TD to AJ by overthrowing him.

OL: B-. They couldnt open a running lane to save their lives, but the pass protection was much improved and Brown was outstanding fighting Jared Allen.

DL: B+. Mario and Antonio rushed hard all night and had the pocket collapsing very quickly. Okoye got in the QBs face twice, and the run stopping was vastly improved over last week.

LB: B. Demeco was absolutely lights out all night. 16 tackles and a sack. Diles made some nice moves in run defense stretching the play to the sidelines. The only reason they dont get an A is because of Adibi. He was the sole reason for the Peterson TD on the first play of the game. Mario got pushed outside and the DT slanted to the inside gap. Adibi as the WILL over pursued the play inside leaving the huge cutback lane for Peterson to run through.

DB: B-. Vastly improved coverage. The viks didnt get any downfield completions and had to settle for short inside routes and lots of dumpoffs and screens to the RBs. Mario even got a coverage sack because the secondary held coverage long enough for him to wrap all the way around the d line and get to Favre. The bad thing was tackling, outside of McCain's nice monster hit on a reciever crossing the middle, the tackling was subpar and Wilson actually allowed the Chester Taylor TD by trying to lazily push him out of bounds instead of wrapping up and bringing him down. They have got to get more aggressive at attacking the ball.

Overall:

Offense: C+. They were playing a very stout defense, and mid way through the second quarter they started to find a rhythm and really move the ball, but two turnovers will cost you every time.

Defense: B+. I counted and they only ran 5 blitzes the entire first half. So you can see Frank Bush is still hiding his hand for the regular season. That being said, the run defense was vastly improved over last week(the opening play of the game aside), and the downfield coverage was excellent. Demeco, Adibi, and McCain had monster hits that showed alot of intensity. The tackling is still leaving alot to be desired.

Great assessment. I agree with pretty much everything you said. I saw some things that still need to be addressed but I also saw quite a few good things.

[TheGoaT]

I think its funny how the media is hyping up Favre's performance like he single handedly beat the Texans. He basically threw a few screens and dumpoffs and they are acting like he was superman out there. The way I count it, the Texan defense allowed two scores. I dont count the field goal because that was the offenses fault for turning it over right there in field goal range. So the two scores basically come down to bad plays by Adibi and Wilson.

[tre5050]

wow your grades are so terrible Im not even sure you were watching the same game. For starters the dline got tons of pressure. Mario and Antonio came off the ends hard all night. Amobi got in Favre's face twice, and after the initial big AP run(which was Adibi's fault) they had a vast improvement over last week in run defense.

The secondary was weak at tackling, but the coverage tonight was quite good. Favre didnt complete a single downfield throw. All his completions were short inside routes to the tight end and slot receiver and then a ton of dumpoffs and screens to the RB. I found the secondary much improved in coverage.

As far as grades:

QB: C+. -2 turnover ratio. Matt and DanO both had a bad decision on an inside pass. Matt's injury was very minor and he came right back the next series. Bonus points for playing tough. I would expect him to be fine for week 1.

RB: C+. Playing the #1 rush defense in the NFL is going to make it hard to run, and it was. Grade goes from a C- to a C+ because of the excellent push into the end zone with the goal line offense. Every rush yard was hard earned, as would be expected against this defense.

WR: B. Kevin Walter getting hurt is scary, hopefully he is ok. AJ and Anderson got wide open alot, DanO missed them several times. He missed a sure TD to AJ by overthrowing him.

OL: B-. They couldnt open a running lane to save their lives, but the pass protection was much improved and Brown was outstanding fighting Jared Allen.

DL: B+. Mario and Antonio rushed hard all night and had the pocket collapsing very quickly. Okoye got in the QBs face twice, and the run stopping was vastly improved over last week.

LB: B. Demeco was absolutely lights out all night. 16 tackles and a sack. Diles made some nice moves in run defense stretching the play to the sidelines. The only reason they dont get an A is because of Adibi. He was the sole reason for the Peterson TD on the first play of the game. Mario got pushed outside and the DT slanted to the inside gap. Adibi as the WILL over pursued the play inside leaving the huge cutback lane for Peterson to run through.

DB: B-. Vastly improved coverage. The viks didnt get any downfield completions and had to settle for short inside routes and lots of dumpoffs and screens to the RBs. Mario even got a coverage sack because the secondary held coverage long enough for him to wrap all the way around the d line and get to Favre. The bad thing was tackling, outside of McCain's nice monster hit on a reciever crossing the middle, the tackling was subpar and Wilson actually allowed the Chester Taylor TD by trying to lazily push him out of bounds instead of wrapping up and bringing him down. They have got to get more aggressive at attacking the ball.

Overall:

Offense: C+. They were playing a very stout defense, and mid way through the second quarter they started to find a rhythm and really move the ball, but two turnovers will cost you every time.

Defense: B+. I counted and they only ran 5 blitzes the entire first half. So you can see Frank Bush is still hiding his hand for the regular season. That being said, the run defense was vastly improved over last week(the opening play of the game aside), and the downfield coverage was excellent. Demeco, Adibi, and McCain had monster hits that showed alot of intensity. The tackling is still leaving alot to be desired.

I agree this is a better more accurate grade of the texans performance, i think besides the 1 big play from the start the defence held there own i would have liked more production from the running game it was an overall good game still think a big rb back would give us the push we need against at defence like the viking. great game the Texans should hold there heads up high.

[TheGoaT]

Chris Brown did ok when he put his head down, but against the #1 rush defense, I dont think it really matters who you have in the backfield. We've always struggled against top defenses like that, look at the Baltimore and Pittsburgh games from last year. Theres something to be said for aggression and intensity. I wish we could clone Demeco a few times.

[Number 34]

Texans made some great strides last night. The AP TD run, the turnovers and a few missed tackles are the only thing I would complain about.

Schaub: B. He did have two scoring drives and he manned up after the injury. He did look a little flat and had a turnover. He would have came back and won the game for us had it been regular season.

Dan O: C+. Didn't score and had a really bad turnover but he is a noob and still shows promise. He can move the ball so all he needs to work on is the mistakes.

Slaton/Brown: B-. Slaton came out flat but seemed to pick up speed after Brown got some work. The Vikes do have the #1 Rush D so I'm not going to complain. I do think we need to start Brown and have Slaton come in second. he just seems to be more fired up when he follows brown.

O Line: B+. They only gave up one sack. Brown handled Allen pretty well. i think they could have done better opening up running lanes but again they were going up against a premiere run D.

AJ and Co.: B+. They did well against a sound defense. I was worried that AJ wasn't going to have a catch then he busts a 46 yarder which made me smile. We need Walter back. Anderson did well but he is no Walter. OD rocks!

D Line: B+. We put pressure on the QB and slowed the run down better than last week. If you take away the AP TD run and we only gave up 105 yards to the best, roll eyes, RB in the league. As a matter of fact, AP only had 42 yards after the debacle. I believe that we will improve our run and pass defense and there will be a lot of opponents with sub 100 yard rushing games this season.

LBs: Adibi gets an F. The rest of the LBs get a B-. Demeco gets an A+. He is our LB corps.

DBs: B. We only gave up 172 yards in the air. They still have a few issues but at least they are improving.

STs: B. They did their jobs.

F Bush: B+ for getting his defense motivated and letting them blitz. I hope we see more of this every game and not just every other game.

[Da Rafsta]

I know this isn't the thread for it but I was at the game and man did it suck. It was as if it was a funeral. I was the only one cheering and making some noise for the defense....two other girls were also but the rest of the folks were dead quiet. That's fine and all...you paid your tickets...do as you wish, but don't get upset or give ugly looks when I cheer. This is the third time in a row this happens and last night was my first pre-season game I'd ever gone to.

I think I went to my last game at Reliant which is really unfortunate cause I love the stadium and the Texans and I also have tickets to another game this year but will probably sell them, and it's all because of the mum fans.

[TheGoaT]

screw the haters, enjoy your game experience.

[protoTexans]

i just cant get over how hard espn was D riding Brett Favre. it makes me sick to my stomach.

i cant wait until the reg season. when we start stacking up the Ws i WILL find a way to let espn know exactly what we TRUE texans fans think of them, and exactly where they can stick their microphones.


Favre & ESPN are having a Baby!!!!

[TheLBCoach]

ever consider there's probably a reason he's still out there?

A former Pro Bowler has got to be better than some guy named Cletis.

[Sportswriter79]

i just cant get over how hard espn was D riding Brett Favre. it makes me sick to my stomach.

i cant wait until the reg season. when we start stacking up the Ws i WILL find a way to let espn know exactly what we TRUE texans fans think of them, and exactly where they can stick their microphones.

Yeah, sure. We really look good.

:rolleyes:

[TheGoaT]

A former Pro Bowler has got to be better than some guy named Cletis.

Cletis isnt going to make the team. Delta isnt either. With final cuts coming up, its really a moot point.

[Number 34]

i just cant get over how hard espn was D riding Brett Favre. it makes me sick to my stomach.

i cant wait until the reg season. when we start stacking up the Ws i WILL find a way to let espn know exactly what we TRUE texans fans think of them, and exactly where they can stick their microphones.

Gruden was the worst. I think he likes young farm boys. Anyway Gruden made a slanderous comment about our D at the end of the game but Jaws or the other guy defended us saying other than the first play of the game we pretty much held them.

[wildroot]

Gruden was the worst. I think he likes young farm boys. Anyway Gruden made a slanderous comment about our D at the end of the game but Jaws or the other guy defended us saying other than the first play of the game we pretty much held them.

I heard him say that too, it was the other guy, then Jaws came back with the comment that the first play counts too.
Other than that, how'd you like the game...
Other than that, how'd you like Dallas Mrs. Kennedy?
Other than that, how'd you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?
It sorta cost us the game, but as a pre season game, so who really cares.

[Number 34]

I heard him say that too, it was the other guy, then Jaws came back with the comment that the first play counts too.


This is true but anyone with intelligence would have realized that the Texans made adjustments and look good after that one play that if this was regular season then Schaub had the potential to come back and win the game. But no. All they saw was Farves shoe size and AP's TD run. What a bunch of nimrods...except the other guy.

[outofhnd]

My grades.

Start with offense
Offensive Line
Tackles B- except for a few outside contain the tackles performed very well.

Guards and center - C created a solid pocket for passing but could not sustain blocks on interior on running game, was unable to get them down on runs off tackle and open holes effectively. granted it was against the top DT tandem in the league but you could see how dominant that interior line can be

QB - C Both did well but then had WTF?!?! type turnovers. What on earth was schaub seeing on his pick is my question he should have seen Leber and not been convinced leber was on a delay blitz.

WR / TE - A The majority of our receivers pretty much made some impressive catches and moved the chains in some drives where I thought we were done.

RB - C Hard running but against that tackle tandem there wont be much for slaton Goal Line running looked good, Chris brown looked like an ideal compliment to slaton falling forward on every play and staying injury free.

Defense

Defensive Line -

Pass Rush A- Great pressure on almost every play someone was coming free to the QB.

Run Support - D Over pursuit blown gap assignments and no outside contain on a few plays that resulted in touchdowns now the whole play isnt their fault but it starts there. our lineman was so busy shedding blocks they werent watching the developing play. O linemen were getting free to take on second level defenders and open cutback lanes were developing on plays. on obvious running downs DEs need to stay in their gaps not take outside rush lanes to the backfield.

Overall Score C - aside from the few bad plays that ended up being the difference in this game it was refreshing to see linemen coming free however we need better play recognition as screens and delayed handoffs leave us vulnerable to big gains.

Linebackers - Overall C Demeco Ryans A+ brings this up from the obvious D- the other 2 brought. Too often they were caught in the wash of blockers and blocked defenders completely blocked out of the play. made some bad reads on underneath routes and at times lackluster effort at tackles.

Defensive Backs
Pass Coverage B- Overall I was impressed at the coverage however with a pass rush this makes them look better than they are. Good position but no react to the ball I was looking for more agression to try and break up plays maybe jump a route (optimism)

Tackling and run support F- wow can you tackle any worse than that at the last line of defense? Can anyone wrap up a player? The fact that 2 guys could not take down Percy Harvin when all Quin had to do is wrap his arms. I didnt see a single DB wrap up they just came in like a battering ram and shoulder them down. I think they need to spend the next practice the whole time tackling and wrapping up.

[Matt_in_KW]

I think its funny how the media is hyping up Favre's performance like he single handedly beat the Texans. He basically threw a few screens and dumpoffs and they are acting like he was superman out there. The way I count it, the Texan defense allowed two scores. I dont count the field goal because that was the offenses fault for turning it over right there in field goal range. So the two scores basically come down to bad plays by Adibi and Wilson.

Yea, as if AP wasn't on the field and Farve scored the 1st TD. WTF was that? AP did it himself, all Farve did was hand him the ball. He did nothing to make me think he is the Farve of old.

[srstex]

Ya'll are way to generous to Schaub, 1 int and no TD's, hurt himslf running out of bounds?! Let's face it, he is what he is, a fragile man that can't even run without injurying himself. Schaub gets a D-, he has all the same problems Carr had, plus he gets hurt, alot. The play calling, which I had hoped to be a positive, was anything but. Run up the middlle, WHY?, We couldn't run up the middle on the Saints so let's try against the Vikes ? WTF. When will Kubiak, Shanahans Bob McNair learn, that we can throw on every one and have done so, so let's go pass happy till everyone in the league stops putting 8 in the box ever again. Let's set up the run, with the pass. Oh wait, I forgot, since Schaub will be feeling the effects of his twisted ankle all season long, DanO is now our QB. Yeah, I feel really optomistic now.It's only preseason, but this twisted ankle is anything but, temperary.

[TheGoaT]

seriously cry more. Matt drove the O down the field for 2 scores, whether he threw a TD himself is irrelevant. It was a minor ankle tweak and he maned up and went back on the field. If you dont have any faith in the team, the log out button is up at the top.

[outofhnd]

Ya'll are way to generous to Schaub, 1 int and no TD's, hurt himslf running out of bounds?! Let's face it, he is what he is, a fragile man that can't even run without injurying himself. Schaub gets a D-, he has all the same problems Carr had, plus he gets hurt, alot. The play calling, which I had hoped to be a positive, was anything but. Run up the middlle, WHY?, We couldn't run up the middle on the Saints so let's try against the Vikes ? WTF. When will Kubiak, Shanahans Bob McNair learn, that we can throw on every one and have done so, so let's go pass happy till everyone in the league stops putting 8 in the box ever again. Let's set up the run, with the pass. Oh wait, I forgot, since Schaub will be feeling the effects of his twisted ankle all season long, DanO is now our QB. Yeah, I feel really optomistic now.It's only preseason, but this twisted ankle is anything but, temperary.

I can tell from your all of 168 posts here that you are a true texans fan and an optimist. =)

Seriously how can you call that awful he got us our 10 points and aside from that awful int never really put the ball in any danger of getting turned over. if he doesnt run for that first down that drive stalls.

[Number 34]

@srstex I'm sure there is room on Favre's manwagon. You might even get to sit next to Groping Gruden. lol

[youngtexanbull]

I actually agree with sistertx. Not to that degree, but Schaub has to step up and improve his decision making. The play where he tried to run and ended up hurting himself, AJ was wide open in the endzone. There were alot of times where he missed open receivers. I was at the game so I dunno how much could be seen on TV. Then when he tried to hit Daniels he locked in on him and got it picked off, considering how close the 2 defensive players were Schaub should have never thrown that. Dan O, the back-up found the receivers better than Matt. Unfortunately his accuracy needs work. I don't really like Dan, the way he says he doesn't assess his own play and let the coaches do that, irked the hell out of me. Well we still have some time before the opener so hopefully Matt gets his head on straight, but last nights game wasn't very good for the QB's. We'll never win the turn over battle if our QB's don't take care of the ball and use good decision making.

[TheGoaT]

AJ wasnt wide open. Just because there wasnt a DB right next to him doesnt mean the safety wasnt ready to jump over when the ball was thrown.

[Wolfscar]

wow your grades are so terrible Im not even sure you were watching the same game. For starters the dline got tons of pressure. Mario and Antonio came off the ends hard all night. Amobi got in Favre's face twice, and after the initial big AP run(which was Adibi's fault) they had a vast improvement over last week in run defense.

The secondary was weak at tackling, but the coverage tonight was quite good. Favre didnt complete a single downfield throw. All his completions were short inside routes to the tight end and slot receiver and then a ton of dumpoffs and screens to the RB. I found the secondary much improved in coverage.

As far as grades:

QB: C+. -2 turnover ratio. Matt and DanO both had a bad decision on an inside pass. Matt's injury was very minor and he came right back the next series. Bonus points for playing tough. I would expect him to be fine for week 1.

RB: C+. Playing the #1 rush defense in the NFL is going to make it hard to run, and it was. Grade goes from a C- to a C+ because of the excellent push into the end zone with the goal line offense. Every rush yard was hard earned, as would be expected against this defense.

WR: B. Kevin Walter getting hurt is scary, hopefully he is ok. AJ and Anderson got wide open alot, DanO missed them several times. He missed a sure TD to AJ by overthrowing him.

OL: B-. They couldnt open a running lane to save their lives, but the pass protection was much improved and Brown was outstanding fighting Jared Allen.

DL: B+. Mario and Antonio rushed hard all night and had the pocket collapsing very quickly. Okoye got in the QBs face twice, and the run stopping was vastly improved over last week.

LB: B. Demeco was absolutely lights out all night. 16 tackles and a sack. Diles made some nice moves in run defense stretching the play to the sidelines. The only reason they dont get an A is because of Adibi. He was the sole reason for the Peterson TD on the first play of the game. Mario got pushed outside and the DT slanted to the inside gap. Adibi as the WILL over pursued the play inside leaving the huge cutback lane for Peterson to run through.

DB: B-. Vastly improved coverage. The viks didnt get any downfield completions and had to settle for short inside routes and lots of dumpoffs and screens to the RBs. Mario even got a coverage sack because the secondary held coverage long enough for him to wrap all the way around the d line and get to Favre. The bad thing was tackling, outside of McCain's nice monster hit on a reciever crossing the middle, the tackling was subpar and Wilson actually allowed the Chester Taylor TD by trying to lazily push him out of bounds instead of wrapping up and bringing him down. They have got to get more aggressive at attacking the ball.

Overall:

Offense: C+. They were playing a very stout defense, and mid way through the second quarter they started to find a rhythm and really move the ball, but two turnovers will cost you every time.

Defense: B+. I counted and they only ran 5 blitzes the entire first half. So you can see Frank Bush is still hiding his hand for the regular season. That being said, the run defense was vastly improved over last week(the opening play of the game aside), and the downfield coverage was excellent. Demeco, Adibi, and McCain had monster hits that showed alot of intensity. The tackling is still leaving alot to be desired.

I agree completely - great grades, GoaT. I have to say that I didn't ever notice Antonio Smith, so I assumed he wasn't really there or thereabouts all night, but maybe I just missed him.
I did notice Cody and Deljuan though. I thought they both looked good.

People need to remember that we were playing against possibly the best rush Defense in NFL history (their average over the past 3 seasons is an NFL record low rushing yards against - and they're even better in terms of talent this year) and against arguably the best Offensive Line unit in the league.

When Cushing's playing SAM and Diles is playing WILL our front 7 is going to be something pretty special, IMHO. The secondary has work to do, but our two starting corners are out so you would expect that. As you said above though - even with the injuries the coverage was SO much better than it has been previously.

I left that game feeling pretty good about the upcoming season.