Preseason polling: what unit disappointed most?

Bradford’s first couple series showed us that if we give him time, he can do a pretty good job of finding receivers and picking the defense apart. However, as we approached half time, the speed rushers had their way with our tackles. We have no hope if we can’t give king Sam some time.

We have talked about taking the best receiver with our #1 pick next draft. What are the chances we find ourselves drafting another OT?

I will give Saffold a pass because it was his first NFL game but the play of Smith was brutal. He has had 2 NFL camps and OTA’s as well 5 starts. You would think that if this line can’t pass block they could at least run block but they could do neither. With the money and high draft choices on this line, I see no sign that they are even close to being average. Bradford took a real pounding and this cannot continue. With high hopes for Ogbonnaya I must say he was a real disappointment as a runner but mainly as a pass blocker. Our wr’s got no separation and were never open. This offense is just a mess.

First off the line for Bradford (at least in the 2nd quarter, I didn’t get to watch the 3rd but will tonight) was Saffold, Goldberg, Brown, Fraley, Smith (from left to right) the starting line will be Saffold, Bell, Brown, Goldberg, Smith. Bell wasn’t playing due to injury, although i thought the interior 3 didn’t do nearly as bad as the OT’s, but as 2cents said Saffold is a rookie and just got his first taste of NFL game speed, and the only time I saw him get beat was on the speed rush, but after some practice with that and 3 more preseason games he should be able to handle the speed rush. So he can get a pass from the fans, but the coaches should still grill him at practice this week. But, Smith should get that same pass, I know he’s in his 2nd year and was supposed to be our LT and is now playing RT, and got beat the worst, but most of you seem to forget that he broke his toe in mini-camp and just starting taking reps with the team and getting into physical drills in the middle of this past week. I think by next week he’ll be much improved, if he still looks the same then I’ll get worried a little. Right now I’m more disappointed than anything that I didn’t get to see Bradford do work because our O-Line couldn’t protect him, hopefully we’ll get to see more next week.
On a QB note I think Feeley still gets the start at QB in the next game, but if he looks as he did this game (staring down WR’s, 2 passes that should have been pick 6’s) it should be Bradfords team from week 3 of the pre-season on. I think with the poise he showed it will be his team by Week 1 regardless though.

I am going to start with the positives because that is what I do. Long was a stud. He is really coming into his own and I am excited to see him have his breakout season. Laurianatis is holding solid. Larry Grant has come out of nowhere this year and stepped up his game ten fold over last season. Bradford looked good. When he had time he used it well, when he didn’t he played smart, and when he got hit he bounced right back up. I also liked his overall personality through it. He didn’t curl up in a ball close his eyes and wait for a hit like i have become used to seeing. He either ran out of pressure or he tried to run through it before getting rid of the ball in the smartest way possible. He looked like he had some fight in him. Amendola has some rabbit fast moves even though he fumbled. I will give him a pass on that because those are the mistakes I expect to see getting worked out in preseason. AND we took alot less penalties that the vikings… ALOT…. that was a major problem the last few years and I am glad to see us reigning it in.

 The offensive line might as well not have come out and played at all! I have had it up to my limits with excuses for Smith. First it was his rookie season, then concussion, then (and still whining about it ) his toe, now maybe it will be moping about still being right tackle. You were #2 overall last year… .put up or shut up…. the time is now. Saffold stuggled but overall did fine for his first ever NFL debut. However, he and Laurianatis need to sit down and talk because we need him to act like a veteran this year, just like we did James last year. The cornerbacks were horrible. Every big play the Vikings made was from our teams mental errors. I know our corners are injured and this was the lower part of the depth chart but that is not an excuse. If you are being paid to play a game you better get your mental aspects tight…. period. Now my biggest gripe of all. The coaching. The plays were yawnable and predictable. However, my biggest complaint is that they switched out Brown at center while Bradford was in. I don’t care if it is a preseason game and you want someone else well versed at center in case of an injury to Brown. It was Bradfords debut and he already has bookends who are young and raw to worry about. The last thing he needed was pressure coming up the center at well. Part of grooming up a rookie is confidence building and he should have had Brown as a stable he could count on. These are just my opinions but it does feel good to air them after last nights atrocities.

the offensive play calling was horrible. We really didn’t try to throw the ball down the field at all. It was the same old short slants and passes to the flat. You can’t expect your receivers to get open when the defensive backs know they don’t have to worry about deep patterns. They all played up short and had all the short routes blanketed.

My concern with the offensive line was the interior guys. Yes, Smith and Saffold missed a couple of times each, but the Vikings were coming up the middle on almost every play. Our QB would take the snap, start his drop and be smothered by a defensive lineman coming right up the middle almost untouched. There was just no excuse for letting a DT go free up the middle like they did time after time – and this was Minnesota’s 2nd team.

And it’s true the running backs didn’t look good. However, it’s also true that most of the time when they took the handoff there was alreadcy a defensive guy in the backfield waiting for them. They were constantly having to change direction almost before they got started. Our offensive line not only couldn’t pass block, they couldn’t run block either.

I have been trying to maintain a positive outlook for this season, but last night pretty well changed my mind. Without a decent offensive line and good playcalling, we may score fewer points than last year – no matter who plays QB.

The Rams have been trying to straighten out their problems on the OL for years. If the OL can’t get their act together soon, that means no running game, no passing game and NO WINS. More than likely, their star QB and the top RB won’t make it through the season.

Shurmur is a canser on this team