I've been through this game twice — once streaming on the radio and watching on GamePass. I'm glad I could't watch it first, for one because the announcers on the TV broadcast sound like they're calling a Browns home game (over and over how important this game is for Cleveland, not one mention that it might be important for Denver, and they paid so little attention they even called Flacco handing off to P.L., etc.). It was also on CBS, and I'm trying not to watch any sports on CBS, as Chick-Fil-A is one of their sponsors, and I'm trying to #BoycottChickFilA — they actively donate money to causes that inflict human suffering, and I won't participate in it.
But wow — WHAT a difference having a quarterback who can actually run around! Noah Fant! Sutton! Lindsay! Derek Wolfe! That secondary!
This is the foundation for a kick-ass team. Are we there yet? No, but...
THAT DEFENSE. Alexander Johnson is a BEAST. Derek Wolfe is a VIKING WARRIOR. A friend asked me if this game was won by Denver's offense or its defense, and I said that without this defense playing the way that it did, we would NOT have won this game. The pass breakups, the pressure on Mayfield, the excellent coverage...all that's missing are the takeaways.
I'm still not satisfied with Denver's run defense. I know Nick Chubb was held to far below-average production on Sunday, but there were still too many breakout runs of 5+ yards, and Cleveland's offense dominated the second half of the game, meaning they were out there almost the whole damn time. Our defense is amazing, but even they have limits, and asking them to play almost an entire football game is going to wear them out, lead to mistakes and injury, and screw up the most dominant aspect of this team.
I'm not going to say Brandan Allen SPARKLED or was STELLAR or whatever hyperbole was floating around, but I DID squeal with delight watching him run for a first down. IT'S SO REFRESHING. I'll also add that I'm impressed by his accuracy and timing given the fact that he'd only bee practicing with these guys for a few days. He did a good job — he didn't embarrass himself and he helped his team win the game. He did his job. If you want to DAZZLE me, throw for 450 yards and a few more touchdowns. Then we'll talk laurels.
I was super excited when we drafted Noah Fant, mostly because it wasn't Drew Lock, but I REEAALLY wanted T.J. Hockenson, and Fant was the next best thing. Then...he dropped a lot of balls. And some turnovers. And stuff. Watching Hockenson thrive and Fant flounder made him seem a lot worse than the reality of the situation: rookie tight ends don't often do that well and require some time and experience to get to their best play. I know George Kittle's rookie season was not the slip-n-sliding road warrior celebration-screamer he is today.
Sunday night marked the beginning of Noah Fant's development, which should excite everyone, as he shined out. If this is the tip of his potential, what will he be in a couple years? The O-line managed to make a few holes for my boy #30, and out in space he is what we know him to be: unstoppable. Bolles yet again got a couple runs called back, which is turning into something we have to expect in a game. But now that Trent Williams is definitely not going to play for Washington anymore, maybe...?
If we want to beat the Vikings, we need to score more points. If we want to keep this defense in top shape to shut the opposition out, the offense has to drive the ball down the field. THREE AND OUT NO MORE. If we want to know who to draft next year, we need to play Drew Lock, and the more practice he gets, the better.
Fangio is doing something here, and those who expected everything to work perfectly right away probably have some unrealistic thinking at play. I was also hopeful and unreasonably optimistic before the season started, but I see a lot of good things happening with this team. If we can avoid the week-to-week hysteria associated with the highs and lows of football, perhaps we'll better recognize the team coming together as a force to be reckoned with, but perhaps that's my optimism overriding reason again.
But wow — WHAT a difference having a quarterback who can actually run around! Noah Fant! Sutton! Lindsay! Derek Wolfe! That secondary!
This is the foundation for a kick-ass team. Are we there yet? No, but...
THAT DEFENSE. Alexander Johnson is a BEAST. Derek Wolfe is a VIKING WARRIOR. A friend asked me if this game was won by Denver's offense or its defense, and I said that without this defense playing the way that it did, we would NOT have won this game. The pass breakups, the pressure on Mayfield, the excellent coverage...all that's missing are the takeaways.
I'm still not satisfied with Denver's run defense. I know Nick Chubb was held to far below-average production on Sunday, but there were still too many breakout runs of 5+ yards, and Cleveland's offense dominated the second half of the game, meaning they were out there almost the whole damn time. Our defense is amazing, but even they have limits, and asking them to play almost an entire football game is going to wear them out, lead to mistakes and injury, and screw up the most dominant aspect of this team.
I'm not going to say Brandan Allen SPARKLED or was STELLAR or whatever hyperbole was floating around, but I DID squeal with delight watching him run for a first down. IT'S SO REFRESHING. I'll also add that I'm impressed by his accuracy and timing given the fact that he'd only bee practicing with these guys for a few days. He did a good job — he didn't embarrass himself and he helped his team win the game. He did his job. If you want to DAZZLE me, throw for 450 yards and a few more touchdowns. Then we'll talk laurels.
I was super excited when we drafted Noah Fant, mostly because it wasn't Drew Lock, but I REEAALLY wanted T.J. Hockenson, and Fant was the next best thing. Then...he dropped a lot of balls. And some turnovers. And stuff. Watching Hockenson thrive and Fant flounder made him seem a lot worse than the reality of the situation: rookie tight ends don't often do that well and require some time and experience to get to their best play. I know George Kittle's rookie season was not the slip-n-sliding road warrior celebration-screamer he is today.
Sunday night marked the beginning of Noah Fant's development, which should excite everyone, as he shined out. If this is the tip of his potential, what will he be in a couple years? The O-line managed to make a few holes for my boy #30, and out in space he is what we know him to be: unstoppable. Bolles yet again got a couple runs called back, which is turning into something we have to expect in a game. But now that Trent Williams is definitely not going to play for Washington anymore, maybe...?
If we want to beat the Vikings, we need to score more points. If we want to keep this defense in top shape to shut the opposition out, the offense has to drive the ball down the field. THREE AND OUT NO MORE. If we want to know who to draft next year, we need to play Drew Lock, and the more practice he gets, the better.
Fangio is doing something here, and those who expected everything to work perfectly right away probably have some unrealistic thinking at play. I was also hopeful and unreasonably optimistic before the season started, but I see a lot of good things happening with this team. If we can avoid the week-to-week hysteria associated with the highs and lows of football, perhaps we'll better recognize the team coming together as a force to be reckoned with, but perhaps that's my optimism overriding reason again.
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