thescout wrote:
Second the pass rush had problems getting to Mcnabb why was that? Philly's off line reminded me of the chiefs game where they were so much bigger that it rendered the def line to average.A def lineman that can beat bigger linemen is needed.
Well I do agree that the pass rush needs to improved next year, but I think whether the team racked up 12 sacks or none against the Eagles today, it still would have been a need. McNabb is the 2nd most elusive QB in the NFL (next to Vick of course), so I don't fault the D-linemen for missing tackles. Most players miss him. Although he is not as elusive as Vick (mostly due to poor speed), I think McNabb does outperform Vick when it comes to finding more time in the pocket and being able to make the throws downfield.
If you run the 4-3 defense, you really need to have at least 6 starting-caliber players up front (3 at DE, 3 at DT). Right now we have 4 (our starters of course). Lavalais could become #5, but he's still got some room to grow before I can say he's in the same league as Jasper & Coleman. I think next year he should be better since he should be quicker and lighter, reminiscent of his LSU days. He needs to get down in the 290-295 weight range.
But we do need another DE. If we don't dump Smith this off-season, then this team needs to get another quality DE int he draft or free agency. At the very least, someone that can spell Smith on passing downs and still be able to rack up 6-8 sacks per year.
I do think we need to add another DT to the rotation since COleman and Jasper aren't very durable and can't go 16 games without injury. As I said, Lavalais isn't quite there, and Lake's play really tailed off after the first few weeks to the point that he was non-existent down the stretch.
thescout wrote:
Vick looked bad today passing and I wonder if he does have the capability of hitting the open receiver.There are to many passes that are not close to a receviver.Offense line they can run block but are poor at pass blocking the falcon's need improvements here.Second,cut peerless price he is taking time from Jenkins.
Vick is still young, and he will continue to make mistakes. He's never going to be a top notch passer. People always say that he's going to be the next McNabb, but I really don't see Vick ever being in McNabb's caliber as a passer. That's not to say Vick won't be good, but he just won't ever IMO be mentioned in the same breath as Top 5 QBs in this league (as McNabb is) when it comes to throwing the football. I say that because he has always relied on his legs to give him the upper hand since the day he began to play football, and you just can't "unteach" something so natural to him.
I agree that the offensive line needs to be improved. BUt I think we need to focus most on the interior. When teams get good push in the middle of the line, I think is where our passing offense struggles the most, because it cuts off Vick's vital running/throwing lanes. LG is a major hole and we have no one there that looks like a viable NFL starter. At least in Shaffer and Weiner, we have gotten quality performance from them for at least 8 games in a season, so we know they are at least capable of stepping up their game.
I agree that Price has been a major disappointment, and all the red flags we saw in him at Buffalo have proved true. He's just not capable of being a #1 target. But I don't think we need to cut him right now. Despite's Price's continual poor performance, I still think he's the best receiver we have right now, and unless we can swing a blockbuster trade or nab Mike Williams in Round 1, then it would be a costly mistake to cut him, since our passing offense would only get worse without him. I think if we can add another quality #2 receiver (White and Finneran are not that), then we will see Price's performance improve. He won't become a Pro Bowler, but he should be a bit more productive and have a bigger impact on games.
Despite our success this year, we are far from a complete football team. Our defense played excellent this year, but I still wouldn't put them in the same class as the Panthers or Bucs in our division. We need to add more talent on that side of the ball.
We shouldn't get complacent. These past two years have been down years for the NFC, and there are a lot of good teams that have just basically underachieved in that span, and if those teams would get their acts together it could knock the Falcons off the top. Basically, we shouldn't be of the mindset that we need a few fixes before we can be a Super Bowl team. The Eagles are much more talented and consistent football team across the board (except maybe RB and LB), and we just aren't there yet.
I just think McKay still needs to be in the mindset this off-season that we are still in rebuilding mode.
