Week 8 Key TakeAways vs Giants
DIsclaimer:
As a fan, I understand my place.
I’m not a paid scout. I don’t contribute in the building of the Team.
And nothing I say or do has any effect on what the Team or its representatives say or do or react.
However, I do pay attention.
Tried To Tell ‘Em
The BUCS shouldn’t have had as hard a time as it did Monday night. I can write that honestly even after having given the warning signs in the preview leading up to the game.
I knew the Giants were better than their record reflected. It was all too familiar to me.
New York had a solid defense. Overall, they were ranked 14th in points allowed . They were a Top 10 unit in stopping the run.
But, on the other side of the ball, there was trouble.
They were near the bottom of the League in turnovers.
The QB was erratic.
New York was close in all of their losses. Dangerously close.
Basically, they’re the 2017 and 2018 BUCS.
So, why am I and lots of other fans still a bit miffed at the final score even though it was a win? Because it didn’t need to be as bad a performance as it was.
Another Week.
Another Curious Offensive Strategy Employed
The Arians/Leftwich braintrust continuously makes things harder than they should be. In Week 1, the decision to not emphasize the play of the TEs was one of the biggest reasons New Orleans came out victorious despite a damn good effort from the Defense.
One of the most indefensible in-game decisions in the history of BUCS football doomed us against Chicago. You know the one.
And in a game without WR2, Chris Godwin, the decision was made to inject the WR5 into the game plan more prominently than anyone else for some reason. Un’be’luckin’fievable!
Heading into the game, Jaydon Mickens had 27 total snaps on offense. With 2 targets.
He got 44 snaps on Monday Night while 5th Round standout Tyler Johnson got 35 snaps. This just doesn’t make sense to me. Johnson was the WR closest to the talent level of Chris Godwin. Yet, he was seemingly overlooked.
This just made it much easier for New York to key in on Mike Evans and even bracket Scotty Miller to take away from his deep ball threat.
I don’t want to take away from Mickens’ contributions. But his being on the field in lieu of Johnson and/or Brate(12 snaps on the night) just added an unnecessary hurdle for the offense.
This Offense has either started slow or stalled big time in all but one game this year. I don’t think Arians and/or Leftwich should be getting cute with mixing things up like that.
The Jones/Fournette Conundrum
After being charged with a fumble on a broken pass play, Ronald Jones was put on ice until the 3rd quarter.
I’m a BIG Fournette fan. Dating back to the LSU days. But, it was obvious in that game that he doesn’t make the kinds of runs Jones does. At least, not with the same kind of regularity.
Jones has been among the leaders in yards after contact. In his 7 rushing attempts, he was hit right at the LoS on 5 of them. And he still averaged better than Fournette on yards after contact.
While Fournette is the guy that can break a big one if/when he gets past the line of scrimmage, Jones is the guy that can make something out of nothing to get past the line of scrimmage more regularly.
I see a lot of fans wanting Fournette to be on the field more due to the notion/narrative of Jones not being a top-notch pass catcher. I’d advise those fans to beware of what you may lose in the running game when taking a guy like Jones off the field completely.
Vita Vea was missed
The NY Giants were the first team to rush for over 100 yards against the BUCS since Week 11 of last year.
Vea’s absence was clearly felt. Runs up the middle were pretty successful most of the night.
The most alarming thing I saw, though, was the Giants’ center routinely found himself looking for work. Nick Gates was often seen not touching anyone. He had enough time to chip either Suh or McClendon and then look around for someone else to get a hand on.
When Vea was around, there entire opposing offensive line was occupied at all times. And that left Devin White and Lavonte David to play freely. On Monday night, outside of a couple plays, that just wasn’t the case.
The BUCS has shown they can win without Vea. But an offense utilizing unique blocking schemes like New York may cause a lot more trouble.
If you get a chance to watch the game again, look for instances like the one above.
The Center found himself looking around FAR too often
Bowles Keeps Shaking It Up
Todd Bowles has been utilizing a particular strategy against younger QB opposition all season long, it seems.
Bowles gives them two completely different looks. One in the 1st half to get them comfortable. Usually a zone. And the another look in the 2nd half to throw them off. We saw tighter man coverage for much of the 3rd and 4th quarter minus the last possession that led to a touchdown.
I’ve seen fans comment on how painful it can be to watch the Defense employ that kind of game plan. And I understand. However, I like that Bowles adjusts in game with the frequency he does.
I think Bowles has taken the approach due to the talk surrounding his tendency to blitz. Offenses expect it early. And when it doesn’t come as early or as often as expected, it causes confusion. They can’t get settled or stay settled for long.
In the 1st half, the Giants came away with two TDs while the BUCS utilized that zone coverage primarily.
In the 2nd half, they got away with only one as the D tightened up in more man press.
For The “A Win Is A Win” Crowd:
“A win is a win” works in a playoff or championship game.
Until then, it’s all a roadmap for how the next team is gonna play us.
What kind of visual are we leaving behind in these kind of games?
There’s a distinct difference between being happy with a win and being happy with the performance.
Feel free to comment below.
Pre-Game Prediction Result:
Murphy-Bunting got his INT. And then almost undid his good will by allowing a TD to tie the game on the last possession.
Barrett missed out on the 2 sacks. He got close. But to no avail.
Pierre-Paul got 2 sacks.
Defense came away with 2 Turnovers.
