09-07-2014, 02:28 PM
I'm also pretty optimistic going forward. For me, this game was an important litmus test for the quality of the team, and I'm encouraged by much of what I saw.
- After all the defensive losses, it was not clear to me that we'd still have an elite defense, but we do.
- The special teams are still very good (well, let's exclude FG kicking from this. But kickoff/punt return, and kick-off/punting are excellent)
- The receivers/TEs are indeed pretty good.
- The Oline can be very good.
What I saw where many mistakes whose importance shouldn't be minimized, because they won't go overnight and can cost games. But still, they're easier to fix than, say, lack of talent. Given Washington woes, we have until ND (about 4 weeks) to reduce the number of holding, illegal formation, and delay of game calls, and find a more stable solution for 3rd/4th and short.
If we do improve these things, the team can indeed go the distance, and that was something that I learned yesterday. So it was not all bad! :)
- After all the defensive losses, it was not clear to me that we'd still have an elite defense, but we do.
- The special teams are still very good (well, let's exclude FG kicking from this. But kickoff/punt return, and kick-off/punting are excellent)
- The receivers/TEs are indeed pretty good.
- The Oline can be very good.
What I saw where many mistakes whose importance shouldn't be minimized, because they won't go overnight and can cost games. But still, they're easier to fix than, say, lack of talent. Given Washington woes, we have until ND (about 4 weeks) to reduce the number of holding, illegal formation, and delay of game calls, and find a more stable solution for 3rd/4th and short.
If we do improve these things, the team can indeed go the distance, and that was something that I learned yesterday. So it was not all bad! :)