Fins stud n dud

[tynimiller]

Hey Ty remind me where McDuffie came from. I do agree that he plays well and goes about it without a lot of attention.

FWIW Walker is finally playing better, my opinion, and with Cooper also on the field, it's a fine LB group.

Boston College. He actually played some for Hafley. Was a day 3 pick if memory serves for us.

 

[gopkrs]

Studs: McDuffie was a super star, Q played a great game, D line pressure and run D, pass D until they started playing loose, Clark looked rejuvenated, several good plays by other D linemen, Reed, Watson and Wicks finally catching with his hands after a horrible drop, Kraft a super stud, Love very efficient, Jacobs catching the ball. Back up RBs looked good. Nixon had a runback and several good plays.
Duds: lining up offsides, that 3rd and short call to Jacobs which never had a chance. Just think LaFleur and Love need to check out the D alignment before they send Jacobs into a brick wall. Playing a semi prevent and almost letting Miami back in it.

 

[tynimiller]

I am trying to find the post but I remember many here saying the second half of the season is where we see just how well the team has embraced Hafley mindset and approach.

If after the bye these two games have anything to say for how that has progressed, the direction that side of the ball and many of the young growth we’ve seen has anything to say about our playoff push - this team could make some noise.

We have a juggernaut next week at their home. I want a win but bare minimum if this defense keeps doing this type of work I’ll feel good about the home stretch

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

STUD: Brandon McManus

What a mid-season signing and what a relief! Since arriving Brandon has quietly gone 10-11 on FG's and a perfect 16 of 16 on XP's. His one miss was a 48 yarder against Jacksonville.

He is also pretty darn good at kickoffs.

This guy has brought security to the position. No more hand wringing by fans, but more importantly, I think he gives Matt confidence in making decisions that don't involve "is he going to miss this one again?"

 

[Voyageur]

It takes time to fit players into the slots Hafely needed filled. Trading Smith was a huge step forward. It wasn't that he didn't offer value to the team, it's that it kept others, like Van Ness, from getting playing time, to improve their game. Now we're seeing that growth. Lukas was a big contributor in pressuring Tua on several occasions, and held the edge when asked, quite well.

The same growth can be seen with our linebackers. They aren't tentative in their play like we saw early in the season. Gotta give credit to Hafely for what he's done with them. It's like night and day compared to last year.

 

[tynimiller]

It takes time to fit players into the slots Hafely needed filled. Trading Smith was a huge step forward. It wasn't that he didn't offer value to the team, it's that it kept others, like Van Ness, from getting playing time, to improve their game. Now we're seeing that growth. Lukas was a big contributor in pressuring Tua on several occasions, and held the edge when asked, quite well.

The same growth can be seen with our linebackers. They aren't tentative in their play like we saw early in the season. Gotta give credit to Hafely for what he's done with them. It's like night and day compared to last year.

LVN snap counts really haven’t changed. Smith trade impacted Kingsley, Aaron and Brenton

 

[tynimiller]

Matter of fact, LVN snap counts have been going down percentage of total snaps a little

 

[GBkrzygrl]

Thought of another DUD: Injuries. So many players got hurt last night and couldn't return.

 

[Team Ronny]

The one pre-snap penalty that drives me nuts is a defender lining up off sides. I'm no football player, but isn't it just a simple turn of the head to make sure the hand is on the right side of the football? LVN has done it a few times and last night it was Engabare. Just seems like an easy, unforced error that can be corrected.

I will concede that the game moves fast and there simply may not be time to make that check b4 the snap. It's just happened too often imo.

It was just 1 on that play, there were 2 guys offside. The ones right over the ball **** me off.

 

[rmontro]

The Lions looked beatable yesterday (maybe they would have been beaten if Eberflus or Williams remembered to look at the clock).

The Bears comeback was impressive (until it wasn't). But I was expecting Chicago to tie the game, then lose in overtime.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

The Bears comeback was impressive (until it wasn't). But I was expecting Chicago to tie the game, then lose in overtime.

Eberflus fired today, at least he will still have that timeout in his pocket as he leaves Chicago.

 

[Magooch]

STUD: Brandon McManus

What a mid-season signing and what a relief! Since arriving Brandon has quietly gone 10-11 on FG's and a perfect 16 of 16 on XP's. His one miss was a 48 yarder against Jacksonville.

He is also pretty darn good at kickoffs.

This guy has brought security to the position. No more hand wringing by fans, but more importantly, I think he gives Matt confidence in making decisions that don't involve "is he going to miss this one again?"

I was just meaning to post about this too - my favorite thing about McManus is that I simply don't ever really think about McManus.

That's not to say that I expect him to be totally perfect for the entirety of his time with us...but with Carlson and Narveson it was always nervous and never confident. Now I just don't need to spare a second's thought to our kicking game much at all, and that's a more-than-welcome improvement.