I wasn't disappointed with our defense. Yes, they were gouged at times, but considering this was really the first real test under fire, they weren't actually that bad. Especially when you realize how many new faces there were out there, compared to last year.
My gut reaction was to call out Alexander for his play. He was constantly jawing at guys, and they ended up taking him to the woodshed, on way too many plays. Poor coverage, bad choices in where he was on the field, and what appears to be rubber band arms, letting guys escape what should have been tackles. Then, I got to thinking as to how much our defense has changed since last year, and how in the past, he was a heckuva good one on one player. He's been injured a lot, and is really feeling his way again on the field. He had good moments out there as well as the bad so..... he doesn't get a pass, but he gets time to show that how they were burning him was a fluke, not something we're going to see going down the road.
I was disappointed in how LeFleur handled our two-minute offense, and the options chosen inside the red zone. I also noticed he's doing something again, that he did the last half of last year, and it doesn't work. If a guy has a great run, it's pretty much a given he's going to get the ball again on the next play for another run. Obviously, they are somewhat winded, and when it's done so often, the opposite team is waiting for him to get the ball. Matt didn't disappoint them. He was doing it again.
Yes, this is a work in progress out there, and maybe with Love out for a few weeks, some of them can find themselves and their voices on both sides of the ball, and start picking up the slack. If they do, and stay highly competitive, when Love gets back, they're going to be something special.
