This was a tough loss that actually wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Power kept the score close in the first half, but they simply committed too many mistakes to stay in the game. The Talons pulled away in the fourth quarter and the game was basically out of reach when they went up by two scores.
With the offense struggling, the defense tried to hold the line as well as they could, but it was too much to overcome. Bottom line, you can't turn the ball over and only score 22 points and expect to win in this league.
Without Jamar Foulks to anchor the offensive line, the running game struggled. Without Neil Purvis, the Power weren't able to get pressure on the quarterback, which hurts the secondary. Josh Lay also went down with an injury. His replacement left a lot to be desired, so hopefully the injury to Lay is not severe. Terrell Herbert was playing out of position at linebacker and it showed. He's a tremendous athlete, but he needs to keep his head in the game. He had a couple of illegal defense penalties and that's inexcusable.
Then there's the small matter of the Lonnell Dewalt suspension and the fact that Jerome Mathis was not available for this game. Without his two favorite targets, Kevin McCabe struggled, started to stare down receivers, tried to force the ball to Mike Washington, and his mechanics unraveled. Local boy Anthony Morelli chased McCabe off the field, but I'm not sure he did much better.
I'll come right out and say that I've never thought Morelli was much of a quarterback. I never had a high opinion of him when he was at Penn State and I wasn't surprised when he didn't make much of a mark in the NFL. This version of Morelli is different. On the hoof, he certainly looks the part. He's tall enough, he's bulked up and is no longer the scrawny kid that played at Happy Valley, and, at least at first, he carried himself with confidence and determination. Then he had a couple of procedural penalties -- the receiver in motion crossed the line of scrimmage before he said "hut" -- and his confidence seemed to be eroded. He started slouching his shoulders and pointing fingers. It boils down to the fact that he wasn't more productive than McCabe when given his shot under center.
I'm not attached to McCabe by any means. He showed himself to be just as capable of wilting in pressure situations as Morelli or Bernard Morris. It's just that I at least have some evidence that McCabe can be productive in this offense when he has all his weapons at his disposal.
With a bye this week, Mathis, Foulks, and Purvis have time to heal and Dewalt will be back from suspension. As Weidman pointed out, Coach Siegfried has made it clear that he'll start the guy that gives this team the best chance to win. Morris might be healthy next week. Morelli has had some time under center and the procedural issues will work themselves out in practice.
Who gives this team the best chance to win? With a full complement of receivers, I think it's McCabe. Am I sure about that? Not in the least. I don't think that Siegfried is sure, either. All the quarterbacks on the roster have upside, but they all have holes in their game as well. From what I've seen, McCabe has the fewest holes and the most upside in this offense.
Looks like they have a week to figure it out. Let's hope they make the right decision. The current quarterback carousel is trying my patience.
No comments:
Post a Comment