Griese - Playcalling - OL - D in the Bears game

[benir0]

I'm not surprised to see so many upset by Griese's overall play.  He certainly deserves his fair share of blame for how close the game was.  However, the Bears defense is a good one and they geared their entire defensive effort to taking away the run and MAKING GRIESE be the one to beat them.

And he did.  In a game like this, that has to be the measure of his success.

I was amazed at times by the apparent lack of respect they showed Griese.  In the end, he rallied this team back, and he's shown some of the same indescribable "spark" or "magic" that Garcia bought last season.

His play was not satisfying by a long stretch, but I think that this team has the ability to put a complete game together.  We will see if we can do it consistently in January.  I do think the potential is there.

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In a related note: I thought that the playcalling was a necessary response to the way the Bears came out.  I was surprised.  I liked how Gruden went with the pass when it worked and was the right call.

I do wish that he would stick to the run with that same fervor when the situation calls for it.

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Does anyone feel like we miss Davin Joseph a lot more than you would think?  Say what you will about him in pass protection, but  I feel like his physicality and athleticism provide an identity for this football team, especially running the ball.  I'm pleased with what has been shown on the field, Faine is a great addition.  But I really think we can do good things once Davin is back.

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I'm really getting a good feeeling about some of our young playmakers on defense.  This is looking more and more like the base for some offensive excellence in the coming years: Ruud, Adams, T-Jax, Sabby and co.

[alldaway]

This is the third week in a row where I felt the play calling was wacky and I hope this isn't a long term trend.

[SunnyD]

This is the third week in a row where I felt the play calling was wacky and I hope this isn't a long term trend.

Come on man we couldn't run the ball for nothing today.

At some point you gotta give it up.

[MarineBuc]

Running the ball was not an option...the Bears had 8 and sometimes 9 men in the box. They were hell bent to stop the run...which they did and Griese came through when it counted.

Life in the NFL...week by week.

[1sparkybuc]

Running the ball was not an option...the Bears had 8 and sometimes 9 men in the box. They were hell bent to stop the run...which they did and Griese came through when it counted.

Life in the NFL...week by week.

Correction......running the ball with Earnest Graham was not an option. Warrick Dunn was solid. He just didn't get the opportunities.

[Lamond]

When we ran out of the Shotgun we had a little success. Spreading out that D is the key to stopping Chicago. I think many teams will learn from our blueprint.

When we ran plays from under center, we were cooked. Too many bodies.

[BucsGuru]

Running the ball was not an option...the Bears had 8 and sometimes 9 men in the box. They were hell bent to stop the run...which they did and Griese came through when it counted.

Life in the NFL...week by week.

Correction......running the ball with Earnest Graham was not an option. Warrick Dunn was solid. He just didn't get the opportunities.

Agreed.  They were thinking run every time Graham was on the field.  Dunn definitely was the better option, yet we never opted for him??  I too think the playcalling was whacko, but, had Griese not thrown the second pick, I believe things would have been different.

[Bucs_Rule]

Our you guys kidding me when you say we should have run more? The Bears were using 9 man fronts and were hell bent on stopping the run. Dunn wasn't any better than Graham. Dunn had 31 yards rushing, 18 of which came on one play and 11 on another play. Those two runs were on draw plays. The bears were determined to make Griese have to beat them. To complain that we didn't run the ball enough is just silly. 

[1sparkybuc]

Dunn had 31 yards on 5 attempts. Graham barely made it across the LOS. He had 6 total yards rushing in regulation and added 10 yards in overtime. He did this on 12 attempts. Dunn had twice the yardage with less than half the attempts. Graham is not elusive and is our slowest back. He was a bad fit to go against the Bears' defense, IMO. Dunn and Bennett would have been more effective running the ball. I'm sure Graham is better in pass protection. 67 passes without a sack would attest to that.

Brian Griese carried this team offensively. Our ground attack was nonexistent and our Defense faded in the second half. If this team could get together and all perform at the same level at the same time, they could beat any team in the league. It's like they take turns playing well.

[rowdie]

Didn't really run it enough to know if they could run it.  The one running play that I remember the most they didn't block the DE at the point of attack. I think the play was designed to fool him instead of block him.  I'm leaning towards blocking him being the better option.

It's not like passing worked on every play either, but they stuck with it.

I wonder what the run/pass ratio is in this famous Gruden play book.  Seems like all his energies go into making new passing plays and not designing plays to open up the run.

Doesn't really matter if that's how I'd like to see the offense play or not, it's a win and I'm taking wins every way they come. Go Bucs!

[cheveliar]

I really don't think we miss Davin (huge DJ fan here) as much as people want to make it out to be.  Z hasn't been stellar, but he's held his own and I think actually gotten better.  Say what you will about big Z but he was a part of an oline that helped prtect and keep Brian clean 67 times...Give the rook some props...

[Lamond]

It pretty simple in my mind anyway. When teams dare you to throw it you throw it. Especially if they've got 9 on the line.

[benir0]

Running the ball was not an option...the Bears had 8 and sometimes 9 men in the box. They were hell bent to stop the run...which they did and Griese came through when it counted.

Life in the NFL...week by week.

Correction......running the ball with Earnest Graham was not an option. Warrick Dunn was solid. He just didn't get the opportunities.

Warrick's runs mostly came on draws.  EG was running on running downs, hence no yardage.

[rowdie]

It pretty simple in my mind anyway. When teams dare you to throw it you throw it. Especially if they've got 9 on the line.

I like to keep it simple as well, sometimes you just have to run the ball.  Offense dictating to Defense not the other way around.

[benir0]

I really don't think we miss Davin (huge DJ fan here) as much as people want to make it out to be.  Z hasn't been stellar, but he's held his own and I think actually gotten better.  Say what you will about big Z but he was a part of an oline that helped prtect and keep Brian clean 67 times...Give the rook some props...

I think Zutah has played well.  We will see how the line fares once DJ is back.  I just think that when Davin provides an energy in the run game that is missing a bit.  Zuttah doesn't detonate would-be tacklers quite like Joseph does, and I think getting DJ back is a key to being able to impose our will on teams that play good run D.