Biggest issues with this team going forward

[MassGeneralBolt]

I have to say thru the first 2.5 quarters I was singing the praise of Mccoy and this new era then the team started show its old ways after critical drops by Gates and Royal when trying to make more big plays, they started tightening up and playing eery similar to last year. Not sure how we went from having Houston's D on their heels to becoming predictable and not being able to convert any 3rd downs on offense.

But for Mccoy to have any success in his rookie year with AJs piece of shit bottom 5 in league roster these are the issues that need to be improved

1) Being able to pound the rock effectively with Matthews especially late in the game, thats the single best way to have what Canepa likes to refer to "killing instinct". despite all this spread crap thats the rave in the NFL, I still think establishing an effective running game with creative schemes , power formations etc. is a must. Rivers is physically limited in in the pocket, the guy cant do it all by himself with this crap roster. I said it before, the single biggest factor on offense for us to change our ways is to develop and feature Matthews.

2) Fix this garbage 3rd down D especially late in games at critical times. I dont know if it was fatigue or what ever, but we need to get better pressure on qbs, cant give Shaub all day to throw to pick apart this suspect secondary.

3) This year will test Mccoys ability to coach this team. With a depleted and thin roster, its paramount to come up with creative ways to keep opposing teams off balance. Its easy to win with a team as stacked as Houston, but real coaching week in week out is about being creative exposing other teams tendencies and weakness. I still hold out hope for Rivers, but this year is a test for him and Telesco is watching to see if this team can break its old ways or there will be a now signal caller coming here in the near future.

[richpjr]

I don't think Mathews was the fault with the running game last night. There was nowhere for him to run. We had 7 yards rushing in the entire second half.

The defense did make some good stops, but also let way too many big plays and could not stop the other team in crunch time. If they were fatigued, well it works two ways: if they forced some 3 and outs themselves, they would get more rest. I also hated how far off the receivers we seem to play.

[Geezbolt]

I also hated how far off the receivers we seem to play.

Trent Dilfer commented about that too and I don't get it either. The bottom line is with these third-and-longs, they have to do whatever it takes to put more pressure on the QB. Sure you'll get burned once in a while, but you're getting burned as it is and have been for several years. Any pro QB will burn you if you give him as much time as Matt Schaub had.

[QSmokey]

Trent Dilfer commented about that too and I don't get it either. The bottom line is with these third-and-longs, they have to do whatever it takes to put more pressure on the QB. Sure you'll get burned once in a while, but you're getting burned as it is and have been for several years. Any pro QB will burn you if you give him as much time as Matt Schaub had.

We were getting pressure on Schaub, IMO, but we had to sell out (rush 7 guys) to do so. Schaub, many times, completed a pass while backing up, just out of reach of 3 Chargers closing fast. Problem with that was it left the outlet receiver wide open, and that play worked for them more often than not.

Prop to a vet like Schaub for making the right read and doing the right thing. It could have been worse if not for a couple of drops by Foster, in fact.

The defense was out on the field too much; Freeney played too much. The secondary was exposed by the all-out blitzes that never got there.

I would have preferred to lose 31-10, to be honest.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Norv hangover?

It all looked to familiar.

We did better and and worse than I thought at the same time...

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

But for Mccoy to have any success in his rookie year with AJs piece of shit bottom 5 in league roster these are the issues that need to be improved

1) Being able to pound the rock effectively with Matthews especially late in the game, thats the single best way to have what Canepa likes to refer to "killing instinct". despite all this spread crap thats the rave in the NFL, I still think establishing an effective running game with creative schemes , power formations etc. is a must. Rivers is physically limited in in the pocket, the guy cant do it all by himself with this crap roster. I said it before, the single biggest factor on offense for us to change our ways is to develop and feature Matthews.

2) Fix this garbage 3rd down D especially late in games at critical times. I dont know if it was fatigue or what ever, but we need to get better pressure on qbs, cant give Shaub all day to throw to pick apart this suspect secondary.

3) This year will test Mccoys ability to coach this team. With a depleted and thin roster, its paramount to come up with creative ways to keep opposing teams off balance. Its easy to win with a team as stacked as Houston, but real coaching week in week out is about being creative exposing other teams tendencies and weakness. I still hold out hope for Rivers, but this year is a test for him and Telesco is watching to see if this team can break its old ways or there will be a now signal caller coming here in the near future.

More or less agree.

I think what we saw in the second half on D was that since we blitzed so much this game, those pass rushers were just tired. Go back and watch that Ben Tate 11 yard run when Thomas should have had him in the backfield. Once Tate turned upfield, there were several players (notably Johnson) that had a shot at him and basically didn't make the play or even attempt to make the play. He runs right by them along the sideline and they don't even try to push him out of bounds. They just look exhausted. For me, that play pretty much epitomizes what happened in this game. The effort on that play was horrible. And I think that's more a function of being tired than Cromartie-esque indifference.

[TTK]

English was invisible last night. Freeney looked good in the first half but looked tired in the 2nd half. Did they sub in anyone else on passing downs?

[TABF]

ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE....

We need to be tougher, more physical and have a kill or be killed attitude. Even though we were winning, we looked more like the sheep than the sheep dog the entire game, not just the last 1.5 quarters.

It’s simple for me. If you're going to lose anyway, you might as well do it on your own terms with physicality, a sense of urgency and an attitude that SCREAMS (not yells), get the FUCK outta my house. Instill YOUR will on the opponent, not them on you.

[Boltx]

We got killed on time of possession...can't fault them for being run down like that. That being said, they had ample tries to get off the field on 3rd and longs.

[richpjr]

We got killed on time of possession...can't fault them for being run down like that. That being said, they had ample tries to get off the field on 3rd and longs.

Sure you can. Why can't they force some 3 and outs of their own? Even when they stopped the Texans, it took a long time.

[Boltx]

Sure you can. Why can't they force some 3 and outs of their own? Even when they stopped the Texans, it took a long time.

What I meant was that it was expected that they would be gassed after losing the TOP like that. But I agree that they put themselves in that position by not getting off the field on 3rd and longs.

[Beerman]

So anyone want to tell me where this short quick passing game is at? Don't think we threw a single slant all night. Not a single WR screen. Not many quick outs, etc. Did we even have a 3 step drop? More of the same bullshit.

Edit: I take back the WR screen - Rivers threw one to Royal that scored the TD. Maybe just maybe they should have done those types of plays when the Texans were bringing the house.