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Week 4: Special Teams Lone Unit To Shine
Offense, defense continue early season woes.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
J.P. Losman struggled mightily after a solid, first drive. He finished with just 75 yards passing on 7 of 15 and he threw a pick. He did run for 38 yards on four carries. Kelly Holcomb replaced him in the fourth quarter and finished 3 for 6 for 28 yards. Grade F: Another failing performance from most important position.
Running Backs:
Willis McGahee had two long runs but finished with only 84 yards on 16 carries. He was held for a loss on a fourth and one carry. Shaud Williams had two carries including a 12 yard run to get a first down. Daimon Shelton dropped a pass. Grade C+: Not bad considering poor line play.
Receivers:
Eric Moulds was awful, he dropped two catchable balls and finished with just two catches for 14 yards. Lee Evans was more involved early, but disappeared late, finishing with just two catches of his own. Josh Reed caught one ball to convert a third down. Jonathan Smith was used in the passing game and caught two balls for a team high 30 yards. Ryan Neufeld dropped a pass. Grade F: Sooner or later they need to help out the anemic offense.
Offensive Line:
Downright miserable. Mike Williams missed his second straight game. Trey Teague had a solid block to spring McGahee on a 25 yard run on the first play from scrimmage. They gave no time for Losman to throw. They gave up four sacks in all. Grade F: Worst performance of the year from this group.
Defensive Line:
Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay were non existent in this loss. Schobel did have a quiet five tackles. Sam Adams was active early but faded late. He finished with one tackle. Ron Edwards left the game in the first half with an injury. Tim Anderson and Justin Bannan replaced him but struggled. Grade F: Allowed 167 yards on the ground and got little pressure on Brooks.
Linebackers:
London Fletcher was gritty with his injured hamstring. He had a sack and nine tackles. Angelo Crowell was in on seven tackles and played well in his first start. Jeff Posey was extremely quiet. Grade D: Didn't do enough to make a difference.
Secondary:
Terrence McGee was in on four tackles but was beaten in coverage a few times. Nate Clements was a lockdown corner but was called for a bad holding penalty that kept a Saints drive going. Troy Vincent was quiet but he was in on six tackles. Lawyer Milloy led the team with 10 tackles despite playing with a thumb injury. Grade B: The best unit on defense.
Special Teams:
Jonathan Smith has apparently moved ahead of Nate Clements on punt returns. He was back there more and had the lone return for eight yards. He also saw time on the kick returns unit and had a 44 yard return that would have been more if not for a holding call on Mark Campbell. Terrence McGee averaged 39.8 yards on four returns including an amazing 82 yarder as the first half expired. Unfortunately he tripped himself up on the four yard line. Rian Lindell suffered his first missed field goal of the year, a 45 yarder that was just a hair wide right. Brian Moorman averaged 53.4 yards on five punts, including two inside the 20. Grade B+: The best unit on the field today.
Coaching:
Mike Mularkey made the right call changing QBs in the fourth quarter. Too bad he had no answer for the Saints much of the game. Why didn't they run the ball more especially since McGahee is the bread and butter? Grade F: This team is in trouble.
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