[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by calia

The penalties really stands out to me. Putting aside Atlanta (because only 47 penalities so far in the season is pretty amazing, and not a standard most teams could hope to meet), if you consider that there are a bunch of teams with about 70 penalties -- we're 35 penalties above that. It is hard to imagine that it close games (oh, I don,t know, like perhaps the Rams game) that a few penalties here or there might not make the difference between a win and a loss -- and if we had just one more win right now, we'd all feel a lot better about post-season possibilities. One thing that does seem clear: we need to play with more discipline going forward if we're going to keep winning. And that should be a priority for next season.

Originally Posted by GoSkins!

The 3rd down percentage rate matters. However, if you look at the top teams, they are the ones with the most experience at the QB position. Like punch said, we are a good game away from moving up to "middling". Shanahan has brought in a bunch of new, young players on the offense. Efficiency on third down, as well as minimizing penalties, gets better with experience. If we can find a way to win anyway this year, great! The next several years will be the ones that are really special!

Agree 100% on both of these points. Well said.