It's not Brunell's fault!

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by skinnyfan

I agree with the whole behind issue, but there was a protection problem from the start. They may not have sacked Brunell too often, but they sure as hell hurried him and with Brunell "a hurry" is just as good as a sack because he is scared to death to step up in the pocket and take a hit and too slow to run away from anyone. Our line, behind or not, is very average. They all bitched about smashmouth football all week and on Portis' first 7 carries he had 1 yard. And when we dropped back to pass Brunell had about 2.5 seconds to get rid of it. Our line is not good........period, no excuses for them. 3 points against the Giants, couldn't run on the Titans in the second half....avg. of 1.2 yards per carry in that game, and really couldn't run today until late when they scored a garbage TD and that came when the Colts were laying back and giving the underneath stuff up. With tackles like Samuels and Jansen they should be counted on for WAY more than just serviceable.

That's a great point right there. This offensive line is serviceable when things are going well. But when it's a dogfight, and the quarterback has to start winging it, forget it -- these guys fold.

And God help us if there's a fast defensive end lining up against Samuels. You said earlier skinnyfan, Chris Samuels could have been called for holding on just about every play.

Brunell is the obvious target, but the offensive line, especially with games like this, and the ones against the Giants and Cowboys, are a very close second in the categories that deserve serious blame.