Give Props to Brunell

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by illdefined

well that's a pig part of what a discussion forum is. opinions and observations. as long as you recognize that stats aren't the final word on football you and i are good. and if you say they are still the best we have, then i'll begrudingly agree and just point to the most meaningful stat of them all. 3-5.

you've now opined yourself about Brunell's throwing ability and quick checkdowns. i argue that last week, Brunell put himself in a *bigger role in this offense* by not checking down so much, and throwing to his primary receivers downfield. so while his previous dump-offs to Ladell may have resulted in the same amount of NET yards, the KINDS of passes thrown are vitally important and have a bigger impact to the whole team and ultimately the final results of the game.

Brunell's shots downfield, made Dallas's defense cover the whole field, and allowed Portis more attempts (if not YPC). also, to Rat's point, Brunell's confidence 'energized' the offense. Lloyd's emotional block on the Portis run is a good example. Lloyd just may not have hit that guy so hard, if he hadn't gotten those passes thrown to him earlier in the game and felt involved. it's not a secret Lloyd didn't feel involved enough in this offense, net yards and offensive 'efficiency' be damned.

i'd also argue that seeing Brunell attacking the defense would even energize OUR defense. it's remarkable how leadership builds momentum, and when one part of the team suddenly starts fighting its guts out (vs safely collecting yards allowed to them) i'd dare say it motivates everyone on the team. thats why i remarked earlier that football is a game of emotion (is there a stat for 'momentum' - do you agree it exists?). anyway that's all opinion, no stats, but still worth saying. in my opinion.

I actually agree with this post to the extent that football is a team game. That's cliche, but the reason we have the 3-5 record is that we have played only well enough to be a 3 or 4 win team. It's important to realize that one man is not responsible for the record, and that the whole team is. But if the goal is to fix it, then you have to find the problems. 3-5 isn't a problem...it's the product. That's why its a horrible arguement for benching MB.

You are 100% right with your diagnosis of the game as one rooted in emotion. It's why a team can beat another team on any given Sunday. It may very well be why we lost to Tennessee. But the funny thing about that is when you get emotionally dominated...you also get statistically dominated. Stats do not show the level of emotion, but they show what happened DUE to the emotion. They are not going to tell you why it happened, but they will tell you how it was executed. And if trying to dig deeper into why and how things happen makes me a stathead, then I'm guilty as charged. But I've been a football fan longer than ive been a staticisian, and stats will never be bigger than the game itself.

Outside of that, I think this is a very well written final word. Although I don't agree 100%, I'm willing to let the issue rest at this point. At least until next week when we inevitably disagree on MB's performace. It will be interesting to see what we have in store for the Eagles offensively.