Can We Stop the Run?

Facing the Packers

Can We Stop The Run?

Well, apparently we’ve got a defensive problem.

We can’t seem to stop the run.

Eddie Lee Ivery ran all over us in this game. He wound up gaining 4.7 yards per carry, with 118 yards on 25 carries and 2 touchdowns. We couldn’t stop him even when we keyed him.

The offense, meanwhile, had its issues. Mike Pruitt had a somewhat decent game, but it didn’t make up for a generally bad performance by Sipe.

This season might be going downhill quickly.

Game Stats

Green Bay just outplayed us. It’s as simple as that.

They had more first downs, more rushing yardage, more passing yardage, more plays, and caused more turnovers.

Our defense missed 9 tackles, which is an absolute embarrassment. Several of those missed tackles resulted in big plays.

I’m starting to wonder if I should have turned the “auto blitz” utility off when I realized that the Packers were simply going to run with Ivery all game long. I’m not sure how much that would have helped.

This was just a poor performance all around, I’m sorry to say.

The only nice thing I can say here is that we didn’t allow any field goals.

I think the biggest problem with this offense is how dependent it is on the passing game. If Sipe has a great game, we’re good to go. If the run isn’t establishing the pass, however, and Sipe is throwing out of desperation, we’re in trouble. And we were in trouble today.

Notable Leaders

Sipe is on the leaderboard for QB rating, though he’s no doing anywhere near as well as he did in real life. We need that running game to work.

It shouldn’t be any surprise to see Reggie Rucker and Dave Logan on the receiving leader list.

Rucker also has more receiving yards than any other player in the league. Maybe now you can see why that fatigue setting got me so mad the other day.

Pruitt hasn’t exactly been tearing up the field, but he has managed to score quite a few points for a non-kicker.

Meanwhile, you’d think that our defense was actually good by looking at stats like this.

I actually think this stat is a little bit deceptive. Ambrose is one of our linebackers. He’s a good linebacker, true, but I really have to worry when we’re relying on our linebackers for so many tackles. We could use a better defensive line.

Standings

The dream of a playoff berth is slipping out of our hands. The Steelers still look good, and Houston looks simply awesome.

Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins are quietly undefeated. I didn’t see that one coming!

We host the Steelers next week. This will tell us what kind of season to expect. If we pull off a win, we might be able to salvage this thing after all.