very late thoughts on the racist indian name game
 

ok well this is way later than i wanted but i will add some thoughts on the game. i went back and watched on game pass which took me way longer than i thought it would.

1) while mack looks better at blocking to me, his inside running still leaves a lot to be desired. clearly missed 2 huge holes that i saw and i wasnt even watching for it. he still has a skill set that i really like but i just don't see him as a starter.

2) 1st ebron catch was a crosser where they had a free rusher. clark did a great job trying to block 2 dudes and luck shifted to buy time to get the pass off. free rusher and Luck didn't get killed. thank you Frank Reich.

3) Haeg had himself a game and i do like the kid. I just don't really like him starting. while his run blocking has improved and i like how he can move to the 2nd level and lock in on lbers, he simply gives too much ground when pass blocking for my liking. great utility lineman though. such a great dude to have on the team.

4) hooker was consistently deep. very deep. too deep. which is something dam never says when he fucks his dad. unpopular opinion here but i don't really see the value of hooker. i see him as kind of a wasted 1st round pick. maybe some of this is the defense we play and he is coming back from injury but the dude is just irrelevant on the field.

cover 2 or cover 3 or single high, he does pretty much nothing play in and play out to effect the game. geathers is very active. even when dropping back in a cover 2. he is quick to diagnose and run to the ball. hooker not so much. maybe he is coached to sit back more. maybe he just doesn't have his wheels back yet but he doesn't offer much to the team.

5) which brings me to the fact that hooker and wilson as 1 and 2 might be bad picks. i am not opposed to shopping either of them to a team that runs a man system. and i get that they are young and can improve but i am just not that impressed with the early returns.

6) hooker 25 yards deep at snap in single high and lets richardson catch a pass deep when moore was in man. he was the only deep threat. hooker is taking himself out of games with his deep drops.

7) when the skins went 4 or 5 wide (only a couple times) the colts went man under with hooker as the single deep safety. i found that interesting.

8) Turay is fast. but did nothing against williams. not that i thought he would.

9) lbers love to bite on playaction. desir swatting the ball on the option play the skins ran early was a great play. the moore open field tackle of that rb was beautiful. figured i could lump these together.

10) screen play to TY when we had our backs to the goal line was brilliant. the back 7 were all at least 10 yards off the ball. the linemen got out in front and this is where grant pancaked the db. this is the type of play that teams would do to the colts. just great execution and a perfectly timed play.

11) i like this hewitt kid as a lead blocker. he might carve himself out a nice role.

12) kelly had some great plays. a couple of not so great ones but overall the dude was good. i really like the interior. let them get some time together and we might have a really good inside rushing attack and a nice clean pocket for Luck to step into

13) our 2 back offense doesn't really work out. this is something i think Reich will develop but right now it doesn't seem to be doing much.

14) Luck threw the ball roughly 55 yards in the air to TY that got the dpi. his arm is strong. he also trusts his arm. he threw a pass to ebron over the lber and in front of the safety that was beautiful. the safety got their early and wasn't called but the throw was exactly what i want to see from a pro qb. maybe his fastball isn't what it was or maybe he doesn't have a fastball but he can make the throws he needs to. this game showed that without a doubt

15) keep walker in at mlber. he is best option.

16) i like our big nickel cover 3 lineup. geathers drops to the 2nd lber and fairley comes in as a safety. that is our best group of defenders.

17) while the 2nd int Luck threw was a dumb throw, Hilton could have had it. dude ran a terrible route. if he runs a good route that ball is complete. he rounded it off and the safety jumped it. Luck had the rb in the flat for a huge gain.

18) somewhere in the 3rd quarter, the skins de jumped the snap and beat clark pretty bad. if that play had time, hilton had a 70 yard td easily. and luck was going there as well.

19) aother note of hooker being lousy in run support.

20) clark is not very aggressive. i think his game would be much better if his effort was kicked up a notch. dude has the talent to start somewhere. not be great but i guarantee he would upgrade some teams if he really wanted to.

Your observations on Hooker are in line with what I thought I was seeing but was hoping I was wrong about. He seems wasted/underutilized so far. Maybe that is him slowly coming back from injury, but maybe it’s scheme and taking him early was a waste. I hope not.

Does Fairley play the same position as Hooker? <Looked it up, he doesn't> I doubt Hooker would bring much in a trade as far as draft pick quality, but maybe a player for player swap with another team who has someone who isn't a fit would get better value.

They play safety. Would not be an issue for fairley to play hookers role.

I thought Hooker showed very well last year before he got hurt. I think he’s still recovering.

He’s never gonna be a run stuffing safety, we knew that when we drafted him. He’s a fast ballhawk and I think that will take time to recover.

In other words, I’m not down on him at all, at least not yet.

Wonder if Hooker is a bit gun shy and still trying get mind right after his injury, seems a bit tentative ? Liked him early last year and thought was a steal in draft. Has good ballhawk skills when at 100% :cool:

Very well could be. I hope he can become a major factor for the team. I know the guy has talent. Just not sure this defense will be the best use of those talents

As others said, Hooker looked good in limited action last year. Definitely seems that he's not fully back from the injury yet. Give him time before you judge him and want him gone.

I don’t necessarily want him gone. But I will judge him every game. Hopefully he gets better as the year goes on. I am sure he will get tested more as the season goes on

The one I am more interested in is Wilson at this point. I think Hooker weekly will improve to where expectations are met. Wilson however is a mystery. Showed well early last year, injured but not to serious and does not get back on field until late in year and shows well again. Now he seems to be an issue again where two undrafted guys beat him out.