What’s wrong with offensive play?
That’s a question we are all asking. Scoring is down. Big plays are down. Sacks are up. Quarterbacks getting rocked is an every Sunday thing.
The reason is simple. Offensive line play stinks. Usually we see that in the first two weeks of the season, but it carried over this week and again impacted the offenses. Just sitting in our green room watching every game, it seemed like a quarterback was either getting sacked, hit or running for his life on nearly every play.
Offensive lines don’t hit in the summer much, which is why they are bad now. The defensive linemen are so athletic that it takes work to prepare for all their stunts and looks. When you combine that with all the off coverages, it’s a problem. Quarterbacks are sped up by the fronts, but slowed down by the back-end looks.
Until the offensive line play improves, expect it to stay that way. They don’t hit enough in the summer, which is why we are seeing the offensive messes every week in the NFL. This week has been no different.
They don’t hit, so their quarterbacks are paying the price.
Now for some more quick Week 3 observations:
- I might be wrong about Titans quarterback Will Levis. I thought he would take a big step forward this year, but so far he’s been a disaster. Three straight games with bad turnovers with a Sunday pick-six by Jaire Alexander in the Titans’ loss to the Packers. He’s another guy being victimized by horrible offensive line play, but he has to be better. I know he hasn’t even been a starter for a full season, but I expected much more. How much patience will new coach Brian Callahan have with Levis? It can’t be much. Deservedly so.
- Brian Flores is a defensive wizard. The Vikings are 3-0 because of his defense. That unit dominated C.J. Stroud and the Texans on Sunday in a blowout victory. Stroud finished 20 of 31 for 215 yards, one touchdown and two picks, but it looked a lot worse than that. He was sacked four times by the Vikings as Flores threw so many different looks at him. It’s time Flores gets another look as a head coach. He will be much better the second time around.
- The Steelers are 3-0 and Mike Tomlin is showing why he’s in the conversation every year for being the best coach in the league. I thought the Steelers would be the worst team in the division. They are the best. They are doing it with good defense and solid quarterback play from Justin Fields, who threw for 245 yards with a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 20-10 victory over the Chargers. The Steelers had five sacks on the day as they knocked Justin Herbert from the game. He came in with a bad ankle and left after reinjuring it. By the way, Fields needs to stay in as the starter. There should be no debate about it.
- The Seahawks are 3-0 and have looked good at times on both sides of the ball. But they beat a rookie quarterback in his first start in Week 1, needed overtime to beat a bad Patriots team in Week 2 and then beat the Tua Tagovailoa-less Dolphins on Sunday. Next week it’s the Lions on Monday night. We will know more about the Seahawks after that one.
- The Cowboys have major problems. The defense is bad and that’s putting way too much pressure on the offense. Mike Zimmer was brought in to fix the defense, but the run defense remains a major problem. The Ravens ran for 274 yards Sunday in their 28-25 victory. That kind of run defense demoralizes a team. They aren’t big and they get pushed around. Something has to change.
- Raiders coach Antonio Pierce saying some Raiders “made business decisions” late in the team’s loss to the Panthers. That means they quit. The film session will be fun this week. Pierce won’t hold back — nor should he.
- The Packers have won two games with Malik Willis at quarterback — and he has played well. But that defense really impressed Sunday with a pick six by Jaire Alexander and eight sacks with seven players getting at least a half. The hiring of Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator was a great move.
- How good is Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers? He had two touchdowns on his eight catches for 78 yards. One of those was outstanding with a great toe-tap to get his feet in for the score. He is special.
- The game-winning drive by Jalen Hurts for the Eagles against New Orleans will quiet all the talk of Eagles coach Nick Sirianni being in trouble. The Eagles beat the Saints 15-12 when Hurts hit a big play to Dallas Goedert to set up the game-winning touchdown. The Eagles were staring 1-2 in the face until he made the big throw on third-and-16 to Goedert, who had a monster day. Now at 2-1, the Eagles lead the division as they head to play the Bucs next week.
- Speaking of the Bucs, what the hell was that against the Broncos? They were flat and clearly outplayed in a blowout loss. That’s not a good look after beating the Lions on the road. Baker Mayfield was out of sorts for much of the game, but the depleted defense was even worse.
- Sean McVay can flat out coach. If we didn’t know that already, we saw it Sunday as his gritty team battled back from 14 down to beat the 49ers. The play-calling was great, but so was his fake punt for a first down that got the team jump-started in the third quarter. McVay gets it.
- We saw the real Aaron Rodgers again last Thursday. After two so-so games, Rodgers looked like MVP Rodgers against the Patriots. His throws were accurate, the ball was on target but the biggest thing was his ability to move to throw. He looked hesitant the first two games coming off his torn Achilles. But Rodgers looked like Rodgers again against the Pats, which is why the Jets are a Super Bowl contender.
- The Patriots need to get on with it and play rookie Drake Maye. Sure, the offensive line isn’t good, but let’s forget all the talk about ruining the psyche of a quarterback if he gets hit too much. Great myth. If that were to happen, you drafted the wrong guy. Don’t tell me about David Carr with the Texans either. He was just the wrong guy. Play Drake Maye. If not this week against the 49ers on the road, which isn’t happening, then do it the next week against the Dolphins at home.
