And it’s a fascinating experiment to go and watch both years to see differences. The key differences I noticed:
- Barkley routinely turned lost yards into 20 yard gains. I mean, we know he was great, but you can’t replace that kind of player. He changed games because everyone we played knew he was a touchdown waiting to happen.
- McSorleys feel for the offense was incredible. On top of that, dude was an absolute gamer. Such great feel for the game, what he needed to know of the offense, and fantastic playmaking ability in his own right.
- 2020 OL > 2017 OL. Not particularly close either. Say what you will about OL play over the years, but it’s gotten wayyyy better.
- DL play on the other hand has gotten worse. So watching some of the 2016 games as well, and then again in 2017 the DL really was pretty good. Nothing that you go “oh my god” but they consistently got pressure and penetration. 2020 Not nearly as good as 2017.
- gesicki had a knack for finding the hole in the seam. That said, he wasn’t overwhelmingly athletic or anything so it feels like we haven’t taken much of a step back.
- Dotson...my god the progression of this kid is insane. By the end of 2020, this guy has legitimately turned himself into a bona fide WR1. What he lacked in 2018 and 2019 was burst and “dunking”, and that showed up in 2020 ina big way. I tended to look at him as just improving since 2018 but as the same player, and upon review he’s gotten to be a seriously good playmaker. Not hamler explosive, but smooth, savvy, and with way more burst than he gets credit for.
Final and obvious takes: It all starts at the QB position. Clifford panics where mcsorley just had a feel for even broken plays. Like more than anything Clifford needs a shot in the arm of confidence. Further, the team needs “a guy”. Is Dotson that? He’s close. I don’t know if he’s a game wrecker, a guy teams focus their gameplanning on, but he’s going to be a problem for other teams. The key is finding THAT guy that consumes an opposing DC and I’m not sure that guy is on the roster. The OL is better today (not really that close either) than they were 4 years ago, so there’s hope. I’d also like to see the DL step up. The secondary is clearly more talented today than it was 4 years ago, but without pressure that means nothing. It’s not just the front four either. Cabinda and bell routinely got home on the blitz. This team is just shy one or two players (or one awesome QB) from being a real problem. The talent is there, but they lack the one or two game changing players they had 4 years ago.
- Barkley routinely turned lost yards into 20 yard gains. I mean, we know he was great, but you can’t replace that kind of player. He changed games because everyone we played knew he was a touchdown waiting to happen.
- McSorleys feel for the offense was incredible. On top of that, dude was an absolute gamer. Such great feel for the game, what he needed to know of the offense, and fantastic playmaking ability in his own right.
- 2020 OL > 2017 OL. Not particularly close either. Say what you will about OL play over the years, but it’s gotten wayyyy better.
- DL play on the other hand has gotten worse. So watching some of the 2016 games as well, and then again in 2017 the DL really was pretty good. Nothing that you go “oh my god” but they consistently got pressure and penetration. 2020 Not nearly as good as 2017.
- gesicki had a knack for finding the hole in the seam. That said, he wasn’t overwhelmingly athletic or anything so it feels like we haven’t taken much of a step back.
- Dotson...my god the progression of this kid is insane. By the end of 2020, this guy has legitimately turned himself into a bona fide WR1. What he lacked in 2018 and 2019 was burst and “dunking”, and that showed up in 2020 ina big way. I tended to look at him as just improving since 2018 but as the same player, and upon review he’s gotten to be a seriously good playmaker. Not hamler explosive, but smooth, savvy, and with way more burst than he gets credit for.
Final and obvious takes: It all starts at the QB position. Clifford panics where mcsorley just had a feel for even broken plays. Like more than anything Clifford needs a shot in the arm of confidence. Further, the team needs “a guy”. Is Dotson that? He’s close. I don’t know if he’s a game wrecker, a guy teams focus their gameplanning on, but he’s going to be a problem for other teams. The key is finding THAT guy that consumes an opposing DC and I’m not sure that guy is on the roster. The OL is better today (not really that close either) than they were 4 years ago, so there’s hope. I’d also like to see the DL step up. The secondary is clearly more talented today than it was 4 years ago, but without pressure that means nothing. It’s not just the front four either. Cabinda and bell routinely got home on the blitz. This team is just shy one or two players (or one awesome QB) from being a real problem. The talent is there, but they lack the one or two game changing players they had 4 years ago.
