NFL: The Worried Children after Week 3: Victims of the O-Line Virus

The season is three weeks old and for some teams, the season is anything but as expected.The early problem children of the season include the New York Giants, the Seattle Seahawks, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals.SPOX explains what has been the hitch so far – spoilers: a pattern is recognizable.

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New York Giants (balance sheet: 0-3)

When Brandon Marshall changed teams in the off-season, he spoke of the motivation to win the Super Bowl.After Week 3, the Giants are 0-3.A record in which only five teams were able to reach the playoffs since the NFL merger in 1970.So Marshall will find it hard enough to play in the postseason for the first time in his 12-year NFL career.

The giants seem to be accompanied by exuberant expectations and questionable actions on and off the field this season as well.The attack up to the 24-point explosion against the Eagles in the fourth quarter was once again of no importance and fell far short of the high expectations of the previous season.This didn’t stop Highlight machine Odell Beckham from cheering his first touchdown with such an obscene gesture that there was a 15-yard penalty for it.

Beckham may have explained that he was not aware of “whether the rules say that you don’t want to use your leg like a dog[for the sake of relief – noted.Red]’, but the gesture does not testify to the hoped-for increase in New York matriculation.

This comes after a playoff participation in which one had loaded a medial target before the out-of-boat trip to seal the match.This comes after a week in which the head coach, despite his often dubious play-calling, prefers to approach his own quarterback at a press conference.With all the problems that the Giants are currently facing, it seems that some of the biggest burdens are being imposed on themselves.

Looking at the heartbreaking 24:27 defeat against the Eagles, the main reason for this is the 193 approved rushing yards of a run defensive, which should have belonged to the league’s non-plus ultra.The fact that the Eagles’ ground play is not one of the team’s strengths and that Darren Sproles’ serious injury in the first quarter has not really changed anything about it makes this figure even more alarming.

All this should not distract from the fact that the big problem child in the team is still the offensive line.After the catastrophic first two games, in which the squad around the ever critical Ereck Flowers had already admitted eight sacks against Eli Manning, the first half against Philly also looked fatal.

Under constant pressure, Manning threw two picks.The running game counted seven yards after 30 minutes of play.Although the line was able to rehabilitate itself a bit in the second round, the construction is still a very shaky base on which Manning and the whole Giants-Offense will move in the next week.

The calendar could certainly benefit the Giants in the next two weeks.First of all, you play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who find a prominent military hospital on the defensive side after the Vikings game and have missed any kind of pass rush.In Week 5, a game against the previously victorious Chargers will follow.

Seattle Seahawks (balance sheet: 1-2)

Pete Carroll will know how to handle the 27:33 defeat against Tennessee.He will know that the 420 permitted yards, 195 of which were admitted on the ground, do not mean a sudden weakness of his exceedingly talented defensive force.The unit was on the field for too long in Nashville at a temperature of just under 38 degrees Celsius and was overrun by an explosive back duo that had already inflicted considerable damage on the Seattle not unlike Jaguars-D in Week 2.

Carroll will also know that despite 27 points and 373 yards, the offense is not suddenly no longer a problem area.Rather, the Sunday output is based on Russell Wilson’s outstanding improvisation skills.The same offense, which caused some problems for the Titans in the final quarter, gave the ball back to the first six drives after no more than six plays.One reason for the long game time of the Defense.

The Offense Seattles lacks a clear identity.She has been missing this since the departure of Max Unger, Russell Okung and above all Marshawn Lynch.Wilson may be the best mobile quarterback in the league, but he doesn’t have the chance to wear the Run Game as often as he had hoped, but he’s lost his presence in the pocket.Because of his great athletic abilities, he tends to quickly dissolve the pocket and flee from the pass rush.

For many players this tendency is problematic, but for Wilson it works unusually often.Irrespective of the success of this concept, however, the Seahawks are not in a position to set up a comprehensive dropback passing system around their quarterback.If this offense is to be successful in the long run, it seems very doubtful that it can be so with a constantly fleeing quarterback.Even if this style of playing emphasizes his strengths and conceals his weaknesses.

Perhaps, and this is a central point, it wouldn’t even matter if Wilson were a traditional pocket-pass register.If you look at the way his line performs, this pocket usually doesn’t even exist.This big problem hasn’t changed even after the slightly improved appearances against the 49ers and Titans.The likelihood of a significant and long-term improvement should be considered very low.The reason for this is that the personnel’s qualifications are limited.

LT Rees Odhiambo can too often be taken by surprise on a physical level.LG Luke Jockel is suffering from a serious knee injury.C Justin Britt has to concentrate on his own tasks and the problems to the right of him.Here Mark Glowinski was simply too slow and was replaced for the time being by the former Jets- and Texans-Backup Oday Aboushi, who also wobbled against Tennessee.On RT, Germain Ifedi plays with blatant weaknesses in the pass protection.However, it is also a long-term project.

If you want to overcome the weaknesses of the O-Line, you have to navigate around it.Wilson’s skill set primarily matches a run-first offense, so his most effective pass moves – play-action, rollouts and bootlegs – are based on the running game.This helps the line now, but the Seahawks haven’t had a successful running game since the last “healthy” year of Marshawn Lynch.Beastmode made up for some of the line’s shortcomings at that time due to his skills after contact and against tackling attempts.

Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell is about to throw Chris Carson into this breach.He has been able to make a good impression so far, but his production is also dependent on blocking.If the O-Line is still unable to rehabilitate itself, the seahawks must continue to rely heavily on their passing game.To her passing and Wilson’s improvisation skills.

The Seahawks receive the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 and are almost under pressure here.Although you’re the favourite, the offense should confirm its production from the Titan game.If Seattle really does pull the short end of another field goal-heavy game, Week 5 will see a potentially play-off direction-setting divisional matchup at the upcoming Rams.

Page 1: The New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks

Page 2: The Cincinnati Bengals and the Arizona Cardinals