Workmanlike

I was listening to a podcast last week, and a pundit (I think it might have been Joe Curly) said he wanted and expected a blowout in DET. He felt anything less would be pretty poor.

As he said that, I thought in my head, "I just want a workmanlike win." And that's what we got. I felt the game was a good, solid step forward.

Look. We all know what the problems were. I am not here to sugar coat them or say they don't matter. And I am not complaining about critics being picky or judging people for not being satisfied for 11-1. This is not that kind of post.

However, it is true that NFL wins are always precious and hard to get. One should always value them, no matter what. And this is perhaps the most important part of why I liked that game.

Perhaps the most important strength a team can have approaching the post-season is the proven ability to actually win tough, close games. All too often, people dismiss the results in a run of close games that go one way. A team that loses a bunch of close games is thought to be better than its record. And a team that wins them is thought to be more lucky than good. In our case, our defensive struggles coupled with close wins causes doubt, especially among us.

Well, there is such a thing as a team being more hot than excellent. And we do have flaws on our team that reveal themselves in close games. We all know what they are and I do not deny that they matter. They do. But, there is another side to the coin.

We keep performing down the stretch against tough resistance. We KNOW we can do that. We know that our offense can produce when it really needs to. For all its problems, our defense DOES play well down the stretch. Again, I am not saying that its late game heroics fully compensate for poor performance during the game. I AM saying that it does matter. And a team that knows it can perform in a tight game enters the playoffs with a valuable asset.

I also feel that the defense looked better. I know, I know. It was only DET. But they did have a good power runner and a capable QB. We largely contained the run and didn't let the WRs gash us. More importantly, perhaps, we looked considerably better organized on defense. I haven't looked closely enough to assess how many snap counts Talib played in, but we seemed solid against an ordinary but not awful offense.

As for the offense, I did not feel that Goff was awful. He missed a few throws and made others. His worst play was the fumble--he really has to clean that up. The OL had another loose game, which is concerning. But it made a helluva lot of good plays as well. And, the unit hung up 30 in the end. As others have written, a unit that scores 30 on a day when it isn't wholly in synch is a damn good offense. As for Gurley … well, I keep reminding myself to appreciate having him. God, he's good.

You know, two kinds of team would never think of seeing a game like this negatively. A bad team delighted with any win. And a perennial champion working its way methodically toward the playoffs. Think of how people react to NE getting a win without looking overwhelming.

Of course, we are NOT where NE is right now. We have not earned the right to dismiss scratchy performances as inconsequential. But I tell you what. Being able to record one workmanlike win after another while proving one can execute in the final minutes … well that is the road to getting where NE is. We yet have a lot to work on, but I think we took a good, firm step yesterday in getting there.

Let's wrap up with a brief look at our competition. NO played a scratchy game … and lost it. KC scored a lot of points … but gave up 30+ to a horrific OAK team. The Vikings bowed to NE. I'd say we took a step forward while the rest of the NFC stepped back.

On to CHI, my hometown.