Ugly Loss/Clayton On IR

Well, that ugly loss was brought to you by Bruce and Co. What a nice display of turnovers. I'm really starting to wonder if Bruce is ever going to improve. His interceptions were just horrible throws, and there were numerous times when he had guys open but failed to throw the ball. He's going to the check downs way too quickly, and seems to be sensing pressure and just freaking out. Then there's the one sack he took because he decided to run out to his right where Joseph and Trueblood had pushed there DE out around the pocket. He should have stayed put but ran outside and the DE just peeled off the blocks for the easy sack. Then there was the sack by Porter from behind when he knew that Porter was running him down, and he had time to throw the ball away as he ran toward the sideline. The pick in the endzone, which came two plays after Clayton sacrificed his knee to get a first down and trying to punch it in after failing to catch the wide open deep TD pass, was just absolutely horrendous. You just don't throw that pass like that. It was hideous. And the defense folded right after that. Think about the fact that we out rushed the Steelers, and could have made it a field goal game, and he does the worst thing possible.

Needless to say I'm not to pleased with our rookie QB. He's just not progressing like Simms did last year. Maybe the light will turn on in the last 4 games? I don't know. If he keeps playing like this, we won't win another game. The defense played well enough to win on Sunday, but the QB didn't, and neither did Caddy, for that matter. But that's a whole different story, one involving a dropped first down pass early, and a couple of fumbles, one of which, thankfully, was overturned.

Going back Clayton, just a couple of plays after dropping a sure TD pass, Clayton converts a huge first down to get us to the 3 yard line. During the catch he stretched out and tried to break free to punch the ball in the endzone. Unfortunately, that play has now knocked him out for the season. Now he'll need to get that knee healed, and work to get leaner and quicker for next season, as well as work on the hands a lot to get rid of the dropped passes. He had moments this season when he looked like he was ready to bust out again, but then he would drop a pass, and now his season has ended prematurely. Let's hope he can get it all back together this offseason and come back and play like we know he can.