Offensive Observation: It was a much better game for Nick Stephens than it was for him last week. I thought he did a good job of settling down and making simple throws to convert third downs. There were too many plays early where he tried to make difficult throws and not take what was given to him. The interception was a poor read and some of his sideline throws were too tight, but he bounced back and showed much better decision making in his later snaps. I still do believe that the club will carry three quarterbacks, and Stephens had a much better showing, which will make this front office consider him from a practice squad spot.
Defensive Observation: With J.J. Wilcox right now, you are going to see the good with the bad. Once he gets it, though, I believe he will be just fine. His position on the interception in the red zone was outstanding because he didn't let Pryor carry him wide, away from the receiver. He held his ground and was able to adjust back inside to secure the ball. It was an aware play on his part. Where he is going to have to grow is taking better angles to the ball. Wilcox is going to need to learn to play with his eyes better. He is so aggressive in his approach that he sometimes is out of whack. The more he plays, the better he will get in this area. [embedded_ad]
Special Team Observation: I have never been around a special teams coach that works as hard as Rich Bisaccia does in practice. His schemes allow his players to make plays, but there were plenty of opportunities tonight that when he sits down to review the tape, he will be disappointed in the way his units played. From my view in the booth, the blocked field goal appeared to happen over David Arkin, who got turned on the play and allowed his man inside. The muffed punt by B.W. Webb is something they work on every day – putting yourself in position to make the catch. Webb just didn't do it. On the long kickoff return, it appeared that several players got knocked to the ground and Webb was pushed wide, which created the hole inside. It wasn't the type of night for the special teams as a group that Bisaccia would have hoped for, but knowing this coach, it will be corrected on the field Sunday.
