Quote:Was missing Paul Poz and Marks the SOLE reason for giving up 123 rushing yards to Doug Martin? Or making a mistake prone QB only miss on 6 of his passes? Was missing Linder the SOLE reason that our RB couldnt gain more than 32 yards against the 25th worst rush D in the league? Or for our offense to be 2/8 in 3rd down efficiency? Should we be happy that this " built " team was getting beat 24-38 against a team that was then considered THE WORST IN THE LEAGUE, making us rely on exploiting TBs prevent defense, and forcing us to go for an onside kick to make the loss even sound respectable? 38-31 sounds nice, except when you realize that the score was actually 24-38 until about 3 minutes left in the game.

 

That's all I got.

Everything you pointed out above made a significant impact, yes.  A healthy Marks and Poz would certainly have an impact on their running game.  Pocket pressure, like last year, would impact Winston's performance greatly.  Last year's defense was playing some really good football.  This year's, with arguably talent added?  Lost.  Why?  No pressure on the QBs.  I think Marks impact on this team is greatly undervalued.  People saying he isn't a difference maker, well, he is.  Or was.  Not sure about coming back from an injury. 

---