My takeaways from this game:
There's two glaring weaknesses that carried over from 2018 to 2019... really poor speed and coverage from our linebackers and safeties in the middle of the field, and a lack of a consistent (and sometimes non-existent pass rush).
And in my mind... neither is really fixable. You MIGHT get better pass rush by blitzing, but that's only likely to work when Jimmy gets back and you can play more man-to-man coverage on the outside. With him out, you're forced into more zone looks, and this team plays TERRIBLE in zone coverage. You won't get a quality pass rush out of this group because you don't have good pass rushers. Bowser and Tim Williams are basically fringe league talent at best at this point, Judon is a solid player but not a true #1 rusher, and you're leaning on Pernell McPhee having a career resurgence. Its a recipe for disaster.
Biggest problem is linebackers in general... they're just awful in pass coverage. We weren't any good last season either, and that hasn't changed. And similar to the pass rush, the cavalry isn't coming on this one. There aren't any obvious upgrades to be found.
Against Arizona, and to a lesser extent KC, you could get away with this, because we could play a ton more Dime packages and get more speed and DBs out there. Against KC, we just didn't have the speed. Against Cleveland, we did. Difference is... with no Brandon Williams and playing a lot of Dime packages, you play smaller. And Cleveland adjusted, took advantage of that, and crammed it down our throats in the second half.
That's what good coaching does. And while we got outcoached today, I'll defend them in this regard... we don't really have a counter punch.
Good news is... I don't think the sky is falling. Fans typically overreact to the last thing they saw, and forget what they saw before. We can improve. Its far, far, far from over.