he already caught a pass for a first down. It was a clever roll out play and Ratliff hit him in the flat and he ran down the sidelines for a first down.
Nope. I think the CS would like the guys to perform well when they are doing vanilla, as a foundation to do well when more complex stuff is put in. Don't you think they will look at the film and critique guys about their performance? I doubt the player will say, "Aw coach it was the first pre=season game, it was just a vanilla D. Yup, that'll go over well in the team meeting.
Of course, but that's not what the issue is. Just because the defense looked less than stellar running basic plays doesn't mean it is or will be a bad defense when the regular season rolls around and they're playing with a full playbook. To make any assumption for the regular season based on what you see in pre-season is dangerous to say the least.
Woody turning into Steinbrenner? Big FA signings. Giving game updates that he's unhappy with the play?
whatever your impressions of Woody are (yeah, you, Champ : ) ), you have to appreciate that he's trying to put the best possible team on the field.