A damning lack of pressure and defensive intent have alarm bells ringing at Essendon after their 61-point AFL loss to Adelaide.

The Crows outmarked the Bombers on Saturday at the MCG by a whopping 129 to 59.

Opening the season with two losses, Essendon have also conceded a combined 42 goals.

While there were some bright spots - captain Zach Merrett was outstanding, debutant Tom Edwards kicked three goals and young onballer Elijah Tsatas had a game-high 11 clearances - overall Essendon looked ordinary.

Adelaide's midfielders were able to walk the ball from the centre bounce at times in the second and third terms as the Crows dominated.

Coach Brad Scott also lamented the inability of the inexperienced Essendon attack to put up enough defensive pressure, meaning the Crows were able to "bounce" the Bombers too easily going the other way.

"It's been a long time since we've conceded uncontested marks and lost pressure differential by as much as we did today," Scott said.

"I have to drill down more on pressure, because uncontested marks correlate with pressure.

"What happened a lot of the time is if we went forward ... and lost the ball, their mids and forwards were spreading, expecting the ball to come back.

"They challenged our defence. Our defence across the ground - forward, mid and back - wasn't up to it."

Essendon host Port Adelaide on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium, and Scott said the game "can't come around quick enough".