Schefter: Burgess re-signed to one-year deal

[captain stone]

Captain, this is a ridiculous statement. There aren't 4 teams in the league that have 2 dominant outside pass rushers. You are on the verge of sounding like a delusional Jet fan who demands that there be all pros at EVERY prosition.

Last season the Jets had exactly ONE more sack than the Pats defense that you so deride. You know the one that was 6th in scoring D last year. You should be encouraged, as I was in finding that Burgess was so productive at the end of the season, as he got more comfortable. If he gets us 6-8 sacks this season he will provide a productive bridge for our younger prospects like Cunningham and Crable.

I would encourage everyone NOT to get caught up in who the "starters" are on this defense. The defense has become very SITUATIONAL these days. Different situations means different people. Very few of our players should expect to play 90% of a game's defensive snaps. Its just not how they do things these days.

BB spotted TBC last season brilliantly and got great production out of a guy who most of us thought was being brought in to improve our special teams play. I remember the post that compared TBC's stats with Freeney, Peppers, and some other "dominant" rusher, and we found that he compared VERY well.

Well Burgess is THIS year's TBC. He's a guy who will take situational snaps and be part of the 16 or so "regulars" who will play defense for us this season.

Again, It was impressive to read about Burgess' impressive December numbers. It bodes well.

I really hope you're right, PFK. But don't forget that the same defense which was 6th overall in points allowed, was also near the bottom in 3rd-down %, and maybe RZ %, too.

When I look at this group of OLBs, they just don't strike any fear into my heart; and I kinda doubt that they strike much fear into any DC's heart, either.

The success or failure of our defense going forward - and perhaps Bill's reputation as a judge of defensive talent - might hinge on the success or failure of Crable & Cunningham, 2 top-80 draft picks over the last 3 years. Chicken Legs must stay healthy enough to show what he can do over the course of an entire season, if for no other reason than to let Bill know whether he needs to acquire more OLBs ASAP; and Cunningham must show during his first season that he understands what being a professional here is all about, and that he at least has enough athleticism to make some contributions while still learning all the nuances of the position.

 

[captain stone]

Anything that keeps Woods off the field is a great move.

Fixed it for ya.

 

[captain stone]

On top of the fact that drafting in hindsight is assinine this is one of poorest posts i have ever read. I have now lost all respect for any football opinion you will ever post.

This list is NOT hindsight; this is how I thought at the very moment that the picks were made.

I wanted Mark Anderson as early as the Garrett Mills pick in the 4th round of the '06 draft, and was shocked that 2 more offensive players - Mills & the lumbering, injury-risk O'Callahan - were chosen instead. But hey, at least Gostkowski's worked out so far.

I thought at the time that Jacob Ford was clearly the best avail. Pass-Rusher, from a possible 3-4 standpoint, when Bill instead rolled the dice on Justin Rogers, of whom I & others had never heard, at the top of the 6th round of the '07 draft.

Crable instead of Cliff Avril, from DE-to-OLB factory Perdue?
Couch-potato Brace instead of super-athletic Connor Barwin?
WTF was Bill thinking?

Now, please explain to me, exactly, what is so asinine or poor about any of the above statements.

AJ, it's OK to admit that Bill makes mistakes every once - or thrice - in a while. You won't be regarded as any less of a fan if you do so.

 

[eom]

these are the half of kirwan's 38 from the last 2 years:
note: I just categorized by the position they're listed on profootballfocus
player - snaps/(sacks + hits + pressures)

2008 - average snaps = 398
long (stl 4-3 de) - 733/32
jackson (sea 4-3 de) - 657/17
harvey (jax 4-3 de) - 607/29
groves (jax 4-3 de) - 274/14
merling (mia 3-4 de) - 483/16
campbell (az 3-4 de) - 186/3
balmer (sf 3-4 de) - 76/0
gholston (lol 3-4 olb) - 169/7

2009 - average snaps = 515
orakpo (was 4-3 olb) - 922/39
brown (car 4-3 de) - 401/23
barwin (hou 4-3 de) - 369/16
maybin (buf 4-3 de) - 231/5
kruger (bal 4-3 de) - 176/5
jackson (kc 3-4 de) - 700/8
matthews (gb 3-4 olb) - 860/49
english (sd 3-4 olb) - 547/25
ayers (den 3-4 olb) - 426/22
(excluded)
veikune (cle - ilb) - 16/0
brown (az) - IR

edit:

Those sobering stats set expectations for Cunningham.

I don't think small sample stats are ever sobering, but it looks like the 400 snaps I mentioned in an earlier post is a pretty realistic target, if you want to just lump all these guys together and judge cunningham on the pats by them.
I don't have any source on '06 + '07, so I left them out.

and for perspective, tbc's (sack + hit + pressure) proportionate total on 400 snaps (he played 725 snaps) would've been 24 last year, which is similar to ayers and matthews, and a little bit better than english.

bottom line, of 4 players at his position, I'd consider 3 a success, with gholston being the bust --- hopefully he's better than gholston....
if you want to add in orakpo and the 4-3 ends, you end up at around 7/13 that look pretty successful.
if he has to be droy pro-bowler with 10+ sacks, then I think you might be setting the bar a little high.

 

[mgteich]

1) The reason that we had such low points allowed is that we let the oppoenets intom the red zone less often than most. To be blunt, not allowing points is the job of the defense. All other goals are secondary, except for when those points are allowed.

2) I agree that we need improvement in red zone efficiency. It works even better to not allow the opponents into the red zone in the first place (keeping the ball between the 20's). That has always been the Belichick philosophy (not like by many hers). Unfortunately the offense sometimes turns the ball over in the red zone.

I really hope you're right, PFK. But don't forget that the same defense which was 6th overall in points allowed, was also near the bottom in 3rd-down %, and maybe RZ %, too.