Back to the subject at hand: DEFENSE

[emoney_33]

FINALLY an answer, save the wise cracks! THERAPY,LOL. Getting people to talk about the game without all the QB stuff will help everyone who frequents this site. I try to be even handed, and YES obviously the front 7 played a great game. Did anyone else have the same questions I had about Bruschi missing the goal line stand? Was I seeing things or did Hobbs leave the field for a little while with an injury? I havent watched the replay yet besides that McGruder film....anyone else hearing Costner in your head "down, and to the left"?? Seymour was around the ball but how did he do against Albert?? Any specific plays to look for?

When did you see Hobbs leave the field with injury?

 

[jeffbiologist]

are you suggesting benching james sanders?

i'd take him on the team anyday.

This thread seems contradictory. is the defense good or bad?

I think they are pretty darn good considering a new ILB and many new additions to the secondary.

Hey, this is the 2nd time in this thread people are calling this contradictory. Not all posts have to be "we are the best/we are the worst", IMHO that with 2+ pages of nothing but QB talk the best THERAPY for most here would be to have intelligent banter about the D. Explanation:

There is the 07 team
There is the preseason games
There is our expectations(good/bad/both)
And there is what really happened.

I can recall back to 01 and remember the team playing up or down to the level of competition,something to look for the rest of the year? Anyone notice any other interesting tidbits about the LB rotation? Not everyone has to be OCHO CINCO here, not every post has to be either good or bad. Yes, I am still looking for an arguement/intelligent conversation and dont have to put someone else down to do it.

 

[emoney_33]

Hey, this is the 2nd time in this thread people are calling this contradictory. Not all posts have to be "we are the best/we are the worst", IMHO that with 2+ pages of nothing but QB talk the best THERAPY for most here would be to have intelligent banter about the D. Explanation:

There is the 07 team
There is the preseason games
There is our expectations(good/bad/both)
And there is what really happened.

I can recall back to 01 and remember the team playing up or down to the level of competition,something to look for the rest of the year? Anyone notice any other interesting tidbits about the LB rotation? Not everyone has to be OCHO CINCO here, not every post has to be either good or bad. Yes, I am still looking for an arguement/intelligent conversation and dont have to put someone else down to do it.

It's contradictory because you call the overall D bad (for daring to allow 10 pts to KC) and then good later on. Not because you mentioned Sanders botched play.

 

[jeffbiologist]

It's contradictory because you call the overall D bad (for daring to allow 10 pts to KC) and then good later on. Not because you mentioned Sanders botched play.

You better go reread the thread. I pointed out that I was(understandably)concerned about the one big play, I pointed out specifics about Sanders, Bruschi, Seymour and Hobbs. I noted that they scored their points when the game was still in doubt, using a backup QB, noting that Bowe dropped a TD(and a couple other passes). I am not dumb, I saw the game(good D!), and until the pats play a perfect game there will be people here basically doing the same thing....trying to figure out what we saw so we can "know" more than the next guy about the game next week. I mean I can ask "did we win it or did they lose it", any and all good questions. There are ALOT of posters on edge here with the apprehension of the new season and the emotion of the QB situation. I am trying to change the subject and talk about FOOTBALL. Too many people are looking to take a side as if this was a fight.....I can see both good and bad in a game like that last one, most people can, lets talk about it. Apprehension +emotion<appreciation!

 

[emoney_33]

You better go reread the thread. I pointed out that I was(understandably)concerned about the one big play, I pointed out specifics about Sanders, Bruschi, Seymour and Hobbs. I noted that they scored their points when the game was still in doubt, using a backup QB, noting that Bowe dropped a TD(and a couple other passes). I am not dumb, I saw the game(good D!), and until the pats play a perfect game there will be people here basically doing the same thing....trying to figure out what we saw so we can "know" more than the next guy about the game next week. I mean I can ask "did we win it or did they lose it", any and all good questions. There are ALOT of posters on edge here with the apprehension of the new season and the emotion of the QB situation. I am trying to change the subject and talk about FOOTBALL. Too many people are looking to take a side as if this was a fight.....I can see both good and bad in a game like that last one, most people can, lets talk about it. Apprehension +emotion<appreciation!

I think these two parts of the quote seem contradictory as they speak more to the overall quality of the D, rather than specifics...

A couple things stuck out to me....KC is a BAD team, and they scored 10 pts on us and none of it was in garbage time.

f you want to jump off the bandwagon dont let the door hit you in the butt on the way out....Its all about the D!!

But anyhow moving on...

Sanders isn't perfect and that play was pretty ugly, but overall I think he makes more good plays than bad ones. Hopefully he'll work on it and we will begin to see less screwups (not just him either, the whole team).

Another thing I noticed and wanted to talk about was the CB position. Many of us thought Wheatley was going to start, completing forgetting about or writing off LSanders. However BB kept true to form and had the veteran starting. I also noticed more Deltha Oneal at RCB than I expected. Seems like Deltha is gaining the trust of BB and it seems like only a matter of time (learning the whole playbook) before he starts seeing fulltime reps at RCB.

I didn't notice Wheatley at all, did he get in on any snaps? Seems like he'll be allowed to learn without exposing him to rookie mistakes for most of the year (much like Hobbs in his rookie year).


Mayo looked real solid and Bruschi still has the instincts (though obviously not the speed he once had). I saw many times Vrabel playing ROLB, has BB done this much in the past? Vrabes and Seymour on the same side.



Kelley Washington got a reception!!!!

Oh yea and Hobbs is the man, not like we all didn't already know that though

 

[JSn]

That game may have been enough to move O'Neil up the depth chart if he's kept his study on.

I'm a closet Bengals fan (fading with every personnel move) and so seeing Deltha show up and spit on all the "he's washed up" talk was awesome.

Being the only guy out there with the wits and skills to catch a long-gone receiver gave him cred. Adding some awesome (if not a little physical) coverage to end the game... AWESOME.

I think we have to remember that pressure is key to making the secondary look good. Our boys will still be at full-strength and hopefully focused next week, working toward mid-season form. I'm looking froward to seeing them man-handle Favre. That supposedly beefed up O-line in New York is not as awesome as it first sounds, at least not against our front 7.

Do you think maybe Crable was kept out and being saved for this game to spend a lot of his burst trying to blow Favre into a million pieces of old?

We'll need sure tacklers against Brett, and I think we'll see five or six sacks. Hey, if the Dolphins could get four...

 

[mgteich]

I think that it we were talking about, we'd talking about the solid play of the defense. Our run defense up the middle was awesome. The DL was healthy and play very well. Mayo and Bruschi stopped everything. 12 tackles for Bruschi! O'Neal was a GREAT pickup. Yes, I would like to see better coverage from our free safety. We really couldn't aksed for much more.

That being said, we are thin at ILB. We have no solid subs, and this will be important later in the season. I also would see a backup SS on the team.

 

[emoney_33]

I think that it we were talking about, we'd talking about the solid play of the defense. Our run defense up the middle was awesome. The DL was healthy and play very well. Mayo and Bruschi stopped everything. 12 tackles for Bruschi! O'Neal was a GREAT pickup. Yes, I would like to see better coverage from our free safety. We really couldn't aksed for much more.

That being said, we are thin at ILB. We have no solid subs, and this will be important later in the season. I also would see a backup SS on the team.

Don't forget Vrabes and AD can both play ILB...

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Let's all bow our heads and pray for the defense...

 

[mgteich]

Yes, I understand. Actually, I would favor AT playing some inside early in the season, with Woods getting some reps outside to better prepare for the playoff run (having Bruschi fresher). However, I would prefer even more for Seau to give Bruschi that rest and be part of a solid 3-man ILB unit. I'd rather not count on the Sters as we did last year.

But, even as we are now, I believe that our front seven is now stronger than last year.

Don't forget Vrabes and AD can both play ILB...

 

[PatsFan37]

A couple quick observations from having re-watched the first half.
* Mayo looked solid, shedding blocks, flowing to the ball
* KC was getting little push up the middle. Runs getting stuffed early. When their faster back was making his cuts against the grain (I forget his name) the LBs were good at not overpursuing and keeping the lanes closed.
* Gonzalez caught everything that came his way and Rodney was a step behind in coverage most of the time. If the plan is to cover TEs with Rodney (much as I love the guy), they need a new plan.
* In the first half, I saw only Mayo playing. So much for that long thread about rookies stepping right in from day 1. Lewis Sanders and O'Neal, fresh from the waiver wire, both started ahead of Wheatley. Yes, the #10 overall is playing, but no other rookies even against KC. This is actually good news, since it means we can anticipate the D getting faster as the year wears on.
* Woods rotated with Vrabel and looked serviceable. Vrabel looked terrific. This is an excellent plan to keep a key player fresh.
* KC would have done much, much better if Bowe didn't have stone hands. He dropped everything.

Conclusion: the Jets will have trouble running against this team, even with their new oline. I know, it's KC, but the D really did look tough against the run. Pass coverage may be an issue as the Jets receivers will not drop passes like KC.