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Great info, Ken. I picked out a couple to discuss.
I think that nickel/dime DTs are a much more critical issue to us that the elusive answer to who will play RDE in the 34.
Personally, I did not feel the loss of Seymour hurt us all that much in the base 34 but was deadly to us in rushing the passer up the middle in sub packages.
Not saying that Seymours run D wasnt excellent but the impact of that downgrade paled in comparison to his pressure up the middle.
I think that Wright is effective in that role, and I have hope that Warren and/or Lewis can be. If those 2 guys are effective in that role, we have made big improvement on the DL regardless of what happens at the base RE spot.
I'm really glad you picked those 2 areas to discuss Andy
1. I'm very serious about the concept of the inside pass rush. If you have the ability to PREDICT pressure then you can tighten your coverages accordingly. For example if you KNOW that your rush is going to force the QB to get rid of the ball to one of his short options, you can tighten your short coverages and take more chances on making a big play.
The Jets did an excellent job of this. People forget that they only had ONE more sack than the Pats last season, but their philosophy was that making the QB feel the heat was just as important as actually sacking him.
When QBs feel the heat, they look to get rid of the ball. If as a Defense I know that, then I can pressure short routes because I know the ball will be out of the QB's hands fast. The true beauty of what the Jets do, is that often the QB will get rid of the ball faster than he has to just because of the PERCEIVED pressure, rather than the actual pressure
The best way to make a QB feel the heat is to pressure him up the middle. This is how you get a QB out of his rhythm. It keeps him from stepping up. It funnels him into the outside rushers, It makes him throw while his feet are moving laterally or backwards, which can often cause inaccurate throws.
THe good news is that there are so many good things that happen when you can pressure the QB from the inside. The bad news is that its hard to do. I think you have to be very creative and daring. But the strategies of creating an inside rush would be best talked about in another thread.
2. On your other point I think were we missed Richard the most, especially late in the season, was his run defense. I thought Green didn't hold up well vs the rush, and late in the season , neither did Wright. OTOH, Wright proved to be a better than expect rusher, not only in the 5.5 sacks he made, but in the numerous pressures he had. But it looks like Wright loses effectiveness the more snaps he has over the season, so I think he will be more effective with the extra DL depth we will have this season
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