Could the Defense be our Weakest Link

[MDFINFAN]

please dont compare AJ to Farve based on "improvment" in the last 3 games of his first season.

if you make a comparison to Farve, its about being a great QB, very stong arm, tough player.....

not about a 3 game improvment in his first season.

i dont know why, but it always bothers me when sports casters or writers compare very young players (often drafties) to hall of fame players based on something as minor as height, weight, style of throw, or 40 time... ect.

not saying your post is that bad, but it is in the same ball park.

Farve's first year looked no better than AJ's, Farve's first pass as a pro for the Falcon's ended up being a TD for the other team, when he went to GB, he gave M. Holgrems fits his first year...but he settled down and became the great Farve. AJ didn't have the kind of OL and RB Farve had, but he defintely has the rifle arm strength and a tough player part down. And I had to use a QB that he reminded of in their starting campaigns, and Farve came to mind.. :D I hope that comparing made you feel uncomfortable for more than just the great QB to newby comparison.

 

[Justasportsfan]

I actually think this system is more QB friendlier, obviously he's going to have to have an adjustment period, hope the extra OTA's, TC, and 5 game preseason helps prepare him for the opener, then hopefully he takes only 4 games to adjust to the new system.

It may very well be a QB friendlier system but the OL will take time to gel which could affect feely's learning curve. Ask any HC he'll tell you that the D is always ahead of the O. With that ,I am trying to say, your passing game IMO is your weakest link. If Saban is anything like BB, he'll put your rookies in positions to make plays defensively.

 

[akfinfan]

Another bonehead thread!!

 

[MDFINFAN]

It may very well be a QB friendlier system but the OL will take time to gel which could affect feely's learning curve. Ask any HC he'll tell you that the D is always ahead of the O. With that ,I am trying to say, your passing game IMO is your weakest link. If Saban is anything like BB, he'll put your rookies in positions to make plays defensively.

The D is generally ahead I agree, but we don't have the exact same D..personel wise. They're learning more plays than before, and we're missing our cloggers at DT. I think we have to scheme on D, which never good. If the DT's come back, I'll feel more confident in our D. But right now, I think the O has a chip on their shoulders and want to show that the end of the season from last year was no fluke and that they can be affective. If nothing else, if Chambers, Boston, Booker and McMicheal are on the field at the same time, I think a D will have to respect that..add a catching RB to the mix, I don't see the 8 men in a box scenario that we had last year. With Boston's and Chamber's speed, I think a D has to respect it. chamber's ran a 4.33 or 4.43 40..you don't ignore that.

 

[jlfin]

This is a very good question...I've been thinking about it for awhile..our D does look shakey as of right now...if Chester or T. Bo. are out and we don't get Traylor, then we will have to scheme to play D, and that's never good. I was hoping Poole would step in for Surtan and now I'm not sure, but edwards should be a decent fill in until we find somebody. At safety, I'm only comfortable with Y. Bell, Tebucky is good speed, but not a real playmaker in my opinion. Let's see if the coaches can overcome these deficiencies or the june 1st cuts provide some insurance.

If the defense is "shaky", then I can think of about 20 other defenses that are shakier. There is no perfect defense out there that can suit up 11 pro bowl starters. Look at the Pats. Would you be comfortable with Gay (chuckle, chuckle) or Samuel. Wouldn't you also be concerned about the potential loss of Bruschi?
Most good defenses have 2-4 pro bowl caliber players and the rest are solid players.

 

[Marino2234]

D is our strength, we have an unproven QB, RB and OL that sucked last year

 

[ch19079]

Farve's first year looked no better than AJ's, Farve's first pass as a pro for the Falcon's ended up being a TD for the other team, when he went to GB, he gave M. Holgrems fits his first year...but he settled down and became the great Farve. AJ didn't have the kind of OL and RB Farve had, but he defintely has the rifle arm strength and a tough player part down. And I had to use a QB that he reminded of in their starting campaigns, and Farve came to mind.. :D I hope that comparing made you feel uncomfortable for more than just the great QB to newby comparison.

if you wanted to say, "even though he had a rough rookie year, that he still can develop in to a great QB", than thats one thing. but you cant just throw around hall of fame QB's names and say, "AJ will be just like this guy". :shakeno:

 

[Mike13]

Yeah DT is a worry we need to adress that. I think we will have a nearly balanced team this year.

 

[Justasportsfan]

The D is generally ahead I agree, but we don't have the exact same D..personel wise. They're learning more plays than before, and we're missing our cloggers at DT. I think we have to scheme on D, which never good. If the DT's come back, I'll feel more confident in our D. But right now, I think the O has a chip on their shoulders and want to show that the end of the season from last year was no fluke and that they can be affective. If nothing else, if Chambers, Boston, Booker and McMicheal are on the field at the same time, I think a D will have to respect that..add a catching RB to the mix, I don't see the 8 men in a box scenario that we had last year. With Boston's and Chamber's speed, I think a D has to respect it. chamber's ran a 4.33 or 4.43 40..you don't ignore that.

the Pats didn't have the same D when their starters went down to injuries. They didn't miss a heartbeat. Like I said, if Saban is anything like BB , he will have his rookies or back-ups playing like probowlers based on their defensive schemes. :yell:

 

[THOMAS_54]

I'm not sure if you noticed but we are loaded on offense even if we cut someone like Minor or Harris.

We have lots of uncertainty at DT, CB, and S..Can the defense be our weakest link this season.

Are we the next Colts (excluding Manning) ? High powered offense and defense struggling.

I hope not...

That's why we drafted the young guys like Roth, Crowder, Daniels, and Vickerson.

 

[LarryFinFan]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

We have NO real go-to WR, we have people getting excited about a blown-out hasbeen WR who has been a clubhouse cancer at every stop, are depending on a rookie RB and a bunch of journeymen, have a patchwork OL, and NO NFL caliber starting QB. And you think we are the Colts?

Our offense is 25th or worse in the entire league, and we have NO QB. The other teams laugh at us and we are projected to win 5 games next year because OUR OFFENSE IS A JOKE.

TRADE FOR A QB

This is not a true statement...Boston was not and has not been a clubhouse cancer for the fins.. in fact, until his injury, he did everything that was asked of him and perhaps more. Now, he may not return to anything resembling his all pro years, but he was not a clubhouse cancer as you stated.

However, I have to agree with you on the QB situation, except that none of the QBs we have have proven anything yet...we'll see...

 

[FanMarino]

weakness will IMO be in pass defense. If we cant generate a serious pass rush then our DB's will become the focal point for giving up scores. It will be a reverse from last season where our weakness was against the run. i think against the run we will do well. Im suprised there have been some ppl on here raving about our Offense being "sick". It will become potent if our OL gels and gets new life.Am i the only one who thinks our OL hasnt beeen really addressed? Carey is still a rookie in my opinion. He didnt get a real chance last season and McKinney was...errr..well taken to school!! Another thing that has suprised me is how many ppl want Ricky back. Go back 9 mths and he was No1 on evryones hit list. I for one wud have him back if he has his NFL head back on. If hes not sure about returning then i dont want him and i say go with Brown and Gordon.