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Defense turning a corner?

nick1

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Week to week I have seen better schemed pressure on the QB. Against the 49ers they did everything right save the penalties, some of which were bogus. In fact I believe without the bogus roughing the passer the 49ers don’t even score in the 2nd half. So is the defense becoming legit now that bryon is back?
 
I think the 49ers game was a turning point. 1) Without Byron Jones the communication issues were abundant. 2) Now that both Howard and Jones are getting healthier. Flores can implement his vision he had for the Defense when they signed Jones. 3) The ability of the CB's to shutdown opposing WR's has opened up the blitz packages and stunts along the line. The multiple fronts and disguised looks gets amplified with great secondary coverage. 4) Miami has arguably 2 of the top 10 CB's in the NFL, most team can't say that. This is a huge advantage for Miami. 5) The ability of Eric Rowe to be able to shutdown opposing TE's will only make the overall defense better as teams find it harder to throw the ball.

If both Jones and Howard can stay healthy this is going to be a very hard team to beat, moving forward.

Let's hope they can learn how to stop the run. Once they do it consistently, I'd think it be the point they've progressed into a top echelon type team.
 
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I also think that Flores is learning his personnel little bit better as the season goes on.. it took a few bumps and bruises but it seems like he realized that Igbo is sill very raw, thus his limited playing time last game.

I know he was forced to play a lot more than what we would’ve liked him to prior to that, but it seems like perhaps Flores had way more confidence in him than he should’ve. Like making him chase Diggs and get abused the whole game without making proper adjustments and giving him help
 
That Ninas team was a shell of its former self. It had zero resemblance to the SB team in February.

Good win. But Miami did not beat a very good team.
Miami held George Kittle to 4 catches and 44 yards. Kittle annihilated their opponent the week earlier. The Niners D may be battered but Miami has been putting up points on everyone since week 2.
 
I think the 49ers game was a turning point. 1) Without Byron Jones the communication issues were abundant. 2) Now that both Howard and Jones are getting healthier. Flores can implement his vision he had for the Defense when they signed Jones. 3) The ability of the CB's to shutdown opposing WR's has opened up the blitz packages and stunts along the line. The multiple fronts and disguised looks gets amplified with great secondary coverage. 4) Miami has arguably 2 of the top 10 CB's in the NFL, most team can't say that. This is a huge advantage for Miami.

If both Jones and Howard can stay healthy this is going to be a very hard team to beat, moving forward.

Let's hope they can learn how to stop the run. Once they do it consistently, I'd think it be the point they've progressed into a top echelon type team.
They will become REALLY good if they can control some of those runs. Miami will be tough to convert against on third and long with those corners and the ability to come after the QB. Agreed Jones makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
 
Miami held George Kittle to 4 catches and 44 yards. Kittle annihilated their opponent the week earlier. The Niners D may be battered but Miami has been putting up points on everyone since week 2.

Yeah, somehow, someway, we’ve actually been pretty decent defending opposing team’s TEs this year.
Not entirely sure if it’s all Rowe, defensive scheme, luck or combination of all of the above.
But I guess we will find out since we still have to face Kelce and Waller. That’s top 3 TEs in the game right there
 
Increased roles for Zach Sieler and Andrew Van Ginkel and the return of Byron Jones are big reasons to be excited. Ogbah has been much better lately, Howard is running better and the group seems to be adjusting and correcting mistakes. The guy I have been the most consistently impressed with though is Eric Rowe. I think he's played really well and is around the ball so much. Smart and technically sound, physical player.
 
As long as we can get a nice lead this defense will thrive, but that is a BIG IF.
 
To me, our D still has to answer a lot of questions. Some of them:

* Can we generate pressure on the QB consistently with scheme? I dont see a lot of "dominate the man in front of me" pass rush ability. AVG has showed some burst and Ogbah has been productive the last few games. I'd like to see regular pressure consistently.
* Can our CBs stay healthy? I think that Jones and Howards ability to play man very well is critical. If one of them goes out, there is a huge drop off.
* I dont like McCain at FS. However, he has played well the last two games. Is this a trend? If no, is Brandon Jones ready to step in and do FS stuff?
* Will the D come up with the big play when the game is on the line? In the close games this year, the answer has been no.
 
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