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Why we must concentrate on the defense

Kendra_Chelsea

Kendra_Chelsea

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We had a great year but at the same time we were lucky. I know hindsight is 20/20 but the truth is that with the way our rush defense played we were LUCKY we did not lose more than we won.

I mentioned before that we cannot stop anyone outside of our 30 yard line on the ground. And even though I knew we were 11th against the run I decided to take a look at that a little more closely.

I used the 33 yard line as a cutoff (because at that point a good kicker will get you 3) and averaged out all runs that were made between the opponents goal and our 33 and the numbers really showed how much of an embarassment we were when we tried to stop the run.

Ravens
22 attempts for 138 yards for a 6.27 yard per carry average

Jets
16 attempts for 63 yards for a 3.93 yard per carry average

Cheifs
15 attempts for 158 yards for a 10.5 yard per carry average

49ers
20 attempts for 88 yards for a 4.4 yard per carry average.

last 4 game total
63 attempts for 447 yards for a 7.09 yard per carry average
(the worst in the league was detroit and the teams they faced had a 5.1 yard per carry average)

If I had more time I would have went back further but I would expect the same types of numbers.

If, at the end of the year and I was facing the dolphins in the playoffs as an OC I would say- we are going to run, run often and run in every situation possible. If I was correct my team would probably put up around 138 yards in about 22 carries. :(

We are headed in the right direction and I expect a lot of improvement next year but if we do not throw a lot of our money towards trying to stop the run we could slide a bit backwards next year.
 
I agree 100%!
We were run on badly. I like your stats from the 33. I've never thought about that before....that should be the new Red Zone.
 
You should do one up on the pass defense... I think our short to intermediate pass defesne was worse than our running defense... That being said, an ILB who can actually cover is our first need (although if he is 1st rounder, moreso he can cover AND stuff the run)
 
Our run Defence actually played well for most of the year, those are just 4 games. We just lacked a presence towards the outside and our pass rush was off leading to weak secondary protection. Imo we only need a strong NT and a maybe 1-2 LB pick-ups and a new CB/SS to be a well rounded defence.
 
RonBrown said:
Our run Defence actually played well for most of the year, those are just 4 games. We just lacked a presence towards the outside and our pass rush was off leading to weak secondary protection. Imo we only need a strong NT and a maybe 1-2 LB pick-ups and a new CB/SS to be a well rounded defence.
Click to expand...

Trust me when i say, there is only one game this season I did not scream

"Please god stop him, why cant anyone stop the run-please god, just keep him under 4 yards please- what did i ever do to deserve this?"

And whats worse is we actually WON those games I broke down.

The KC game should have been a loss. If a coach managed to have a 10+ yard per carry average and still lost the game, as an owner he should have came out onto the fireld and fired every single person related to that offense before the team even left the fireld. KC throwing like they did was plain idotic.
 
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dreamwalker said:
Trust me when i say, there is only one game this season I did not scream

"Please god stop him, why cant anyone stop the run-please god, just keep him under 4 yards please- what did i ever do to deserve this?"
Click to expand...

It seems like I found myself saying that on every single 3rd down in regards to the run AND passing..

It seemed like other teams' success on 3rd down against our D, was as high a chance as our offense NOT converting on 3rd down
 
dolpns13 said:
You should do one up on the pass defense... I think our short to intermediate pass defesne was worse than our running defense... That being said, an ILB who can actually cover is our first need (although if he is 1st rounder, moreso he can cover AND stuff the run)
Click to expand...
I am sure you are right but after looking at all the play-by-plays of the last 4 games all the numbers started to look alike
:lol:

If i took it slow maybe
:woot:
 
dolpns13 said:
Between rushing D and passing D?
Click to expand...

No, i should have said my mind wandered as I tried to copy down the stats. I was trying to concentrate on the rushing plays and instead I was trying to figure out where most of their big runs came from. And its also got kind of depressing when I was doing the KC game- i broke out in a cold sweat and had flasbacks of the nightmares that I had after the game.
:(
 
dreamwalker said:
No, i should have said my mind wandered as I tried to copy down the stats. I was trying to concentrate on the rushing plays and instead I was trying to figure out where most of their big runs came from. And its also got kind of depressing when I was doing the KC game- i broke out in a cold sweat and had flasbacks of the nightmares that I had after the game.
:(
Click to expand...

That game definately destroyed any averages we had in our favor.. It was so cold, you could definately tell both defenses didnt want to tackle... You know the colder you are, the more pain hurts...
 
Thanks for the excellent analysis dreamwalker! I hadn't thought about doing an analysis up to our 33 yard line, but after you explained why, it made so much sense. :up: I think you hit the nail on the head when you said we got lucky ... we have made some excellent strides this year, but we overachieved and got consitently lucky to reach 11-5. I'd say our team was probably closer to 9-6 than 11-5, and it wouldn't be surprising had we gone 8-8 at all.

I firmly believe we could go 9-6 next year and be significantly improved. Next year our schedule is tougher and nobody will take us lightly. We're not going to sneak up on anyone, and it will be a challenge to come up with new wrinkles to give us an edge. But most importantly, we simply cannot duplicate our turnover ratio, so we're destined to come back down to earth a bit, so to speak.

I'm hoping we have the opportunity to draft James Laurinaitis, because I think he'd become the cornerstone of our defense for years to come. Instant leader, technically sound in all aspects, capable of rushing the passer, big, strong, quick, fast, instinctive, character, work ethic, durability, leadership ... should this guy slides to 25 I'll be super-dejected if we let him slip by us.

I suspect we'll pick an OLB like UVa's Clint Sintim. He is also a good prospect, but I don't think he'll have the impact Laurinaitis will have over his career. Our run defense relies in large part on our ILB's, which are poor. Crowder makes tackles but doesn't make them soon enough to force punts. Crowder also doesn't generate almost any turnovers. He's prone to overpursuing and has poor instincts. I will not miss him one bit if he leaves via free agency. Ayodele is a mediocre ILB at best, and while I'm glad to have gotten him, I'm also hoping to upgrade that position.

As we all agree, we need a good young NT to spell and eventualy replace Jason Ferguson. I've been high on Soliai for a while now, but it's time for him to put up or ship out. We need to become more stout agaisnt the run, and I think that'll be a priority for us this offseason. I'm curious to see what Ireland & Co. come up with to upgrade these areas.
 
Digital said:
Thanks for the excellent analysis dreamwalker! I hadn't thought about doing an analysis up to our 33 yard line, but after you explained why, it made so much sense. :up: I think you hit the nail on the head when you said we got lucky ... we have made some excellent strides this year, but we overachieved and got consitently lucky to reach 11-5. I'd say our team was probably closer to 9-6 than 11-5, and it wouldn't be surprising had we gone 8-8 at all.

I firmly believe we could go 9-6 next year and be significantly improved. Next year our schedule is tougher and nobody will take us lightly. We're not going to sneak up on anyone, and it will be a challenge to come up with new wrinkles to give us an edge. But most importantly, we simply cannot duplicate our turnover ratio, so we're destined to come back down to earth a bit, so to speak.

I'm hoping we have the opportunity to draft James Laurinaitis, because I think he'd become the cornerstone of our defense for years to come. Instant leader, technically sound in all aspects, capable of rushing the passer, big, strong, quick, fast, instinctive, character, work ethic, durability, leadership ... should this guy slides to 25 I'll be super-dejected if we let him slip by us.

I suspect we'll pick an OLB like UVa's Clint Sintim. He is also a good prospect, but I don't think he'll have the impact Laurinaitis will have over his career. Our run defense relies in large part on our ILB's, which are poor. Crowder makes tackles but doesn't make them soon enough to force punts. Crowder also doesn't generate almost any turnovers. He's prone to overpursuing and has poor instincts. I will not miss him one bit if he leaves via free agency. Ayodele is a mediocre ILB at best, and while I'm glad to have gotten him, I'm also hoping to upgrade that position.

As we all agree, we need a good young NT to spell and eventualy replace Jason Ferguson. I've been high on Soliai for a while now, but it's time for him to put up or ship out. We need to become more stout agaisnt the run, and I think that'll be a priority for us this offseason. I'm curious to see what Ireland & Co. come up with to upgrade these areas.
Click to expand...

We definately got lucky to get to where we were, remember, against teams like STL, Seattle, SF, Oakland... Came down to last play drives, where, LUCKILY, our defense stopped them... Luck definately had alot to do with it.
 
Digital said:
Thanks for the excellent analysis dreamwalker! I hadn't thought about doing an analysis up to our 33 yard line, but after you explained why, it made so much sense. :up: I think you hit the nail on the head when you said we got lucky ... we have made some excellent strides this year, but we overachieved and got consitently lucky to reach 11-5. I'd say our team was probably closer to 9-6 than 11-5, and it wouldn't be surprising had we gone 8-8 at all.

I firmly believe we could go 9-6 next year and be significantly improved. Next year our schedule is tougher and nobody will take us lightly. We're not going to sneak up on anyone, and it will be a challenge to come up with new wrinkles to give us an edge. But most importantly, we simply cannot duplicate our turnover ratio, so we're destined to come back down to earth a bit, so to speak.

I'm hoping we have the opportunity to draft James Laurinaitis, because I think he'd become the cornerstone of our defense for years to come. Instant leader, technically sound in all aspects, capable of rushing the passer, big, strong, quick, fast, instinctive, character, work ethic, durability, leadership ... should this guy slides to 25 I'll be super-dejected if we let him slip by us.

I suspect we'll pick an OLB like UVa's Clint Sintim. He is also a good prospect, but I don't think he'll have the impact Laurinaitis will have over his career. Our run defense relies in large part on our ILB's, which are poor. Crowder makes tackles but doesn't make them soon enough to force punts. Crowder also doesn't generate almost any turnovers. He's prone to overpursuing and has poor instincts. I will not miss him one bit if he leaves via free agency. Ayodele is a mediocre ILB at best, and while I'm glad to have gotten him, I'm also hoping to upgrade that position.

As we all agree, we need a good young NT to spell and eventualy replace Jason Ferguson. I've been high on Soliai for a while now, but it's time for him to put up or ship out. We need to become more stout agaisnt the run, and I think that'll be a priority for us this offseason. I'm curious to see what Ireland & Co. come up with to upgrade these areas.
Click to expand...

Thats what we need- the post came from reading (on other websites) some fans wanting to draft a WR with our first pick. :(

I know our needs but we need to lay the foundation for our new house BEFORE we start thinking about buying those fancy bay windows.

For me drafting an offensive playmaker this year would be like buying fuzzy dice for your rear view mirror before you got a loan to buy the car...

Not sure i can come up with anymore lame analogies so im not even going to try :lol:
:woot:
 
dolpns13 said:
We definately got lucky to get to where we were, remember, against teams like STL, Seattle, SF, Oakland... Came down to last play drives, where, LUCKILY, our defense stopped them... Luck definately had alot to do with it.
Click to expand...

I think we had the same problems outside the 33 with them as we did with the last 4 teams
:(
 
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