Well said
@SCLSU Mud Dogs .
In a Wide 9 scheme, the DE's have a launching pad to pressure QB's. It gives up defense against the interior runs in favor of setting a strong edge and preventing wide runs, funneling everything to the LB's. The fact that our DE's are NOT generating much pressure means that the entire point of the Wide 9 is not working because those DE's aren't having career years. Add in the fact that they're not setting the edge, as SCLSU Mud Dogs points out, just underlines that our DE's have been the biggest disappointment on our team this year. We all love Cam Wake, he's a great player and a legend … but nobody plays at peak levels forever, not even Cam. The time has come for him to hang up the cleats I'm afraid. He can still be a situational pass rusher … but his time as a starter and high salaried star are over I'm afraid. Robert Quinn simply did not earn his paycheck this year, despite his ability. Production is what matters … and this system amplifies their ability, and they still had poor performances. Time to find new DE's. Charles Harris … looks like a wasted pick so far. Andre Branch … overpaid FA mistake. Those 4 DE's the foundation of our Wide 9 scheme, and none of them are good enough.
Regardless of whether we change schemes or not, those 4 guys have not earned their paychecks, and need to be replaced. I'm not a fan of the Wide 9, but it was worth trying … two failed DC's later, I would prefer we switch schemes. Since we need to change out essentially all of our DE's anyway, this looks like a good time to change schemes.
Speaking of schemes, this system funnels the run into our LB's, which means less chasing and more thumping, yet 100% of our LB corps are chasers, and people are laughing at our LB corps stopping the run up the middle. Between Baker blowing his assignments leaving gaping holes to Raekwon filling the wrong gap to Kiko being out-physicaled, none of our LB's are getting it done against the run … and don't even get me started about our LB's in coverage. Raekwon might be the worst coverage LB in the NFL these days. These things have to change.
Chris Kocurek has been doing a great job with the DT's this year, and those guys really were pleasant surprises in the post-Suh era. But, with our DE's underperforming and our LB's not knowing their assignments and run fits, this defense has woefully underperformed. I miss the days of Coyle and Nolan … those guys weren't perfect, and were inconsistent, but we made use of our talent. With Burke, we don't.
