Will the run defense hold up?

[Mr. Scot]

12 hours ago, Basbear said:

Before I stopped getting the paper, once a year they would list the top HS players on a whole page. I want to say 2014-ish and my god they have grown. Nearly all OL and DL were 320+ and looked it as well. The QBs were 6'5 220+, just insane the jump form my days when once one player on the team was 320+ and the whole divsion may have had 10 total. HGH and god knows what else...... for some is just getting 3 square meals and BOOM.

I weighed about 145-150 in high school.

True to form, when he went our roster to the local paper, coach listed me at 165

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, thefuzz said:

No doubt.  You can kinda get away with it just due to Manning being the best QB I've ever seen.  That said, he should have a LOT more rings, and likely would have it they were to have focused a bit more on that side of the ball.

Fast is great if you have a high powered offense, when you have our offense, it just means that offensive coaches on the on the other team really don't need to game plan against us.

Yep.

What's funny to me is we already tried that. Did it under Ron Meeks.

They drafted Everett Brown specifically to be our version of Dwight Freeney.

(didn't go so well)

[L-TownCat]

The point of attack will be the issue.  We can’t sustain it.  The answer will be to try and play in the backfield.  Meet the ball carrier at the mesh point.

Won’t work every time or even consistently at this level, but it’s what we got.

[hepcat]

On 7/10/2022 at 7:32 PM, LinvilleGorge said:

I'm expecting a step back in pass rush but a step forward in run D. That's what losing Reddick does for you. Him and Burns at DE was a helluva pass rush tandem but you're giving up a lot having two relatively light in the pants speed rushers playing DE.

Teams will just run to Burns's side, he gets completely blown up in the run game on the regular. Reddick was actually decent against the run. 

[PootieNunu]

2 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

No doubt.  You can kinda get away with it just due to Manning being the best QB I've ever seen.  That said, he should have a LOT more rings, and likely would have it they were to have focused a bit more on that side of the ball.

Fast is great if you have a high powered offense, when you have our offense, it just means that offensive coaches on the on the other team really don't need to game plan against us.

We have one guy that they have to make a game plan for. The problem is he only plays 5 games a season now and then goes lives his best life on IG. 

[thefuzz]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

Yep.

What's funny to me is we already tried that. Did it under Ron Meeks.

They drafted Everett Brown specifically to be our version of Dwight Freeney.

(didn't go so well)

I'm always wondering how we do it so bad, and the Steelers and Ravens do it so good?  I mean, I know most of the answer, and it goes with bad coaches and bad GM's....but man.

I mean, those teams, especially the defenses, compete (for the most part) year in year out, so frustrating.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, thefuzz said:

I'm always wondering how we do it so bad, and the Steelers and Ravens do it so good?  I mean, I know most of the answer, and it goes with bad coaches and bad GMs....but man.

I mean, those teams, especially the defenses, compete (for the most part) year in year out, so frustrating.

Pretty much.

I think we might have fixed the personnel side with Fitterer/ Morgan. But the coaching? Weeellll...

[thefuzz]

1 minute ago, PootieNunu said:

We have one guy that they have to make a game plan for. The problem is he only plays 5 games a season now and then goes lives his best life on IG. 

We have a few good pieces here and there, but IMO we don't have good enough coaching to scare other teams with said pieces.

If CMC stays healthy, Icky is what we hope he is, Baker can be decent, and the defense can stop the run, we have a shot at a wild card...if not, we start over again next season with an entirely new coaching staff, and possible front office.

[rippadonn]

On 7/10/2022 at 6:29 PM, frankw said:

You're kidding right? There will be run block holes big enough to fit a tractor trailer through.

Zone blocking is the weakness, Rivera shredded their ars for playing that weak stuff.

Go back to 4-3 and all of a sudden D. Brown is a monster, YGM becomes a 3-4 down lineman.

But nooo. That's Tepper lusting after 3-4 for no other reason than the Steelers. 

[rippadonn]

The 3-4 already came and went here with the Panthers.

Damn. We have to relive being a friggin expansion team because one guy wants to live his dream.

Thx.

[Michael G]

3 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

The 3-4 already came and went here with the Panthers.

IMO with our roster more 3 man fronts would make sense. Its not my favorite option- if we had our choice of Personnel, but we don't. I'm assuming Snow will try to mix fronts again this year which may see us struggle to stop the run even in 4 man fronts because of players we have. I think the a 3 man front with all big guys on 1st down (Nixon-Brown-Iionnidas) and Burns and a rotation of guys (Luvu, Haynes) playing Edge OLB might help stop the run on early downs. On Passing downs YGM subs into the line and Littleton into the ILB. I think its the best use of our personnel, but (admittingly) my coaching experience probably does not make me the best suited person to make these decisions. 

*Note 1 - As a huddler we make coaching decisions all the time (its really easy after the fact--or when I'm on my sofa)

**Note 2- I actually did coach HS Football as a defensive and offensive assistant for a tiny (2A) school in Eastern NC for a couple of years, so maybe I'm nearly as qualified as some of last year's actual coaches . 

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, Michael G said:

IMO with our roster more 3 man fronts would make sense. Its not my favorite option- if we had our choice of Personnel, but we don't. I'm assuming Snow will try to mix fronts again this year which may see us struggle to stop the run even in 4 man fronts because of players we have. I think the a 3 man front with all big guys on 1st down (Nixon-Brown-Iionnidas) and Burns and a rotation of guys (Luvu, Haynes) playing Edge OLB might help stop the run on early downs. On Passing downs YGM subs into the line and Littleton into the ILB. I think its the best use of our personnel, but (admittingly) my coaching experience probably does not make me the best suited person to make these decisions. 

*Note 1 - As a huddler we make coaching decisions all the time (its really easy after the fact--or when I'm on my sofa)

**Note 2- I actually did coach HS Football as a defensive and offensive assistant for a tiny (2A) school in Eastern NC for a couple of years, so maybe I'm nearly as qualified as some of last year's actual coaches . 

Did Snow really mix fronts all that much last year though?

I know we heard repeatedly that he could adapt the defense to do whatever he needed, but what I remember seeing was primarily a bunch of 4-3 (and not especially effective 4-3 at that).

Rhule's description of him as some kind of defensive guru was definitely overstated.

[rippadonn]

1 minute ago, Michael G said:

IMO with our roster more 3 man fronts would make sense. Its not my favorite option- if we had our choice of Personnel, but we don't. I'm assuming Snow will try to mix fronts again this year which may see us struggle to stop the run even in 4 man fronts because of players we have. I think the a 3 man front with all big guys on 1st down (Nixon-Brown-Iionnidas) and Burns and a rotation of guys (Luvu, Haynes) playing Edge OLB might help stop the run on early downs. On Passing downs YGM subs into the line and Littleton into the ILB. I think its the best use of our personnel, but (admittingly) my coaching experience probably does not make me the best suited person to make these decisions. 

*Note 1 - As a huddler we make coaching decisions all the time (its really easy after the fact--or when I'm on my sofa)

**Note 2- I actually did coach HS Football as a defensive and offensive assistant for a tiny (2A) school in Eastern NC for a couple of years, so maybe I'm nearly as qualified as some of last year's actual coaches . 

Stop. That's the problem with BEING a 3-4 team. When you figure out you need to go back to 4-3 like they eventually will they'll have to figure out what to do with these tweeners left on the roster.

We've been here before sir. You can exotic up your base 3-4 all you want it won't hold up in the long-run and they just attack your "specialist" tweeners through zone blocking. We lived that. We dominated in 1996 with it and that scheme got shut the f' down. Dom Capers wasn't an idiot he did all he could with 3-4 base and the players you need to run it.

 

[Michael G]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Did Snow really mix fronts all that much last year though?

I don't have stats on hand and like you, I remember mostly 4 man fronts. I do recall a few pressure packages using both Burns and Reddick OLB's and YGM/Fox rotating inside. They ran a couple of different versions of the nickel a lot from even fronts also.