AJ Green or Nick Fairley

[whynot]

One of the best things we can do for our defense is make some first downs on offense

I was surprised they continued to play as well as they did considering most games were over by the first half and defense had been on the field all day.We had the worst offense

ever and then hired a defensive coach and now talking going first pick with a defensive player ,sorry guys I just don't get it. We have always shortchanged the offense and never really had a good offense.but last year was a joke.

[scarface]

AJ Green; easy choice.

Offense #32 - Defense #12

[Hoenheim]

AJ Green; easy choice.

Offense #32 - Defense #12

THIS

You can't win games on Defense alone people.

Green can help us be more potent on offense and actually put a substantial number of points on the board. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of defense, but without an good OFFENSE defense is almost useless (see this past season: if you're offense sucks so bad that it leaves the defense on the field all the time, it won't even MATTER how good they are if they are tired as hell from playing twice as long as the offense every game).

GO GREEN.

[Woodie]

I don't know why I'm bothering to reply to this since nobody is going to change their minds anyway, oh well...

I think people are getting too caught up in the stats. First of all, just to be clear, according to NFL.com, we had the 18th ranked defense in yards allowed, not the 12th like some are saying, but we were also 26th in points allowed.

Regardless, there is more to the story than the stats. Teams could march up and down the field at will against us. They just didn't do it in big chunks and quick scores. We were one of the worst teams (if not the worst) in giving up long, ten plus play drives for scores. And despite what some would like to think, it started from the beginning of games, not just after the defense got worn out.

We were not able to consistently stop the run, and were particularly bad in getting pressure up the middle on pass plays. So, far too many times this season, when our opponent needed to make a play, they were able to make one. There is only so much our DE's could do when all the QB had to do is step up when they got near him.

The bottom line, though, is that other team's offenses dictated things to our defense, and that's a direct result of lacking playmakers on the inside...particularly in Meeks' cover 2. So no matter if you like Fairley or not, we need a playmaker at DT in the worst way. And there is nobody even close to Fairley's level at disrupting plays in the draft or FA (if you don't include Ngata, who is a virtual lock to stay with Baltimore). Green is going to be a very good player, but a luxury for us, DT is a must have.

[rayzor]

get green, get a good OC and QB coach, and take away all excuses for clausen sucking as badly as he did.

the sooner that they find out he's a hack, the better so we can go about finding a real QB.

[scarface]

Wtf?

First of all, drafting Fairley #1 is NOT a reach. He's a legitimate top 5 pick, and if he's a reach then so is Bowers, Green, Peterson, etc.

Second of all, to say that Green is "clearly" the BPA compared to Fairley is ridiculous. They're about equal in terms of talent.

Not really.

[Baschski]

Not really.

Ok I'll take your word for it over NFL scouts and draft experts who grade them the same or have Fairley graded higher.

[Cavscout]

After seeing what Rodgers did to Atlanta's D...I hope we get Peterson...can't beat having a shut down CB

[KJDaniel31]

I don't know why I'm bothering to reply to this since nobody is going to change their minds anyway, oh well...

I think people are getting too caught up in the stats. First of all, just to be clear, according to NFL.com, we had the 18th ranked defense in yards allowed, not the 12th like some are saying, but we were also 26th in points allowed.

Regardless, there is more to the story than the stats. Teams could march up and down the field at will against us. They just didn't do it in big chunks and quick scores. We were one of the worst teams (if not the worst) in giving up long, ten plus play drives for scores. And despite what some would like to think, it started from the beginning of games, not just after the defense got worn out.

We were not able to consistently stop the run, and were particularly bad in getting pressure up the middle on pass plays. So, far too many times this season, when our opponent needed to make a play, they were able to make one. There is only so much our DE's could do when all the QB had to do is step up when they got near him.

The bottom line, though, is that other team's offenses dictated things to our defense, and that's a direct result of lacking playmakers on the inside...particularly in Meeks' cover 2. So no matter if you like Fairley or not, we need a playmaker at DT in the worst way. And there is nobody even close to Fairley's level at disrupting plays in the draft or FA (if you don't include Ngata, who is a virtual lock to stay with Baltimore). Green is going to be a very good player, but a luxury for us, DT is a must have.

I would agree that points, not yards, are where you judge a defense. In the end, the team with the most points wins, and while yards usually equal points, they dont always.

Further, defensive yards allowed can be a very dishonest stat. A team who is often ahead in games will give up more passing yards, while a team behind will give up more rushing yards. Cleveland was #28 is rushing yards allowed, but #12 in YPC allowed. Obviously, their standing as the #31 offense is PPG had more to do with those defensive stats than their ability to stop the run.

Now, looking at us, we #23 in rush yards given up, and #7 in YPC allowed. Our pass defense was right in the middle in just about everything, but above avg in TD-INT ratio (19-17).

All that to say that I believe our defense is very solid and good enough to win. It should not be ignored in the draft/FA, but IMHO offense is in desperate need of talent.

[JawnyBlaze]

Yea, true, but even "points allowed" is slightly misleading because they consider defensive and special teams touchdowns as if the other defense could have done anything to prevent them. It shouldn't be hard to alter the way the stats are taken to not include points scored when the defense is not on the field...

I would agree that points, not yards, are where you judge a defense. In the end, the team with the most points wins, and while yards usually equal points, they dont always.

Further, defensive yards allowed can be a very dishonest stat. A team who is often ahead in games will give up more passing yards, while a team behind will give up more rushing yards. Cleveland was #28 is rushing yards allowed, but #12 in YPC allowed. Obviously, their standing as the #31 offense is PPG had more to do with those defensive stats than their ability to stop the run.

Now, looking at us, we #23 in rush yards given up, and #7 in YPC allowed. Our pass defense was right in the middle in just about everything, but above avg in TD-INT ratio (19-17).

All that to say that I believe our defense is very solid and good enough to win. It should not be ignored in the draft/FA, but IMHO offense is in desperate need of talent.

[Self Centered]

i find it so funny people keep saying that we need a DT yet the defense was ranked #8, and could have been better if the offense managed to move the ball down the field to give the defense some rest.

Offense was ranked #32, with smith getting old and possibly wanting to play for a sb contender i say take aj green, the defense managed to do great with the loss of so many people on the line like peppers, damion lewis, kemoeatu etc

drafting green and possibly bringing in mcnabb we could probably run with 5 wrs like green bay does, i think its just crazy to pass on a player that gets comparisons to randy moss and calvin johnson.

[MadHatter]

i find it so funny people keep saying that we need a DT yet the defense was ranked #8, and could have been better if the offense managed to move the ball down the field to give the defense some rest.

Offense was ranked #32, with smith getting old and possibly wanting to play for a sb contender i say take aj green, the defense managed to do great with the loss of so many people on the line like peppers, damion lewis, kemoeatu etc

drafting green and possibly bringing in mcnabb we could probably run with 5 wrs like green bay does, i think its just crazy to pass on a player that gets comparisons to randy moss and calvin johnson.

The defense was NOT ranked #8. Please at least do a little research before you make ridiculous statements like that.

[Self Centered]

Wtf?

First of all, drafting Fairley #1 is NOT a reach. He's a legitimate top 5 pick, and if he's a reach then so is Bowers, Green, Peterson, etc.

Second of all, to say that Green is "clearly" the BPA compared to Fairley is ridiculous. They're about equal in terms of talent.

ive seen sites and heard commentators mention green on the level on randy moss and calvin johnson, yet ive heard nothing about fairley being compared to suh, warren sapp etc,

most believe green is more dominant at his positon than fairley is at his

its a special surprise that green could go #1 overall despite not having matt stafford

[Self Centered]

The defense was NOT ranked #8. Please at least do a little research before you make ridiculous statements like that.

not that high, but the fact and bottom line is this, the defense was by far better than the offense