Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

Aight -- Here\'s mine............

1. The front 4 is going to decrease their gaps and play closer to one another.
I think when defensive linemen play with a wide gap they are inviting teams to run on the inside. If you have linebackers that can shed blocks and stuff the run up the middle this is effective. But, if those same linebackers don’t have the speed to get to the outside, then teams are going to run more to the outside.

Conversely , if teams play with narrower gaps it clogs up the middle and keeps offensive linemen off of the linebackers allowing them to better make the play. It also frees up the linebackers to diagnose the play better and determine if the run is going to the inside or outside because they can peek in the backfield better by not having to worry about 300lb. offensive linemen coming at them.

2. John Pease is going to rotate the front 4 as much as possible and says this is going to allow our defense to come on strong in the 4th quarter where games are won and lost.
Yes I do think this is going to help greatly. Two reasons: Will Smith and Rodney Leisle. I think both players are going to play an instumental part in our front 4 rotation. And I think both players are going to be better at coming off the bench at their percspective positions than what we had last year.

3. Haslett says he\'s going to bring the heat on defense this year. No more of this sitting back and reacting. He\'s going to throw the kithcen sink at offenses.
This is a no-brainer, IMO. I don\'t care what the results MIGHT be. Defenses are meant to attack. Not sit back and wait.

4. Tebucky is going to come up and play CB in certain situations
I don\'t think we\'ll see too much of this and don\'t expect any significant results.

5. Mike McCarthy is going to call the game from upstairs in the booth. Good move? Bad Move? Why?
I think it\'s doubtful this is going to make much of a difference. Coaches have their philosophies on what makes something work and I don\'t believe McCarthy being up in the booth is going to change much.

Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

Question -

So then based on your answers is it safe to assume that you see the defense improving this season? How much?


Do you think the offense will get better, worse, or stay the same? You seem to like McCarthy opening up the offense (scheme), but not the fact that he\'ll be upstairs. What will affect the offense more? Personnel or scheme?

Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

Wow! Something to chomp on!

Filling in the gaps in the interior will make it tougher to run between the tackles. I hope that this will free the linebackers to get to the ballcarrier. Stopping the run is the foundation of having a successful defense this season. We want to make opposing offenses one dimensional.

Of course it\'ll pay off! If our defense is above average (and I think it can be) and the offense simply does its job with the talent available, then by the 4th quarter of most games, teams will be trying to play catch up, which means throwing the ball. Creating schemes that will disrupt the passing game is the second cornerstone for the defense being successful this year. Having a fresh front line will facilitate that

Chuckle. I won\'t even dignify that with a response.
I think we do. It\'s going to depend a lot on the new (Young, Smith) and young (Grant, Watson, Hodge) guys being
tough and making good decisions. I think that blitzing from a three safety package, bringing Mitchell into the
backfield, can also help bring the heat.

I\'m sure that some days this approach will be frustrating. The defense will get burned. It\'s an acceptable loss if
it\'s not too bad, and doesn\'t happen too often. But the read/react approach simply facilitated offenses getting
comfortable and marching down the field last year. That has to come to a stop.

No. It\'ll hurt. He can\'t tackle. He needs to get rid of that human missile mentality and just get the receiver down.
Also we have enough corners to cover. And isn\'t Mitchell faster anyway?

SFIAH

Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

I think we\'ll cut [avg. per att.] to under 4 yards. It might only be 3.9- but that\'s a significant improvement on 4.7. I think our [sacks] will go WAY up. Near the top of the league. Meaing top 10.

I think our pass defense will give up more yards but will have many more interceptions this year because of a very effective pass rush. Overall, I look for our pass defense to be ranked around the middle of the pack.

I think our defense will hold opponents to under 20 points on average.

Overall, I expect our defense to be greatly improved and I think John Pease is going to have more of an impact than some might think.

Of course this is just speculation on my part. The players are going to have to step up.

Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

Forgot to answer this one. ;)

I think the offense will be greatly improved. IF, Donte, Brooks, Deuce, and Horn can stay healthy all year.

Like always, I believe that the players make the biggest differnce on how effective any schems is. That said, I think our personnel is best suited by going to the spread offense more.

I think our offense SHOULD be in the top 5 this year. No offense is more talented.

[Edited on 29/6/2004 by GumboBC]

Things that haven't been discussed for our defense.
 

If T-buck\'s tackling is SO bad (which it isn\'t), then moving him to the Nickle spot can only HELP and not hurt. Here is where you have the best chance to use your athleticism to make plays on the ball WITH HELP OVER TOP (that includes help tackling). Moving him inside to the slot or a three deep or flat zone CAN ONLY HELP HIM given what everyone thinks about his tackling. The only time the corners need to make solo tackles (in a cover two or three - frequent in nickle) is when there is an OUTSIDE run (and this is usually not the Nickle\'s job, it is the corner\'s).