Defense still a work in progress
 

Defense still sucks against the run.

but we run it just as good..lol

Still would like to see defense get some three and outs

Like Vilma just said in his press conference. Preseason games are different than regular season games, vanilla defenses against vanilla offenses. they don't game-plan for these teams.

With that said, he says they still have to work on the early missed tackles, but they were better than last week...

Our D just doesn't set the edge or contain very well at all. Just an observation.

Yep, every big play was a bounce outside. They made a lot of out perimeter defenders look bad. I saw a whole lot of arm tackles and whiffs.

I saw Bush and Jones run up the gut as well...rewatch

Well, the vanilla first string defense has gotten it's ass kicked two weeks in a row now. Sugar coat it how you want, they have sucked

Gotta agree somewhat. Vanilla is no excuse for those pathetic arm tackles.

They allowed 5.3 yards per attempt tonight ... that won't cut it.... unless they get to huge leads like they did en route to the SB two years ago.

Remember the Raydas were 2nd in the league in rushing last year....they can tote the rock..

and Houston was number 1

agreed w/ the statement "defense still a work in progress," as in, we need a lot of work and a lot more progress. :/

way too many missed tackles. waaaaaaay too many

i have to agree also, even payton looked aggrevated with the defense showing slop again . i still like the team we put together and go into the season saying we will show there arse vanilla in game 1.

Also Harper was out ..

True dat, dat 'n dat, but the tackling was a bit ummm, uninspired. They were getting there most of the time. They just didn't seem to be able to do anything about it once they arrived. The interception was worth the highlight reel though.

Tackling was terrible, just awful. That had nothing to do with vanilla. Jenkins was just a judgement call away from 1st and goal and then Amaya was one more step away from a safety. They looked sloppy to me. 40-20 yes, but very sloppy. Does anybody wrap-up anymore? Maybe its illegal and no one told me.

I thought complementary football meant that when your offense just made a long, time consuming drive for a TD, that your defense should come out blazing and stuff the opponent. Especially on the first drive. This is the Raidaz and no way should they score 20 points on us.

I totally agree. 20 points is the high end for a quality team.

I'm glad I didn't see the game then. The defense sounds like they still don't know now to tackle.
Well we are about to go live soon, so lets see if all the excuses they are saying are for real. Or just made it's just they really can't tackle.

I believe Shanle played his way off the team. He couldn't shed blocks, missed tackles, and lacked instinct in coverage. Casillias looked good. Make the move Sean.

I think Wilson, Vilma, and Cassilas should be the starting trio at linebacker. The Saints need the speed and the playmaking abilities of Wilson and Cassilas out there. The occasional mistake made by the young guys will be more than made up for by the plays the make.

Marlboro Man, nothing you say is registering with me, except your avatar...
Just sayin'...

Anyone else feel a somewhat slightly disappointed by the middle of our d-line so far. I'd imagine that they are still trying to gel, but still, they've been somewhat behind my expectations.

Yeah, and it was Vilma himself (I think) who said in an interview that the vanilla D is the core of the D and that is when the defense should be at its best or at its most solid, because all other D packages and schemes have their foundation in the vanilla D.

I am very skeptical of this D. The offense looks good, when they're picking on rookies and going for it on 4th down practically every single time. But with the starters in, we were basically in a shootout with an 8-8 team that didn't have most of their main offensive weapons. Has this defense made a STOP or taken a STAND yet in preseason, against starters, other than San Francisco, who were just plain TURRIBLE on offense (and when everyone on both squads had just put the uniforms and pads back on, for the first time in months). Except for Jenkins' nice play in the end zone, I scratch my head and can't think of one single instance this preseason where I was really liking what I saw in the D, or where they dictated the game or made a "statement." We have our first three games against three really good offensive teams. Not a good sign.

I agree, Defense is still unproven. Offense looked better, but did have to have several 4th down conversions against the raiders D. Hopefully, they get it together and make there statement Sept 8.

Let's also remember that the Raiders were 2nd in rushing offense last year. Not an excuse, just a fact. Missed tackles was the biggest problems last night. No excuse for that. That's basic fundamentals.

I agree that Shanle looked terrible last night. He was getting knocked on his butt whole game....

Screens frippen killed us!! Arm tackles suck

NOW - on Jone's TD there were 2 amazingly obvious holds that did NOT get called!! I continually saw infractins (on both sides) not called!!

I felt the same way, but maybe it was all due to the fact that the officiating crew was not intact. Two of the judges were last minute replacements from the crew that officiated the SF game the day before. Maybe they missed some calls because they weren't totally comfortable working together as a team.

Or they were scared..lol..Bang!

Shanle must be married to a Benson, if he's married at all. If not, he's dating a Benson. That's about all I can figure.

Alaska

Shanle was with Payton at Dallas maybe he has a Kodak moment!

I know it has been said before, but if Shanle is so bad, why hasn't anyone taken his starting position from him?

That's what I haven't been able to figure out. I may be spot-on with the Benson theory, though.

Alaska