GumboBC

I wanted to see how our run defense compared to the top 3 rush defenses in the NFL. While these numbers don't tell the whole story. I think they do give an indication of where some of our problems are. Some of the results were suprising to me. Especially the stats for our defensive linemen.



TENNESSEE TITANS -- DEFENSIVE LINE
Player/ Team/ tackles/ sacks
Jevon Kearse /TEN/ 41/ 9.5
Carlos Hall/ TEN/ 37/ 3
Robaire Smith /TEN/35/4.5
Albert Haynesworth /TEN /32/2.5
Juqua Thomas/ TEN/17/4
James Atkins /TEN /12/0

Total tackles: 174
Total sacks: 23


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -- DEFENSIVE LINE
Player/ Team/ tackles/ sacks
Charles Grant/ NO/57/10
Kenny Smith NO/42/1
Willie Whitehead/ NO/40/5.5
Johnathan Sullivan/ NO/33/1
Darren Howard/ NO/29/5
Grady Jackson/ NO/25/3.5

Total Tackles:233
Total Sacks: 26

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS -- DEFENSIVE LINE
Player/ Team/ tackles/ sacks
Marcus Stroud JAC 65/4.5
John Henderson JAC 56/3.5
Tony Brackens JAC 38/6
Paul Spicer JAC /31/0
Hugh Douglas JAC /26/3.5
Rob Meier JAC /25/1.5
Lionel Barnes JAC /13/1

Total Tackles:264
Sacks: 20

DALLAS COWBOYS -- DEFENSIVE LINE
Greg Ellis DAL 48/8
La'Roi Glover DAL /48/1
Eric Ogbogu DAL /32/3.5
Ebenezer Ekuban DAL /26/2.5
Leonardo Carson DAL /18/1.5
Willie Blade DAL /15/1
Daleroy Stewart DAL /15/1.5
Kenyon Coleman DAL /14/1

Total Tackles: 158
Total Sacls: 23.5

DALLAS COWBOYS/LINEBACKERS
Dat Nguyen DAL/119/2
Alshermond Singleton DAL /43/1
Keith O'Neil DAL/14/0
Bradie James DAL/12/0
Markus Steele DAL/15/0
Dexter Coakley DAL/96/1

Total Tackles: 329
Total Sacks: 4

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS/LINEBACKERS
Sedrick Hodge NO/32/0
Darrin Smith NO/60/1
Orlando Ruff NO/69/0
Roger Knight NO/23/0

Total Tackles: 184
Total Sacks: 1

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS/LINEBACKERS
Akin Ayodele JAC/115/1
T.J. Slaughter JAC/21/1
Mike Peterson JAC/100/1
Danny Clark JAC/40/1

TOTAL TACKLES: 276
TOTAL SACKS: 4

TENNESSEE TITANS/LINEBACKERS
Rocky Calmus TEN/47/1
Brad Kassell TEN/41/0
Ray Wells TEN/11/0
Rocky Boiman TEN/45/1.5
Keith Bulluck TEN/135/3
Peter Sirmon TEN/86/0

TOTAL TACKLES: 365
TOTAL SACKS: 5.5

DEFENSIVE LINE TOTAL TACKLES
COWBOYS: 158
TITANS: 174
JAGUARS: 264
SAINTS: 233

LINEBACKERS TOTAL TACKLES
COWBOYS: 329
TITANS: 365
JAGUARS: 276
SAINTS: 184

COMBINED TOTAL TACKLES FOR LINEBACKERS AND LINEMEN
COWBOYS: 487
TITANS: 539
JAGUARS: 530
SAINTS: 417

Total Rush Attempt for all teams:
COWBOYS: 413
TITANS: 342
JAGUARS: 442
SAINTS: 480

Take those stats for what they're worth. But, our D-Line compared favoribly. But, our linebackers were way off the mark.





[Edited on 7/5/2004 by GumboBC]

BrooksMustGo

Atta Boy Billy.

This is a thoughtful and lucid post, well worth the time. It is something that most of us seem to know intuitively, but it is nice to see it laid out like this.

The next question is, \"What do these facts mean?\"

Does it mean that no matter how much impact Smith and Liesle have as rookies it doesn\'t matter because our linebacking is so weak?

How should we interpret these facts I wonder?

whowatches

Great post, Billy.

My interpretation of these facts is that Cie Grant needs to be everything our staff has hyped him to be, and it\'d be nice for Watson to grow up quickly, too.

The other observation I have is that our D-line will be awesome this year barring injuries. Just look at Howard\'s numbers from the limited time he had. I\'m also still very excited we kept Whitehead.

D-line... happy
LBers... sad Panda

WhoDat

Ditto to that. You know who Whitehead is? He\'s this generation\'s Renaldo Turnbull.

GumboBC

Well, I think without a doubt it shows us that the biggest weakness on defense was the linebackers. More specifically, the MLB. But, still, all of the linebackers are going to have to play better if we are going to effectively stop the run.

The question then becomes -- Can we do it? And, how can we do it?

I think the answer to the first question is Yes. The answer to the second question is more complex. Let me give it a shot, though....

1. Even though our D-line stats looked good. There is a lot of room for improvment. What I mean by that is, the middle of our D-line didn\'t penetrate the offensive backfield enough and disrupt things. That\'s got to change. Most of our good stats on run defense come from the defensive end postion. We need more production from Sullivan and we need Brian Young to be an improvment over what we had last year.

2. Orlando Ruff I don\'t think is the answer at MLB. We need someone that can run sideline to sideline and get to the ball-carrier. Cie Grant can do that. So, can Courtney Watson. Now, will they. Nobody knows.

3. The other thing that will make our run defense better is if we are able to stop the run better on 1st and second down, then opposing teams offense will become more predictable and we won\'t be guessing so much. It\'s much tougher when they can call a rush or a pass play on every down. We need to get them in more 3rd and longs.

That\'s my take. How \'bout you BMG?? What\'s your take. I\'d like to hear yours and everyone elses...


[Edited on 7/5/2004 by GumboBC]