GumboBC

I was just reading an article where Haslett and co. were saying our secondary played pretty well for the most part last year. Well, I know we played some weak passing teams last year and I wanted to see how we did against the better passing teams we played.

I think the Colts game might have made us think our secondary was worse than it probably was. So, leaving the Colts game out, here's how it breaks down.

M. Hasselbeck 12/23 137 2 0
S. McNair 22/33 252 2 0
D. McNabb 16/25 259 1 0
B. Johnson 27/46 321 2 2
B. Johnson 20/34 213 2 1
TD=9
INTS=3
Only Brad Johnson had a 300 yard game.


J. Delhomme 15/23 124 0 0
J. Delhomme 12/27 148 0 0
K. Stewart 10/21 152 1 0
K. Kittner 9/29 115 1 1
K. Kittner 8/27 80 0 2
T. Hasselbeck 22/42 231 0 1
J. Palmer 15/26 140 1 0
B. Leftwich 9/17 131 1 2
Q. Carter 27/47 290 1 3
D. Carr 17/36 213 0 2
TD=5
INTS=10

I think when you take everything into consideration that our pass defense didn't play nearly as bad as what it's been made out to be. One thing if our secondary was that bad I think the better QB's we played would have done better. And, if our secondary was that bad, I think some of the other QB's would have done better.

I'd really like to hear some honest opinions on this subject. Anyone???



[Edited on 31/5/2004 by GumboBC]

subguy

Our secondary was not great. My feeling the whole season was we needed one more key DB. And secondly, our LB corp needed a major facelift and was our biggest problem. With alot more pressure from the line and the LB\'s our DB\'s would have been alot more effective.

KillerSaint3632

I don\'t think our pass defense was horrible last year, we just lost a few guys on D that we were depending upon to produce like with Dale Carter and Darren Howard but didnt especailly in Dale\'s case. I mean, look at guys like Willie Whitehead and Fred Thomas. At times They made a bad Defense look halfway decent.

lumm0x

If I remember correctly, in our losses, teams had little trouble creating time consuming scoring drives simply with an effective run game and short passing under our soft zone. It didn\'t make the QB\'s look like gunslingers but did us in none the less. The stats make our secondary appear better than they were in most of those instances.

Stats aside, I was pleased with how well our secondary played given what we had. I didn\'t expect Jay Bellamy to have the year he had, and Fred Thomas was a warrior for us as well. Fakir Brown did better than expected. As for Dale Carter, he gave us just what expected of him....a letdown. For Tebucky, I can\'t see what has made sports writers claim he had a decent year. He struggled 90% of every down he played, either with position, tackling or recognition.

We need a blanket corner badly. A boosted pass rush will have a great effect on this unit, as will a decent cover LB. The less our CB\'s need to be in isolation the better off we will be. Everyone is talking about Trotter, and admittedly so was I...2 years ago. Today I\'m less sold on him. He is a fantastic between the tackles run stuffer with tenacity, and we need both, but he\'s a juiced up Orlando Ruff. Lacks range and is one dimensional. Personally, for the money, I rather go with raw athleticism at that position in Cie Grant or Courtney Watson and spend the dough on a corner.

GumboBC

I think you nailed the problem lummOx. At least that\'s exactly the way I remember it.

In the first 4 or so games I remember our CB\'s playing so FAR off the line and QB\'s just throwing the quick pass. I also remember Venturi did not get our CB\'s closer to the line when it was apparent they needed to be. I wonder why that was?

Also, to be fair, we were missing a lot of our starters on defense when we went up againt the better QB\'s which resulted in ZERO pass rush. And we all know when you give even an average QB enough time he will pick you apart.

I\'m going to have to buy into what Haslett has done with our defense. I think Craft and Thomas are both above average CB\'s. And I think we will put a LOT more pressure on the QB which will greatly help our secondary.

Maybe I\'m a sucker, but I\'ve bought into the Haslett plan for this year. I think even if we don\'t pick up anyone else that we have a defense that WILL get us to the playoffs.

Edit: I posted this thread because a lot of media outlets have implied that our secondary is one of the worst in the league. I don\'t see it like that. I don\'t think they\'re great by any stretch of the imagination, but I don\'t think they are terrible either.



[Edited on 31/5/2004 by GumboBC]

Euphoria

Yeah well Manning ownes the dome obviously... he loves lighting it up in our dome. All those years playing in there as a kid with his dad. We had moments where our D got breaks in games, but they didn\'t shut someone down.

Euphoria

Our Pass Defense was offensive. LOL

GumboBC

I don\'t know about that. Just to compare our secondary to one of the best in the league. Take a look at the Redskins with Smoot and Baily.


Redskins Secondary
D. McNabb 23/32 242 3 0
R. Grossman 19/32 249 2 1
K. Collins 24/39 276 3 0
B. Johnson 22/30 268 4 0
M. Hasselbeck 19/29 241 1 1

Q. Carter 10/24 108 1 0
J. Palmer 7/11 83 0 0
A. Brooks 14/30 121 1 0
B. Griese 8/13 133 1 2
J. Delhomme 20/30 317 0 2
Q. Carter 17/33 196 1 2
D. Bledsoe 19/26 244 1 1
D. McNabb 16/30 157 1 2
T. Brady 25/38 289 2 3
D. Johnson 16/36 197 2 2
V. Testaverde 15/24 105 0 0

[Edited on 31/5/2004 by GumboBC]

Euphoria

No you didn\'t... Redskins, please. If your offense gives the ball up on the 10 and the opponets go ten yards for a score. You Defense only gave up 10 yards... that will make any defense #1.

GumboBC

I don\'t get what you\'re saying. What does that have to do with the way these QBs shreded the redskins secondary?

Redskins Secondary
D. McNabb 23/32 242 3 0
R. Grossman 19/32 249 2 1
K. Collins 24/39 276 3 0
B. Johnson 22/30 268 4 0
M. Hasselbeck 19/29 241 1 1

Are you saying it was the Redskins offense that was responsible for this? I think that\'s quite a reach. What about our offense putting our defense in bad situations? Do you think you are being fair? I don\'t think you are.