Center ILB,and kicker worry me

Jack Vegas · 07-13-2014, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by blackangold

"Linebacker

If the Saints could’ve saved any money getting rid of Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne, they’d likely have been among the group released already. As it stands, the two certainly didn’t play up to expectations last season, combining to grade at -16.6 during the regular season, and both large culprits for a defense that allowed 4.5 YPC on the ground. Lofton wasn’t particularly bad in any one area, though he missed 17 tackles on the season. While most of Hawthorne’s struggles came in pass coverage – at least until the playoffs, when he graded at -7.2 in run defense in two games.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...rleans-saints/

I generally like PFF but this is hogwash. Those ratings don't take into account a whole lot of factors. Such as the fact that we played in a base nickel almost the whole year, which pretty much guarantees you're going to get run on from time to time. Or that Lofton is the brains of the defense responsible for calling plays, audibles and making sure that everybody is lined up right and basically being a coach on the field. Who cares if we gave up 4.5 yards per carry or were only 19th in run defense. We were 4th in total defense. That's what matters.

Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense.

ScottF · 07-13-2014, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Jack Vegas

Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense.

Yep. That's the bottom line.

blackangold · 07-13-2014, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Jack Vegas

I generally like PFF but this is hogwash. Those ratings don't take into account a whole lot of factors. Such as the fact that we played in a base nickel almost the whole year, which pretty much guarantees you're going to get run on from time to time. Or that Lofton is the brains of the defense responsible for calling plays, audibles and making sure that everybody is lined up right and basically being a coach on the field. Who cares if we gave up 4.5 yards per carry or were only 19th in run defense. We were 4th in total defense. That's what matters.

Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense.

Like I said three other times; I don't think they are 'bad', but they are certainly our weakest position on defense.

As far as PFF goes; I generally trust the evaluations because it's not all based on statistics. If you understand how the grading works it's quite impressive, although everything is open to interpretation.

07-13-2014, 02:08 PM	#1
Jack Vegas 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,254	Re: Center ILB,and kicker worry me Originally Posted by blackangold "Linebacker If the Saints could’ve saved any money getting rid of Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne, they’d likely have been among the group released already. As it stands, the two certainly didn’t play up to expectations last season, combining to grade at -16.6 during the regular season, and both large culprits for a defense that allowed 4.5 YPC on the ground. Lofton wasn’t particularly bad in any one area, though he missed 17 tackles on the season. While most of Hawthorne’s struggles came in pass coverage – at least until the playoffs, when he graded at -7.2 in run defense in two games. https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...rleans-saints/ I generally like PFF but this is hogwash. Those ratings don't take into account a whole lot of factors. Such as the fact that we played in a base nickel almost the whole year, which pretty much guarantees you're going to get run on from time to time. Or that Lofton is the brains of the defense responsible for calling plays, audibles and making sure that everybody is lined up right and basically being a coach on the field. Who cares if we gave up 4.5 yards per carry or were only 19th in run defense. We were 4th in total defense. That's what matters. Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense.
Jack Vegas 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,254

07-13-2014, 02:51 PM	#2
ScottF 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 6,324	Re: Center ILB,and kicker worry me Originally Posted by Jack Vegas Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense. Yep. That's the bottom line.

07-13-2014, 02:55 PM	#3
blackangold 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 3,422	Re: Center ILB,and kicker worry me Originally Posted by Jack Vegas I generally like PFF but this is hogwash. Those ratings don't take into account a whole lot of factors. Such as the fact that we played in a base nickel almost the whole year, which pretty much guarantees you're going to get run on from time to time. Or that Lofton is the brains of the defense responsible for calling plays, audibles and making sure that everybody is lined up right and basically being a coach on the field. Who cares if we gave up 4.5 yards per carry or were only 19th in run defense. We were 4th in total defense. That's what matters. Again, you do not have the 4th best defense in football if you have bad linebackers. Period. It's common sense. Like I said three other times; I don't think they are 'bad', but they are certainly our weakest position on defense. As far as PFF goes; I generally trust the evaluations because it's not all based on statistics. If you understand how the grading works it's quite impressive, although everything is open to interpretation.

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