GumboBC

With a premium placed on the passing games these days -scoring is at an all-time high. And some teams are virtually helpless against some of the better offenses in the NFL.

Peyton Manning broke Dan Marino's record this year. And Donte' Culpepper wasn't far behind.

What happened to defense in the NFL? Where have the dominant defenses gone? Especially in the NFC!

If you want to find good defenses, you'll have to look at the AFC where the 3-4 defenses are taking over. As opposed to the NFC where only one team runs the 3-4.

What's the best way to stop the high scoring passing attacks in the NFL? To answer that, the New England Patriots are the place to look! Hey, they were able to hole Peyton and co. to 3 points in the playoffs!!

But how? Well, first you've got to have a defensive tackle who can stop the run. Then you've got to have an excellent pass rush. Those two things are critical!!

Then the next thing you MUST have are linebackers who can stop the run AND defend the pass. Offenses are always trying to expliot a mismatch with one of their receivers against a slower linebacker. It's much harder to do that against the 3-4 defense where there's a bunch of linebackers dropped back in coverage.

Those cornerbacks get a lot of help from the linebackers covering the middle of the field. With no options on the underneath routes, QB's are forced to make throws they don't want to make. Ala .. Peyton Manning. Or, they just throw the ball away to avoid a mistake ... Ala ... Peyton Manning in this years playoff game against the Pats.


If a team has the personell to play the 3-4, they might outta think about using it.

baronm

why are you so anti-payton when the arguements you make for brooks fit payton better?

turbo_dog

This is just another example of my contention that the team linebackers are the most important part of the defense. I know, I know, it all starts in the trenches. But linebackers should, and usually are, the positions with the most tackles.

The Dline is always talked about taking up space and penetrating, but the linebackers can react to the ball while the big men are taking up space. They are considered the second level of a run defense, but the good ones are really like another person in the first level, causing backs to go parallel to the line of scrimage until they finally cut upfield and get stopped for a minimal gain.

In the passing game they are responsible for (depending on the scheme) the short passing game deployed by many offenses. Again, this is where reaction time can mean the difference between an incomplete pass and a first down.

Before last year\'s draft we had many discussions about what was needed the most, corner or linebacker. (Remember we had many debates with one side for Vilma and one side against.) I still believe that our linebacking corps was the weakest spot, but the addition of Mackenzie has sure helped our D. Even though I wish we had Vilma, I\'m pleased with the progression of Watson.

Now if we could have just gotten a new DC...