It seems like no one who wants Fewell fired pays any attention to the basically crappy group of players he was dealt to work with.
Specifically, this defense's strong point was to rush the passer. Well for 2 years running, the front 4 cannot get to the passer. They are not good enough for whatever reason. There goes your defense.
Send a blitz! Right? Name a LB or D-back that can actually get there with any consistency? They don't have any.
With a crappy pass rush and perhaps the worst collection of linebackers in the NFL, no defensive coordinator can succeed at his job. "Changing things up" or whatever isn't going to negate the horrific time of possession mismatch the defense sees weekly.
IMO, a coach should be afforded at least "average" players to game plan with before you fire him. Simply replacing Fewell with some other guy and not addressing the talent level (the real problem) solves nothing.
I don't think Fewell qualifies as good enough to keep around for continuity's sake. At this point, I would rather see an overhaul of the coaching staff all the way around to see if change helps cure some of the malaise that's fallen the past couple of seasons.
Whether or not we have the personnel to run man more than they do, teams shred us with their TE. We have not had an answer for that in years.
The defense gives up it the offense doesn't perform. I think that is an identity problem and should be addressed by the coaching staff if veterans are not leading vocally or by example. our defensive leaders have STUNK this season, and Fewell hasn't had the gumption to use our DLine depth to try and solve that problem. Using Jenkins instead of Tuck for example and relying on one of our amazing DT's to get the push.
Our run D has been very good this year. They've done a good job with that, but who is that on? I'll give Reese credit for addressing it in the offseason, and just having better personnel at DT.
That said, the D has been serviceable this year. If the O wasn't such a mess they would be 3-3.
And I'm sorry, but the players are not the problem. Do you really think he has had below average players his whole time here? His schemes are uncreative, and for some reason offenses don't have problems with his blitzes. I can't remember the last time someone came entirely free at the opposing QB. Sure does happen to us a lot though.
Fewell is very poor at making adjustments and he doesn't build his scheme around his players strengths. He expects his players to fit into his scheme which is exactly what Tim Lewis did.
If St. Steven was so amazing at getting the most out of his players, why was his Saints defense historically bad last year? Why has he gone from HC to DC to "consultant" since leaving here? Stop treating the guy like some freaking defensive genius. He's not.
In today's nfl, with it being a passing league and the rules they way there in regards to coverage, you must be able to blitz effectively. We have not been able to in years.
Now, to the bend don't break philosophy: Scoring is up in the NFL in this era. There are more big plays than ever that often lead to scores. Offenses have advantages they have never had in the past. Bending/Not Break does not work. The longer the offense is on the field, the more chances they have to break a big play and score. The advantage is in their favor, not the defenses. Counting on turnovers to win in the NFL is just plain idiotic. It is the single most unpredictable thing you can rely on to win a game and yet that is the focus of you defense? Think about that for a second.
then he goes to NO back to his natural position (defensive coordinator) but its the aftermath of Bouty-Gate where everything was rotten. Another bad situation.
POOF his stock is way down.
give this guy a stable environment as a defensive coordinator and hes good. i'd take him back in a heartbeat
Got it. Just trying to keep score here.
Up until this year, it seems he got better personnel to work with but the absence of a pass rush is still hindering the production of the defense..
people still clamor for Spags but if you really look at the personnel he had and what Fewell has, it's no comparison..Strahan, Tuck, Osi on the ends are a terror..And you had Cofield, Alford, Robbins etc as the DT's. That was formidable..
That being said, it wouldn't bother me if he left, by i bet the next guy is going to have the same problems unless JPP find his way back to form and they get another 2 or 3 DE's on this roster..
he has only 1 year to analyze as a Defensive Coordinator, since he left - last year with the Saints without Payton. basically a "give up" year for the Saints.
he was terrible implementing a new scheme with bad players in a bad situation. i'm not shoveling dirt on him just yet as a defensive coordinator
meanwhile fewell's struggled for 4 years here with various personnel + health situations
I also don't think it's a good idea for keep TC with new coordinators. This is looking more and more like a rebuilding project. 10 yrs, 2 SBs and being 68 leads me to say thanks Tom, welcome to the Ring of Honor, see you at the HOF. 10 years in the NFL is enough for anyone. TC will be 70+ by the time they are ready to be serious contenders again.
he flopped in NO in the year following the bounty-gate sanctions. big deal
the one thing weird is the reports he was acting like a dick at the team facilities. that is not the spags we knew here..
For the life of me, outside of a 6 game stretch, this defense has been a joke.....the bend don't break philosophy, and hope for a turnover, keeps the offense off the field....
There has been no consistency to this defense....
The comparison to Spag's is a fantasy....he was in the right place at the right time.....to come back to this defense, that basically has no personnel, is just a pipe dream...
The one thing about a Spag's defense was, it gambled, it presented different formations to attack from, that created confusion for the opposing OL, and helped to create more pressure on the OL.....
he flopped in NO in the year following the bounty-gate sanctions. big deal
the one thing weird is the reports he was acting like a dick at the team facilities. that is not the spags we knew here..
You and others have all been talking him up as the great man, or as arcarsenal said, "St.Steve". Yet you have nothing but excuses for his failures. When he came here in 2007, the Giants were loaded on the DL, had a good MLB in Pierce, decent OLBs and enough vets in the 2ndary to help Webster and Ross come along. If he flopped in STL and NO for lack of talent and all those difficult extenuating circumstances you mentioned, what do you think will happen here? With Tuck gone, Kiwi fading, JPP disappointing, no LBs, Webster, Ross gone, Brown coming off ACL surgery?
I want that again. I don't care if it's Spags or not. Plus it's not like we are too good for him. Tim Lewis got thrown out of Pittsburgh, and we signed him. Hufangel and Sheridan didn't coach before and we gave them their first shot. It's not like Spags shit in the bed here. I am willing to give Spags another shot and see what he can do. If not, then get another coordinator who can be aggressive.
Amen..
Thanks.
I want that again. I don't care if it's Spags or not. Plus it's not like we are too good for him. Tim Lewis got thrown out of Pittsburgh, and we signed him. Hufangel and Sheridan didn't coach before and we gave them their first shot. It's not like Spags shit in the bed here. I am willing to give Spags another shot and see what he can do. If not, then get another coordinator who can be aggressive.
AP, I agree that whoever it is, he has to bring an aggressive philosophy.
But hey, this is perfect, his contract will expire, and we probably won't extend him. So it's perfect ending. Someones head is going to roll and most likely will be his first.
No DC is going to be able to field an above average D with an offense turning the ball over 4x every single game and what is mostly a pile of shit at linebacker on top of half our CB's being injured and DE's not playing up to par.
Like I keep saying.. if you want to replace Fewell, that's fine. But don't expect much better results unless the personnel improves and the offense gets their collective heads out of their asses.
I see no agressive play out of this defense, terrible blitz disguise and design, and painful predictability. I watch other teams (like the Jets, Patriots, Bills, and Houston) and I see multiple fronts, agressive play, agressive schemes, active players, and a completely different attitude. I don't place 100% of the blame on Fewell. I also am disappointed with our defensive captains. They need to be held responsible for the lack of emmotion out there.
Even when he had players performing well (JPP monster year in 2011) the Defense was still near the bottom of the league.
- NASCAR Package doing nothing,no changes being made
- Guys watching the QB,not rushing, and waving there hands like this is a volleyball tournament(there was more of this in past years)
- Defensive ends dropping into coverage
- Defense tackles dropping into coverage
- Jayron Hosley blitzing Cam Newton(I think with Hosley on his back,Cam could still run a 4.5) How about sending Prince on a blitz?
So we're gonna need a new defensive coordinator.