This might be a record year for Defensive Yards Allowed (because of the rules changes/enforcement on defense) for a lot of teams. The rules changes/enforcement on Defensive Contact with the WR this year might have as great a result as the implementation of the "5 yard rule" back in 1978.
For those of us who remember that year, you could see right away more passing attempts and completions, as WR's actually could get open, instead of getting hit all the way down the field.
The NFL game right now really feels much like Arena. Arena Football had some great defensive players (for that level) that were constrained by the rules they had to play under.
IMO, if we had a higher, more consistent level of QB play across the leage, you'd see scores routinely in the high 40's/low 50's. One of the factors stopping that may be the lack of practice time from the new CBA, and possibly a higher injury rate from lack of practice time as well (we need a few more years under the new CBA rules to determine that...)
There seemed to be more excuses than results in defending him. He doesn't have the pieces, there are injuries, players aren't playing up to their ability, etc. I cringe every time I think about our defense. Look at what Marinelli is doing in Dallas with their D and their injuries. Look at what Washington was able to do to Dallas. They brought the house and it paid off. Look at what a new coaching staff has done in Detroit. Who would have thought we are talking about Detroit as a top D? Denver didn't settle with their D from last year.
Defenses as a whole are down and with good reason. However, it doesn't take years to turn around a defensive unit. This is Fewell's fifth (?) year here and we are mediocre at best. Every team has holes and issues. In today's game you have to look at the players you do have and plan accordingly. He doesn't do that. He just plays his style and not to the strengths of our players and team. There is nothing more demoralizing to a team as a whole than watching an offense methodically move the ball down the field against you. It deflates the defense and the offense is sitting on their ass the whole time. To put it as a boxing analogy, I feel like we just keep our hands in front of our face and get pelted for 9 rounds hoping that the opponent either tires out or leaves himself vulnerable for a counter punch.
This is what the NFL is turning into. I think people see these numbers and go "holy shit!" and kind of just assume that averages across the league haven't changed much. The average NFL team is giving up about 360 yards per game right now.
The 6-2 Eagles are allowing a whopping ONE less yard per game than we are.
The 6-1 Cardinals are allowing four less yards per game than we are.
The Colts were a top 5 defense in terms of points and yards allowed going into this past Sunday and gave up over 600 yards to the Steelers.
It is getting harder and harder to play defense in this league. Goodell wanted more offense and he's getting it. Averages are up across the board.
(Typo.. the Eagles are 5-2, not 6-2.. but you get the idea)
Good post but imo the Cardinals and Eagles Ds have helped them win games. The Eagles offense was struggling for awhile and they were winning games with their D and ST. Arizona has gone through three or four starting QBs and their D is helping them win games as well. I can't say the same for our defense. I'm not saying they are totally inept but there needs to be more from this team especially one that has been together as long as our guys have.
Good post but imo the Cardinals and Eagles Ds have helped them win games. The Eagles offense was struggling for awhile and they were winning games with their D and ST. Arizona has gone through three or four starting QBs and their D is helping them win games as well. I can't say the same for our defense. I'm not saying they are totally inept but there needs to be more from this team especially one that has been together as long as our guys have.
You don't think our defense helped us beat the Redskins and Falcons? Our Defense has been ok but of course it could be a lot better.
Some, yes. But those teams have also both won games in spite of some pretty subpar defensive performances too.
Obviously the Eagles defense had a lot to do with them beating us since they shut us out and completely stymied our offense. But the NFL is a weird league.
The Eagles gave up 511 yards to the Redskins in a game they were fortunate to win. The Cardinals just gave up over 520 to the Eagles in a game they also won by a hair. The Steelers just gave up over 450 in a game they won.
Early this summer, after the FA period, I was prepared to be really hard on Fewell this year and expect nothing worse than a top 10 defense. I was super excited about the prospect of a secondary that had DRC and Prince on the outside, Thurmond in the slot and Rolle and Hill at safety. I loved the depth we had at CB. Bowman and McBride, to me, were high quality backups. Felt like we were loaded as ever back there.
I was excited to have a healthy Jon Beason manning the middle of this defense.
Then Will Hill fucked up.. again. Cut. Beason messes up his toe, misses all of camp, tries to play, is completely not himself and limps through a few games before being out for the year. Walt Thurmond was lost for the year in the 2nd game. Trumaine McBride replaces him, plays well for a game and a half. Injured. Done for the year. DRC gets banged up and has been playing at about 60%
And now, all of a sudden just about all of the guys save for JPP and maybe Hankins that I felt would be impact players are gone. And while I realize every team has to deal with injuries, it seemed like for one reason or another, we lost almost every guy I expected to be a big part of this defense.
So now I don't know how much I can realistically even expect. Better than what we've seen recently? I'd hope so. But beyond that, I just don't know. I really wanted to see Fewell get a chance with a defense that had legitimate talent at every level. Now the LB's are a weakness again, the secondary is decimated and even a guy like Ayers, who was really good the first few games got banged up and hasn't looked the same since.
It's just frustrating. I hope for the sake of the next guy we hire, he at least has some better luck with being able to keep his key guys on the field.
I also thought our defense was good enough to have beaten Arizona.
giving up 400 yards in a game in 2014 not remotely the same thing as giving up 400 yards in a game in 1948. Or 1978. Or 1998 for that matter. The game has changed a lot.
Where do the Giants rank in the league in yards allowed/game?
RE: I also thought our defense was good enough to have beaten Arizona.
Special teams and turnovers ruined that game for us. We should have won. It was a big blown opportunity.
I think we should have won against Arizona but you think Stanton basically picking us apart was good enough?
It isn't just a yards thing. Tell me one thing our defense does well? Do we stop the run? No. Do we get after the passer with four? No. Can we generate a pass rush by rushing more? No. Are our coverages tight in the secondary? No. Can we stop third and longs? No.
We have nothing to hang our hat on. You can say turnovers but that is not a great thing to look at because we forced a ton of turnovers against Cousins where he just went into a funk. I think we lead the league in interceptions but even that is skewed because of that Washington game. We don't have an identity. We rarely have. I'm not asking for much. I just don't like Fewell. I never had. We were great on our super bowl run but I think everybody was as shocked as I was that they were able to flip the switch and keep it going throughout the playoffs. I truly feel we can do better. I don't think we can do much worse.
Fewell and Reese.
Now, I have always believed in Tom Coughlin as a head coach,
but I am losing faith in him as long as he continues to employ Fewell and Quinn and doesn't use his position to pressure Mara and Tisch to get rid of Reese.
Or do I not understand who has the power in the Giants organization?
He threw for like 170 yards and 1 TD. How on earth is that picking a defense apart? If I could get our defense to hold an opposing QB to those exact numbers on a weekly basis, I'd do cartwheels. It's not even possible to do that on a weekly basis.
I mean, I know he's a backup but did we expect him to complete zero passes? He was going to complete some.
I don't know how many defenses really have an "identity" right now, either. It's not like it used to be where there were teams you just could not run the ball on or throw on. Every team is giving up plays now. It's almost impossible not to. Some are just giving up less than others. Forcing turnovers and getting to the QB was this defenses identity in 2010 and 2011. Then the front 4 went from a strength to average and the sacks stopped coming.
I just don't see anyone turning this personnel into a really good defense. People will disagree with me but it's average talent and I expect average results.
He threw for like 170 yards and 1 TD. How on earth is that picking a defense apart? If I could get our defense to hold an opposing QB to those exact numbers on a weekly basis, I'd do cartwheels. It's not even possible to do that on a weekly basis.
I mean, I know he's a backup but did we expect him to complete zero passes? He was going to complete some.
I don't know how many defenses really have an "identity" right now, either. It's not like it used to be where there were teams you just could not run the ball on or throw on. Every team is giving up plays now. It's almost impossible not to. Some are just giving up less than others. Forcing turnovers and getting to the QB was this defenses identity in 2010 and 2011. Then the front 4 went from a strength to average and the sacks stopped coming.
I just don't see anyone turning this personnel into a really good defense. People will disagree with me but it's average talent and I expect average results.
Arc, I was at that game so I don't know the exact numbers but was that the game with a million penalties? Maybe that is why it seemed like more. If it was, which I think it was, there is a reason that the passing yards weren't up and that is because it was replaced by penalties that extended drives.
Either way, that's not my point. My point is that you are comparing our defense to average units. Do you really want to be average? Wouldn't you want to have a dominant defense? Why settle? Don't you think we can improve?
I'm not saying blitzing more is going to accomplish anymore but when an NFL DC cannot design a simple blitz to generate pressure that is a huge issue to me. Even Mike Smith mention how blah our defense is. He said we don't do anything. We just play it straight for first and second down. If they get an offense in third and long then they will try some different things. That's unacceptable to me. We barely hide our coverages too. I do more at the high school level in terms of disguising my coverages than the Giants do. It is one thing to be good enough to just play and execute it flawlessly but we don't do that. What is he doing to help the players out or put them in position to succeed? That is why I have an issue with Fewell. I can run the same thing he does and I don't have nearly the experience.
But there is no chance in hell this current personnel is capable of that. I don't care who is coaching this defense, there's just no way.
I thought the guys we went into the summer with had a chance but like I said, almost every single guy I had marked as an impact player is already gone, out for the year or playing at far less than 100%. What we're left with is an average at best unit that I don't envision getting us much more than average results.
Maybe Fewell is lacking in creativity. But he does blitz. And I keep seeing guys he sends on blitzes just run right into linemen or completely fail to get to the QB if they break through. Maybe he needs to try confusing QB's more by showing different looks. I just don't see many guys who seem to do well rushing the passer.
To me, exotic blitzes aren't what's standing between us being an average/below average defense, it's the talent on the field more than anything else. And I can't even blame Reese because like I said.. what he had on paper going into this year looked more than sufficient. Now? Not so much.
RE: Of course I'd want to have a dominant defense.
But there is no chance in hell this current personnel is capable of that. I don't care who is coaching this defense, there's just no way.
I thought the guys we went into the summer with had a chance but like I said, almost every single guy I had marked as an impact player is already gone, out for the year or playing at far less than 100%. What we're left with is an average at best unit that I don't envision getting us much more than average results.
Maybe Fewell is lacking in creativity. But he does blitz. And I keep seeing guys he sends on blitzes just run right into linemen or completely fail to get to the QB if they break through. Maybe he needs to try confusing QB's more by showing different looks. I just don't see many guys who seem to do well rushing the passer.
To me, exotic blitzes aren't what's standing between us being an average/below average defense, it's the talent on the field more than anything else. And I can't even blame Reese because like I said.. what he had on paper going into this year looked more than sufficient. Now? Not so much.
He doesn't know how to design a blitz. Its not all on the players.You assume that we can't do well. You assume that we have bad talent. That is fine based on what we have seen. I have a different opinion though. I think we can do more with the talent we have. When we had a healthy Thurmond, Prince and DRC why are we giving such a soft zone? Why do we still have communication issues in the secondary? This is not good.
You still haven't given me anything that we do well. Everybody that defends Fewell has excuses and not results for his tenure here outside of our Super Bowl run.
They don't get to the QB, they don't force any more turnovers than we do, their 3rd down defense is worse than ours, they're allowing less than a tenth of a point less than us per drive.
The only thing the Dallas defense does better than ours is be on the field less. They're not good.
And I just do not buy that we have this awesome talent that is being held back by Fewell. We had Thurmond for one full game.. we have no idea how we would have used him with the DB's through the entire year.
This is not a good LB group. McClain is adequate in the middle but he's not fast. We have one linebacker with wheels.. and that's Williams.. who actually hasn't played terribly. Kennard's future is in the middle, not outside.
This group of DB's is decimated now, too. DRC hasn't been healthy. So until he is, we have 1 really good CB and 1 really good safety.
Which players in this back 7 do you think would be so much better with a new DC?
RE: You just said Marinelli was going a great job for Dallas..
They don't get to the QB, they don't force any more turnovers than we do, their 3rd down defense is worse than ours, they're allowing less than a tenth of a point less than us per drive.
The only thing the Dallas defense does better than ours is be on the field less. They're not good.
And I just do not buy that we have this awesome talent that is being held back by Fewell. We had Thurmond for one full game.. we have no idea how we would have used him with the DB's through the entire year.
This is not a good LB group. McClain is adequate in the middle but he's not fast. We have one linebacker with wheels.. and that's Williams.. who actually hasn't played terribly. Kennard's future is in the middle, not outside.
This group of DB's is decimated now, too. DRC hasn't been healthy. So until he is, we have 1 really good CB and 1 really good safety.
Which players in this back 7 do you think would be so much better with a new DC?
You missed my point with Marinelli. You are putting words in my mouth. My point about the Cowboys D was that you don't need years to see an improvement. He took a historically bad defense that lost Ware and doesn't have Bruce Carter or Sean Lee while benching Claiborne and he is doing a good job with that group of players. They don't have an Antrel Rolle, Prince, DRC, or JPP.
I'm done talking about this. It is just going to go in circles again. You just keep comparing him to mediocrity or have excuses.
If our offense was on the field more than any other offense in the NFL
and we bring in someone with more of an aggressive philosophy. And I can understand why you're tired of posting because whenever someone talks about Fewell I can go all in that you're going to be in there fighting the goodfight in defending him.
That's fine, you're a good poster here and I respect you. I have zero faith in our DC and defense. For once, I'd like to go back in believing in our defense and having faith in them.
is to drop hankins or kiwi into coverage more often next monday...sigh.
what a damning stat
we have had exactly ONE good DC in the last decade...pretty sad. what i will say is that our D for a 5 week stretch under Fewell was a huge part in why we won XLVI.
but outside that little stretch, much has been left to be desired...we could do a hell of a lot better and i dont believe that lack of talent is the real issue anymore
"We . . . need a new scheme that plays to the strength of our players"
This isn't his first year here or his first bad D. Every season they are bottom third of the league. He is terrible and his defenses have been terrible.
Nonsense. For starters, just about every CB we have had while he's here was drafted or brought in because of their man cover skills. Yet, we run a very soft D. They run a cover 2 a lot of the time, yet still give up huge plays downfield every week.
They athletic and versatile DEs who he has crashing down hard inside or bullrushing. That is it.
Well, lets start with Will Hill's screw up (Marijuana) which led to his being cut. We clearly missed his speed and talent at safety. Those first two games were atrocious and he'd have made a huge difference.
Next, W. Thurmond's injury hurt as he was a solid nickel cornerback. Same for McBridge and his injury.
If just our secondary had stayed in tact maybe we beat Dallas and AZ at least. Alas, it was not to be and we are 3-4 and looking at a possible 3-6 start with our brutal schedule.
I'm praying for back-to-back upsets because that is what it will take to get back into the playoff hunt but I don't think we have the horses to do it.
He's not Tim Lewis bad but he's never going to out scheme anyone. Fucking Washington came up w a D that really worked. The next innovative thing he comes up w will be his first. He's solid. He can do the job but when guys like Schwartz Marinelli or Ray Horton came free the Giants should have upgraded.
Look at the Cardinals. They lost Peterson. Calais Campbell and Dockett and are playing very well. Not to mention doing enough while Palmer was out.
Always an excuse. Time for an off season move this year.
I had a brain fart moment and saw "Stanton" but translated to "Stafford".
While I agree our D didn't get decimated by Stanton and the loss was the result of 3 terrible plays, 2 on STs, the D still didn't dictate the game the way it should have against a backup QB like Stanton.
For those of us who remember that year, you could see right away more passing attempts and completions, as WR's actually could get open, instead of getting hit all the way down the field.
The NFL game right now really feels much like Arena. Arena Football had some great defensive players (for that level) that were constrained by the rules they had to play under.
IMO, if we had a higher, more consistent level of QB play across the leage, you'd see scores routinely in the high 40's/low 50's. One of the factors stopping that may be the lack of practice time from the new CBA, and possibly a higher injury rate from lack of practice time as well (we need a few more years under the new CBA rules to determine that...)
Defenses as a whole are down and with good reason. However, it doesn't take years to turn around a defensive unit. This is Fewell's fifth (?) year here and we are mediocre at best. Every team has holes and issues. In today's game you have to look at the players you do have and plan accordingly. He doesn't do that. He just plays his style and not to the strengths of our players and team. There is nothing more demoralizing to a team as a whole than watching an offense methodically move the ball down the field against you. It deflates the defense and the offense is sitting on their ass the whole time. To put it as a boxing analogy, I feel like we just keep our hands in front of our face and get pelted for 9 rounds hoping that the opponent either tires out or leaves himself vulnerable for a counter punch.
That said..
This is what the NFL is turning into. I think people see these numbers and go "holy shit!" and kind of just assume that averages across the league haven't changed much. The average NFL team is giving up about 360 yards per game right now.
The 6-2 Eagles are allowing a whopping ONE less yard per game than we are.
The 6-1 Cardinals are allowing four less yards per game than we are.
The Colts were a top 5 defense in terms of points and yards allowed going into this past Sunday and gave up over 600 yards to the Steelers.
It is getting harder and harder to play defense in this league. Goodell wanted more offense and he's getting it. Averages are up across the board.
You don't think our defense helped us beat the Redskins and Falcons? Our Defense has been ok but of course it could be a lot better.
Obviously the Eagles defense had a lot to do with them beating us since they shut us out and completely stymied our offense. But the NFL is a weird league.
The Eagles gave up 511 yards to the Redskins in a game they were fortunate to win. The Cardinals just gave up over 520 to the Eagles in a game they also won by a hair. The Steelers just gave up over 450 in a game they won.
Early this summer, after the FA period, I was prepared to be really hard on Fewell this year and expect nothing worse than a top 10 defense. I was super excited about the prospect of a secondary that had DRC and Prince on the outside, Thurmond in the slot and Rolle and Hill at safety. I loved the depth we had at CB. Bowman and McBride, to me, were high quality backups. Felt like we were loaded as ever back there.
I was excited to have a healthy Jon Beason manning the middle of this defense.
Then Will Hill fucked up.. again. Cut. Beason messes up his toe, misses all of camp, tries to play, is completely not himself and limps through a few games before being out for the year. Walt Thurmond was lost for the year in the 2nd game. Trumaine McBride replaces him, plays well for a game and a half. Injured. Done for the year. DRC gets banged up and has been playing at about 60%
And now, all of a sudden just about all of the guys save for JPP and maybe Hankins that I felt would be impact players are gone. And while I realize every team has to deal with injuries, it seemed like for one reason or another, we lost almost every guy I expected to be a big part of this defense.
So now I don't know how much I can realistically even expect. Better than what we've seen recently? I'd hope so. But beyond that, I just don't know. I really wanted to see Fewell get a chance with a defense that had legitimate talent at every level. Now the LB's are a weakness again, the secondary is decimated and even a guy like Ayers, who was really good the first few games got banged up and hasn't looked the same since.
It's just frustrating. I hope for the sake of the next guy we hire, he at least has some better luck with being able to keep his key guys on the field.
Where do the Giants rank in the league in yards allowed/game?
I think we should have won against Arizona but you think Stanton basically picking us apart was good enough?
It isn't just a yards thing. Tell me one thing our defense does well? Do we stop the run? No. Do we get after the passer with four? No. Can we generate a pass rush by rushing more? No. Are our coverages tight in the secondary? No. Can we stop third and longs? No.
We have nothing to hang our hat on. You can say turnovers but that is not a great thing to look at because we forced a ton of turnovers against Cousins where he just went into a funk. I think we lead the league in interceptions but even that is skewed because of that Washington game. We don't have an identity. We rarely have. I'm not asking for much. I just don't like Fewell. I never had. We were great on our super bowl run but I think everybody was as shocked as I was that they were able to flip the switch and keep it going throughout the playoffs. I truly feel we can do better. I don't think we can do much worse.
Now, I have always believed in Tom Coughlin as a head coach,
but I am losing faith in him as long as he continues to employ Fewell and Quinn and doesn't use his position to pressure Mara and Tisch to get rid of Reese.
Or do I not understand who has the power in the Giants organization?
He threw for like 170 yards and 1 TD. How on earth is that picking a defense apart? If I could get our defense to hold an opposing QB to those exact numbers on a weekly basis, I'd do cartwheels. It's not even possible to do that on a weekly basis.
I mean, I know he's a backup but did we expect him to complete zero passes? He was going to complete some.
I don't know how many defenses really have an "identity" right now, either. It's not like it used to be where there were teams you just could not run the ball on or throw on. Every team is giving up plays now. It's almost impossible not to. Some are just giving up less than others. Forcing turnovers and getting to the QB was this defenses identity in 2010 and 2011. Then the front 4 went from a strength to average and the sacks stopped coming.
I just don't see anyone turning this personnel into a really good defense. People will disagree with me but it's average talent and I expect average results.
His defenses have always been opportunistic and have capitalized off turnovers. I don't think the defense has been THAT bad.
He threw for like 170 yards and 1 TD. How on earth is that picking a defense apart? If I could get our defense to hold an opposing QB to those exact numbers on a weekly basis, I'd do cartwheels. It's not even possible to do that on a weekly basis.
I mean, I know he's a backup but did we expect him to complete zero passes? He was going to complete some.
I don't know how many defenses really have an "identity" right now, either. It's not like it used to be where there were teams you just could not run the ball on or throw on. Every team is giving up plays now. It's almost impossible not to. Some are just giving up less than others. Forcing turnovers and getting to the QB was this defenses identity in 2010 and 2011. Then the front 4 went from a strength to average and the sacks stopped coming.
I just don't see anyone turning this personnel into a really good defense. People will disagree with me but it's average talent and I expect average results.
Arc, I was at that game so I don't know the exact numbers but was that the game with a million penalties? Maybe that is why it seemed like more. If it was, which I think it was, there is a reason that the passing yards weren't up and that is because it was replaced by penalties that extended drives.
Either way, that's not my point. My point is that you are comparing our defense to average units. Do you really want to be average? Wouldn't you want to have a dominant defense? Why settle? Don't you think we can improve?
I'm not saying blitzing more is going to accomplish anymore but when an NFL DC cannot design a simple blitz to generate pressure that is a huge issue to me. Even Mike Smith mention how blah our defense is. He said we don't do anything. We just play it straight for first and second down. If they get an offense in third and long then they will try some different things. That's unacceptable to me. We barely hide our coverages too. I do more at the high school level in terms of disguising my coverages than the Giants do. It is one thing to be good enough to just play and execute it flawlessly but we don't do that. What is he doing to help the players out or put them in position to succeed? That is why I have an issue with Fewell. I can run the same thing he does and I don't have nearly the experience.
I thought the guys we went into the summer with had a chance but like I said, almost every single guy I had marked as an impact player is already gone, out for the year or playing at far less than 100%. What we're left with is an average at best unit that I don't envision getting us much more than average results.
Maybe Fewell is lacking in creativity. But he does blitz. And I keep seeing guys he sends on blitzes just run right into linemen or completely fail to get to the QB if they break through. Maybe he needs to try confusing QB's more by showing different looks. I just don't see many guys who seem to do well rushing the passer.
To me, exotic blitzes aren't what's standing between us being an average/below average defense, it's the talent on the field more than anything else. And I can't even blame Reese because like I said.. what he had on paper going into this year looked more than sufficient. Now? Not so much.
I thought the guys we went into the summer with had a chance but like I said, almost every single guy I had marked as an impact player is already gone, out for the year or playing at far less than 100%. What we're left with is an average at best unit that I don't envision getting us much more than average results.
Maybe Fewell is lacking in creativity. But he does blitz. And I keep seeing guys he sends on blitzes just run right into linemen or completely fail to get to the QB if they break through. Maybe he needs to try confusing QB's more by showing different looks. I just don't see many guys who seem to do well rushing the passer.
To me, exotic blitzes aren't what's standing between us being an average/below average defense, it's the talent on the field more than anything else. And I can't even blame Reese because like I said.. what he had on paper going into this year looked more than sufficient. Now? Not so much.
He doesn't know how to design a blitz. Its not all on the players.You assume that we can't do well. You assume that we have bad talent. That is fine based on what we have seen. I have a different opinion though. I think we can do more with the talent we have. When we had a healthy Thurmond, Prince and DRC why are we giving such a soft zone? Why do we still have communication issues in the secondary? This is not good.
You still haven't given me anything that we do well. Everybody that defends Fewell has excuses and not results for his tenure here outside of our Super Bowl run.
They don't get to the QB, they don't force any more turnovers than we do, their 3rd down defense is worse than ours, they're allowing less than a tenth of a point less than us per drive.
The only thing the Dallas defense does better than ours is be on the field less. They're not good.
And I just do not buy that we have this awesome talent that is being held back by Fewell. We had Thurmond for one full game.. we have no idea how we would have used him with the DB's through the entire year.
This is not a good LB group. McClain is adequate in the middle but he's not fast. We have one linebacker with wheels.. and that's Williams.. who actually hasn't played terribly. Kennard's future is in the middle, not outside.
This group of DB's is decimated now, too. DRC hasn't been healthy. So until he is, we have 1 really good CB and 1 really good safety.
Which players in this back 7 do you think would be so much better with a new DC?
They don't get to the QB, they don't force any more turnovers than we do, their 3rd down defense is worse than ours, they're allowing less than a tenth of a point less than us per drive.
The only thing the Dallas defense does better than ours is be on the field less. They're not good.
And I just do not buy that we have this awesome talent that is being held back by Fewell. We had Thurmond for one full game.. we have no idea how we would have used him with the DB's through the entire year.
This is not a good LB group. McClain is adequate in the middle but he's not fast. We have one linebacker with wheels.. and that's Williams.. who actually hasn't played terribly. Kennard's future is in the middle, not outside.
This group of DB's is decimated now, too. DRC hasn't been healthy. So until he is, we have 1 really good CB and 1 really good safety.
Which players in this back 7 do you think would be so much better with a new DC?
You missed my point with Marinelli. You are putting words in my mouth. My point about the Cowboys D was that you don't need years to see an improvement. He took a historically bad defense that lost Ware and doesn't have Bruce Carter or Sean Lee while benching Claiborne and he is doing a good job with that group of players. They don't have an Antrel Rolle, Prince, DRC, or JPP.
I'm done talking about this. It is just going to go in circles again. You just keep comparing him to mediocrity or have excuses.
Dallas' defense is a mirage. It's bullshit. They're not good and aren't excelling at anything. People will figure it out sooner than later.
I actually hope Fewell does get fired because I am so sick of these threads.
I'm just going to post on threads about the offense or the team in general from now on. I can't talk about this defense anymore.
That's fine, you're a good poster here and I respect you. I have zero faith in our DC and defense. For once, I'd like to go back in believing in our defense and having faith in them.
what a damning stat
we have had exactly ONE good DC in the last decade...pretty sad. what i will say is that our D for a 5 week stretch under Fewell was a huge part in why we won XLVI.
but outside that little stretch, much has been left to be desired...we could do a hell of a lot better and i dont believe that lack of talent is the real issue anymore
When told his 1945 electoral defeat "might be a blessing in disguise," Churchill is said to have rejoined, "if so, it is very well disguised."
Perhaps the strength of our players is in the same sense very well disguised.
They athletic and versatile DEs who he has crashing down hard inside or bullrushing. That is it.
Well, lets start with Will Hill's screw up (Marijuana) which led to his being cut. We clearly missed his speed and talent at safety. Those first two games were atrocious and he'd have made a huge difference.
Next, W. Thurmond's injury hurt as he was a solid nickel cornerback. Same for McBridge and his injury.
If just our secondary had stayed in tact maybe we beat Dallas and AZ at least. Alas, it was not to be and we are 3-4 and looking at a possible 3-6 start with our brutal schedule.
I'm praying for back-to-back upsets because that is what it will take to get back into the playoff hunt but I don't think we have the horses to do it.
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"Hey Trel ... I thought YOU had him?!"
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"Hey Prince ... I thought YOU had him?!"
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Hey DRC ... I thought YOU had him?!"
...
and the band played on!
Look at the Cardinals. They lost Peterson. Calais Campbell and Dockett and are playing very well. Not to mention doing enough while Palmer was out.
Always an excuse. Time for an off season move this year.
While I agree our D didn't get decimated by Stanton and the loss was the result of 3 terrible plays, 2 on STs, the D still didn't dictate the game the way it should have against a backup QB like Stanton.