Lost in last night, wasn't it really exciting to see the Defense perform at such a high level?

[MVPccaffrey]

For those of us who DO prefer a football team built around a well executing, high level physical defense, MNF was certainly a sight for sore eyes.  Getting after the QB, laying out ball carriers at or behind the LOS, and forcing some turnovers in the secondary?  All the elements of a classic great defense were on display at some point. 

I know some of us hope Tepper continues in the tradition this franchise has of creating a defense with stellar LB play and building in and out from there, ideally with a stout defensive line that doesn't give opposing backs any room to breathe.  Like the Steelers historically, this is a defense-first franchise and frankly I think it would be wise to continue building in that direction, especially now that playmakers on the other-side of the ball have finally be drafted.

A lot of posters here are dead set on trying to bring in some "young offensive mind", but how are they doing these days?  Last I looked the coach everyone's drooled over, Sean McVay, was upset in the playoffs despite home field, and his supposed juggernaut has already sputtered out.  Eagles are on the out after everyone expected them to roll through the league this year, after their defense held the Falcons and Vikings to a combined 17 points through the NFC playoffs last season.  Bears/Cowboys/Ravens have ridden their defense back into the post-season despite very questionable QB situations.

Invest a draft or two into retooling a defense relying on vets almost on the way out with some physical young and quick talent, and return the franchise to one that other teams hated to play because they'd get knocked on their ass.  That's a path right back into contention that would mitigate almost all the uncertainty going forward with the offense.  This is how football was meant to be played, and what traditionally wins in the post-season.

[TheRed]

It's difficult to get too excited about this considering the reality of how quickly this turnaround happened when our head coach finally made real changes after we had our backs against the wall with very slim playoff odds.

Where was this several weeks ago?

The Steelers dropped 45 points on mostly the same players.

You can ramble about execution until you're blue in the face, but if it took this long for the defense to finally look capable of getting the opposing offense off the field, that's on the coaching staff.

[Peppers90 NC]

The talent and potential has always been there. What has been missing is the attitude, which finally showed up last night. Too little, too late. The defense finally for the first time played with intensity and urgency but the offense laid an egg. The story of the year. We need a coach who can get those guys to play with that intensity week in and out. I believe the players have grown tone def to Ron's message and no longer bring the hunger.

[DeAngelo Beason]

No.

[LinvilleGorge]

It absolutely was, but it was also infuriating. There was no reason for our D to be so bad for so long. That Steelers debacle should've been the final straw. Ron should've stepped in and taken over the D from Washington after that game. It was blatantly obvious at that point that the Washington DC experiment had failed.

[BrianS]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It absolutely was, but it was also infuriating. There was no reason for our D to be so bad for so long. That Steelers debacle should've been the final straw. Ron should've stepped in and taken over the D from Washington after that game. It was blatantly obvious at that point that the Washington DC experiment had failed.

This.

I love good defense, and on our day we can be lights out.  While our pass rush does need work, there is really no reason our defense should have regressed as far as it did in just one year.  We may not have the players for a top 5 defense, but had Rivera been calling defenses all year, I expect we would be a top 10 defense.

[Asurfaholic]

I enjoyed watching that. I would still like to see someone other than peppers getting in the QB face but all around good defensive effort. 

 

Or did saints offense just suck? 

 

Im not even sure.

[beastson]

1 minute ago, Asurfaholic said:

I enjoyed watching that. I would still like to see someone other than peppers getting in the QB face but all around good defensive effort. 

 

Or did saints offense just suck? 

 

Im not even sure.

We'll see the next 2 weeks.

[CPF4LIFE]

That was their best performance in 2 years almost. They have never looked that good against opposing high caliber good qb in that timeframe. Call it what you will but im taking it with grain of salt. Thats just how i feel. They still have a ways to go.

[PanthersBigD]

It was bittersweet knowing that Ron took so long to fix it, and that it'll probably be short lived since odds are he's a goner.

Kind of like witnessing that last burst of puppy energy that your aging dog displays right before he gets so sick that you have to have him put to sleep. 

Look at the rabbits, Ronnie.

[Anybodyhome]

Despite the fact Drew Brees had all the time in the world in the pocket and only rarely did the Panthers get any rush, the Saints have managed to put 9 first-half points on the board over their past 3 games.

The defense did what they needed to do to win the game. Problem is, where has that been all season? In Rivera's famous words, "You'll have to ask them." Except "them" is the coaching staff.

I honestly do not know how you hold the Saints to 12 points and lose. That alone is enough to discourage anyone.

[CPF4LIFE]

20 minutes ago, Asurfaholic said:

I enjoyed watching that. I would still like to see someone other than peppers getting in the QB face but all around good defensive effort. 

 

Or did saints offense just suck? 

 

Im not even sure.

Their offense definitely  hasnt been good the last 3 weeks. If we caught them prior to that they probably blow us out. 

[rippadonn]

Like Sean Payton and his offense, Ron should have been calling his defense the whole time.

Norv is putting the offense in position but Norv doesn't play QB or WR.

[Eazy-E]

This was infuriating because if Ron would have actually hired a competent D coordinator or just decided to coach the D himself from the beginning, we would all be talking about possibly getting a top seed in the playoffs.

Just another thing to add to the list of Ron’s coaching failures.