Defensive line

[Shocker]

Not much talk about Cory Littleton at MLB.  I had him in fantasy a few years back and was stuffing the stat sheet like a mad man.  Can cover too.  One to watch

Edited August 2, 2022 by Shocker

[Seltzer]

41 minutes ago, Shocker said:

I am hoping for a big year from Nixon and honestly I am not very concerned with the DL or defense as a whole.  

Nixon showed great flashes before he got hurt. I'm not worried bc I think there is still a great chance we will add another DE and/or DT at some point. Coaches want to get a good look at the young guys during TC before making a move. It could be as late as after Week 1 before a move is made too bc then the team is not on the hook for a whole seasons salary if it doesn't pan out.

[TheCasillas]

4 minutes ago, Seltzer said:

Nixon showed great flashes before he got hurt. I'm not worried bc I think there is still a great chance we will add another DE and/or DT at some point. Coaches want to get a good look at the young guys during TC before making a move. It could be as late as after Week 1 before a move is made too bc then the team is not on the hook for a whole seasons salary if it doesn't pan out.

This is too much positivity for the huddle. Tone it down.

[Sgt Schultz]

15 hours ago, panthers55 said:

Not sure we can say much about the line until we start playing. There are many defensive ends who.played the run well and aren't any bigger than our guys. Strahan- 250,  TJ Watt - 251, Khalil Mack. - 247  Jason Taylor - 245.

Aaron Donald is listed anywhere between 260 and 280 at defensive tackle.  The majority weigh around 300. Even Suh as a nose tackle is only 313.  Now look at our players. We are just as big and strong. It is scheme and technique that make the difference not just size. Obvious talent too. But to say our front seven are small just isn't supported by the numbers. Our scheme was poor last year. When we would play Dallas and we had a big oline and good runners they would play 5 linemen with their hand in the dirt and go wide 9 to.push everything inside. How many times did we do that last year unless we were blitzing. None. We have the players let's see if we have the coaching.

 

The coaching piece/schemes/game planning is where I suspect the problem lies, and started suspecting that after the Dallas game last year. 

The players are a bit of an unknown, unfortunately.  I THINK we have the talent, and that talent was simply not put in the best position to shine.  Last year did not prove our young talent is what we thought it was.  If anything, it cast doubt.  We should have more "givens" and fewer "question marks" right now.

The alternative is we collectively stagnated/regressed in a number of areas.  That is possible, too, given the youth of our talent.  If this is the case, this year is critical for that talent to either step up or be pushed out.

Like you, my strong suspicion is the problem lies in our game planning/schemes.  We have some new faces that can lend some NFL experience to this, now we need to see if it works. 

[TrevorLaurenceTime22]

19 hours ago, poundaway said:

We were 8th in rushing yards allowed per attempt at 4.1 yards.  The whole league sucks at stopping the run.

We faced the 2nd most defensive drives and yet saw 2nd fewest pass attempts on our D.  I believe that played a role in our low TO count as well.

Ioannidis for Jones appears to be a wash. 
Wilson should be better than Carter against the run, and  
Matos should be better than Fox against the run and in pass rush. 
Luvu was good last year against the run, but he can't pass rush anything like Reddick.

Pasqualoni has a lot more experience in the NFL coaching lineman than Okam (from Baylor). 

In general, I think teams are going to pass more if we don't do something to replace Reddick.

I do agree, that the Browns are going to run and run in game 1 tho.

Only four teams last season gave up less than 100 a game on the ground.... and they were all even worse agaist the pass....

 

The entire nfl is geared to stop the pass not the run....