Our Defense is Awful..

[rey2009]

[bleys]

you all are going to be asking this question a lot this year. acceptance is the answer, so save your breath.

[footballisasport]

I hope you are right, but what I see right now is crap like Cedric Benson / Isaac Redmen slamming it down our thoat, and Andy Dalton / Charlie Batch picking our secondary apart.

Those aren't good things to see, while I felt better about what Cam did last night against the Steelers first team D, we have been just awful.

Wow...I didn't realize Cam played defense also???

[Razeyfingers]

This is where I fault Hurney, with two rookie DT's we should have protected ourselves by bringing in another vet besides Ron Edwards (on the chance that he got hurt) and the moment he got hurt we should have gotten very aggressive about finding another vet (or two) to help.

I'd have to agree here man, you know big guys are gonna go down and you know its key to our defense. A cb can wait til cuts since it seems that you can cover poor corner play with some extra zone. Lock up another big boy.

I will say though, Hurney was really looking to hit a certain target point for the cap and with the injuries we've sustained and the salaries we paid out we really dont have much wiggle room.

[beastson]

We should be blitzing on EVERY 3rd and long

Period. If we don't, we got a problem

[rayzor]

this defense has been without beason, the field general. of course it's going to be loose. beason coming back in will help fix a lot of it.

upgrading CB and DT (which can be done in FA) will help immensely.

the defense is my biggest concern for sure, but it's not impossible to fix and it won't take much to get this defense respectable.

[panthers55]

I'd have to agree here man, you know big guys are gonna go down and you know its key to our defense. A cb can wait til cuts since it seems that you can cover poor corner play with some extra zone. Lock up another big boy.

I will say though, Hurney was really looking to hit a certain target point for the cap and with the injuries we've sustained and the salaries we paid out we really dont have much wiggle room.

In Hurney's defense, edwards has never been injured seriously before after years of playing nose tackle so they thought they had addressed the problem. Find a vet and bring in the young guys into the rotation.

Plus I think that the guys who were rotational guys as well, haven't played up to their expected potential as well. And as you say he doesn't want to overpay at that position either.

I fully expect Hurney to bring in some guys at DT and CB in the next week.

[panthers55]

We should be blitzing on EVERY 3rd and long

Period. If we don't, we got a problem

We have blitzed a lot. That isn't the issue. The problem is that we are still not getting any pressure. And that is a big problem.

[rfn]

I saw some pressure from the D last night. I even saw Batch throw some passes away on ocassion and hurried on one or two others.

[panthers55]

I saw some pressure from the D last night. I even saw Batch throw some passes away on ocassion and hurried on one or two others.

True. But too many times we blitzed, failed to get pressure, and then were fundamentally unsound in the secondary like always happens when you don't get to the quarterback. It isn't always the number of sacks you get but when you get those sacks. Forcing teams into 3rd and long and then successfully pressuring the QB with a well timed blitz is the goal of every defense. To this point we are not getting pressure without bringing the house. That is too risky to do on every passing play. We need to be able to get consistent pressure with five rushers in order to help the secondary. Otherwise there are big holes that our opponents will easily exploit.

I hope that McDermott has some tricks up his sleeve, otherwise things could get ugly.

[CatMan72]

In Hurney's defense, edwards has never been injured seriously before after years of playing nose tackle so they thought they had addressed the problem. Find a vet and bring in the young guys into the rotation.

Plus I think that the guys who were rotational guys as well, haven't played up to their expected potential as well. And as you say he doesn't want to overpay at that position either.

I fully expect Hurney to bring in some guys at DT and CB in the next week.

I know, but I think you're living dangerously when the only thing you have behind Edwards are rookies and rotational players (at best).

[panthers55]

I know, but I think you're living dangerously when the only thing you have behind Edwards are rookies and rotational players (at best).

I have to agree that the DT position has been a disaster for Hurney this season. All of the guys he brought in or drafted at that position have not done the job. I hope he has a few rabbits up his sleeve and can sign a veteran nose tackle like we did a few years ago with Hollis Thomas. Guy stepped in and anchored the middle until he got nicked up. Who would you make an offer to at nose.

[chef17]

Wow...I didn't realize Cam played defense also???

Where in the hell did he say Cam played defense?

[stankowalski]

The "vanilla" excuse is just not cutting it anymore. Our DB's are so soft we can't blitz or we get burned. We can get no pressure from the front four so the QB has like 25 years to throw. Hard to tackle a RB as you are getting pushed backwards. I think its safe to say we have a long way to go.

the reason the vanilla excuse doesn't cut it is because EVERY team is vanilla. Do you really think our team is the only team in the league playing vanilla offense and defense?? PFFFFTT, i say.