The defense could be on the edge of something big.

[broseidon]

Don't get ahead of ourselves guys. This is a team that allowed Brady Quinn a above 100 QB rating.

Lets look at the Saints game and see what happens when we play a real QB and a real offense

I agree we are getting better BUT, this is nothing like D's of the past.... Not yet

[SCMunnerlyn1]

I happened to be watching our week 2 game against NO last night. There is a world of difference in how our D is playing now vs. week 2.

All we did in that first game was go for the big hit. No one was wrapping up like they are now. The worst offenders were Beason, Nakamura and Captain. I see genuine NFL tackling when the D is on the field now.

And people destroyed Rivera when he said we need to get back to basic fundamentals .. who's laughing now? xD

[Ken]

Our D still has some ways to go to be top 10 but we are getting there. We have pieces and with a couple of shrewd pickups in the draft/FA we can get there.

[Marguide]

And people destroyed Rivera when he said we need to get back to basic fundamentals .. who's laughing now? xD

ri

And in my opinion, they should have. We were unprepared and under coached entering the season. Also please remember we only moved Luke to the middle when there was no other choice, and only went away from Nakamura when we had to.

I don't see these as arguments in his favor.

[SCMunnerlyn1]

ri

And in my opinion, they should have. We were unprepared and under coached entering the season. Also please remember we only moved Luke to the middle when there was no other choice, and only went away from Nakamura when we had to.

I don't see these as arguments in his favor.

My point is better tackling and better overall fundamentals alone have made this defense look more solid. Therefore that decision to simplify was the best one he could have made.

[Car123]

Our D still has some ways to go to be top 10 but we are getting there. We have pieces and with a couple of shrewd pickups in the draft/FA we can get there.

We're technically top 10

8th to be exact

[Kevin Greene]

A couple of times last Sunday I found myself not just happy for a big stop but thinking about some of the defenses we have had in the past. Defenses that shut other team's down, forced turnovers and dictated the pace. We were not afraid of a turnover because our defense would hold them to no more than a field goal.

I know it is still early and we have a huge test this Sunday, but I got some glimpses last week of the kind of defense I would really like us to become. Newton and the offense wouldn't have to be great if the defense was really good.

By early what do you mean?

Early in the week?

Early 2 years deep into the Rivera/McDermott era?

Just curious.

[Zod]

The potential is there, but not under McDerp. Even with Rivera helping out they need a stellar DC and we will have a top notch D.

[bleys]

The thing that have me the biggest chubby wasnt our stellar DE's, but Luke hitting McFadden at the LOS, standing him up, then knocking his ass back a few yards. McFadden runs through shitty tackles often, but Luke must have wrapped him up 6-7 times and didnt ever even let him fall forward a couple of feet. It was always hit, wrap up, stop, move backwards.

I was talking so much poo to Raider fans when I saw that tackle...

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

luke's only mistake on the afternoon that i noticed was the missed tackle on palmer's lateral back to pryor in the first. he had a chance to stand pryor up at the LOS for almost no gain but let him slip away

of course he made up for it by stoning pryor on one of the raiders' redzone possessions later.

[TheGreatestOfAllTimeCam]

Our defense is very solid in spells despite a few collapses this year--and even good defenses have lapses in play. I've watched enough Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, even Cleveland to know that.

We did what we did without top notch corners (which I think is one of the shifts in the NFL, you can scrimp by with 4th round talent at corner and running back). We have a few pieces on defense which are decent but only one cornerstone. It's unreal to think about if we added more impact players. But I feel like we need to beef up the offense. Build the defense through FA

[panfan32]

Don't get ahead of ourselves guys. This is a team that allowed Brady Quinn a above 100 QB rating.

Lets look at the Saints game and see what happens when we play a real QB and a real offense

I agree we are getting better BUT, this is nothing like D's of the past.... Not yet

I agree, but I still feel our guys took it easy on the Chiefs due to the circumstances that took place the day before. I can thelp but feel that no one was playing up to thier skill level that day. And if that was the case, i will never fault them for it. After the shooting the Chiefs needed something positive.

[broseidon]

Is that the "Hammer of Thor"

[PantherPhann89]

the defense yes, but not so much a test for the offense...the saints defense is the worst in the league. 31st in passing, 29th in rushing, 32nd overall.

Yes, I was referring to and responding to this thread as a test for our defense. But our offense will be tested as well. I know the Saints numbers doesn't look good, but I think it's gonna be a good game.