A Look at how much bigger the defense has grown and how it's getting bigger

[JDSmith]

Bravo!

This weight stuff is so over-done.

Give me a more talented guy everytime no matter what his weight is.

Did you see the commercials for the new Night Stalker? They are also releasing the complete original series (one season) on DVD in October.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Did you see the commercials for the new Night Stalker? They are also releasing the complete original series (one season) on DVD in October.

No kidding?

That is a must have in my book. It killed me that show only lasted one season... or as much as it could kill a 12 year old (at the time).

 

[JDSmith]

No kidding?

That is a must have in my book. It killed me that show only lasted one season... or as much as it could kill a 12 year old (at the time).

I was 7. Man I loved that show. Obviously so did the guy who created the X Files, since it was a big inspiration for him. He tried for years to get Darren McGavin to make a cameo on X Files as Kolchak, but couldn't convince him. They finally got him on the show, but not as KK. Instead they made him an FBI agent who was the supposed 'father of the X Files.'

Anyway the new series looks more serious. I saw an ad for it on ABC (who also did the original series in 74). I think it starts the 23rd of this month.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I agree what's been said mostly. One reason why BP likes size is for late November and December when smaller teams wear down. Playoffs are on the line and the games get tighter the weaker team mentally and physically lose.

Bigger doesn't mean more physically fit. In the early 90's our smaller defenses would clamp down on people in the second half of the season because we combined great talent with great physical conditioning.

 

[JDSmith]

Bigger doesn't mean more physically fit. In the early 90's our smaller defenses would clamp down on people in the second half of the season because we combined great talent with great physical conditioning.

I still to this day believe that one of the most overlooked, and biggest, losses to our team came in 96 when Mike Woicik left in the offseason after his dispute with Switzer. Our conditioning has never been the same since, although I expect it to be better this year.

Our team used to consistently overwhelm our opposition late in games on both sides of the ball. That stopped immediately after Woicik left.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Bigger doesn't mean more physically fit. In the early 90's our smaller defenses would clamp down on people in the second half of the season because we combined great talent with great physical conditioning.

You're leaving out a vital component of the success of that defense: depth. And it's not just you: everyone in this thread seems to have overlooked the importance of depth. That early 90's defense was rotating in as many as 9 quality lineman. That was the key to staying fresh in the 4th quarter. Of course, you need a ton of talent to do that (and to that extent I can't argue with you). But you don't need a ton of size.

 

[JDSmith]

You're leaving out a vital component of the success of that defense: depth. And it's not just you: everyone in this thread seems to have overlooked the importance of depth. That early 90's defense was rotating in as many as 9 quality lineman. That was the key to staying fresh in the 4th quarter. Of course, you need a ton of talent to do that (and to that extent I can't argue with you). But you don't need a ton of size.

Really now? And I thought I made an entire post about it.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

You're leaving out a vital component of the success of that defense: depth. And it's not just you: everyone in this thread seems to have overlooked the importance of depth. That early 90's defense was rotating in as many as 9 quality lineman. That was the key to staying fresh in the 4th quarter. Of course, you need a ton of talent to do that (and to that extent I can't argue with you). But you don't need a ton of size.

No question. Our defensive line was terrific when it came to depth. It may not have been the most talented when it came to the starting 4 but we had guys that could come off the bench and were almost as good as the starters and that made a huge difference.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Really now? And I thought I made an entire post about it.

Sorry. Was under the impression that the focus of your post was on pure talent. My bad.

On edit: I appear to have missed your post entirely. As you say, it makes the point about depth quite nicely. Doubly my bad.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I was 7. Man I loved that show. Obviously so did the guy who created the X Files, since it was a big inspiration for him. He tried for years to get Darren McGavin to make a cameo on X Files as Kolchak, but couldn't convince him. They finally got him on the show, but not as KK. Instead they made him an FBI agent who was the supposed 'father of the X Files.'

Anyway the new series looks more serious. I saw an ad for it on ABC (who also did the original series in 74). I think it starts the 23rd of this month.

Yep. Friday nights on ABC. I loved TV in 1974. "Planet of the Apes" and "Moving On". Just great.

 

[JDSmith]

Yep. Friday nights on ABC. I loved TV in 1974. "Planet of the Apes" and "Moving On". Just great.

Are you sure it was Friday? I could have sworn it was Saturday. But it was one of the two because it was one of my 'late nights' when I was allowed to stay up. I think Night Stalker was on from 8 to 9, but I'm not positive.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I agree what's been said mostly. One reason why BP likes size is for late November and December when smaller teams wear down. Playoffs are on the line and the games get tighter the weaker team mentally and physically lose.

It's one of the things that I've noticed around the league with teams that utilize the Cover 2. Even good defenses like Tampa are very prone to wearing down. They are talented, but they are very small.

In order for them to avoid wearing down, their own offense has to eat up the clock and efficiently score points. That's a lot of pressure on the offense.


Rich.........

 

[JackMagist]

Nors has been predicting Singleton's demise since the start of TC. He's been flat out wrong. If you're throwing your lot in with him, I fully expect that you'll be flat out wrong too. Parcells has repeatedly expressed concerns about experienced depth at OLB. Are you proposing that he's going to follow up a move that addresses that concern by cutting Singleton, effectively negating the benefit of the Fujita signing and causing the concern to arise once again? C'mon. Singleton will eventually be displaced in the starting lineup (Burnett will be the one to displace him). But his spot on the roster is secure. And that's obvious to anyone who is actually listening to BP.

I'm not throwing in my lot with Nors per se. But Nors has been right about some thing and wrong about others and I could care less about your personal feud with Nors. Just because he made a predictions does not automatically mean it is wrong; in fact he is right quite often. I don't care who predicted what I'm just looking at what is happening.

In this case I think Nors is right; not necessarily that Singleton will be cut but that he will be out of the starting lineup. Fujita is Big and Experienced and plays Strongside OLB and has done so at a high level leading his former team in tackles two years running. BP was worried about the OLB spot for two reasons. He wanted to get bigger and he wanted experience Fujita gives him both. I think Singleton will stick on the roster because of his experience but I don't think he will be here next year and I think he loses his starting job to Fujita very soon. It is also possible that he could lose his roster spot after Fujita gets settled in should we need a spot for another signing.

 

[NovaCowboy]

I think the weight difference is actually smaller. I figure it's about 2 pounds on average, tops. It's could easily be argued that we were bigger last year. I looked at it a little differently though. While some people say that Dat looks bigger this year, so he's part of a bigger scheme, I say he could have weighed the same last year and just didn't bulk up enough. Same goes for anyone else who played in our 4 - 3 and is playing in the 3 - 4. Also, Glover is starting an NT rather than Ferg - at least at this point Ferg is going to be a role player who will spell Glover. He's not in shape and I'd be surprised to see him take 20 snaps a game. If you figure the numbers after taking out guys who played both years, and only look at who's changed the D has actually lost 24 lbs total in the front 7. Really we gained size by getting rid of Coakley and replacing him with James, something we tried to do last year anyway. We lost size by replacing Carson with Coleman. We lost size by getting rid of Wiley and replacing him with Ware. The difference is that Ware can actually play football.

I think that too much is made of this supposed size increase. Our problem last year was not size, it was an inability to rotate out DL and keep our guys fresh. We had small guys when we won Superbowls, we simply had a TON of them and guys got in and out every few plays. As a result our D stayed quick and swarming and overwhelmed our opposition as the game wore on. We tried to keep the philosopy, but our coaches and management wasn't smart enough to keep the depth to run it. As a result guys like Glover and Ellis had to play almost the entire game and wore down terribly at the end.

This year we have much more quality depth, so this year our D won't wear down. But it's not beacuse we're 'bigger' because in reality there is almost no size difference. It's because we're deeper.

Dude... that clip of Witten is awesome! Watching him use Ray Lewis like that was incredible! What a player this kid is.

 

[JDSmith]

I haven't been impressed with Singleton for the past 2 years. I have to admit I was surprised to see him keep a starting spot. I would have sworn we could do better. But I have to admit that I don't know the nuances of our D from last year or this year to the point where I'd know if he was doing his job without necessarily making the tackle.

I actually had a rather long argument with Booze about whether or not Singleton would be released this offseason (I don't think he posts here anymore so I guess it was on the Ranch). My argument essentially being that the guy costs a couple million and he's invisible. Looks like Booze has won this round, because so far Singleton has not only stayed on the roster, but has retained a starting job.

 

[JackMagist]

I haven't been impressed with Singleton for the past 2 years. I have to admit I was surprised to see him keep a starting spot. I would have sworn we could do better. But I have to admit that I don't know the nuances of our D from last year or this year to the point where I'd know if he was doing his job without necessarily making the tackle.

I actually had a rather long argument with Booze about whether or not Singleton would be released this offseason (I don't think he posts here anymore so I guess it was on the Ranch). My argument essentially being that the guy costs a couple million and he's invisible. Looks like Booze has won this round, because so far Singleton has not only stayed on the roster, but has retained a starting job.

"So far" he has because we have nothing but a raw rookie behind him. Now that Fujita is coming in he will have some real competition but a Big LB (the beloved of Parcells). If Fujita is anywhere near what I think he is Singleton loses his starting role by week 4 IMO.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

But Nors has been right about some thing and wrong about others and I could care less about your personal feud with Nors.

Don't really have a personal fued with Nors. Can't say either one of us gives a damn about the other, either way. In fact, if push came to shove, I'd probably have to admit that I kind of enjoy having him around. I just get a kick out of ribbing him about his misses, given that he's quick to remind everyone about his hits.

As for Singleton, Nors has predicted he would be gone. His losing his starting spot (eventually) was never really at issue, since virtually everyone can see that Burnett's star is rising. So for you to suggest that he's somehow (even partially) correct on this one is off base. More importantly, it unnecessarily feeds a monster that does well enough ensuring it gets fed on its own.

On a side note: Nors has become a bit of a cause celebre for a number of posters who think it's noble to jump to his defense as though he were something of an underdog being unfairly targeted by the majority. Seems to me that there's a remarkable lack of appreciation for what goes on around these boards involved in arriving at such a conclusion. Nors is many things. A victim is not one of them.

 

[JackMagist]

Are you sure it was Friday? I could have sworn it was Saturday. But it was one of the two because it was one of my 'late nights' when I was allowed to stay up. I think Night Stalker was on from 8 to 9, but I'm not positive.

Did you guys hear they are coming out with a new Night Stalker this year. It is a remake or revival of the old one with Kolchak still teh main character. I forget who will be playing him. I hope it is at least half as good as the old one...it was one of my favorites too.

 

[JDSmith]

"So far" he has because we have nothing but a raw rookie behind him. Now that Fujita is coming in he will have some real competition but a Big LB (the beloved of Parcells). If Fujita is anywhere near what I think he is Singleton loses his starting role by week 4 IMO.

I thought he'd be released for some cap space. I just don't see anything out of him as a LB. Basically the last time I remember him making a play is when Kerry Collins hit him in the chest with a pass in the second game of the 2003 season. So I have to admit that Boozeman was totally right and I was totally wrong. It happens. I think that even if he loses his starting job this year, he's a lock to stay on the roster for depth if nothing else. I doubt we'd find a better player than him sitting at home, and that's what it would take for us to release him at this point.

 

[JDSmith]

Did you guys hear they are coming out with a new Night Stalker this year. It is a remake or revival of the old one with Kolchak still teh main character. I forget who will be playing him. I hope it is at least half as good as the old one...it was one of my favorites too.

Does anyone read my posts? Am I on some kind of forum wide ignore? This is the second time in this thread alone that someone has completely missed a post of mine. No wonder I'm not as loved here as I am at the Ranch, noobdy knows I'm posting here.