Is the defense THAT bad?

[dbair1967]

I think I'll reserve judgement after I see all our guys on the field together for a few games...that hasnt happened once this yr

I'm quite sure when Stewart made the comments about us potentially having a top defense, he didnt envision Newman playing at 75/80% and missing several games, Henry missing half the season, Ferguson going out after a couple of series in week one and Ellis probably being back sooner rather than later

David

 

[burmafrd]

With TNew not 100% and missing Henry we have serious problems. Get them both back healthy and we are good. Why is that so hard for SOME people to understand?

 

[eduncan22]

With TNew not 100% and missing Henry we have serious problems. Get them both back healthy and we are good. Why is that so hard for SOME people to understand?

Henry will Save us from certain doom.

BTW, we should be thankful we have Reeves. He'll be making his 7th start at Left Corner. He's young and fast [at least Henry was young once] and he'll only get better with experience.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Henry will Save us from certain doom.

BTW, we should be thankful we have Reeves. He'll be making his 7th start at Left Corner. He's young and fast [at least Henry was young once] and he'll only get better with experience.

I understand you have the whole agenda thing, but you can't argue that Anthony Henry > Nate Jones. In the Patriots game, having a corner that is better than Nate Jones playing would have helped. That can't be denied.

 

[lcharles]

With TNew not 100% and missing Henry we have serious problems. Get them both back healthy and we are good. Why is that so hard for SOME people to understand?

Uh, last year, umm..uh...didn't we have both?

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Uh, last year, umm..uh...didn't we have both?

Yup, but last year Reeves wasn't as good as he's been this year and we didn't have Wade Phillips coaching our defense. While, in the end, we might end up just as crappy defensively as last year, I think those two things give me a little bit more hope.

 

[Kangaroo]

We are back to making excuses again if this if that. We have to win with what we have. Henry has not been healthy for what 2.5 years now so that makes him a non issue and should not be counted on to be a consistent contributer.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

We are back to making excuses again if this if that. We have to win with what we have. Henry has not been healthy for what 2.5 years now so that makes him a non issue and should not be counted on to be a consistent contributer.

 

[Idgit]

We are back to making excuses again if this if that. We have to win with what we have. Henry has not been healthy for what 2.5 years now so that makes him a non issue and should not be counted on to be a consistent contributer.

Not sure I get why we have to make any excuses for 5-1. Or for a defense that plays better v. weaker offenses than it plays against better offenses. I like this team a lot, on both sides of the ball. And I do think we'll improve in coverage later in the year as we get players back and--more importantly--get more experience on defense.

 

[dbair1967]

Uh, last year, umm..uh...didn't we have both?

yeah, and we had that bumbling fool Zimmer as the coordinator

we also didnt have Spencer or Hamlin, nor did we have Ellis for basically the 2nd half of the yr

David

 

[dbair1967]

We are back to making excuses again if this if that. We have to win with what we have. Henry has not been healthy for what 2.5 years now so that makes him a non issue and should not be counted on to be a consistent contributer.

uh, we're 5-1...havent we been doing just that?

David

 

[ScipioCowboy]

The Cowboys boast an excellent front 7. They stop the run and pressure the QB; consequently, Dallas leads the league in interceptions. However, the Cowboys are still surrendering 24 points (I think) per game, largely because of poor play in secondary.

Perhaps the return of Henry will remedy this problem, but it appears that there are some coverage problems at safety.

 

[Kangaroo]

uh, we're 5-1...havent we been doing just that?

David

Yes against teams with Bad QB's and a shot out with the Giants which are offense won. We have given up 40+ points twice at home. We are going to be coming up on a tougher tests after the bye and if we let the Giants hang 40 on us at there place the odds are they will win that one.

 

[Idgit]

Yes against teams with Bad QB's and a shot out with the Giants which are offense won. We have given up 40+ points twice at home. We are going to be coming up on a tougher tests after the bye and if we let the Giants hang 40 on us at there place the odds are they will win that one.

Against teams with bad QBs and Marc Bulger. It's a surprise to you that we gave up points to NE? Really? The Giants game we won, btw, without Newman. And they look to be one of the best teams in the NFC right now, too.

We've got some tough games coming, but Philly and Washington aren't exactly featuring their passing games right now. Obviously, we're going to have to score points to beat the Giants and the Packers. What else is new?

 

[Kangaroo]

Against teams with bad QBs and Marc Bulger. It's a surprise to you that we gave up points to NE? Really? The Giants game we won, btw, without Newman. And they look to be one of the best teams in the NFC right now, too.

We've got some tough games coming, but Philly and Washington aren't exactly featuring their passing games right now. Obviously, we're going to have to score points to beat the Giants and the Packers. What else is new?

Hahahahahha

You want me to get excited about beating 4 teams that look to be drafting in the top 5 of the draft; two of those teams still without a win. Jump up and down because the defense played well against them. Then the defense gives up 35+ points both times at home against the two quality opponents we played. Did I expect our defense to pitch a shut out ? No ! I am not stupid but how about holding a good offense to 24 points! Have we even done that yet ?

Nope we have played 2 teams with a winning record and the defense has been taken to the woodshed in the passing game both times. We are not talking about giving up 24 points we are talking about 35+ freakin points not once but twice and at home.

Then we throw in last years defensive melt down with the same core defense and you guys want me to believe all is right in the world.

Thats the difference you guys are acting like we are looking for a shut out no I am looking for the defense to play well against a good team.

 

[Muhast]

What defense in the NFL doesnt play worst against better opponents?

Even when the Ravens were so dominant on D it wasnt like they played just as good against better offenses. The point of saying we play good against bad O's and not as good against good O's is stupid....

We have a pretty dominant Offense, and we dont play as good against good d's. Is that a shock?

It's the nature of the game.

I swear some people just can't live without a reason to complain.

Our record is 5-1, I could care less if we won each game by a field goal or blew the other team out. Were sitting at first place in the NFC and you guys want to complain about our battered defense which is finally getting close to being healthy?

Get out of here.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Who in here expected us to start the season 5-1 with our only loss being to the consensus best NFL team in years?

Can you imagine if we'd started 4-2? Or even 3-3 like we did just last year? :hydrogenbomb:

To answer the question, I don't think the D is that bad. We're playing a new high-pressure scheme that is going to make the DBs look worse every time we play a good team. When the rushers get to the QB in time, they look great. When they don't, they won't get the blame -- the DBs will.

But I still think the first game was partly due to a new and unfamiliar scheme. The players even said they got several calls wrong due to the new terminology, etc. This last game, one of the best QBs to ever play along with one of the most dangerous WRs to ever play got the better of us. Not cause for alarm.

 

[eduncan22]

Hahahahahha

You want me to get excited about beating 4 teams that look to be drafting in the top 5 of the draft; two of those teams still without a win. Jump up and down because the defense played well against them. Then the defense gives up 35+ points both times at home against the two quality opponents we played. Did I expect our defense to pitch a shut out ? No ! I am not stupid but how about holding a good offense to 24 points! Have we even done that yet ?

Nope we have played 2 teams with a winning record and the defense has been taken to the woodshed in the passing game both times. We are not talking about giving up 24 points we are talking about 35+ freakin points not once but twice and at home.

Then we throw in last years defensive melt down with the same core defense and you guys want me to believe all is right in the world.

Thats the difference you guys are acting like we are looking for a shut out no I am looking for the defense to play well against a good team.

I think this guy pretty much nailed it.

I can still remember all the Pre-Draft hype. Lots of you guys said we didn't need to draft a corner in the 1st [2 in the 7th really helped out this year...]

 

[Kangaroo]

Well they have to prove it to me at this point between last year and this year the secondary still looks terrible.

This week is not going to help the Vikes QB is not very good he is young and very very raw. He was 9/23 last week and has a ways to go before he is a solid starting QB in the league.

Now after the bye week the defense will have time to prove it against better teams to shut people up about how bad they are against good teams and the pass. Like I said I am not looking for a shut out but better play in the passing game against winning teams.

 

[InmanRoshi]

But I still think the first game was partly due to a new and unfamiliar scheme. The players even said they got several calls wrong due to the new terminology, etc. This last game, one of the best QBs to ever play along with one of the most dangerous WRs to ever play got the better of us. Not cause for alarm.

Well, last year they were blowing assignments left and right, and that was a defense that they should have been familiar with ... especially if it was as "vanilla" as some have suggested. So, evidently, we don't exactly have a bunch of rocket scientists back there.