robbieruff
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As a preface...I am well aware that we haven't allowed a 100 yard rusher this season but, then again, teams haven't been THAT committed to the run against us for a variety of reasons - like Pittsburg did on Sunday, teams focus their attack through the air. Teams are averaging only about 20 rush attempts total per game and we have faced 183 TOTAL rush attempts this year - league's lowest totals. While we're #3 overall against the run, we are also allowing 4.1 yards/carry (tied with a number of teams for 11th best yards/attempt)...decent yards per average but not like a Baltimore's 3.3 (they're ELITE in this metric so far). The one game, I recall, when we really needed to stop the run and give the ball back to our offense was that first one against the Gmen...they gashed us at critical closing moments of that game when we knew it was coming and no other team has really been in a position of trying to run out the clock on us...I suppose that's what happens when you're riding an 8-game win streak 
. Despite these lofty stats, my gut tells me that our D could use a bit more "stoutness" through the middle as a potential tweak between now and season's end.
Which brings me to my main point...the play of our LB's in general and the MLB position in particular. I know our shared hope is for Jaylon Smith to come back better than ever (being a glass half full type I am saying he's our version of Bobby Wagner/Luke Kuechley by start of next season). Of course Mr. Lee is his usual beastly self (although I'd like to see him get about 3-4 picks between now and season's end as is his norm) and I am actually digging the recent play of Wilson on the strong side...he's seems to bring some explosiveness and athleticism to the unit that we lost with RoMac, who I am afraid is gone for good (I'm not THAT much of an optimist). What Wilson has lacked in recognition and discipline should diminish with his increased reps and I think he will be a very instinctive playmaker for us (particularly when his used, albeit limited, as a blitzer).
Granted, I am not tracking it all that closely in my game viewings, but I do see Hitch and Durant seemingly sharing the duties with Hitch (I'm assuming) getting the bulk of the snaps. My impressions are they seem to be often lost/wiped out in the middle and making very few notable plays, apart from Durant's pass break up on the slant against the Niners on 4th down. Durant has had some other flashes, but even his potential bigger plays have been met with seemingly boneheaded breakdowns in technique, such as the inadvertent facemark on the big sack of Rodgers (he used poor form) and even the penalty he drew last Sunday when he was in on the hit on Big Ben (should've ended the drive but he again drew a personal foul). Net net, it seems that Durant's physical skills have tapered off from his 2014 season when I thought he was one of the unsung heroes of that defense. Hitch basically seems to be playing out of position...he's a gamer but just can't hold up physically and would be better suited as Lee's backup and perhaps playing on passing downs.
So...what to do now? They benched Mayowa recently for lack of production...should we expect similar cutthroat decisions from the coaches on the MLB play? I've heard some love expressed in the forum for Zzeocha and Gachkar played with some thump last year. Should we continue to roll with what we've got or are others feeling similarly that we have better options on the roster to step in and make a bigger impact?
. Despite these lofty stats, my gut tells me that our D could use a bit more "stoutness" through the middle as a potential tweak between now and season's end.Which brings me to my main point...the play of our LB's in general and the MLB position in particular. I know our shared hope is for Jaylon Smith to come back better than ever (being a glass half full type I am saying he's our version of Bobby Wagner/Luke Kuechley by start of next season). Of course Mr. Lee is his usual beastly self (although I'd like to see him get about 3-4 picks between now and season's end as is his norm) and I am actually digging the recent play of Wilson on the strong side...he's seems to bring some explosiveness and athleticism to the unit that we lost with RoMac, who I am afraid is gone for good (I'm not THAT much of an optimist
). What Wilson has lacked in recognition and discipline should diminish with his increased reps and I think he will be a very instinctive playmaker for us (particularly when his used, albeit limited, as a blitzer).Granted, I am not tracking it all that closely in my game viewings, but I do see Hitch and Durant seemingly sharing the duties with Hitch (I'm assuming) getting the bulk of the snaps. My impressions are they seem to be often lost/wiped out in the middle and making very few notable plays, apart from Durant's pass break up on the slant against the Niners on 4th down. Durant has had some other flashes, but even his potential bigger plays have been met with seemingly boneheaded breakdowns in technique, such as the inadvertent facemark on the big sack of Rodgers (he used poor form) and even the penalty he drew last Sunday when he was in on the hit on Big Ben (should've ended the drive but he again drew a personal foul). Net net, it seems that Durant's physical skills have tapered off from his 2014 season when I thought he was one of the unsung heroes of that defense. Hitch basically seems to be playing out of position...he's a gamer but just can't hold up physically and would be better suited as Lee's backup and perhaps playing on passing downs.
So...what to do now? They benched Mayowa recently for lack of production...should we expect similar cutthroat decisions from the coaches on the MLB play? I've heard some love expressed in the forum for Zzeocha and Gachkar played with some thump last year. Should we continue to roll with what we've got or are others feeling similarly that we have better options on the roster to step in and make a bigger impact?
