StarOfGlory
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I'm being truthful. Nothing I said is wrong.
You spoke of the good and promise that some of our defenders hold. I agreed...and also pointed out deficiencies. You don't like that.
Counting stats are great for the individual, and can certainly show the effectiveness of a player. But when you have a number of great plays during a game, yet show results that do not reflect such in the final score, one must look for answers. When you know you are playing a running team yet give up nearly 200 yards on the ground against a team that pulled its starters after three quarters, you have to look beyond individual stats. For every sack gained, a Philly runner broke contain and gained yards that hurt the team. Why?
It doesn't take long to observe two particular issues with our defense (there are more than two). First is our lack of interior toughness. That's not a knock against our linebackers. This has rehashed many times on this board. No need to continue.
The second one is more to my point: the lack of discipline shown against the run. Having linebackers and blitzers running downhill after the QB looks great when a hurry is created that forces a bad pass, or a sack takes down the QB. But if that player is ridden out of the play and can't get home, so to speak, there are problems because a running lane is suddenly opened--and we don't fill those gaps very well. Hell, sometimes we don't fill them at all. Against a team that can run like Philly, this is a recipe for disaster. The coaches have to step up, notice this, and make minor adjustments to defensive play calling. Micah and Overshown looked great beating up on the Philly back-up LT, Johnson. He gave up three sacks. When they gave him help, things got a bit harder. We have seen quite a few times where Micah becomes ineffective when a big body directly attacks him, which really is his one weakness. Now, if a player such as Trent Williams or Lane Johnson takes Micah out of a game, I don't consider that a knock on Micah because tackles of that caliber--and there are very few of them--take out the best pass rushers on a weekly basis. The other team is being paid to play too, and some of them are damn good players. But I don't believe our coaches put our best players in a position for continued success during the course of a game.
I watched an Eagle team coached by Buddy Ryan destroy teams week in and week out. That defense had talent that makes our defensive talent look like Pop Warner. They won zero playoff games. Zero. They played with a lack of discipline, and against playoff-caliber teams, they failed. Micah is on a HoF trajectory. Overshown looks to be a very promising player, one that will be a major contributor to our team. I can say the same for a few other defenders. It means nothing if what happened to us last week keeps happening.
Things must change. I would start with the coaching staff. Philly changed coordinators. That team looks a lot different than last years team. I would get a real GM. Their GM identified weak spots and did his best to fill them (secondary). Yes, I know the GM part won't happen. It is a major issue with the state of the overall team right now.
