Defense

I really think this would a great  D, if we just had that killer NT and a dominating ILB.

I'm hoping for some combination of Danny Shelton, Eddie Goldman, and Benardrick McKinney out of next year's draft.

Turnovers is what completely separates this defense from last year.  

If Miss St keeps winning and plays for the national championship McKinneys draft stock is going to keep going up. Dammit!!!

Clinton-Dix has been a difference maker and gets better every week. Nick Perry is making plays. Having Hayward back has helped. Peppers chased a screen down from the other side of the field To stop a first down on 3rd and long. Great hustle play. 

Rusty is right. One good ILB and NT away from being a consistent top 10 D. It's not a coincidence when Hawk and Jones lined up at LB Miami started peeling off 80 yard drives. 

Dominating?  I'd settle for competent.  

Why does it feel like the seasons over...

How bout enjoying this season until it is time for stress and angst over next years draft.

"The great" unbeatable seahawks are 3-2.  

A lot of football to be played all teams have weaknesses.

Jesus ****

And HaHa, and Peppers. Though Pepper's addition is getting off-set by the missing-man Matthews. 

Peppers has really improved the last two weeks.  

Neal was mostly absent yesterday, but he's been a great relief pitcher on passing downs.

Guion isn't great, but he was hurt for most all of the preseason and the first couple weeks of the regular season.  He has definitely improved over the past couple of games and has actually played well.

I really wanted CJ Mosley in this years draft (5th in the NFL in tackles) because I was sick of watching Hawk and Jones suck. When he came off the board safety became the position of need. Wasn't sure if the pick was Ward, Ha Ha, or Calvin Pryor. Pryor went right after Mosley. 

So glad Ha Ha ended up in GB. Not sure if he's making Morgan better or Morgan just needed a competent S next to him. Maybe it's both. Hawk seemed competent with Lattimore next to him. Jones and Hawk got back together yesterday and the ****ing bottom dropped out again. 

If Shields and Tramon miss extended time I'm intrigued by a defense with Hayward and House outside, Hyde in the slot, Bush at dime, and Morgan / Clinton-Dix full time at S. Provided Lattimore is back at ILB next to Hawk. 

Nick Perry continues to make plays when given snaps...gotta find a way to get him more PT

I think the defense is better than most people think it is. Keeping in mind the game has changed so much lately with the extreme emphasis on turning it into a flag football passing league.

Now you play between the twenties...tighten up in the red zone when you have a smaller field to help the defense, and simply try to  get more stops than your opponent with much less regard for giving up yardage. You simply can't stop a well executed passing play...your only hope is when you get the red zone backing you up and you can fill up the available spaces.

As long as you have a very good offense, it's becoming more like the NBA...everything is just a set up for the 4th quarter. Last team with the ball wins.

Cold Hard Football Facts is right on top of the new trends and ways to measure performance.

The most important stat that correlates the best with winning % is the Real QB rating differential. In basic terms it takes your QB efficiency and your pass defense efficiency into account to quantify it into a number.

We look to be doing relatively fine despite all the yards given up between the 20's. You won't find many teams in the playoffs unless they are on top of that list.

http://www.coldhardfootballfac...m/stats/2014/7/RQRD/

Through Week 6 of the 2014 Regular Season
Rank Team REALQBR DREALQBR RQRD
1 ∼ San Diego 110.56 82.38 28.18
2 ↑ 2 Denver 105.28 77.19 28.09
3 ∼ Green Bay 97.23 72.83 24.40
4 ↓ 2 Cincinnati 95.96 74.85 21.11
5 ∼ Indianapolis 96.31 75.68 20.63
6 ↑ 2 Detroit 80.30 64.44 15.86
7 ↓ 1 N.Y. Giants 87.15 74.22 12.93
8 ↑ 11 Baltimore 93.58 83.50 10.08
9 ↑ 3 Chicago 89.49 79.56 9.93
10 ↑ 7 New England 85.13 75.83 9.30
11 ↑ 2 Dallas 92.16 83.63 8.53
12 ↓ 3 San Francisco 85.05 76.55 8.50
13 ↑ 7 Cleveland 93.37 87.25 6.12
14 ↓ 7 Seattle 98.63 92.96 5.67
15 ↑ 1 Carolina 90.37 88.69 1.68
16 ↓ 6 Miami 78.89 77.27 1.62
17 ↓ 3 Houston 82.51 82.38 0.13
18 ↓ 7 Pittsburgh 82.21 83.98 - 1.77
19 ↑ 2 Kansas City 83.51 86.11 - 2.60
20 ↑ 2 Tennessee 77.48 82.09 - 4.61
21 ↓ 3 Atlanta 87.47 94.99 - 7.52
22 ↑ 2 Philadelphia 75.15 82.70 - 7.55
23 ↑ 2 Arizona 80.85 88.66 - 7.81
24 ↓ 9 Buffalo 79.01 86.88 - 7.87
25 ↓ 2 New Orleans 89.77 99.41 - 9.64
26 ↑ 2 Washington 81.81 100.28 - 18.47
27 ∼ St. Louis 80.70 99.39 - 18.69
28 ↑ 2 Oakland 78.90 100.40 - 21.50
29 ∼ Minnesota 62.64 85.85 - 23.21
30 ↑ 2 Jacksonville 68.83 94.39 - 25.56
31 ↓ 5 Tampa Bay 77.08 103.66 - 26.58
32 ↓ 1 N.Y. Jets 64.13 95.57 - 31.44

The defense kept us in the game yesterday in the first half while the O sputtered.

I was down on "Justa Guyon"  Guion as much as anyone.  Maybe it just took a few games for the light to go on.  Let's hope so.  And Lattimore coming back quickly.

@ Old School:

I can't wait for "the great" Kevin Sumlin to coach us next year

This reminds me of the great Winston Wolf's quote in Pulp Fiction.

Let's keep in mind that the W's have come against Geno Smith, Jay Cutler, Christian Ponder, and Ryan Tannehill. And for three of those games, the defense was still very poor for a half (1st half vs. Jets, 1st half vs. Bears, 2nd half vs. Dolphins).

So while the D has looked better since the opening day fiasco, let's see what they do against Cam Newton and Drew Brees the next two weeks. 

The D gave up 112 rushing yards to Miami. BUT 49 of those were to the QB, with 1 QB run of about 40 yards on a blown play. So in effect we held their RB's to 63 rushing yards. Not too shabby.

Course, now we get to face scam next whose ankle is finally better and he ran for over 100 on Sunday (I think I read). But, they are real thin currently at RB. So we'll see if we can contain scam. 

Per Fox yesterday, GB is #1 in INT's with 9 and #1 in T.O. differential with +7.

Helps when your QB has 15 TD passes to 1 INT.

For the last two years, when the defense HAD to stand up and get an offense off the field, they haven't done it. Yes, Miami ran a couple WTF plays on their last drive. But the defense got the ball back. 

Thats how good defenses evolve. It's not overnight. It's small steps. That D was gashed, shorthanded, and tired. But they put the ball in Rodgers hands. 

Kudos to Dom Chompers.  He sold out when he had to on that last drive even though his two nest cover corners were on the sideline.   

dom doesn't actually get credit for that, the players were just more talented that drive.

How we do against "the great" $cam Newton is the new lynchpin

Sit Shields, Williams, and Lattimore. They'll be needed for NOS.

I'd go big to stop the run and dare Newton to beat our DBs. Heyward, House, Hyde, Burnett, and HaHa versus Cam? I like that matchup. I'd also consider putting in Richardson for more run support.

The improvement from Guion the last few weeks as well as the removal of Brad Jones from ILB has helped stabilize the defense a bit. Guion needs to keep it up and hopefully Lattimore isn't out too much with his neck injury

They still need to address the middle of this defense in next years draft and need a legit stud ILB, but they have shown improvements. The OLB collection is top notch IMO, and the secondary is very deep

This run defense will never be great with this current collection they have for this season, but as long as they just keep it manageable they'll be alright. Offense has to improve though...they aren't helping this defense any by squandering so many scoring chances. The faster they put up the points, the faster they can negate an opponents run game and force htem to pass it a bit more.

If Barrington is ready to go and Lattimore is out, you have to give him the nod over Jones.  Jones got shell shocked in SEA and I don't think he will ever recover.  He has no confidence now on top of limited talent.

I don't think Bradford is ready, but if the 2 young guys are out, he is now your emergency #3.

quote:

If Barrington is ready to go and Lattimore is out, you have to give him the nod over Jones.

How many "legit stud ILB" are there in the NFL?  How many are in each draft?

We can wish for one, but getting one is another story.

There's actually no shortage of legit ILB's in the NFL. Kuechly, Willis, Bowman, Wagner, Lee, Wright, David, Mosley, Levy, Tulloch, Posluszny, Mayo, Timmons. Crap, Dansby is still serviceable. I'm sure I'm leaving plenty off the list. 

GB has simply opted not to target ILB at the front end of the draft for a long while. But there are plenty of good ones to be had and is not overly difficult position to fill. You just have to make it a priority to go and find them. 

That makes me wonder why it's so difficult to find a decent ILB. What is it that the current players are lacking?  Intelligence?  Instincts?  Size?  Speed? 

They're missing all of the above, depending on player.

Hawk lacks size, speed and apparently instincts.  With a good ILB next to him the best comparison to Hawk is Genital Warts: it won't kill you but will lead to some mighty uncomfortable moments.

Jones lacks size, instincts, health and confidence. At least he has speed.

Lattimore lacks instincts and speed.

Stud would be nice, Solid would be nice, heck, serviceable would be nice. There are probably around 15-20 really good or promissing ILBs in the league, maybe a few more. Willis, Bowman, Kuechley, Dansby, Derrick Johnson, Mayo, Poz, Wagner, Timmons, Laurinaitis, Mossely, Shazier, Alonso, Tulloch, D'Qwell Jackson, Jerrell Freman, Sean Lee, Daryl Smith, David Harris and even Manti Te'o is starting to look pretty good off the top of my head.

TT hasn't made it a priority to find a good ILB. Other than going up to get Clay I don't think he's used a pick higher than the 4th round on a LB in the last 6 years. 

Mosley Shazier are both going to be good. Even Christian Kirksey (Browns 3rd round) looks like a really solid starter playing middle in a 3-4. 

I don't think it's a hard position to fill. It just get's harder when your using picks rounds 4 through UDFA. 

Picking a stud ILB is hard.  Unless we want to aspire to bottom conference dwelling, then the chances of getting a good ILB in the top portion of the draft is tough.  Trade up?  Good idea....only if it pans out.  You shoot for the BPA and hope that you find a gem in the rough.  Injuries happen, players don't develop like they should, loss through FA, etc.  All problems of building (and maintaining) a top notch team.

ILB is not considered a premium position like pass rushers and Quarterbacks, so those guys tend to slide a bit.

Good question Doc and one answer is Speed.

The old school ILBs had to be thumpers, now they have to excel in coverage which means speed, speed, speed

You can read more here:

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/07/...wman-derrick-johnson

"In the NFL, defense is changing, and the inside linebacker positions are changing with it. Over the last two seasons, nickel defenses have been the league's base designs, meaning that more than ever, teams are taking at least one of their starting linebackers off the field on first and second downs in favor of another defensive back. This is in response to an increase in three- and four-receiver sets on former running downs, and it forces those linebackers who stay on the field to do more than perhaps they've ever had to before.

In past eras, middle and inside linebackers could hide between the guards and be pure thumpers; the Ray Lewises and Jack Lamberts of the world were the exception, not the rule. These days, if all you can do is stop the run, you'll be a situational player at best. Some pundits have said the traditional inside 'backer is a dying breed, and that's true to a very large degree. The best inside guys must be full-field defenders, and there's no question that the physical dimensions have changed. Now, as it was in the 1970s, you can play middle linebacker at 230 pounds -- the difference is that the players you're playing against have modern heights and weights.

It's a difficult thing to do; to weigh aggressive run-stopping with elite pass coverage, and it's why the best inside men are so valuable"

That's also why you see some teams using a "big safety" in that nickle role occasionally Their jobs are changing and their value is going up IF they are fast enough to cover. Teams are willing to live with some run deficiencies in order to have better pass coverage

Shazier is one example( small and fast) and he went # 15 to a team that runs a similar defense.

I've been hoping for this with Richardson. Dom is an ageist though, no trust in the young-ins.

I agree--Richardson would be better than Jones.

Richardson actually seems to hit harder than Hawk and is definitely faster. I think it's worth a try, but Hawk won't be replaced in our lifetime. He sold his soul to the devil for ten years at the position. It's not MM or Dom writing him in, it's the Devil, and he's laughing at us on every Hawk pile on. BTW, I think Jones played better than Hawk. Jones missed tackles and had a facemask while sacking the QB. Hawk was rarely in position to miss a tackle and never got close to the QB.

Hawk is so slow it's embarrassing. the post above discussing the evolution of the position in today's NFL and the need for speed shows the game has passed him by, no matter how reliable he is about getting people in the right positions.

Jones sucks. Hawk is a FA after next year. 

And that will be the end of that....

Need hot nasty bad ass speed.