OK, let's talk a little D here......

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

the other monster is Ahmad Brooks , and he's a true MLB

He has had a solid year, shows good batural ability to shed blockers and tackles well.

Wonder if he would fall to the 2nd round ?

DV and CP need to address as much help as we can in FA, we need playmakers now, then fill in with the draft.

[Gaz]

I wonder if that is not a result of Gunther’s strategy to stop the run first.

BTW, I agree that our LB corps is a real problem.

xoxo~
Gaz
Pensive this morning.

[BigRedChief]

DV said at his press conference that they have the defensive players in place that the issue is coaching. Doesn't see a need to make major changes on the defense. Swear to god. Hear it from his own mouth. About choked to death on my leftover turkey.

[DaWolf]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

DV said at his press conference that they have the defensive players in place that the issue is coaching. Doesn't see a need to make major changes on the defense. Swear to god. Hear it from his own mouth. About choked to death on my leftover turkey.

I think a lot of it is still the coaching. Gunther is a good coordinator when he's got his type of players playing for him, but he isn't one to adjust or innovate to the talent he has. He knows one way to play D, and that is to attack and create turnovers. His D has always taken chances and given up big plays. It was offset by getting big plays of their own, and more often. But it's not something that is gonna work if you don't have playmakers, and it's not something that's gonna be able to mask talent that isn't the greatest, like a Bellichik could probably do. Now I know that we all feel we have a lack of talent at D, but as the old NFL saying goes, "Every team has talent, it just comes down to how you use the talent." San Diego's D was rated right about where ours was last year. They bring in Wade Phillips, make a few changes, he changes to a 3-4, and viola, they are now a good defense that can stop the run.

This is not to say that we don't need to upgrade the talent, only a blind man and Carl Peterson would think that. We need IMO a huge upgrade at linebacker (I've been saying that since we idiotically handed the MLB job to Mike MaSLOWski) and we've gotta find someone who can rush the passer, otherwise QB's can just do whatever the heck they want out there (and we need better corners, but what else is new). Gun can be successful if he can bring in more of his types of players. But I still think this group of players, if coached better and coached differently, could perform at a better level than they are today. Not top 10 level, but a better level. The assistants, Gun, the front office, they all deserve some of the blame. The players deserve most of it. It has been a poorly coached defense, and the players have played undisciplined football.

But it is not a problem that can't be fixed in one offseason, IMO. A few player additions and lineup changes, an impact draft pick, a couple of assistant coaching changes on the staff, and an offseason focus on fundamentals and discipline and our D could be having a similar turnaround to what San Diego's or Atlanta's has done...