Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
We say that a lot but may I ask what it is we lack?
Nnadi and Saunders are big ****ing guys. As is Dunlap. Karlaftis is strong at the point of attack and then of course there's Frank Clark: Elite Edge Setter.
At LBer we have Bolton who's just a damn tackling machine as well as Gay who's speed allows him to flash into a gap, get a guy to commit and then get out of it before the G should be able to get to him.
And the DBs, apart from Thornhill, are all really willing, sound tacklers.
This team SHOULDN'T struggle against the run, at least not from a personnel standpoint. If we want to stop it, we can.
Run defense is about discipline and attitude. This team is MUCH better situated to be stout against the run than, say, the 2019 unit that stoned Derrick Henry.
Just gotta want to...
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Honestly, I don't know, just know that we can stop the run situationally, because we have, many times. But for a whole game? Not excited to see that. And I really like both Nnadi and Saunders, but I'm beginning to believe that they're no more than decent rotational talent. I'm hoping Williams will be kind of our 2023 Pennel, tbh. Not worried about either Frank or Carlos vs. the run when they're out there, but the guys behind them aren't the best run-stoppers in the world. And to be honest I don't think Frank is what he was in some ways in 2019 in terms of run defense.
Anyway, more than the runs, the defense has to somehow consistently muck up the underneath routes, which is mostly on Bolton and Gay in coverage. I think they've flashed some good coverage snaps, but they've also definitely had some bad ones. Recently.
Maybe J. Reid when he's close to the box. Maybe there's a way to have Cook in/around the box on early downs? He's looked pretty good vs. the run, I think.
Yeah, CIN is so variable in their attack and looks, I just don't know exactly how we're supposed to attack them, other than get a lead and make them one dimensional as possible. The hows of it are a puzzle.