Bob Sutton

[ThaVirus]

1. Make sure Dunta Robinson never saw the field. I'll never understand why Ron Parker didn't see more coverage snaps in the playoff game.

2. Replace Kendrick Lewis with Abdullah or Berry. It's my opinion that Berry should have been our starting FS and Abdullah our starting SS with Demps as the first S coming off the bench.

3. Rotate more often, specifically on the defensive line. Poe was our only hope for a pass rush from a down lineman and we ran him into the ground all season long. Reduce his snaps by about 25% next season.

4. Make better adjustments. There were times when he made great adjustments (benching Robinson after he got torched by Victor Cruz and blitzing more against Houston in the second half) but there were many more when he didn't, specifically against Denver and San Diego (he never came up with an answer to stop those crossing routes) and worst of all the Colts. I may not get paid for this but I have common sense and it tells me when you're hemorrhaging yards and TDs doing one thing, you switch the shit up to counter it.

5. Practice/run more zone coverage. I hate to be the copy cat but Seattle runs a shit ton of zone and it's what makes their D so ferocious, among many other things. The thing specifically about the zone is that it keeps all eyes in front of you. That means there are often more chances to break up passes, tip balls for INTs, lay big hits (especially on crossing routes), and gang tackle. I'm aware that we probably just don't have the personnel to effectively run a disciplined zone defense but we need to try. Run that shit in practice and bring in some guys that can do both man and zone and do them well.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

1. Make sure Dunta Robinson never saw the field. I'll never understand why Ron Parker didn't see more coverage snaps in the playoff game.

We saw Parker make plays as a blitzer, but we have no idea how he works in coverage.
I agree, though, that is one thing that Sutton could have tried, but at the same time, he also has the benefit of actually seeing Parker in practice.

2. Replace Kendrick Lewis with Abdullah or Berry. It's my opinion that Berry should have been our starting FS and Abdullah our starting SS with Demps as the first S coming off the bench.

I am not convinced that Abdullah has the tools to play the single high safety position, and he lacks the versatility to be moved around in the defense that Berry brings to the field.

But, again, it might have been worth a look.

3. Rotate more often, specifically on the defensive line. Poe was our only hope for a pass rush from a down lineman and we ran him into the ground all season long. Reduce his snaps by about 25% next season.

Agree with this.

4. Make better adjustments. There were times when he made great adjustments (benching Robinson after he got torched by Victor Cruz and blitzing more against Houston in the second half) but there were many more when he didn't, specifically against Denver and San Diego (he never came up with an answer to stop those crossing routes) and worst of all the Colts. I may not get paid for this but I have common sense and it tells me when you're hemorrhaging yards and TDs doing one thing, you switch the shit up to counter it..

The best way to stop those crossing routes, and really, any other short passes is sound fundamental tackling.
Those passes are going to be completed a majority of the time, so you have to minimize the gains, which forces the offense to start looking for bigger chunks in the passing game, allowing the pass rushers to get more pressure.

5. Practice/run more zone coverage. I hate to be the copy cat but Seattle runs a shit ton of zone and it's what makes their D so ferocious, among many other things. The thing specifically about the zone is that it keeps all eyes in front of you. That means there are often more chances to break up passes, tip balls for INTs, lay big hits (especially on crossing routes), and gang tackle. I'm aware that we probably just don't have the personnel to effectively run a disciplined zone defense but we need to try. Run that shit in practice and bring in some guys that can do both man and zone and do them well.

Cooper might/probaly would have benefitted from more practice in zone, but, at the same time, you might not want to overload him too early in his progression as a corner.
We know, however, that Sean Smith has historically sucked in zone.

Not sure this works at all.

But this is one of only two responses to the question that I have posed that really legitimately address the question.

Good post.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by milkman

We saw Parker make plays as a blitzer, but we have no idea how he works in coverage.
I agree, though, that is one thing that Sutton could have tried, but at the same time, he also has the benefit of actually seeing Parker in practice.

We don't but, again, I partially have to blame him for that. In this league, you never know who you're going to be missing week in and week out. Guys get dinged up and miss plays, others get seriously injured and miss weeks. That's one of the main reasons you have depth.

It's not like our coverage schemes are all that difficult anyway. We were running man most of the time. He either could do it or he couldn't; there isn't much of a mental aspect involved.

We know for a fact that Dunta couldn't do it so why wasn't Parker given the opportunity? Honestly, is there any possible way that he could have been worse?

I am not convinced that Abdullah has the tools to play the single high safety position, and he lacks the versatility to be moved around in the defense that Berry brings to the field.

But, again, it might have been worth a look.

You might be right although I'd say he's likely faster than Lewis because Kendrick is slow as dog shit.

They were right to bring him along slowly to begin the season, having been away from football for a while, but it's hard for me to imagine that he'd have been worse than Kendrick by about week 13 or so.

Placing him at SS and Berry at FS likely would have forced us to change up some of our looks but we so desperately needed someone capable at FS. I think the drop off from Berry to Abdullah would have been outweighed heavily by the upgrade from Lewis to Berry.

The best way to stop those crossing routes, and really, any other short passes is sound fundamental tackling.
Those passes are going to be completed a majority of the time, so you have to minimize the gains, which forces the offense to start looking for bigger chunks in the passing game, allowing the pass rushers to get more pressure.

Cooper might/probaly would have benefitted from more practice in zone, but, at the same time, you might not want to overload him too early in his progression as a corner.
We know, however, that Sean Smith has historically sucked in zone.

Not sure this works at all.

But this is one of only two responses to the question that I have posed that really legitimately address the question.

Good post.

Right, which is why I like zone more when it comes to defending those especially considering they're two of our division rival's bread and butter plays. If we've got 4, 5, 6 or 7 sets of eyes in coverage all looking in front of them, we'll likely have a better chance to lay some clean licks on guys streaking across the field as well as the opportunity to put more bodies on them if they're able to make the catch.

I just got tired of seeing Peyton dump off a quick hitter to a guy on a drag route with one of our CBs 2 or 3 yards behind him in pursuit, only to allow 10 additional YAC because everyone's eyes are on their man.

I'm sure it's not so simple as saying "Let's run moe zone!" but it is something that needs to be addressed. It's not like our personnel is way off. Flowers is strong in zone while Smith isn't but Cooper is sort of a blank slate. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens after the draft..