Merged Criticism Of Our Defense Threads

[PuRock]

[quote name='K-Dog' date='04 October 2009 - 09:16 PM' timestamp='1254705362' post='249364']
ask me a week ago and I would have said no.
Today, although I thought our D played up to par and then some, I didnt see the pressure on Princess Bardy that I was expecting to see.

Ryan has a knack for looks and blits packages that we have not sparked this season.
[/quote]

Speaking of Ryan. Did anyone see the stupid look on his face when he realized he was going to lose today? Priceless.

[K-Dog]

who did they play?

[biggkatt01]

Ok as I sated earlier, Rex gave a blueprint on how to stop the Patriots. and yes if the defensive players are not tackling yes its Mattison's fault as I also stated earlier that's the job of the defensive coordinator in practice.

the evidence of the pure skills that Mattison has at running a defense became evident frrom the 4 preseason games and our first 4 regular season games. if you are anyway a Ravens fan you would know how our defense runs and how our defensive plays are called Marvin could run a defense Mike could run a defense Rex could run a defense and the reason they could is because they knew what calls to make and in what situation to make them.

Mattison in no way can call a defensive game plan this year if we have to make a play on defense it will have to be called from the field because Mattison doesn't know what to do. if you don't believe what I speak wait until next week against the Bengals all my point will be made then it will be a loss because of the defensive plays called by Mattison.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='biggkatt01' date='04 October 2009 - 07:23 PM' timestamp='1254705784' post='249375']
Ok as I sated earlier, Rex gave a blueprint on how to stop the Patriots. and yes if the defensive players are not tackling yes its Mattison's fault as I also stated earlier that's the job of the defensive coordinator in practice.

the evidence of the pure skills that Mattison has at running a defense became evident frrom the 4 preseason games and our first 4 regular season games. if you are anyway a Ravens fan you would know how our defense runs and how our defensive plays are called Marvin could run a defense Mike could run a defense Rex could run a defense and the reason they could is because they knew what calls to make and in what situation to make them.

Mattison in no way can call a defensive game plan this year if we have to make a play on defense it will have to be called from the field because Mattison doesn't know what to do. if you don't believe what I speak wait until next week against the Bengals all my point will be made then it will be a loss because of the defensive plays called by Mattison.
[/quote]
Next week poses a unique challenge, but are you really stating we're going to lose today? Palmer hasnt looked to hot this year, and they've relied on Benson alot, ill be surprised if Benson runs for 70-90 yards on us like he has been doing.

[neepo13]

[quote name='flynismo' date='04 October 2009 - 08:55 PM' timestamp='1254704103' post='249335']
Interesting. So it's Mattison's fault that Foxworth let Moss go into the end zone uncontested? It's his fault that nobody on this team seems to remember how to tackle, instead of being drug down the field 5-7 yards first? It's his fault we got 9 penalties?
I'm not holding him faultless, but you know what? At the end of the day, it all comes down to our guys executing the play they are assigned to make.
[/quote]
Come on man, Mattison cant go blameless here. Its his job to make sure his guys are in position to make a play, its his job to make sure his guys are using good techique, and its his job to make sure that his guys are playing disciplined. The defense didnt play well and wasnt just because of the players, coaching had something to with it to.

I am not ready to throw in the towel on Mattison but I said when they hired him that I would have prefered that they go with Chuck Pagano. There is something about Mattison that doesnt fit this team. He seems content with just having great players and allowing them to run the show. I didnt care for Nolan but even he was willing to get on Ray and put him in his place. If Mattison has to do that, I am not sure he can.

[neepo13]

[quote name='K-Dog' date='04 October 2009 - 09:16 PM' timestamp='1254705362' post='249364']
ask me a week ago and I would have said no.
Today, although I thought our D played up to par and then some, I didnt see the pressure on Princess Bardy that I was expecting to see.

Ryan has a knack for looks and blits packages that we have not sparked this season.
[/quote]
Ryans blitzs hurt us as much as they helped us. I am not in love with Mattison but even still I am not sure I'd be willing to go back to a blitz happy coach like Rex. We need to find someone who's going to be balanced.

[biggkatt01]

Yes well guess what that blitz happy defense ranked 2nd in the Nfl last year lets look at this year REx Ryans blitz happy defense ranks 3rd in the league ours ranks number 8 in the league [url="http://http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2009&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=TOTAL_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1"]My link[/url] as I said before its knowing when and when not to call a blitz Mattison thinks he's still in the SEC coaching the defense for Florida this aint college its the big show and in the NFL if you give a NFL quaterback 20 years to throw the ball you will get burned you have to know when to call the blitz what kind of blitz to call and how to cover it up, our blitzes have been easy to see so we are getting burned.

But the blitz happy Jets seem to be using it good they beat the Patriots how bout us. and yes Carson Palmer is not playing well but if Mattison calls another game like he has been calling this year Palmer will make him pay.

I believe Mattisons hire was a stupid one and this year we will regret it. Our defense is becoming a joke and it's because of his play calling and lack of play calling.

[biggkatt01]

oh and by the way check the stats on NFL.com our defense run by Mr Mattison has given up 80 points this year already the Rams have given up less than that how sad is that.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='biggkatt01' date='04 October 2009 - 07:47 PM' timestamp='1254707229' post='249408']
Yes well guess what that blitz happy defense ranked 2nd in the Nfl last year lets look at this year REx Ryans blitz happy defense ranks 3rd in the league ours ranks number 8 in the league [url="http://http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2009&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=TOTAL_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1"]My link[/url] as I said before its knowing when and when not to call a blitz Mattison thinks he's still in the SEC coaching the defense for Florida this aint college its the big show and in the NFL if you give a NFL quaterback 20 years to throw the ball you will get burned you have to know when to call the blitz what kind of blitz to call and how to cover it up, our blitzes have been easy to see so we are getting burned.

But the blitz happy Jets seem to be using it good they beat the Patriots how bout us. and yes Carson Palmer is not playing well but if Mattison calls another game like he has been calling this year Palmer will make him pay.

I believe Mattisons hire was a stupid one and this year we will regret it. Our defense is becoming a joke and it's because of his play calling and lack of play calling.
[/quote]

Jets have Darrell Revis ******, we've gone over this the last 2 weeks. Rex could blitz 7 all game long cuz Welker wasnt playing and Revis shut Moss out. We DONT have CLOSE to SHUTDOWN CORNERS. How the hell are you gonna blitz with Foxworth and Washington in the secondary. We had to have the slot covered with LBs cuz of Welker, the Jets DID NOT. Palmer didnt even make the Browns pay today so where do you get off saying that. To say our Defense is a joke just flat out pisses me off. We held a fully loaded Pats offense to 27 points, and 14 of those came on personal foul penalties when we stopped them on 3rd down. ALSO we sacked Brady twice, and Brady has only been sacked once this entire year. Front 7 played well, very well, Welker had like 50 yards. Its our secondary, theyre inexperienced and timid.

[biggkatt01]

Ok so lets get this straight we going to be getting copouts here am I correct, penalties dont make me laugh come on man you get a penalty and so what they still should have held the Patriots to 2 field goals but they didn't did they, ah we sacked Brady 2 times but guess what smarty he threw us to death he threw where he wanted when he wanted keep the excuses up for the pitiful job the defense has done.

Ok what excuse would you like to give everyone for giving up 80 points so far stats don't lie they tell the tail there are teams in this league bad teams who's defense have given up less points. if the defense was so good we wouldn't be 8th in total defense. You can say and give whatever excuse you want my friend everyone has seen and said this doesn't look like a Baltimore Ravens defense the only thing that has changed is the coordinators. enough said.

[flynismo]

[quote name='neepo13' date='04 October 2009 - 09:28 PM' timestamp='1254706108' post='249384']
Come on man, Mattison cant go blameless here. Its his job to make sure his guys are in position to make a play, its his job to make sure his guys are using good techique, and its his job to make sure that his guys are playing disciplined. The defense didnt play well and wasnt just because of the players, coaching had something to with it to.

I am not ready to throw in the towel on Mattison but I said when they hired him that I would have prefered that they go with Chuck Pagano. There is something about Mattison that doesnt fit this team. He seems content with just having great players and allowing them to run the show. I didnt care for Nolan but even he was willing to get on Ray and put him in his place. If Mattison has to do that, I am not sure he can.
[/quote]

As I said, I'm not holding Matty faultless.
But imagine yourself covering someone. Are you going to blame your coach if he beats you? Or even better, do you blame your coach when a RB drags you 7 yards downfield?

[Bltravens]

You got to be kidding me. We played 2 of the most potent offenses in the league in our first 4 games. Did you think we would hold the Pats and Chargers to 10 points? . Our defense didnt give up the ST touchdown the Chiefs got, and what do you expect the D to do when Flacco throws a pick that goes to our own 5. Then the Chargers who have the SECOND BEST passing offense in the NFL right now scored 26 against our questionable secondary again thats a clear mismatch and our defense held strong in the redzone. Then we played the Pats, who arguably have a top 3 QB of all time and a top 5 WR of all time and we hold them to 27 with questionable refereeing. We dont have the PERSONNEL to be a stingy dominating defense and Rex took his scheme with him, Mattison doesnt know the ins and outs of Rex's scheme so how could he use the same scheme, only Rex does. Why do you think nobody but Buddy Ryan could call his 4-6? And why nobody else used it. Thats not what this years D is about, it cant do it, our corners are weak and inexperienced the SD game showed we have to give them help over the top meaning we CANT blitz all kinds. Rex has a unique scheme that covered our secondary problems last year but lets be real Rolle is an improvement over Foxworth as of right now. To say our D is a joke is sickening, its not the same defense because the personnel is different, how can you fault Mattison for this. He doesn't pick who the team brings in and losing Rolle cost him a quality nickel corner, now he has to play Carr. Its not like hes working with a whole lot in the secondary.

And FYI Brady threw for 250 on us and 1 TD....not exactly tearing us to shreds.

[flynismo]

[quote name='biggkatt01' date='04 October 2009 - 10:18 PM' timestamp='1254709101' post='249459']
if the defense was so good we wouldn't be 8th in total defense.
[/quote]

What little credibility you may have had just went down the toilet with this gem.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='flynismo' date='04 October 2009 - 08:42 PM' timestamp='1254710531' post='249517']
What little credibility you may have had just went down the toilet with this gem.
[/quote]
Im not alone in this fight right? Granted we're not the same defense but how the hell are we supposed to be the same with a different scheme and less quality DBs.

[biggkatt01]

And how many defensive coordinators have we had since Marvin Lewis and all of them have come in and kept our defense with personnel changes at the top of it's game. I can't believe you are going to use the excuse that we have different personnel after all the changes this defense has had over the years we always change personnel every year.

Come on man I can't believe that you are going to use that as your argument don't make us laugh here man that is a lame excuse Mike Nolan had personnel changes excellent defense, Rex Ryan had personnel changes excellent defense like I said the only change that matters this year is they chose to give the keys to a Rolls Royce defense to a teenager and expect that he wouldn't have a horrible horrible wreck in the first 4 games this teenager Mattison has wrecked our Rolls Royce and they have given us a Toyota Camry as a rental.

Mattison needs to be demoted and a real defensive coach needs to be hired. also your argument is flawed look at Denver last years defense was terrible he gained a aging CB in dawkins but guess what his defense is ranked #1 in the league because his coaching and his schemes, where is Mattisons schemes i'll tell you he's using college schemes ones run by Florida that's great for Florida but this is the NFL not college the big boys play here he's stuck thinking he's coaching college players he aint and he needs to go period.

[flynismo]

[quote name='Bltravens' date='04 October 2009 - 10:43 PM' timestamp='1254710635' post='249523']
Im not alone in this fight right? Granted we're not the same defense but how the hell are we supposed to be the same with a different scheme and less quality DBs.
[/quote]

This is definitely not all Matty's fault. Not even close. He has less talent to work with than any of the other DC's had since 2000.

But, he doesn't get off the hook either, he needs to make some adjustments as well.

[Bltravens]

Your SEC claims with Mattison are laughable at best, your a joke. The personnel changes you speak of you know what Nolan, Rex, Lewis all had? A shutdown corner, his name was Chris McAlister he was pretty good 2000-2006. WhenRex had a superior scheme that masked our DBs, but against good QBs the result was the same last year. In 2007 we were 16th against the pass, thats not a "Rolls Royce" defense right there. Mattison doesnt have a shutdown corner that the Ravens have always enjoyed with C-Mac. And guess what only Rex has his scheme so Mattison cant use that, he doesnt know its idiosyncrasies so that would have disaster written all over it. I would have had no problem bringing back Mike Nolan and Im not saying Mattison is free of blame or questioning. But you come on here flat out saying our D is garbage, what do you expect people to do agree with you, get real. Nolan's defense were basically the same his tenure, Weaver and Gregg on the line, Boulware, Hartwell and Lewis at LB and he had Suggs and AD step into the lineup in '04 both future pro bowlers. On the backend he had Reed when he was healthy, CMac when he was the best corner in the game, and Baxter and Demps with them...all 4 years. So its not a drastic change there either like you so claim it to be. Rex inherited a defense that had Suggs and AD outside Lewis and Scott in the middle (4 Pro bowlers) and Rolle and Cmac when they were in the last year healthy 2 very good corners. Only new face for Rex was Landry and he had 5 sacks and 3 ints in 06. As you can see our corner situation has never been this dire before.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='flynismo' date='04 October 2009 - 09:10 PM' timestamp='1254712239' post='249574']
This is definitely not all Matty's fault. Not even close. He has less talent to work with than any of the other DC's had since 2000.

But, he doesn't get off the hook either, he needs to make some adjustments as well.
[/quote]
Ya which is all im saying, Mattison needs to figure out how to use this defense. But at the same time this isnt the same talented, sickening defense we've always had.

[biggkatt01]

[quote name='Bltravens' date='04 October 2009 - 10:21 PM' timestamp='1254712900' post='249601']
Your SEC claims with Mattison are laughable at best, your a joke. The personnel changes you speak of you know what Nolan, Rex, Lewis all had? A shutdown corner, his name was Chris McAlister he was pretty good 2000-2006. WhenRex had a superior scheme that masked our DBs, but against good QBs the result was the same last year. In 2007 we were 16th against the pass, thats not a "Rolls Royce" defense right there. Mattison doesnt have a shutdown corner that the Ravens have always enjoyed with C-Mac. And guess what only Rex has his scheme so Mattison cant use that, he doesnt know its idiosyncrasies so that would have disaster written all over it. I would have had no problem bringing back Mike Nolan and Im not saying Mattison is free of blame or questioning. But you come on here flat out saying our D is garbage, what do you expect people to do agree with you, get real. Nolan's defense were basically the same his tenure, Weaver and Gregg on the line, Boulware, Hartwell and Lewis at LB and he had Suggs and AD step into the lineup in '04 both future pro bowlers. On the backend he had Reed when he was healthy, CMac when he was the best corner in the game, and Baxter and Demps with them...all 4 years. So its not a drastic change there either like you so claim it to be. Rex inherited a defense that had Suggs and AD outside Lewis and Scott in the middle (4 Pro bowlers) and Rolle and Cmac when they were in the last year healthy 2 very good corners. Only new face for Rex was Landry and he had 5 sacks and 3 ints in 06. As you can see our corner situation has never been this dire before.
[/quote]

I'm glad you don't do this for a living evry expert everyone that herad that claim about mcalister laughed he was never a shut down corner never and like I said learn something about the game and our coordinator learn the scheme he is trying to run is the same that the College Florida Gators run learn something.

Nola is using the same players on the Bronco's team that where horrible by everyone's account last year this year there way better, see your one of those fans that say hey were great even though the defense is at days end now ranked #9 in the league we let a winless team in KC score 24 points I sure am glad we don't have the Redskins here because you would try to tell us the loss to Detroit wasn't that bad.

If you claim you know football you would know this is going downhill quick his defensive plans will never work here but keep trying to tell everyone it will.We have to be able to admit when something isn't working if you think in our division that you can work with no real defensive scheme your just nuts Matttison is calling blitzes at the wrong time he's calling the wrong defensive plays it's going downhill.

[flynismo]

[quote name='biggkatt01' date='04 October 2009 - 11:58 PM' timestamp='1254715084' post='249637']
I'm glad you don't do this for a living evry expert everyone that herad that claim about mcalister laughed he was never a shut down corner never and like I said learn something about the game and our coordinator learn the scheme he is trying to run is the same that the College Florida Gators run learn something.

Nola is using the same players on the Bronco's team that where horrible by everyone's account last year this year there way better, see your one of those fans that say hey were great even though the defense is at days end now ranked #9 in the league we let a winless team in KC score 24 points I sure am glad we don't have the Redskins here because you would try to tell us the loss to Detroit wasn't that bad.

If you claim you know football you would know this is going downhill quick his defensive plans will never work here but keep trying to tell everyone it will.We have to be able to admit when something isn't working if you think in our division that you can work with no real defensive scheme your just nuts Matttison is calling blitzes at the wrong time he's calling the wrong defensive plays it's going downhill.
[/quote]

Dude, not trying to be a ****, but please use a little punctuation, your posts are very hard to read.

[rlh445]

I guess I would agree to a point..the defensive coordinator DOES make a difference. I have seen countless posts from Ravens fans saying that it doesn't matter WHO we plug into the DC spot, because we've had a lot of DC's and the defense has for the most part stayed the same, which is *almost* true. With the logic I have sometimes seen here and other Ravens message boards, I could become the DC for the Ravens and we'd still be a top five defense, which is ludicrous. Yes, I think that Mattison needs to go back to the drawing board with his guys and tighten the ship. Instill some discipline, help them focus. But for the most part, we're doing okay and although we're giving up tons of passing yards, we've almost always done that. And yea, Cmac was definitely a shut down cornerback, period. He had size, speed, hands, and instinct. And we all took him for granted. So now, we've got Fox and Fabs, two kind of small corners who are fast, but not as physical and although it seems as if the instincts are there, the fundamentals maybe not so much. Mattison needs to WORK on that.

[RaK427]

I have to agree that our defense sucking this year is on Mattison, we couldn't get Brady off the field today when we needed it and that's something I think that Ryan would have arranged. His defensive schemes seem too easy to read and they aren't reaching the QB fast enough, even our blitzes leave enough time for QBs to get rid of the ball, which in past seasons was not the case. Finally, offenses are seemingly marching down the field on us when we have IMO the best linebacking core in the NFL, the best safety to play the game and some of the best pass rushers. I also believe in at least Washington at cb, and Foxworth's speed has to count for something. Our defensive failures rest on our defensive coordinating; quick at cb (no matter how small), amazing linebacking and a safety you can't put the ball in the air anywhere near, if coached and coordinated properly should result in a shutdown defense no matter who you play. I feel as if I have given our D-line and pass rush enough love so let me also say that suggs, ngata, pryce and gregg are also among the leagues elite. To take all these players, all that talent, have an offense play as well as ours and then perform so poorly on defense is pathetic. Mattison is a bust.

p.s. cut carr, give williams and kruger some play time.

[ravens1977]

[quote name='raven46' date='04 October 2009 - 06:18 PM' timestamp='1254694706' post='249100']
They were pretty disciplined. Sorry if Ngatas pinky finger touched Tom Brady's god-like helmet. Sorry if Suggs accidental fell near Tom's precious legs(I'm not disagreeing with this specific call but if that was Joe would we get a flag?). Too bad they don't care about enough when he gets pushed back and injures one of our O-line.
[/quote]
I know we lost the game and it's stings badly but at least Joe Flacco took his hits like a man. Tom Brady is an over-grown Ken doll, he's constantly crying for a flag to be thrown for him. Watch it Tom, KARMA IS BEHIND YOU!

[uamaukeeaokaainaikapono]

So Clayton's drop was a heart breaker. So we were yards away from winning. So more than a few bad calls came our way. Our loss to the Patriots today certainly engenders a whole number of questions to be answered for our team. But more than the drops and miscues, what I'm most concerned about is our pass defense.

I just checked the stats, and going into week 5, we are the 23rd ranked unit in terms of pass defense. [i][/i]23rd.

(http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=TEAM_PASSING&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2009&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=PASSING_NET_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1)

For Baltimore Ravens football, finishing 20th or below in any defensive category seems like heresy. So I want to hear what you think. How concerned are you about our secondary? Was Rex Ryan's departure really so devastating to our defensive unit as a whole? Am I overreacting? Do you think our stout defense, and newly sound offense can carry the load?

[pafan]

I posted last week my concerns for the secondary. 23rd, I'm not suprised. Ashamed but not suprised. As for Rex Ryans departure having that big of an impact, I would say only if the players he left totally forgot how to play ball this off season. Lets remember though, they almost beat the PATS. Not the Browns, not the Lions, the PATS. Our secondary weren't the ones dropping passes on the last drive. If we can stage a game winning drive like that (forget dropped passes) we will be ok. Prediction: 12-4 or 11-5.

[Chi_Town_Raven]

10-6 or 9-7

[Gtown Purple]

Our pass defense is different than in years past. Foxworth and washing are not mcallster and rolle. They will not get in your face and be phyiscal. They are content to play 5-10 yards off. Our pass defense is getting exposed because our down 4 and blitzes aren't getting there in time. The difference between this year's defense and last year's with rex Ryan is marked. Where are the exotic looks?

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Gtown Purple' date='05 October 2009 - 07:41 AM' timestamp='1254742918' post='249812']
Where are the exotic looks?
[/quote]
In the Superdome yesterday with Rex Ryan, exposed by the New Orleans Saints.

There's a reason why these exotic looks are rarely effective against [i]good[/i] teams. They're gimmicky and are sometimes too agressive for their own good. Sure, we were proud to have a top 5 defense for so long, but top 10 is just as good. I'll gladly take the drop into the bottom of the top 10 if it means having a top 10 offense to match. After all, you score points to win the game, right?

The inherent weakness with an exotic scheme is that there is always a vulnerability due to the overload of blitzers. Good QBs will always find that soft spot; it may not be early in the game, but they'll find it at a crucial moment and exploit it for the remainder of the game. The idea behind the scheme is to confuse the QB and not give them enough time to make a decision, but good QBs with good pocket prescence will always find a way to buy time -- hence why Ben Roethlisberger made plays in the clutch in all three games last season. It's a hard pill to swallow, but we need to accept that this is still a good defense. It may not be a great defense, but there is always a sacrifice to be had for finding balance as a unit.

Or would you rather revisit the Kyle Boller days and be uneasy whenever Joe Flacco steps onto the field? There are people who will argue that it's possible to have the best of both worlds -- but that's rare and is hardly maintained consistently over a period of time. So we should accept whatever balance we can get and be happy with it.

We're 3-1, folks. We went toe-to-toe with a three-time Super Bowl Champion that everyone considers elite. We rattled one of the best QBs to ever play the game. We shut down one of the best WRs to ever play the game for the majority of the game. We almost outsmarted one of the best head coaches to ever stand on a sideline. We came within 6 points of upsetting one of the very best in the league, on their own turf. We had no reason to keep the game that close, but we did. Be happy that we're still #1 in the division and played well against a good team, in a game we felt we should've won.

[Gtown Purple]

I'm not sure if this entire post was directed at me but I mentioned the exotic looks because they worked for us last year play Rex Ryan's defense played pretty well against the best offense in the league yesterday.

The bottom line is our defense isn't getting the same amount of pressure this year and the exotic packages create havoc for offensive lines. Watching film of Brady's last 3 games shows if you get pressure up the middle he gets antsy yet both of our actual sacks came from the edge. The reason we are getting torched in the passing game is a good part due to the lack of rush and when we do get there lack of good tackling.


I don't want to go back to the boller days. I don't think I think I even mentioned his name in my original post. I enjoy watching Flacco and I'm behind him 100 percent. This year he's played well for the most part.

I'm happy we are 3-1, it's alot better than some other teams but this thread is about a piss poor game, alot of it on defense. Lets keep this thread on topic.


[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='05 October 2009 - 08:46 AM' timestamp='1254746771' post='249843']
In the Superdome yesterday with Rex Ryan, exposed by the New Orleans Saints.

There's a reason why these exotic looks are rarely effective against [i]good[/i] teams. They're gimmicky and are sometimes too agressive for their own good. Sure, we were proud to have a top 5 defense for so long, but top 10 is just as good. I'll gladly take the drop into the bottom of the top 10 if it means having a top 10 offense to match. After all, you score points to win the game, right?

The inherent weakness with an exotic scheme is that there is always a vulnerability due to the overload of blitzers. Good QBs will always find that soft spot; it may not be early in the game, but they'll find it at a crucial moment and exploit it for the remainder of the game. The idea behind the scheme is to confuse the QB and not give them enough time to make a decision, but good QBs with good pocket prescence will always find a way to buy time -- hence why Ben Roethlisberger made plays in the clutch in all three games last season. It's a hard pill to swallow, but we need to accept that this is still a good defense. It may not be a great defense, but there is always a sacrifice to be had for finding balance as a unit.

Or would you rather revisit the Kyle Boller days and be uneasy whenever Joe Flacco steps onto the field? There are people who will argue that it's possible to have the best of both worlds -- but that's rare and is hardly maintained consistently over a period of time. So we should accept whatever balance we can get and be happy with it.

We're 3-1, folks. We went toe-to-toe with a three-time Super Bowl Champion that everyone considers elite. We rattled one of the best QBs to ever play the game. We shut down one of the best WRs to ever play the game for the majority of the game. We almost outsmarted one of the best head coaches to ever stand on a sideline. We came within 6 points of upsetting one of the very best in the league, on their own turf. We had no reason to keep the game that close, but we did. Be happy that we're still #1 in the division and played well against a good team, in a game we felt we should've won.
[/quote]

[darklight1216]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='05 October 2009 - 08:46 AM' timestamp='1254746771' post='249843']
In the Superdome yesterday with Rex Ryan, exposed by the New Orleans Saints.

There's a reason why these exotic looks are rarely effective against [i]good[/i] teams. They're gimmicky and are sometimes too agressive for their own good. [b]Sure, we were proud to have a top 5 defense for so long, but top 10 is just as good. I'll gladly take the drop into the bottom of the top 10 if it means having a top 10 offense to match.[/b] After all, you score points to win the game, right?
[/quote]
Sadly, I missed the Jets/ Saints games yesterday, so correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't two of the Saints touchdowns come from the defense? Didn't the Jets keep Drew Brees (and also Tom Brady) from scoring a touchdown?
I know that highlights and stats don't tell the full story, but when exactly did that defense get exposed?

I agree with you about the having a top ten defense with an offense to match it, but you can the greatest offense, and if you're paired with a lousy defense, you aren't going to get anywhere. Do you remember the Saints from last year; how about the Chargers? Both teams had excellent offenses and bottom ten defenses and they finished the year 8-8. That doesn't fly in divisions that don't begin with "W."

Now I must refer back to possibly the most overused saying in football :offense sells tickets; defense wins championships.
[quote]
The inherent weakness with an exotic scheme is that there is always a vulnerability due to the overload of blitzers. Good QBs will always find that soft spot; it may not be early in the game, but they'll find it at a crucial moment and exploit it for the remainder of the game. The idea behind the scheme is to confuse the QB and not give them enough time to make a decision, but good QBs with good pocket prescence will always find a way to buy time -- hence why Ben Roethlisberger made plays in the clutch in all three games last season. It's a hard pill to swallow, but we need to accept that this is still a good defense. It may not be a great defense, but there is always a sacrifice to be had for finding balance as a unit.[/quote]
Well, one might argue that Ben R. also has (generally)one of the best defenses in the league keeping the game close so that he [i]can[/i] make those comebacks. In fact, the one year that Ben has not made it to the playoffs was when his defense fell out of the top ten in scoring, but I digress...

Those blitzes are probably going to turn around and bite the Jets as the year progresses. We've all seen what happens when you try that stuff on Peyton Manning.
Than again, we've seen what happens when you try that stuff on Tom Brady as well.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
[quote]We're 3-1, folks. [b]We went toe-to-toe with a three-time Super Bowl Champion that everyone considers elite.[/b] We rattled one of the best QBs to ever play the game. We shut down one of the best WRs to ever play the game for the majority of the game. We almost outsmarted one of the best head coaches to ever stand on a sideline. We came within 6 points of upsetting one of the very best in the league, on their own turf. We had no reason to keep the game that close, but we did. Be happy that we're still #1 in the division and played well against a good team, in a game we felt we should've won.
[/quote]
We did the exact same thing in 2007, and where did that get us? Here's another trite saying: almost only counts in horshoes and nuclear warfare.
We could have been sitting on top of the division, but now we're only tied. Which, as you said, is better than not being tied for first, but this is a disapointment to say the least, and good portion of that disapointment comes from the defensive side of the ball.

We still have a [u]good[/u] defense, but they really need to step up.