Who Was The Best Player On Our Defense Last Year

[CNC]

Who was it

Ngata was literally destroying other teams at the start of the year til cam put him in the offense and he suffered an MCL sprain. which took him out of the running for DPOY

Josh Wilson was our best corner IMO, brought playmaking which we sorely needed. Brought in for depth but through the year worked his way to being a number 1 corner and he won the game in Houston.

Ray Lewis missed only 5 snaps, Mr do it all and get it done, he sucked in pas coverage but he made the clutch plays when we needed it, whether it was knocking Kellers head off, sealing the game winning INT vs. Pitt, or sea;ing the GW INT TD vs. Carolina

Ed Reed Lead our team in INTS his first game back we had NO playmaking out of our secondary until Ed reed finally returned. Ed Reed got 2 INTS vs. Buffalo his first game back, And lord knows we needed it. Ed Reed Finished off the season with 8 INTS Leading the NFL, [b]Only playing in 10 games[/b]. To the people who said Reed Couldn't tackle I saw him lay some wood on Shawn Nelson of Buffalo, McCluster and Mendenhall.

Terrell Suggs. Everyone was complaining that he didn't get enough sacks. Suggs was conisitenly rushing the passer all year. But in that Pittsburgh game, Suggs played like a man possessed, it was crazy how NO ONE could stop him at all. Sugggs finished off with 12 sacks and that's without any help from his teammates, trhe other edge rusher had 1.5 sacks. Suggs and Ngata were our only Pas rushing threats and they did their jobs well

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

It's hard for me to choose between Suggs and Ngata. Don't get me wrong, I love Reed, Lewis and Wilson and they all gave impressive contributions, but Suggs and Ngata were a touch more important.

I say this because they were our two best pass rushers, two of our three best run stuffers, and should have been mentioned in the DPOY conversation more than they were.

I agree Ngata would have been a very legitimate contender had his early season streak of dominance been prevalent throughout the entire season, but for whatever reason, maybe said injury, his contribution took less of the spotlight. Having said that, he was still a monster, and definitely the best lineman in the league.

Suggs had a great comeback from a down year and was far and away our best pass rusher, and would have arguably been more effective had there been another threat aside of him and Ngata to command the attention of offensive lines. To put his season (statistically) into perspective, I'll compare him to Clay Matthews:

Matthews: 54 Solo tackles (6 assisted), 13.5 Sacks, 2 FF, 1 INT;
Suggs: 53 Solo tackles (15 assisted), 11.0 Sacks, 2 FF, 0 INT

The point being is that Suggs was, in my view, only a short step behind Matthews, so he should also have been a fairly significant contender for DPOY.

[Purple Punishment]

i know alot of people will flame me for this but, Terrence Cody was a HUGE difference maker. We were giving 100 yard rushers until he received more playing time. 1st Key Player he made a difference in stopping was Michael Turner. Maybe its the youth and strength that he has over Kelly Gregg but i thought he made a big difference!

PS Kelley Gregg chasing down Jamaal Charles in the playoff game on 4th down was Legend.....wait for it.....Dary!

Also, I wasnt saying that Cody was the best defender, just saying what I noticed. Sometimes its the one whos not seen.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='Purple Punishment' timestamp='1303048012' post='666317']
i know alot of people will flame me for this but, Terrence Cody was a HUGE difference maker. We were giving 100 yard rushers until he received more playing time. 1st Key Player he made a difference in stopping was Michael Turner. Maybe its the youth and strength that he has over Kelly Gregg but i thought he made a big difference!

PS Kelley Gregg chasing down Jamaal Charles in the playoff game on 4th down was Legend.....wait for it.....Dary!

Also, I wasnt saying that Cody was the best defender, just saying what I noticed. Sometimes its the one whos not seen.
[/quote]
Cody dominated in that Falcons game, that was crazy for a rookie NT imo. He had like 6 solo tackles that game and I dont think Turner ran for more than an 8 yard gain at a time. The next week we started him and he got chop blocked to death, which is his biggest problem is leverage, he stands too tall at times. I never hated on the Cody pick just because he was overweight and soft because his talent is clearly there. Im pretty excited to see what he does with more playing time next year.


My vote goes to Suggs, he was the only guy teams had to gameplan for in the pass rush he was alone and after the bye week he was absolutely disgusting.

[wayne]

Yea, Suggs get it and Ray didn't suck in coverage last year, totally false. Ngata would get it from me but his production from the first half leading into the second fell off as far as how dominate he was.

[Militant X 1]

they all did pretty well but i would give it to Ed Reed. once he returned to the starting line up....it was pick-city!

~Mili

[Ed_Reed20]

I'd say it was Suggs. He played like a man possessed after the bye and was absolutely phenomenal in the prime time games the Falcons and both the Steelers match-ups. That he was the team's only legitimate pass rusher made his season even more impressive.

[Suggs Package]

It's hard to say, but I'll say Ed Reed was the best in terms of putting up numbers, but Ray Lewis was the most valuable to our team's success, followed by Suggs then Ngata.

[Renediffie]

I loved the way Suggs played when it really mattered. He had some games where he looked absolutely unstoppable. But overall i would give it to Ngata.

[justifythegame]

It sad Ray has the least votes when Ray Lewis makes this guys a heck of a lot better and he also lead our team in tackling if stats is all that matters to some of you.

[RL52TheGreatest]

I put in my vote for Suggs because he WAS our pass rush all season long and he played his best during the biggest games. You could make a solid case for Reed (led the league in picks while only playing 10 games...craziness) or Ngata (improved his pass rush while still being dominant against the run), but Suggs played like a man possessed. Even when he wasn't getting sacks, he was consistently getting in the backfield and forcing QB's to get rid of the ball early. Not to mention, he was still solid in coverage and against the run. If the Ravens can get another pass rushing threat opposite Suggs then I envision a DPOTY award in the near future.

[berad]

[quote name='justifythegame' timestamp='1303139284' post='666609']
It sad Ray has the least votes when Ray Lewis makes this guys a heck of a lot better and he also lead our team in tackling if stats is all that matters to some of you.
[/quote]

Hey, now, Wilson has 0... Anyways, I voted for Ray because I will always vote for Ray. I'd venture to say Haloti, Suggs, and Reed would not be as good without Ray Ray. Of course, the opposite is true, but to a lesser degree.

[mgridda]

[quote name='PWNEDbyDEANO' timestamp='1303047452' post='666314']
It's hard for me to choose between Suggs and Ngata. Don't get me wrong, I love Reed, Lewis and Wilson and they all gave impressive contributions, but Suggs and Ngata were a touch more important.

I say this because they were our two best pass rushers, two of our three best run stuffers, and should have been mentioned in the DPOY conversation more than they were.

I agree Ngata would have been a very legitimate contender had his early season streak of dominance been prevalent throughout the entire season, but for whatever reason, maybe said injury, his contribution took less of the spotlight. Having said that, he was still a monster, and definitely the best lineman in the league.

Suggs had a great comeback from a down year and was far and away our best pass rusher, and would have arguably been more effective had there been another threat aside of him and Ngata to command the attention of offensive lines. To put his season (statistically) into perspective, I'll compare him to Clay Matthews:

Matthews: 54 Solo tackles (6 assisted), 13.5 Sacks, 2 FF, 1 INT;
Suggs: 53 Solo tackles (15 assisted), 11.0 Sacks, 2 FF, 0 INT

The point being is that Suggs was, in my view, only a short step behind Matthews, so he should also have been a fairly significant contender for DPOY.
[/quote]

I know you weren't intending to, but this actually does a major disservice to Terrell Suggs. His pass rushing reptuation in college seems to overshadow that he is the best run stopping 3-4 OLB and one of the best run stopping 4-3 DEs (next to Justin Tuck, Trent Cole, Julius Peppers and others) when he gets in the 3-point-stance (which is more often than as a 3-4 OLB).

The reason why this does a disservice to Terrell Suggs is because he's exponentially better than Clay Matthews at run stopping, but that's something that won't show up when looking at the solo and total tackles. Those figures won't tell you how many of them stopped the offense from getting a first down, they won't tell you how many of them were from behind the line of scrimmage, they won't tell you how many of them were because of lapse in coverage or how many of them were for a gain of 0 or 1 yards. Furthermore, they especially have no way of commenting how a defender can blow up a play. Ray does this for Terrell too, but Terrell does it for Ray much more often:

he'll penetrate, blow up blockers, slow down the runningback while taking on a blocker and Ray or Kelly or Ngata or Redding or Landry or anyone will be around to get the official statistic of Tackle For a Loss. All of Suggs' impact on a play like that never makes its way to the official statistics counters.

[mgridda]

It was close between Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs, but when one factors in that Ed Reed missed the first 6 games of the season: our "best" player on our defense goes to:


Terrell Suggs.


I hope Paul Kruger or Sergio Kindle get into gear/reliable health. We're going to need them. It's one of the only reasons why I see Heyward as a viable option. Because he's a 3-4 defensive end so he won't be taking up snaps for Sergio or Kruger. I want to see those talents on the field opposite to T. Suggs. Heyward gives a lot of versatility too. Imagine this 4-3 obvious passing situation defensive lineup:

Sergio Kindle--Haloti Ngata--Cameron Heyward--Terrell Suggs

Obvious running situation:

Cameron Heyward--Haloti Ngata--Cody or Gregg--Terrell Suggs

3-4:

Heyward--Gregg--Ngata

If we get a guy on the front seven like that and get Kruger/Sergio back Terrell Suggs will probably have one of the best years of his career.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='justifythegame' timestamp='1303139284' post='666609']
It sad Ray has the least votes when Ray Lewis makes this guys a heck of a lot better and he also lead our team in tackling if stats is all that matters to some of you.
[/quote]

It isn't sad at all. Ray has surely had an impact on Suggs and helped him in ways but I really don't see how he's made Suggs or even Ngata a "heck of a lot better".

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1303153679' post='666724']
I know you weren't intending to, but this actually does a major disservice to Terrell Suggs. His pass rushing reptuation in college seems to overshadow that he is the best run stopping 3-4 OLB and one of the best run stopping 4-3 DEs (next to Justin Tuck, Trent Cole, Julius Peppers and others) when he gets in the 3-point-stance (which is more often than as a 3-4 OLB).

The reason why this does a disservice to Terrell Suggs is because he's exponentially better than Clay Matthews at run stopping, but that's something that won't show up when looking at the solo and total tackles. Those figures won't tell you how many of them stopped the offense from getting a first down, they won't tell you how many of them were from behind the line of scrimmage, they won't tell you how many of them were because of lapse in coverage or how many of them were for a gain of 0 or 1 yards. Furthermore, they especially have no way of commenting how a defender can blow up a play. Ray does this for Terrell too, but Terrell does it for Ray much more often:

he'll penetrate, blow up blockers, slow down the runningback while taking on a blocker and Ray or Kelly or Ngata or Redding or Landry or anyone will be around to get the official statistic of Tackle For a Loss. All of Suggs' impact on a play like that never makes its way to the official statistics counters.
[/quote]

I totally agree that the impact that Suggs has for this team cannot be fully shown in his statistics. I also would imagine that Matthews has a similar impact for the Green Bay defense, but the point remains the same that Suggs is not far behind (if at all) in terms of production or impact.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='mgridda' timestamp='1303154028' post='666728']
It was close between Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs, but when one factors in that Ed Reed missed the first 6 games of the season: our "best" player on our defense goes to:


Terrell Suggs.


I hope Paul Kruger or Sergio Kindle get into gear/reliable health. We're going to need them. It's one of the only reasons why I see Heyward as a viable option. Because he's a 3-4 defensive end so he won't be taking up snaps for Sergio or Kruger. I want to see those talents on the field opposite to T. Suggs. Heyward gives a lot of versatility too. Imagine this 4-3 obvious passing situation defensive lineup:

Sergio Kindle--Haloti Ngata--Cameron Heyward--Terrell Suggs

Obvious running situation:

Cameron Heyward--Haloti Ngata--Cody or Gregg--Terrell Suggs

3-4:

Heyward--Gregg--Ngata

If we get a guy on the front seven like that and get Kruger/Sergio back Terrell Suggs will probably have one of the best years of his career.
[/quote]
Heyward does give the defense flexibility, but he isn't a good pass rusher and wont be at the NFL level, all he really does is bullrush and then once he's engaged and the T stops him he trips to rip off it.

[TDubbs]

Ed REED! He gives us a whole other dynamic on the field. Best Safety in the business hands down.... leading league in picks while missing so many games is crazy

[pittman2052]

Has to be either Suggs, Lewis, or Ngata.