Terrell Suggs

[BloodRaven]

So whats the deal? is the lack of sacks a collective thing? getting too cute trying to confuse other teams? this year is his big meal ticket and his lack of sacks is sure as hell not from a lack of trying. Its embarrasing watching him jump on a QB in the dirt trying to register a half sack.

Browns 2 sacks
Steelers 1 sack
Dolphins 1 sack
Oakland 1 sack
Bengals 1/2 sack

All horrible teams except Pittsburgh who just have a horrible o-line. Hmm.

The REAL elite pass-rushers in the NFL are registering just over one sack a game, DeMarcus Ware and James Harrison are also outside linebackers and do as much coverage, yet have almost tripled his sack numbers for year. Do we still pay Suggs 70million? for an outside rush and maybe 1 sack every second game?

Another thing that bothers me is the team total, 26 sacks for the year.

Haloti Ngata can stack/shed with one arm while looking at the QB, he collapses the pocket but is too slow to be relied on for QB pressures. Jarrett Johnson has more moves than Suggs and beats his guy fast, but he too is too slow for pursuit. Trevor Pryce isnt what he used to be and is more like a 3 technique DT, now I noticed he gets held a lot but it never used to stop him before. Maybe we need to see what Antwan Barnes can do?

[Ravnet]

They collapse the pocket very effectively, but they don't get to the quarterback. As ironic as it may seem, I actually like it; because Rex isn't constantly sending four down linemen, a safety and three linebackers to the quarterback, we are able to defend the pass, stop the run, and spy on the QB all at the same time.

Although Rex is still a bit too blitz happy for my liking, to his credit, he has definitely scaled back his extreme pressure packages which used to yield bombs downfield. I think that Ryan was too confident in his secondary in the past; as a result, he would rush the entire front seven and most quarterbacks would eventually adjust and get the ball out. The injuries may have, in a way, actually helped us in the long run. Come to think of it, have we given up a long ball all year?

Whether it be out of necessity or not is irrelevant; Rex has made great adjustments. Ngata, Pryce, Suggs and Johnson are effectively able to collapse the pocket, forcing the quarterback to get rid of it, but 4/5 guys alone cannot get to the passer. Suggs sacks relative to the defensive total isn't bad at all, and he is playing well this year.

[flynismo]

I think that the lower sack total for the team as a whole is most likely because we seem to be a bit more conservative now than in the past, as far as sending in the rush. I've noticed that Ray especially has been hanging back in coverage a lot more than he used to (and his 3 picks so far this year reflects that somewhat), but I think that this is a good thing. Ngata may not have the all-out speed to track down mobile QB's, but the penetration he gets consistently is a big factor in nearly every game...whether or not he actually gets the sack is almost beside the point, because he's constantly forcing QB's to throw on the move, and not giving them time to let receiver's get good seperation. Given the question marks we have in our secondary, that is a huge boost to our defense. And that also shows in our stat line...yes, our sacks are down, but our INT's are way up, leading the NFL by two, as a matter of fact. Don't let the low sack totals give you the impression we have no pass rush anymore, or that it's hurting our team.

As for paying Suggs, I think he deserves a healthy contract. We need to keep him. Don't be fooled into thinking that Barnes can replace him just because they have similar styles. Suggs always has been a first class talent, no one has ever questioned that. We can only hope that Barnes can play as well as Suggs does; maybe he can, maybe not, only time will time if Barnes gets a shot and what he does with it. In the mean time, we know what we have in Suggs...and it's not something that we want to lose.

[#1 D]

[quote name='flynismo' post='99142' date='Dec 7 2008, 04:37 AM']I think that the lower sack total for the team as a whole is most likely because we seem to be a bit more conservative now than in the past, as far as sending in the rush. I've noticed that Ray especially has been hanging back in coverage a lot more than he used to (and his 3 picks so far this year reflects that somewhat), but I think that this is a good thing. Ngata may not have the all-out speed to track down mobile QB's, but the penetration he gets consistently is a big factor in nearly every game...whether or not he actually gets the sack is almost beside the point, because he's constantly forcing QB's to throw on the move, and not giving them time to let receiver's get good seperation. Given the question marks we have in our secondary, that is a huge boost to our defense. And that also shows in our stat line...yes, our sacks are down, but our INT's are way up, leading the NFL by two, as a matter of fact. Don't let the low sack totals give you the impression we have no pass rush anymore, or that it's hurting our team.

As for paying Suggs, I think he deserves a healthy contract. We need to keep him. Don't be fooled into thinking that Barnes can replace him just because they have similar styles. Suggs always has been a first class talent, no one has ever questioned that. We can only hope that Barnes can play as well as Suggs does; maybe he can, maybe not, only time will time if Barnes gets a shot and what he does with it. In the mean time, we know what we have in Suggs...and it's not something that we want to lose.[/quote]

True...quarterbacks having to make those split-second decisions of where to throw the ball can end up in a play going the Raven's way, well, for most of them...(refer to : Peyton Manning )

[macbrak]

I've noticed that too, I'd blame the extra pass coverage, we got burned too many times last year. I think we're also missing Gregg busting up the middle and the opposing team compensating for that as well. I do think we make up for it in how many times runs are stopped for negative yardage.

[RayLew52]

Do all those other LB's have 2 int returns for touchdowns?

[RayLew52]

Also i think sacks are slightly overrated, especially when it comes to our team. We get consistent pressure on the quarter back which leads to bad throws which leads to picks, where we lead the league (in INT's).

[Bullrush]

He's too fat right now. He looks like a 280 pound guy when really he should be around 250. I hope he loses some weight in the offseason so he can get back all the quickness, explosiveness and athleticism he lost in the past few years. It's nice that he's a better overall player right now, but i prefer Suggs the pass rusher over the run stopper.

[flynismo]

I like Suggs stopping the run and running picks back for scores. That's a lot more valuable than getting one sack a game (at the most...he's never done that in his career)

[flynismo]

[quote name='#1 D' post='99177' date='Dec 7 2008, 09:44 AM']True...quarterbacks having to make those split-second decisions of where to throw the ball can end up in a play going the Raven's way, well, for most of them...(refer to : Peyton Manning )[/quote]

Indy seems to have our number no matter what...I mean, it's ridiculous how Marvelous embarrasses Chris McAlister every time they line up. And even when you do contain him, they STILL beat us (playoffs a couple years ago).
I'm rooting for the Bungles today!

[#1 D]

[quote name='flynismo' post='99225' date='Dec 7 2008, 01:11 PM']Indy seems to have our number no matter what...I mean, it's ridiculous how Marvelous embarrasses Chris McAlister every time they line up. And even when you do contain him, they STILL beat us (playoffs a couple years ago).
I'm rooting for the Bungles today![/quote]

lol yeah me too! I think we simply had the wrong playcalling in order that last game...not to mention lack of depth @ corner...we had a mismatch with Corey Ivy with Reggie wayne...i saw that mismatch and i was like, "damn, we're screwed." lol. but i think if we had a rematch @ baltimore things might go our way, y'never know...

[Lets_Go_Joe]

[quote name='flynismo' post='99224' date='Dec 7 2008, 01:07 PM']I like Suggs stopping the run and running picks back for scores. That's a lot more valuable than getting one sack a game (at the most...he's never done that in his career)[/quote]
The picks for scores arent really his product, its guys like Haloti getting pressure, forcing a quicker throw to the screen and hes there, easy TD. I like that hes returned them for scores, but I wouldnt necessarily say it was him who created those plays. Same with Rays 2 picks in Houston, same thing. Pressure = Picks

[beetus]

The way I look at is that the diminished sack totals for Terrel Suggs lends itslef to that Suggs is becoming a more well rounded LB, both in rush defense and in coverage (hence the 2 pick 6s).

[#1 D]

[quote name='beetus' post='99253' date='Dec 7 2008, 02:57 PM']The way I look at is that the diminished sack totals for Terrel Suggs lends itslef to that Suggs is becoming a more well rounded LB, both in rush defense and in coverage (hence the 2 pick 6s).[/quote]

Yeah, true that...i mean sure he's a pass rusher, but now he can cover, and his overall instinct is increasing...incredible.

[52Kia Kaha92]

I know we should tag sizzle and send him to SF or ARI or somewhere for a second and 4th round pciks

WE could then draft Everette Brown and have a great pass rusher who will be better than the money hungry sizzle

[tctony]

[quote name='52Kia Kaha92' post='99266' date='Dec 7 2008, 04:17 PM']I know we should tag sizzle and send him to SF or ARI or somewhere for a second and 4th round pciks

WE could then draft Everette Brown and have a great pass rusher who will be better than the money hungry sizzle[/quote]

Why would we give him away for a second rounder?

[flynismo]

[quote name='Lets_Go_Joe' post='99252' date='Dec 7 2008, 02:53 PM']The picks for scores arent really his product, its guys like Haloti getting pressure, forcing a quicker throw to the screen and hes there, easy TD. I like that hes returned them for scores, but I wouldnt necessarily say it was him who created those plays. Same with Rays 2 picks in Houston, same thing. Pressure = Picks[/quote]


That was pretty much what I was getting at; we get enough pressure whether or not Suggs is rushing, which frees Suggs up to help in coverage, run support, etc...makes both him and the defense more well rounded.

[VA_Fan]

I guess the bottom line is you can't please all the fans all the time. But I say we are playing great a a team effort so I won't single out the underperformances of any player.

[BloodRaven]

I dont want to concede that the Steelers are a better D. It hurts me to see them 1st in almost every defensive category.

Also, with Justin Bannan I get the feeling hes just a big body, in the Giants game he was beaten up by the centre. We're gonna miss Buddy Lee in the next few weeks.

[ravensgirlx88]

who cares about sacks, he's always in the qb's face putting pressure on him. and thats what a great pass rusher does. as long as the ball doesnt make it to the receiver, sacks dont make that big a deal to me. suggs is doing excellent.

[TXRaven]

Sacks are fun to watch but so are tipped passes that turn in to picks. Its all about the final score... And right now we are hunting for a playoff birth and a division championship.