I don't think so. IMO Raji lacked motivation and Pickett was better at NT because of it. And remember, Raji lost his job as one of two rushers on the DL in the 2-4-5 - he didn't have any excuse for that.
Pickett was very tough in the middle in the first half of several seasons. I think he was a guy that should have been on a lower snap count so he could maintain that level through the entire season. It would have helped if both he and Raji would have taken better care of themselves in those off seasons as well.
Keep in mind that Seattle's O-Line is nothing to write home about this year. Their starting OC is an UDFA from Western Michigan (in '12) & a De Pere native. I love the push that the D-line has going, so far, but I think Raji needs a few more solid games before he's back to being a force.
Lynch was bottled up but Wilson went 78 yards on 10 carries. Team total: 119 yards on 25 carries for a 4.8 yd. average. That's not very good on paper whether it's a DVOA black box spreadsheet or a plain old calculator tape.
I agree that the run defense did a good job against Seattle. That's why I said "on paper".
That was my point....sometimes a stat looks good but it doesn't get you to a good record
Favre threw 29 INTs; the defense collected 10. That will lose you some ball games.
I've always wondered about moving him outside. On passing downs with a drop back, he explodes and makes a straight line to the QB. I'm not sure how effective he is against the run. Regardless, I'm glad he's back where he belongs at NT.
Captain what do you think caused the drop off between 2010 and 2011? He was still a relatively young player and I don't get why he regressed so much. Did he get lazy in the off season after the SB win? It seems that when he puts his mind to it he can get in the shape required to play the position well. He dropped weight this year, his conditioning seems improved, and he's playing well again even though it's early in the season.
Agreed. They contained Lynch and made some adjustments for Wilson. I'm surprised they rank last. I'll be looking for consistency when they play KC. Although I think this defense is probably better at stopping a power runner like Lynch than a back like Forte who just outran the D line, even when they dropped a safety. But they kept Wilson from doing major damage, and I'd like to see them keep Charles under 100 yards. We'll see on Monday night.
Back to Twain's point on the three types of lies 1 lies 2 damned lies and 3 statistics! Ok that's extreme and stats have their place. The danger is when someone comes up with an opinion or "point of fact" and then finds the stats to back up the position. I don't really see that on this forum. But stats can't replace good judgement or common sense. I'm sure there is a stat somewhere that supports Bellichik calling a TO at the end of the last SB. He didn't of course when almost everyone, including Pete Carroll, were certain the TO was coming. That caused Pete and the Seahags to panic, forcing a very bad decision by Wilson. Statistically, he probably should have called a TO. So I prefer intelligence and reasonable risk taking to pure statistics. And without context, stats are meaningless anyway.
