I've seen enough...

[tynimiller]

Look everyone here knows I am NOT one to make knee jerk reactions...if anything my quick reactions are just wait and see type responses...HOWEVER. I'm beginning to wonder how much control or influence Gute or maybe MLF or what not has on defensive personnel choices.

I will bring up three things that IMO must change...

Linebackers - Look, 56 LBs have played 75 snaps or more in the first two weeks of the league year so far...Quay and McDuffie are literally 46th and 50th graded backers at their positions. Now mind you Gute/Co so enough of a need DESPITE having a former first round pick of ours (Quay) and a former LB for Hafley in college (McDuffie) to go out and spend not one but TWO picks inside the top 100. Yet we are still just seeing essentially Quay / McDuffie and Wilson rotations with Cooper barely used and Hopper ONLY getting ST snaps.... FIGURE THIS CRAP OUT STAFF. Quay is not the answer....put Cooper in, he can fly to the wrong hole just as fast as Quay can worst case....

Nickle/Slot - The amount of snaps that Keisean Nixon is stealing from Bullard is enough to make me want someone fired. Nixon is just simply put a depth guy that his primary role is Special Teams and being a commendable to above average maybe defender...Nixon ought never be on the field if Bullard is on the sideline. Shoot...if Carrington continues to play well, put Jaire in the slot and you got Stokes/Valentine wide with Bullard patrolling with X.

Brenton Cox - Everyone knows I am a Kingsley Enagbare guy...but to me let's see if Brenton Cox is something that has flashed so well and isn't a fluke. We gotta get some more edge pressures when dialed up and right now Kingsley just doesn't seem to have it at all.

 

[OldSchool101]

I agree I’d like to see more of our 2 draftees. We’re talking TWO top 100 prospects at a position that has earlier success. Both played great this Preseason.

I did notice that Cox Jr was on the injury report. Must be dealing with a nagging injury?

 

[El Guapo]

Look everyone here knows I am NOT one to make knee jerk reactions...if anything my quick reactions are just wait and see type responses...HOWEVER. I'm beginning to wonder how much control or influence Gute or maybe MLF or what not has on defensive personnel choices.

You made good points, but I'll be honest, this is a knee jerk reaction. It's a new scheme, a new coordinator, and new, base defensive alignment. No matter what happens in the first half of the season, I think that it's reasonable to give the incumbent players and DC time to figure it all out.

It always takes longer than fans want to switch to a new system. You may be right and by the second half of the season we may see those new guys starting. However, it's just to early IMO.

 

[mradtke66]

You made good points, but I'll be honest, this is a knee jerk reaction. It's a new scheme, a new coordinator, and new, base defensive alignment. No matter what happens in the first half of the season, I think that it's reasonable to give the incumbent players and DC time to figure it all out.

It always takes longer than fans want to switch to a new system. You may be right and by the second half of the season we may see those new guys starting. However, it's just to early IMO.

I don't think the base alignment is that big of a change. The summary of that is "Oh look, Gary, Smith, and LVN put their hand in the dirt now." To me, the bigger change is the backend and more willingness to play single high, press, etc, compared to Barry.

Of course, with all that, I do agree that the team is feeling out their identity and matching what the scheme is trying to do and matching up what everyone is good at.

The last two weeks also is an example of how the modern NFL offense works. Come out with 3 WRs, "force" the defense to go nickel, run against the spread out front. We were in nickel about 2/3s of the time in 2023. I don't see that changing, no matter who the DC is.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

Look everyone here knows I am NOT one to make knee jerk reactions...if anything my quick reactions are just wait and see type responses...HOWEVER. I'm beginning to wonder how much control or influence Gute or maybe MLF or what not has on defensive personnel choices.

I will bring up three things that IMO must change...

Linebackers - Look, 56 LBs have played 75 snaps or more in the first two weeks of the league year so far...Quay and McDuffie are literally 46th and 50th graded backers at their positions. Now mind you Gute/Co so enough of a need DESPITE having a former first round pick of ours (Quay) and a former LB for Hafley in college (McDuffie) to go out and spend not one but TWO picks inside the top 100. Yet we are still just seeing essentially Quay / McDuffie and Wilson rotations with Cooper barely used and Hopper ONLY getting ST snaps.... FIGURE THIS CRAP OUT STAFF. Quay is not the answer....put Cooper in, he can fly to the wrong hole just as fast as Quay can worst case....

Nickle/Slot - The amount of snaps that Keisean Nixon is stealing from Bullard is enough to make me want someone fired. Nixon is just simply put a depth guy that his primary role is Special Teams and being a commendable to above average maybe defender...Nixon ought never be on the field if Bullard is on the sideline. Shoot...if Carrington continues to play well, put Jaire in the slot and you got Stokes/Valentine wide with Bullard patrolling with X.

Brenton Cox - Everyone knows I am a Kingsley Enagbare guy...but to me let's see if Brenton Cox is something that has flashed so well and isn't a fluke. We gotta get some more edge pressures when dialed up and right now Kingsley just doesn't seem to have it at all.

Tyni, 100% agree with you on McDuffie you know I can't stand him. Quay I'm wondering if he isn't trying to play HIS assignment and McDuffie's, and being only 1 man he can't do both. Remember last year when the D gave up a TD cause Campbell tried to cover Owens assignment?

 

[tynimiller]

Tyni, 100% agree with you on McDuffie you know I can't stand him. Quay I'm wondering if he isn't trying to play HIS assignment and McDuffie's, and being only 1 man he can't do both. Remember last year when the D gave up a TD cause Campbell tried to cover Owens assignment?

I would rewatch, Quay in zero way is trying to do two jobs, he isn’t even trying to do his half the time IMO.

McDuffie is twice the football player but half the physical specimen. If those two could be one person you’d have a legit rock solid off ball LB.

 

[Schultz]

If my wife and my girlfriend were one person I would have twice as much money and half of the headaches!

 

[gopkrs]

One thing I noticed about Q. Maybe it's just one play but I don't think so. We had the middle jam packed with linemen and still Q goes in right there and pushes at the pile. The RB just just swerved when he was at the line of scrimmage and ran a bit to the left where there wasn't anyone. Where Q should have been. Because in no way was he helping by just stacking up the D. I hope he gets a middle linebacker mentality but I've finally come around to thinking he just does not have that capability. And I worry that he'll just get juked on a one on one in the flat. But I think we should try him at outside linebacker and put Hopper or Cooper in the middle. At least on a probable running down.