Quote:
Originally Posted by htismaqe
Don't get me wrong, we all know these guys can get it done.
Honestly, they looked like a preseason defense out there the last couple of weeks. They won a Super Bowl and without the benefit of a proper offseason, they've fallen back on some bad habits.
I'm sure they'll be fine. In fact, given the quality of the competition on Monday, I think they'll be extra-focused.
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When I was reviewing the first half of the Chargers game I realized a couple things: if you only have two legit starters at DT and they get doubled nearly every down, their effectiveness in both pass-rushing and run-stopping goes way down really fast. They just get gassed. Without Pennel or Saunders we were subbing in back-up DEs and guys I didn't even know. Getting Pennel back, even though he's probably not 100% ready to go in game shape is going to make a difference.
The other thing I realized was that Spags was kind of staying basic up front. Maybe even in the back, but I wasn't focused on that so all I can really say is I only saw a couple coverages that looked 'exotic' to me.
I think if we get Ward and Pennel back, even if just for limited snaps, the defense will look a lot more like what we were doing late last season.
I will say that Tyrann and Nnadi looked like they were in mid-season form. And that Chris Jones started that game looking like he'd worked on his run defense. You watch the first couple series and he's doing all the right things vs. the run, most important being that he's being a team player. He was helping build the wall that Spags likes to talk about, he was staying in his lane, shedding his blocks, etc. It was really interesting. Somewhere in the second quarter I think he got tired and I think he got impatient. But if Pennel can spell him and Nnadi some, Chris might not have those issues on Monday. And if that turns out to be the case, he could have a really good game.
I know, a lot of "ifs" but my point is that I really think Chris is going to be significantly better against the run this year because I think he's been working on that part of his play. I don't think all that talk about being "the best DT in the game" was all talk for him.