Quote:
Originally Posted by barrett
Either way my point is that when your biggest hitting DB is your 5'8" 175 lb CB, you are not going to be able to model yourself after a Jim Johnson-esque defense.
I think you are spot on here. I think you'll see us bringing a 5th man from one of the 3 LB positions. I doubt we get all creative just because Frank Bush said we'd be more aggressive.
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The Giants and Coach Spagnuolo modeled themselves after Johnson. I don't recall seeing a bunch of DBs blitzing the QB from them last year either. Corey Webster (1) and Aaron Ross (0) along with Michael Johnson (1) and Kenny Phillips (0) combined for a total of 2 sacks. Hell Dominique Barber had a sack for us last year. So, I think we can be aggressive with our LBs and be just fine.
I would not rule out blitzing Cushing and DeMeco in the A-Gap a lot more this season either.
All that being said, what will be the most important philosophical change will be unleashing the DL to get to the backfield. Okoye should post at least 6 sacks. Travis Johnson should get 3 more at a minimum (1 more than his career total). Shaun Cody could contribute 2. Antonio Smith 5 or more. Connor Barwin should get at least 4 as a rookie playing opposite of Mario. I'd project Mario with 15 this season. That's putting a lot of faith in Bill Kollar. Last year the Texans posted 25 sacks and the Bills only had a total of 24. However, I am projecting a total of 35 for our DL simply because of the unrealized talent we have. The NY Giants tallied 42 paced by Justin Tuck's 12 for the season. Jim Johnson's Eagles tallied a total of 48 sacks and was led by Darren Howard's 10 followed by Trent Cole's 9.
I will concede that Sacks are probably the most overrated stat that kept for a defense. However, if a team is generating pressure, getting TFLs, and doing the things I expect an "aggressive" defense to do, then they generally accrue more than 32 sacks in a 16 game season (i.e. 2 per game).