[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

When I go to the different boards, I see a hatred for the our DC Richard Smith. I get the dissatisfaction, but wait a minute, let's think about it here for a second.

In year one we changed to a 4-3, many of players where better suited for the 3-4, though only slightly so. That said, we had to install a complete new defense to guys playing out of position, and we relied on rookies for the leadership during the transition.

Year two, the talent was getting better, and closer to a real NFL squad, but 17 player on the IR, and no team can survive. The fact that the defense continued to improve and two players may have broken into the All Pro ranks again shows excellent leadership.

As we start year 3, most fans still do not have a solid idea of the defenses persona, and that is a problem, but we have a DC who appears to be flexible enough to cater is playbook to suit his roster, and he and his coaches seem to be solid teachers.

I like Richard Smith, I have back to the the House of Pain days, and I like his coaches, Hoke, Holland, Bush, and Franklin. I hope we are able to keep the group together.

I also remember the House of Pain, and I have also railed against DC Richard Smith because he wasn't aggressive enough for my tastes. Yes he works under the Kubiak constraint of only rush 4 down linemen. I can understand the reasoning. We were woefully undermanned. Perhaps I was wrong. I am willing to go along with you PK, at least for this season. Smith now has the DL to guard against the run and to rush to passer. He also has a much better LBing corp. The one intangible is the secondary. Dunta being out will adversely affect the way the CB defend the pass. They will probably still give a 7 yard cushion. The safeties should be better, if for no other reason than that there is so many of them competing for only two spots. I would like to revisit this post just before the end of the season just to see how accurate many of us were.