DC Frank Bush a Disaster so far

[NBT]

PK says "Lets talk draft, I am still mad we did not take Willis, best LB to be drafted since Ray Lewis. The next season I felt they reached for the OT, he is turning out OK, but I still think he was early."

I declare, some people are never satisfied. You can't say that Oakland wouldn't have taken Brown, now can you? Hind sight is always 20-20, but really, in this case, not even needed. Demeco is a fine Mike LB, and Brown is proving out at OLT. As for trading down, I have been for that too, but at what cost, or for that matter - benefit? Right now it is an exercise in futility. Cushing is the leading tackler. You think it is the players fault, I think it is the scheme and lack of getting the players on the same page as the DC.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by NBT

Right now it is an exercise in futility. Cushing is the leading tackler. You think it is the players fault, I think it is the scheme and lack of getting the players on the same page as the DC.

Cushing is the leading tackler, IMO, because of scheme. Zack Diles was the leading tackler last season until he broke his leg. So the SAM and MIKE have a lot of freedom in this defense, well then that is by design, not the player.

We have to get Bennett off the field until he learns to tackle. Otherwise he is killing us. I want to see Robinson and Okam on the field on 1st down. I want to see a modern defense with movement that confuses the QB.

[mussop]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I want to see a modern defense with movement that confuses the QB.

Maybe Im just missing it but does our DL ever stunt?

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by mussop

Maybe Im just missing it but does our DL ever stunt?

They stunt a lot, I am wanting them to do more of what the Steelers/Pats/Ravens/Jets do which the Lbs are moving around, the safeties are walking up and back, the DEs are jumping up and back down. They show overloads that some times happen and other times are backed out of.

Our defense looks the same every presnap, the Mike and Sam are in the same spot in relation to the TE, the holes are pretty defined as to who is covering what.

No one can snap a ball on Jimmy Johnson's (RIP) defense cause they have no clue who is going where. Johnson would force the offense into certain responses and have his guys ready for that response, that is how they make so many big plays.

Give me a Rex Ryan protege, a Jimmy Johnson protege, or a Dick Lebeau pretege. We missed on Rex Ryan himself, we missed on Jim Scwartz, we missed Spagnuolo.

[NBT]

Yeah, and look at what Greg Williams is doing for NOLA's defense.
I hate to say this but Kubiak seems to be fixating on certain coaches, and certain favorite players (such as those from Colorado State), much like Capers was doing.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Cushing is the leading tackler, IMO, because of scheme. Zack Diles was the leading tackler last season until he broke his leg.

We have to get Bennett off the field until he learns to tackle. Otherwise he is killing us. I want to see Robinson and Okam on the field on 1st down. I want to see a modern defense with movement that confuses the QB.

The difference is that Cushing takes his man to the ground and stops their forward momentum. Diles made tackles further down the field.

I don't know what the deal is with Bennett. Molden is still an enigma to me, seems like he should be on the field with Glover Quinn and Dunta Robinson. If we can't keep Dunta after the season, then McCain could take the slot. With so many youngsters in the Secondary, there needs to be a strong presence in the Secondary to line people up. Perhaps Jaques Reeves or Eugene Wilson step into that role. Maybe it's Bernard Pollard who has some history with lil' Gibbs.

Putting Okam in on 1st down is an idea I want to implement. I've seen flashes where he is really impressive at holding the point of attack as well as getting penetration. The more double-teams he takes on, the more single matchups Mario has outside.

I have seen some stunts from the DL and have seen some LB blitzes. Not with the frequency I would like to see, but at least I know it's in the play book. What I haven't seen is blitzing anyone in the Secondary. Well, except for the time Busing blitzed right past the RB.

[Nconroe]

I'm really hoping the poor defensive start is because we have new Defensive coaches and players, first time DC, and they are all young, perhaps still adjusting. Overall defense is 32nd in many categories, although 17th against pass. Against the run it has been improving every game. Its been a few big runs , if those stop, defense would rank much better. If tackle for loss is a good measure of pressure and perhaps potential of the defense to be good, we rank second only to Baltimore, along with a few others. Through three games Ravens have 15 TFL. At 13 TFL sits Texans, Titans, Jets, and Chicago. Minnesota has 11, Eagles 10, Oakland and San Fran have 9. Then Pittsburg, New England, Cowboys, and Giants have 8. Colts have 4 and Jaguars only 3. Well, trying to find something positive with all this doubt flying around.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

I'm really hoping the poor defensive start is because we have new Defensive coaches and players, first time DC, and they are all young, perhaps still adjusting. Overall defense is 32nd in many categories, although 17th against pass. Against the run it has been improving every game. Its been a few big runs , if those stop, defense would rank much better. If tackle for loss is a good measure of pressure and perhaps potential of the defense to be good, we rank second only to Baltimore, along with a few others. Through three games Ravens have 15 TFL. At 13 TFL sits Texans, Titans, Jets, and Chicago. Minnesota has 11, Eagles 10, Oakland and San Fran have 9. Then Pittsburg, New England, Cowboys, and Giants have 8. Colts have 4 and Jaguars only 3. Well, trying to find something positive with all this doubt flying around.

While I understand the desire to look for something optimistic, I just can't subscribe to the excuse anymore that the coaches, players, etc. are new to the system, "learning curve," etc. First off, we didn't make some dramatic transition in the defense, such as converting from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Second, teams replace coordinators and install new defenses all the time. Again, this usually involves substantially more change that what we underwent from promoting within. You think the Jets underwent fewer changes going from a 4-3 to a 3-4 (along with Denver and Green Bay). How about the Saints having to learn Gregg Williams new D? Where is their month of crappy D while they adjust? The bottom line is that changing coordinators is par for the course for several teams every year and virtually everyone else is able to do it without giving up historically bad numbers for the first month of the season while trying to learn the system. Seriously, can anyone point to another defense in the last few years which put up horrendous numbers for the first month under a new coordinator while trying to learn the system and then turned it around after doing so? I'm honestly curious.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

If tackle for loss is a good measure of pressure and perhaps potential of the defense to be good, we rank second only to Baltimore, along with a few others. Through three games Ravens have 15 TFL. At 13 TFL sits Texans, Titans, Jets, and Chicago.

This is the main reason I'm not completely fed up with the defense. They are having some success and getting into the backfield. There is a bit of high risk and high reward with this mindset. Thus far, we've seen much of the high risk. If we can get more consistent play from the Secondary vs. the RUN game, then there will be less complaints.

[NBT]

Texans 29, Raiders 6. The defense, and Frank Bush, sure showed up today. We have found our safety in Pollard, he played a good game. Cushing got his TFL, and for a safety! Maybe this was the coming out party we have all been hoping for.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by NBT

We have found our safety in Pollard, he played a good game.

It is pretty plain to see that Pollard can make a difference in the run game defense. Next week the Cards come up on the schedule, so we will test how well he can cover. Very impressed with Quinn today against the run, hoping he gets an interception next week like he was doing all the time in training camp. Can't say enough about his play long with the rest of the defense.

Supposedly, the word is that Bush decided to make things simpler this week so that players would be able to digest what he wanted. With fewer things to memorize, the less likely a singel player would forget his assignment. At least, that's the word. Whatever the case may be, I actually enjoyed watching the defense this week.

Don't get me started about the offense though.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

Cushing is the leading tackler, IMO, because of scheme. Zack Diles was the leading tackler last season until he broke his leg. So the SAM and MIKE have a lot of freedom in this defense, well then that is by design, not the player.

We have to get Bennett off the field until he learns to tackle. Otherwise he is killing us. I want to see Robinson and Okam on the field on 1st down. I want to see a modern defense with movement that confuses the QB.

Amen! Now we are back on the same page. Bennet is not only not tackling, he is giving such a huge hole off the LOS, that a WR can get a first down on almost every play before Bennet can get back to him. And why can't Molden even get on the field? Now he has a hammy? Where is the press coverage we all yearn for? If we can play a rookie nickle, why not go the next step and put McCain in at CB? See what he can do.

And looks like we will see still another try at SS this weekend with the new pickup, Pollard. Hope he can improve the tackling and coverage.

And, as if things weren't bad enough, according to the official site, Reeves, on the eve of coming back from an ankle injury, has fractured a pinkie, and will be out for the game, darn it.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by NBT

You think it is the players fault, I think it is the scheme and lack of getting the players on the same page as the DC.

No, I think it is a combination of all those factors.