Why This Is Going To Be A Great Season

[wist43]

If you blitz on 2nd or 3rd and short, you are going to hemorrhage big plays, especially given the play of the players in the middle of the D, from safeties to ILBs.

A quick throw in shorter yardage situations doesn't give the D an advantage. Maybe with new safeties, you could trust this D to hold it, we'll see.

I'll say this just to get it on record but I half-expect to be disproven early. Brad Jones looked like he had solved the diagnosis delay he had his first two years at ILB. Now, he could just be going forward on run willy nilly, without much regard for gap or ball, but he looked faster to the play.

If it holds and he isn't exposed as simply guessing, it would make the middle of the D light years better.

BTW, if you are in base facing 3x1 (WRxTE), you are going to have a LB covering a WR. Which is what nickel was invented to prevent. You need to choose which is the greater threat and for 30 years D coordinators have said its the WR.

If you can't cover 3 WR's with 4 DB's - then you should be selling insurance instead of coordinating an NFL defense.

Add to those 4 DB's - a supposedly adept cover LB like Jones... and if it's a pass, both Jones and Hawk are going to drop - Jones, Hawk, and probably 1 of the OLB's.

You can't cover 3 WR's and 1 TE with 6 guys in coverage??

By dunderdummy's reckoning, and the brainwashed Packer masses - it would seem an absolute impossibility.

If it is an impossiblity to cover anyone out of base - then we should never run base - which we don't run much anyway... so why not just scrap it altogether?? Stopping the run isn't even a consideration for Dom, so why have any DL over 280 lbs at all??

[3irty1]

Hyperboles aside, I don't think 3 WR on the field should automatically mean nickel or dime defense. The down and distance is just as important IMO.

[MadScientist]

If you can't cover 3 WR's with 4 DB's - then you should be selling insurance instead of coordinating an NFL defense.

Hyperboles aside, I don't think 3 WR on the field should automatically mean nickel or dime defense. The down and distance is just as important IMO.

Sure, on 3rd and short you gear up to stop the run in that formation, but otherwise it is an advantage to the offense to have 3 WR and 1 TE vs 4 DB. The way a defense can make it work is if you have 1) a safety that can really cover a WR (Woodson, hopefully Hyde), 2) another safety that can really play center field (Collins yes, Burnett ?), and LB's who can handle the TE in one way or another. If you have the personnel to do it, great, otherwise nickel is your best bet.

Flip it around. If you were a DC going up against the Packers and they came out 3 WR, 1 TE and Lacy, what would you do? Would you seriously go with 4 DB?

[pbmax]

If you can't cover 3 WR's with 4 DB's - then you should be selling insurance instead of coordinating an NFL defense.

Add to those 4 DB's - a supposedly adept cover LB like Jones... and if it's a pass, both Jones and Hawk are going to drop - Jones, Hawk, and probably 1 of the OLB's.

You can't cover 3 WR's and 1 TE with 6 guys in coverage??

By dunderdummy's reckoning, and the brainwashed Packer masses - it would seem an absolute impossibility.

If it is an impossiblity to cover anyone out of base - then we should never run base - which we don't run much anyway... so why not just scrap it altogether?? Stopping the run isn't even a consideration for Dom, so why have any DL over 280 lbs at all??

Hyperboles aside, I don't think 3 WR on the field should automatically mean nickel or dime defense. The down and distance is just as important IMO.

Of course there are situations (certain down and distance or even more likely field position-goal to go) that don't call automatically for nickel.

But using nickel to combat 3x1 in typical situations was a lesson finally learned in the NFL by the last hold out Broncos when the 49ers tore their simple 4-3 Cover 2 to shreds in the Super Bowl which yielded a 55 to Doesn't Matter final score. John Taylor said at the time, this offense (both the original Walsh and the Holmgren 3x1 variation) was designed to pull apart the kinds of coverages you get from a base D, especially a Cover 2.

You have 7 in coverage assuming no blitz and almost always one (if not two) is deep safety. That's 6 to cover 4; you can double 2 which leaves 2 in single coverage. And those single coverages can be manipulated to put a LB on a WR or TE at will. See the Packers opening game against the 49ers when Perry was in coverage on Michael Crabtree.

You can play base or you can blitz in your nickel, but if its a medium to short yardage situation, you are playing with fire since the offense is happy with a quick throw.

[wist43]

Hyperboles aside, I don't think 3 WR on the field should automatically mean nickel or dime defense. The down and distance is just as important IMO.

That's been my point all along.

[Fritz]

This season, to me, depends upon two areas: injuries and the play of the defense. IF this team can stay healtrhy, and IF this new fangled defense actually improves, this team can do very well.

[denverYooper]

2 reasons the defense will be better: Peppers and competent safety play.

[Fritz]

I am hopeful in both of those areas, DYoop.

[CaliforniaCheez]

2 reasons the defense will be better: Peppers and competent safety play.

Well those reasons are gone. Got any others?

Dix is a rookie and it shows. Worse yet he cannot tackle. Seattle exposed Dix, Peppers, Matthews, Jones, and Hawk as liabilities.

[Pugger]

Well those reasons are gone. Got any others?

Dix is a rookie and it shows. Worse yet he cannot tackle. Seattle exposed Dix, Peppers, Matthews, Jones, and Hawk as liabilities.

They also showed our offense is pretty damn anemic too. It's gonna be fun season looking up from the bottom of the NFCN standings the rest of this year.

[hoosier]

You guys (and gals) turn quickly in the wind, don't you? Last place in NFCN, fire MM, fire Capers, fire TT. What we learned from last night is that this team isn't going to go 16-0 and that the injury parade is a constant in GB. Fortunately we also know that injury parades and SB crowns are not necessarily incompatible, and that teams can get blown out in week 1 and still turn their seasons around.

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

You guys (and gals) turn quickly in the wind, don't you? Last place in NFCN, fire MM, fire Capers, fire TT. What we learned from last night is that this team isn't going to go 16-0 and that the injury parade is a constant in GB. Fortunately we also know that injury parades and SB crowns are not necessarily incompatible, and that teams can get blown out in week 1 and still turn their seasons around.

I hope so, cause lets face it, last night they were awful, just awful. The thing I cant get my head around is the packers have had poor tackling for many moons. Why would I believe they will turn it around after all the games, and all the new players, and the preseason, etc? Seattle just looked so goddamn much better in the fundamentals, it was really quite embarassing.

[denverYooper]

Brad Biggs @BradBiggs 18m
Trepidation about how #Bears defense will perform? No question they've been keeping some stuff under wraps.

Rob Demovsky @RobDemovsky 6m
So was GB. RT @BradBiggs: Trepidation about how #Bears D will perform? they've been keeping some stuff under wraps.

Brad Biggs @BradBiggs 3m
@RobDemovsky So it sounds like you are saying there is a chance?

[Harlan Huckleby]

You guys (and gals) turn quickly in the wind, don't you? Last place in NFCN, fire MM, fire Capers, fire TT. What we learned from last night is that this team isn't going to go 16-0 and that the injury parade is a constant in GB. Fortunately we also know that injury parades and SB crowns are not necessarily incompatible, and that teams can get blown out in week 1 and still turn their seasons around.

I don't think they have a defensive line to compete for championship, and the offensive line depth is not there. I would say they still can be a good, 10-6 team.

[George Cumby]

Hey! Waitaminit! This isn't Kool- Aid! What the fuck? This tastes like shit! Shit! It IS shit! What the fuck? Where's my mouthwash? Fuck! Where's my toothbrush? Goddamn!