While I’m pretty stunned at the Gruden firing, I’m not entirely unhappy. We’ve had a few good teams since he came to town, but no great teams, except the first one… and it all comes down to his problem finding a quarterback.
I’m happy they promoted Morris rather than looking elsewhere for talent. Our secondary coaches always end up being HCs anyway- Lovie Smith, Herm Edwards, Mike Tomlin- so I’m happy one of them finally became ours.
I’ll withold judgment on whether this will improve the team until I see who our new offensive coordinator will be.
Word is Schwartz wants to draft a QB. We need a line. Any pro can throw if he has time. Any team can succeed if you can run and throw.
The defensive backs have to cover for 7 seconds because there is no pass rush. Nobody can do it. We blitz endlessly to get a simulated rush but that allows mismatches in the pass coverage. You need to build a line first.
True, but it doesn’t have to take forever. The Jets’ line sucked last year and was awesome this year; the Falcons’ line went from even suckier last year to pretty good this year.
Signing one free agent and drafting another starter can make a huge difference.
Also, a scheme that’s not necessarily a Dungy-type of Tampa 2 where it relies on the front 4 for a bunch of pressure. Out of 30 total sacks the Lions had all year (yes, only 30), only 6 sacks came from somewhere that wasn’t the front 4. Those 6 sacks came from 4 people, the remaining 26 sacks came from 8 players. The top three sack producers this past year were Dewayne White with 6.5, Cliff Avril with 5 (in very limited playing time in the first two-thirds of the season), and Corey Redding and Corey Smith, each with 3 sacks.
May the Schwartz be with you. The draft is everything. 5 draft choices in the first 3 rounds. They could do a lot of good, or they could pretend to and draft a Qb and a couple wide receivers.
I will, at this point, eschew any jokes at Hal’s expense about the coach he likes transferring to a team named after male sheep.
How does everyone see this working out for St. Louis? Will it neccesitate personnel changes at the important positions? St. Louis has failed for some time to recapture the magic of their Super Bowl year, will this move be sufficient to do so? And if so, will the team we see on the field resemble that team at all?
Other than two seasons later when they went to the Super Bowl again, you mean?
I think the Rams’ short-term future hinges totally on whether Bulger can learn to play behind a poor offensive line. The last two years would seem to indicate that he can’t. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good quarterback become so very bad overnight. I suppose Culpepper did, but he had that injury, and he was always kind of spotty before getting hurt, while Bulger was a model of consistency.
I doubt it. The paper here has been making a big deal about that the new GM and the new coach are the football people now. I’d expect to see defensive emphasis, or else why hire a defensive expert?
The Packers have hired Dom Capers as their new defensive coordinator. And, as if that wasn’t enough, they’re shifting from a primary 4-3 team to Capers’ 3-4 (which has a fair amount of 4-3 in it, kinda a hybrid).
I’ll admit, I’m concerned. This year, we transitioned away from the Brett Favre Era to the Aaron Rodgers era, and now the defense gets a makeover. A lot of change going on. Not that change is all that bad.
My biggest concern is how the personnel will adapt. Two of our best defensive players (Al Harris at QB and Aaron Kampman at DE) will have to make some pretty big adjustments. I’m not sure if Capers is willing to play the press coverage that suits Harris’ game, because he’s plays a fair amount of zones (especially when blitzing). And Kampman isn’t big/strong enough and would be a waste as a DE in the 3-4, so he should move to OLB and I’m not sure he’s got the speed, coverage ability to be as succesful as he has been as a DE.
My other big concern is the fat guys. I think Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins have the size and skills to succeed in the 3-4, but that other DE spot scares me. Harrell has been the definition of a bust, Jolly has plateaued, and Cole isn’t good enough. And we don’t really have a true space eater.
On the upside, I like our LB corp (too bad we ditched Abdul Hodge in final cuts last year, I liked him a lot). I think Barnett and Hawk will do very well as the ILBs, and Kampman and Poppinga can create a rush, while Chillar can cover well. Also, I like our secondary a ton, so the hopefully they’ll remain aggressive there.
The shift changes a ton about our offseason moves. I think getting a DE and OLB are the two huge pieces. I’d love it if Aaron Curry was available at the 9th pick. And I still covet Albert Haynesworth.
Should be an interesting offseason. How long until the draft?
