A lot of people are worried about this young and inexperienced defense. I understand, even I am a lil worried (better word:curious) about how they are going to play.
But are we forgetting something? Are we forgetting about Jim Bates? Real quick, ill post some things from packers.com:
-In his five seasons as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins (2000-04), his units cumulatively ranked fifth in the NFL, never in one season ranking lower than 10th.
- His 2004 unit ranked second in the NFL against the pass.
- Against the run, his squad did not allow a 100-yard rusher over a 20-game stretch that included the last four games of 2002 and the entire '03 campaign.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. "Well our players aren't as good as those Miami players." To a certain extent, that is true. But do not tell me Cullen Jenkins,KGB,Barnett,Diggs,Al Harris,Mike Hawkins, and Nick Collins are not good, or at least have high potential in a short amount of time (note: look what collins has done so far as a rookie. First rookie safety for Gb since like 88 or something).
The point is, Jim Bates has done great things with great talents. Keep in mind, Jim Bates was the interim head coach for miami last year and BEAT the WORLD CHAMPION New England Patriots!
Last year's Slowik defense was a safety oriented defense, and was centered around Darren"Almost" Sharper*. It failed horribly. This defense is about pressure from the defensive line,speedy linebackers, and pressing recievers at the line of scrimmage.
Now I will do this section by section for the lazy(i am lazy myself, i feel ya, brother).
Defensive Line: KGB was top 5 in sacks last year. He isn't the best rush defender, but that's not why he is out there. Cullen Jenkins had 2.5 more sacks than Hunt did last year. He also had more tackles for loss of yards than Hunt. By the way, Hunt played more snaps than Jenkins, so none of that should be possible. Cullen Jenkins is that effective, and yeah Hunt sucked it up as well. It still should not have been possible. Grady Jackson. The fat run stopper. I find it disgusting that one fat man can be so effective against the run game, but when you look at our record without him last year, and our preseason performances this year, there is no denying he stops the run. Aaron Kampman had more tackles than Hunt or Jenkins at 54. He had 4.5 sacks. He is a speedy outside guy, and doesn't fall for the dreaded RB cutback some people do. He is solid, and could be very good under Bates.
Bottom line, that defensive line is not as bad as people want to cry about. As for it getting pressure by itself, that might not happen, but nobody said Jim Bates isn't going to blitz. We have seen almost no blitz at all this year. You think we're not going to blitz at all? that would be foolish to think that. It's only just begun..
Speedy Linebackers: Nick Barnett, was drafted for his speed. We all know this, let's move on. Paris Lenon has supposedly improved tenfold. This is good, because he sucked ***. He worked out and changed his weight in the offseason, and if the last preseason game is any indicator, he is a ballhawk, and plays hard. we need that. He breaks up passes well, and doesn't lose his assignment. can't as for much more. Robert Thomas, the recently acquired LB from the rams, should be good. He had over 100 tackles in 2003. That is very damn good, people. HELLO, MCFLY! He had injury problems last year, and the rams decided to part ways (they had someone better anyway...we however..do NOT). This could work out for us better than I initially thought. keep your eyes on this guy. OH! And by the way..Nail Diggs is coming back in 2 weeks. We know he is solid as stone.
Pressing recievers at LOS: Al Harris is one of the best in the game at jamming recievers. A lot of you know this. How many times have we seen him just smash someone at the line? LOL, sometimes he even punches them in the face..thats always funny, although sometimes he does get penalized. I always forgive him though. Now our young guys CarrollThomasHawkins ...how good are they at jamming? Does anybody know? We havent really seen. So how can we judge this area. If anyone has an edge, it would be Hawkins because he is so fresh, he can be molded. This is by far the weakest part of the 3, no doubt.
I'll wrap this up now. Jim Bates knows defense!!!!!!! You dont have those stats i said earlier, or beat the world champions by luck. He is also a master motivator, and a lot of these spoiled punks need a good kick in the ***. And with the young,raw talent that can be molded..we are in good position for years to come.
*Darren "Almost" Sharper. Nicknamed 'Almost' due to ALMOST making plays multiple times.
What do you think about the Jim Bates defense?
But are we forgetting something? Are we forgetting about Jim Bates? Real quick, ill post some things from packers.com:
-In his five seasons as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins (2000-04), his units cumulatively ranked fifth in the NFL, never in one season ranking lower than 10th.
- His 2004 unit ranked second in the NFL against the pass.
- Against the run, his squad did not allow a 100-yard rusher over a 20-game stretch that included the last four games of 2002 and the entire '03 campaign.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. "Well our players aren't as good as those Miami players." To a certain extent, that is true. But do not tell me Cullen Jenkins,KGB,Barnett,Diggs,Al Harris,Mike Hawkins, and Nick Collins are not good, or at least have high potential in a short amount of time (note: look what collins has done so far as a rookie. First rookie safety for Gb since like 88 or something).
The point is, Jim Bates has done great things with great talents. Keep in mind, Jim Bates was the interim head coach for miami last year and BEAT the WORLD CHAMPION New England Patriots!
Last year's Slowik defense was a safety oriented defense, and was centered around Darren"Almost" Sharper*. It failed horribly. This defense is about pressure from the defensive line,speedy linebackers, and pressing recievers at the line of scrimmage.
Now I will do this section by section for the lazy(i am lazy myself, i feel ya, brother).
Defensive Line: KGB was top 5 in sacks last year. He isn't the best rush defender, but that's not why he is out there. Cullen Jenkins had 2.5 more sacks than Hunt did last year. He also had more tackles for loss of yards than Hunt. By the way, Hunt played more snaps than Jenkins, so none of that should be possible. Cullen Jenkins is that effective, and yeah Hunt sucked it up as well. It still should not have been possible. Grady Jackson. The fat run stopper. I find it disgusting that one fat man can be so effective against the run game, but when you look at our record without him last year, and our preseason performances this year, there is no denying he stops the run. Aaron Kampman had more tackles than Hunt or Jenkins at 54. He had 4.5 sacks. He is a speedy outside guy, and doesn't fall for the dreaded RB cutback some people do. He is solid, and could be very good under Bates.
Bottom line, that defensive line is not as bad as people want to cry about. As for it getting pressure by itself, that might not happen, but nobody said Jim Bates isn't going to blitz. We have seen almost no blitz at all this year. You think we're not going to blitz at all? that would be foolish to think that. It's only just begun..
Speedy Linebackers: Nick Barnett, was drafted for his speed. We all know this, let's move on. Paris Lenon has supposedly improved tenfold. This is good, because he sucked ***. He worked out and changed his weight in the offseason, and if the last preseason game is any indicator, he is a ballhawk, and plays hard. we need that. He breaks up passes well, and doesn't lose his assignment. can't as for much more. Robert Thomas, the recently acquired LB from the rams, should be good. He had over 100 tackles in 2003. That is very damn good, people. HELLO, MCFLY! He had injury problems last year, and the rams decided to part ways (they had someone better anyway...we however..do NOT). This could work out for us better than I initially thought. keep your eyes on this guy. OH! And by the way..Nail Diggs is coming back in 2 weeks. We know he is solid as stone.
Pressing recievers at LOS: Al Harris is one of the best in the game at jamming recievers. A lot of you know this. How many times have we seen him just smash someone at the line? LOL, sometimes he even punches them in the face..thats always funny, although sometimes he does get penalized. I always forgive him though. Now our young guys CarrollThomasHawkins ...how good are they at jamming? Does anybody know? We havent really seen. So how can we judge this area. If anyone has an edge, it would be Hawkins because he is so fresh, he can be molded. This is by far the weakest part of the 3, no doubt.
I'll wrap this up now. Jim Bates knows defense!!!!!!! You dont have those stats i said earlier, or beat the world champions by luck. He is also a master motivator, and a lot of these spoiled punks need a good kick in the ***. And with the young,raw talent that can be molded..we are in good position for years to come.
*Darren "Almost" Sharper. Nicknamed 'Almost' due to ALMOST making plays multiple times.
What do you think about the Jim Bates defense?