What is the problem with the defense?

[etherdome]

I think that we look decent on offense but our defense is not so good. There are a lot of new faces on this D, but I believe that we are not going to see improvement on defense until some changes are made.

We do not put pressure on QB's, so third and long does not present a problem to good offenses. While most people blame the DL, I think that our secondary may be at fault. Let me clarify. Most teams apply pressure to QB's by blitzing and sending six to seven guys after the QB. With careful planning, six or seven guys can work together to create blitzing lanes. However, in order to do that, you have to have DB's that can cover man-to-man. As it stands, Houston and Grimes have not been up to the task. Houston can cover but simply is not aware of the ball. It is very frustrating to see pass after pass completed with his back turned toward the ball. I think that Coleman is a good Safety but not a great one. However, he is experienced and he is a good stabilizing force back there. Conversely, I think that DeCoud is a rising talent with a bright future. He missed two interceptions today, but he knew where he had to be and he has the ability to cover a lot of ground. Once the game slows down for him, he will be a top flight Safety.

No doubt that there will be many posts about how TD has to trade this guy or get rid of that guy. Here is why I don't think that our front office needs to panic and work a trade. I think that Ty Hill and Williams will be our starting corners very soon. Keep in mind that Foxworthy did not see the field for five weeks. Once Hill is 100% healthy and knowledgeable of our defensive scheme, he should be an upgrade. Only then will BVG be able to send seven rushers to go after the QB. Until then, we will have to be patient.

If our front office does make a deal, I get the feeling they will go after a run stuffing DT, like John Henderson. A big man like him could be used to shut down running lanes while quicker DE's and LB's get after the QB. However adding a big DT will only pay off if our CB's improve their play.

[FormerFan-RobertAP]

Our offense put up 10 points today. Anyone here think that 10 points would beat the Patriots?

The defense missed a couple of opportunities, the offense was shut down for most of the game. I put the blame for this one on Mularkey. Horrible game plan. Defense was ok, but missed two big turnovers. Also, Mike Smith should have thrown the challenge flag when Grimes knocked the ball out of Moss's hands, not the non-fumble.

[etherdome]

I will get to the offense in another thread. I will give them some slack because they have had some positive moments this season and last.

Our defense has very few three and outs. In other words, teams move the ball into the red zone far too often. The D needs to take the ball out of their hands and put in in our hands. Ryan and Co need more attempts to wear their D down and to improve chances of scoring.

[duncja]

The Patriots had 5 red zone trips yesterday... our defense held 4 of those to field goals.

Our offense had 2 red zone trips, 1 TD, and 1 FG. It's pretty clear what the problem was.

[duncja]

That's hypocritical to blame the defense and to give the offense a pass because they had "positive moments this season and last."

The offense was lethargic at best yesterday.

This is our 4th quarter offense right here:

# 1-10-ATL 20 (14:55) 2-M.Ryan pass deep left to 88-T.Gonzalez to ATL 36 for 16 yards (31-B.Meriweather).

# 1-10-ATL 36 (14:28) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass short right to 84-R.White to ATL 32 for -4 yards (96-A.Thomas).

# 2-14-ATL 32 (13:50) (No Huddle) 2-M.Ryan pass incomplete short left to 12-M.Jenkins.

# 3-14-ATL 32 (13:44) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass short right to 44-J.Snelling pushed ob at ATL 39 for 7 yards (30-B.McGowan, 36-J.Sanders).

# 4-7-ATL 39 (13:20) (Punt formation) 9-M.Koenen to ATL 24 for -15 yards. FUMBLES, and recovers at ATL 24. 9-M.Koenen punts 48 yards to NE 13. 33-K.Faulk ran ob at NE 28 for 15 yards. PENALTY on ATL-44-J.Snelling, Ineligible Downfield Kick, 5 yards, enforced at NE 28.

Punting here, I can understand. Down 9, early 4th quarter. At your own 40 yard line, 4th and 7. Still, 3 short passing in a row?

# 1-10-ATL 26 (12:26) 33-M.Turner up the middle to ATL 30 for 4 yards (96-A.Thomas, 91-M.Pryor). NE-99-M.Wright was injured during the play.

# 2-6-ATL 30 (11:53) 33-M.Turner up the middle to ATL 33 for 3 yards (29-S.Springs, 59-G.Guyton).

# 3-3-ATL 33 (11:11) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass incomplete short right to 80-M.Booker.

# 4-3-ATL 33 (11:05) 9-M.Koenen punts 41 yards to NE 26, Center-46-M.Schneck. 33-K.Faulk pushed ob at NE 28 for 2 yards (14-E.Weems, 86-B.Finneran).

At this point, I knew we were going to lose. Down 9, 4th quarter, run, run, pass short? Then we punt it on 4th and 3. Yeah the field position favors them, I believe we were at the 33 yard line. But we were also in the 4th quarter, down by 9, and are punting it away.

# Atlanta Falcons at 07:47

# 3-S.Gostkowski kicks 68 yards from NE 30 to ATL 2. 14-E.Weems to ATL 25 for 23 yards (88-S.Aiken, 25-P.Chung).

# 1-10-ATL 25 (7:40) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass incomplete short middle to 44-J.Snelling.

# 2-10-ATL 25 (7:36) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass short left to 80-M.Booker pushed ob at ATL 31 for 6 yards (36-J.Sanders).

# 3-4-ATL 31 (7:07) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan pass incomplete short left to 80-M.Booker [95-T.Banta-Cain].

# 4-4-ATL 31 (7:02) 9-M.Koenen punts 47 yards to NE 22, Center-46-M.Schneck, out of bounds.

Another 3 and out. Field position wasn't great, but at this point, it's not even an option. You're putting your defense back on the field which had been on the field a total of 40 minutes in this game.

In the 4th quarter we had 3 possessions, punted 3 times, had 1 first down. 4th and 7, 4th and 4, and 4th and 3. Coaching and offense is to blame for that.

[etherdome]

Take a look at time of possession and number of offensive plays. The stats don't look good. Then, take another look at the game. You will see that Brady and his offense played poorly. Some of that was due to our D, but, most of that was due to their poor execution of plays.

I will get to the offense later. For the sake of this discussion, look carefully at this defense and there will be plenty to talk about. We did not stop the run and that hurt us badly. Their offense had been kept under 100 yards rushing in the previous two weeks. We gave up over 150 yards on the ground. That is not an optimistic sign. We also did not put pressure on Brady. That is a bad combo. Our D did not stop the Pats. Brady was playing very poorly. He missed on several sure TD's. Those misses were his fault and not brought on by defensive pressure.

If Brady had played like the Brady of old, we would have been wiped out.

[Falcons 'til Death]

Youth and no. It's still too early to hit the panic button just yet.

[duncja]

Take a look at time of possession and number of offensive plays. The stats don't look good. Then, take another look at the game. You will see that Brady and his offense played poorly. Some of that was due to our D, but, most of that was due to their poor execution of plays.

I will get to the offense later. For the sake of this discussion, look carefully at this defense and there will be plenty to talk about. We did not stop the run and that hurt us badly. Their offense had been kept under 100 yards rushing in the previous two weeks. We gave up over 150 yards on the ground. That is not an optimistic sign. We also did not put pressure on Brady. That is a bad combo. Our D did not stop the Pats. Brady was playing very poorly. He missed on several sure TD's. Those misses were his fault and not brought on by defensive pressure.

If Brady had played like the Brady of old, we would have been wiped out.

No question they put up the yards. Yards don't win games though, points do. And our defense only gave up 1 TD in 5 red zone attempts. They were on the field for 40 minutes. The stat that matters, scoring defense, has us 9th in the NFL. Take it for what it's worth, but it doesn't matter if we had a top 5 yardage defense or not if our offense cannot go.

[Dharma Initiative]

The playcaller is the biggest problem.

Say what you want about our players, but none of the starters outside of Nicholas, maybe Decoud, a DE, and DT are below average.

[etherdome]

That's hypocritical to blame the defense and to give the offense a pass because they had "positive moments this season and last."

The offense was lethargic at best yesterday.

This is our 4th quarter offense right here:

Punting here, I can understand. Down 9, early 4th quarter. At your own 40 yard line, 4th and 7. Still, 3 short passing in a row?

At this point, I knew we were going to lose. Down 9, 4th quarter, run, run, pass short? Then we punt it on 4th and 3. Yeah the field position favors them, I believe we were at the 33 yard line. But we were also in the 4th quarter, down by 9, and are punting it away.

Another 3 and out. Field position wasn't great, but at this point, it's not even an option. You're putting your defense back on the field which had been on the field a total of 40 minutes in this game.

In the 4th quarter we had 3 possessions, punted 3 times, had 1 first down. 4th and 7, 4th and 4, and 4th and 3. Coaching and offense is to blame for that.

Like I said, I will get to the offense in another thread. You will find that I will be a little harsher on our offense. All I am asking, in this thread, is to give your opinions about what our D needs to do to improve. We all know that there is plenty of room for improvement.

This is not about blame. This is about constructive criticism.

[duncja]

Like I said, I will get to the offense in another thread. You will find that I will be a little harsher on our offense. All I am asking, in this thread, is to give your opinions about what our D needs to do to improve. We all know that there is plenty of room for improvement.

This is not about blame. This is about constructive criticism.

Fair enough. Keep in mind this defense is built as a bend dont break, vanilla, Cover 2 defense. There is nothing tricky about it. What it requires more than anything, is pressure. Pressure we just don't get. On one hand, I think the DE rotation keeps them fresh, but I also think it prevents them from getting in a rhythm. Also, this year, I havent noticed Abraham lining up on the RT very often... why?

JA98 is not a starter in this league, and each week he shows this. That being said, we don't have a starter at that position on our team. We have depth in Davis and Biermann, but no starters.

Even when we blitz, we're not getting the pressure we should.

It seems almost a given that when it's 3rd and long, and we put 3 on the line, 8 in coverage... they convert. Whether people want to admit it or not, our D is at it's best when things get tight in the red zone. We're still tied for 7th in the NFL in TD's given up by defense.

[The_ATL]

There isn't anyone out there that's any better than what's already on the team.

They "could" go out and make a trade for a veteran but I really don't see the FO giving up draft picks for aging players on defense.

[etherdome]

No question they put up the yards. Yards don't win games though, points do. And our defense only gave up 1 TD in 5 red zone attempts. They were on the field for 40 minutes. The stat that matters, scoring defense, has us 9th in the NFL. Take it for what it's worth, but it doesn't matter if we had a top 5 yardage defense or not if our offense cannot go.

Our defense allowed the Pats to get to the red zone. They were not often forced to punt. And, if you recall, they did not hesitate to go for it on fourth down on their own 25 yard line. That is an outrageous slap in our face! Some announcers claimed that the Pats were showing desperation by going for it. Quite the contrary, Belicheck never behaves desperately. He accurately assessed his opposition and calculated the risk. He "gambled" and won. If anything, we should be ashamed that a team would think so little of our defense that they would risk handing the ball over on their own 25 yard line.

You correctly point out that the Pats were successful in the minority of attempts. However, why did the Pats fail? To answer that question, take another look at the game. You will find that receivers were left wide open, running lanes were gaping and there was little pressure on the QB. The real reason "we kept them out of the end zone" was because Tom Brady played lousy. He flat out missed wide open receivers and the one time he threw well, Galloway short armed it. Galloway is very well known for that sort of behavior in the middle of the field, so don't assume that our defense was intimidating. On three of those five red zone visits, an easy TD was at hand and was botched by Tom Brady or a cowardly WR.

Plain and simple. Our defense is subpar against the run and can not pressure the QB with only a four-man rush. We have been lucky to start the season against teams with a collective record of 2-5 (tonight that will go to 2-6). It is not a time to panic, but it is a time to see reality for what it is. Critique and improve; that is all I am saying.

Stay tuned for my scathing analysis of our much vaunted offense.

[Bring It]

This Patriot game was the Cardinal playoff game all over again.

Put the Falcons on a big stage and they're going to wet their pants.............every time.

Some things never change.

[juiceaccts]

How about we bring more than 4 people rushing more than 5% of the time. We basically played 3 deep and tried to get to Brady 4 man rush vs 6 man protection. I was really frustrated. Our D didn't capitalize on opportunities, and our O seemed conservative and we couldn't run or protect Matt Ryan. We were in the game then when we fell behind it looked like we werent making too much of an effort to come back.

[duncja]

Our defense allowed the Pats to get to the red zone. They were not often forced to punt. And, if you recall, they did not hesitate to go for it on fourth down on their own 25 yard line. That is an outrageous slap in our face! Some announcers claimed that the Pats were showing desperation by going for it. Quite the contrary, Belicheck never behaves desperately. He accurately assessed his opposition and calculated the risk. He "gambled" and won. If anything, we should be ashamed that a team would think so little of our defense that they would risk handing the ball over on their own 25 yard line.

You correctly point out that the Pats were successful in the minority of attempts. However, why did the Pats fail? To answer that question, take another look at the game. You will find that receivers were left wide open, running lanes were gaping and there was little pressure on the QB. The real reason "we kept them out of the end zone" was because Tom Brady played lousy. He flat out missed wide open receivers and the one time he threw well, Galloway short armed it. Galloway is very well known for that sort of behavior in the middle of the field, so don't assume that our defense was intimidating. On three of those five red zone visits, an easy TD was at hand and was botched by Tom Brady or a cowardly WR.

Plain and simple. Our defense is subpar against the run and can not pressure the QB with only a four-man rush. We have been lucky to start the season against teams with a collective record of 2-5 (tonight that will go to 2-6). It is not a time to panic, but it is a time to see reality for what it is. Critique and improve; that is all I am saying.

Stay tuned for my scathing analysis of our much vaunted offense.

I agree our defense wasn't overly impressive. But since 4pm yesterday, it has been nothing but thread about how bad our defense, yet the offense seems to be immune to the wrath of our army of armchair QB's. Even with the defense playing the way it did, whether it was Brady not clicking or stepping up and making the occasional play at the 7 yard line... our offense has the opportunities to win this game, and didn't. When you have a Pro-Bowl receiver, RB, possibly QB, a HOF TE... you don't get held to 10 points. This a problem. We should be scoring minimum 21 points a game when things don't go right.

[duncja]

This Patriot game was the Cardinal playoff game all over again.

Put the Falcons on a big stage and they're going to wet their pants.............every time.

Some things never change.

I felt we played better vs Arizona.

[tscott7636]

The D got tired, they held the Pats to field goals in the first half but we all knew that it was a matter of time b4 Tom Terrific caught fire. Which is easy to do with no one within' 5 miles of the pocket!!!!

What's the deal with Thomas Decoud's hands- he couldn't catch a could yesterday- he had 2 gr8 opportunities for picks!!! :blink:

[etherdome]

I like DeCoud. He is basically a rookie and he is in the right place at the right time. The interceptions will come.

[Statick]

I think the only move our front office needs to make is to kick BVG a new one.

The guy needs to get more aggressive with his playcalling.