Originally posted by iLL49er:
all i know is we allowed 17.6ppg this season good for 4th best in the ENTIRE NFL
1. Jets
2. Cowboys
3. Ravens
4. 9ers
5. Patriots
6. Bengals
7. Packers
8. Colts
9. Panthers
10. Vikings
11.Chargers
12.Steelers
13.Broncos
14.Cardinals
WTF, only 4 of the top 14 teams didn't make the playoffs.
WE WERE #4. Manusky should be Higher ranked.
THIS OFFENSE NEEDS TO BE FIXED ASAP, this team could've been REALLY GOOD
And 6 of the top 7 defenses (10 of 14) were 3-4 defenses (Ravens run a hybrid). Anyone else want to go back to the 4-3?
Manusky had to endure some underacheiving by a few players this year, a couple key injuries with concussions, broken bones, etc. However, Franklin & Sopoaga stepped up as did Goldson late in the season as well as Brooks. Bly, Smith & Willis were consistent all year. Spikes was banged up a little but had a solid year including a couple great games. He is good inside the box, in short yardage but lacks coverage skills and speed badly but you have to love his intangibles. Willis, Lawson & Lewis continue to struggle in coverage all year though Willis did get a couple INT's and a couple FF's. The middle of the field is where we need to shore up coverage badly as we made some decent QB's, WR's & TE's look like superstars against us. Lawson played very well up at the LOS and improved his pass rush a tiny bit; Brooks taking his pass rushing spot lit a fire under him. Haralson appeared to be the weakness at OLB and may be best serveed in Brooks role this year. Our young corners such as Brown, Hudson, and that guy off the streets in the Seattle game etc. were not impressive at all. Too bad Smith was injured. A lack of team speed killed us this year against speedy RB off tackle and esp. on dump off passes and screen passes - we showed a lack of team tackling too. We struggled in 3rd downs again this year mainly b/c of the defensive calling and CB's being asked to play off the WR's 15 yards on 3rd and 3. But backed inside our 20, they had to play tighter coverage and that was where we excelled. The prevent defense again destroyed any shot at the playoffs. Roman was solid this year and the comeback player of the year award goes to Spencer who played the #1 WR a good portion of the year d/t Clements' demotion and subsequent injury. Our needs include a dominant FS, moving Goldson to SS, having him play inside the box and continue to hit hard, pick off intermediate passes and blitz which he excelled at this year - he loves to come up and hit the RB on dump offs which means he's reading the plays well. Team sacks and finally, an emphasis on forcing turnovers, was more then evident. We also need a FT dominant OLB at either the WILL or SAM spots (either Brooks or a proven FA). We need another #1 or #2 CB, a prototypical in-training NT to spell Franklin esp. in short yardage, move Haralson to a 3rd down specialist again, keep Lawson in to cover TE's and on running plays, a speedy TED next to Willis, a starting FS and we should be good.
Manusky just needs to work on having his CB's play more physical up at the LOS and be more physical, get rid of the prevent defense, learn to attack o-line weaknesses with multiple players, make better in-game adjustments esp. in the 1st half against good teams that exposed our weaknesses, acquire more team speed and pass rushers and cover guys, put an emphasis on team tackling, continue with an emphasis on team sacks and forced turnovers and study more exotic blitz schemes as I still feel our 3-4 is still the most vanilla of all the 3-4 defenses. So right now, despite only giving up the 4th fewest points, forcing a high number of turnovers and playing great inside our own red zone, this ranking is about right for now. If he can address the aforementioned, he could climb up the chart rather quickly next year esp. if he can maintain consistency week-in, week-out. Our totals looks good but 8 sacks one game and 0 the next is not going to cut it esp. if we plan on actually doing something in the playoffs next year.
Did I miss anything?
