Originally posted by verb1der:
Originally posted by JiksJuicy:
I heard Warren Sapp talking about our secondary at the end of last year and he had some valid points. Said they got to comfortable always having a pass rush, but once Smith and Smith were injured those chances they had the luxury to take diminished yet they were still taking them. That's why we kept getting beat wide is our safety's were too comfortable jumping routes instead of playing their zone/man.
Sounds spot on to me. And it's going to be the same thing this year, everything starts up front.
Fully agree. Having a healthy Haralson back will give more depth to keep the front 7 fresh. Also, Lemonier showed great quickness last night. I was particularly impressed with one play where he went around the OT and had enough speed to get back inside to hit Osweiler. That kind of agility/mobility is something none of the other guys bring. Aldon has deceptive power and straight line speed but has not shown me the kind of agility Lemonier showed last night.
So with Aldon, Brooks, Haralson and Lem rotating on the outside, that should provide a better pass rush into the 4th quarter than we had last season.
Also, I believe Ian Williams will give more push up the middle than Sopoaga did last season. Middle pressure is SO critical to slowing down a passing team, and we will play a bunch of them this year, and Williams appears able to do that better than either Sop or Francois. (RJF was a very solid player last year but didn't bring much heat.)
Also, Dobbs as a backup will bring more heat than any of last season's backups. I recall Ray McDonald and Justin saying several times this pre-season that this year's DL group is better overall than last season. It looked like it last night.
The secondary is always at the mercy of the pass rush.