How good was our defensive line this year?

B+ because they play the run at an A+ and help with the pass rush but aren't great. So, if they can get a bit more pressure on the QB they will still have room to rise. I know it's a 3/4 and that is not their primary responsibility, but the best 3/4 lines get more pressure. If the other two guys can reach the level of J Smith...fantastic!

Originally posted by Wubbie:
I think the majority of us would agree the defensive line was good this year, but I'm wondering... HOW good?

Overall, our defense was 15th in yards allowed, 6th in rushing yards allowed, 4th in total points allowed, and tied for 3rd in sacks. So, we're a good defense, and the strength is in stopping the run.

We run a 3-4, so sacks aren't the most important thing. Obviously, Justin Smith and Aubrayo Franklin got a lot of press this season... but how about the other guys? How'd they do?

I don't know more about the intricacies of line play, especially 3-4 line play. What was it that they did well, and what did they do not so well this season?

The only defense not to allow a 100 yard rusher in 2010.. Still need more pass rush so I say A-

Any progress on the part of Sop? Is he developing or is he stagnant or maxed out?

A- our defense starts in the trenches and hands down our D-line, though did not produce that much sacks, did their job very well. Great job, hope they dont get rid of Sopoaga, he got alot of haters in the WZ, but not me I know what his job is and he did just as good as Justin Smith.

our defense was good last year......really?

We weren't tied for 3rd in sacks, we were tied for 14: http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks

edit: this was an old topic bumped. My bad. People shouldn't do that s**t IMO.

Originally posted by WillistheWall:
We weren't tied for 3rd in sacks, we were tied for 14: http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks

edit: this was an old topic bumped. My bad. People shouldn't do that s**t IMO.

LOL I was confused. And then I was reading the topic, wondering who started it, and got even more confused when I realized it was me. Glad someone's TRYING to use the Search function. But I think a year of inactivity is fine to start a new thread, haha.

Anyway, it's interesting how we went from 3rd in sacks last year to 14th this year. I think teams figured out our defense, which mostly stayed the same from last year.

If Sop is progressing and getting better, and if we keep Franklin and maintain J. Smith, then we need to improve our backups. I would like to see a draft pick, or two go to the Dline. I like McDonald but he misses a lot of sacks and seems to have difficulty finishing. Evans is not a significant contribution. RJF is still a question mark but seems to be developing.

I think that the sack part was Brooks injury, Lawson just can't get the pass rush end of the equation down, and Harolson is not cutting it. I think his time has come and gone. Plus we did not get our 10-20 sacks out of the Cardinals and Rams this year. So we need a consistent pass rush and I hope we get 1-2 pass rushers in the draft.

Originally posted by Ninefan56:
If Sop is progressing and getting better, and if we keep Franklin and maintain J. Smith, then we need to improve our backups. I would like to see a draft pick, or two go to the Dline. I like McDonald but he misses a lot of sacks and seems to have difficulty finishing. Evans is not a significant contribution. RJF is still a question mark but seems to be developing.

I think that the sack part was Brooks injury, Lawson just can't get the pass rush end of the equation down, and Harolson is not cutting it. I think his time has come and gone. Plus we did not get our 10-20 sacks out of the Cardinals and Rams this year. So we need a consistent pass rush and I hope we get 1-2 pass rushers in the draft.

I too would like to bring in some young guys for the D-line.

It doesn't matter too much that McDonald doesn't finish. If he puts pressure on the QB, that's a good thing. Of course, we'd like the sack, but pressures are important too.

I like Ricky-Jean Francois. No idea if he can ever be our starter and replace Aubrayo, but we certainly need him in the rotation. He's definitely developing.