Well yeah from a technical stand point you are right... I'm not too big on Coples and Mauldin still has to prove himself... I was getting at people saying we don't have an edge rusher as if that will mean we won't get much QB pressure without a solid "edge rusher"
I have faith in Mauldin.. i think our front 4 will make him and coples look 5x better than they really are but i think he also compliments our front beautifully. He can play the run and get to the QB pretty quick and aggressively.. Bye Bye Calvin Pace.
Edge rushers are not what it's all cracked up to be. Not having edge rusher doesn't mean having to send extra body for pass rush. I suggest you study the history and evolution of NFL defenses a little. Even the 70's defenses knew that much.
exactly what i was saying. We have monsters all over the d-line and a coach that loves blitzing his DB's. Plus Leonard is pretty much an interior pass rusher as it is.. we'll get to the QB with EASE against most teams and make them decide prematurely if they want to throw a pass at revis or cro .. or just get that run swallowed up.. pick ya poison
I have more faith in Mauldin than Coples, in my eyes Coples is a lazy bum, Mauldin has a lot to prove, but I'm much happier with him being drafted than wasting a #1 on Coples
He absolutely was, and that's what he does. Can't have elite level players at every position, we got some talented ass players on that defensive line and a good secondary. We have role players that can step up in IK and Babin.
It's all about how you build your defense. Theoretically, the best pass rush comes from NT lining up against the C. The farther the rusher goes away from that spot, the less optimal it gets. Why? It's such an easy geometry. NT up against C has the shortest distance from the QB - that's such an obvious fact. By the time you get to 9T, you need to cover up to 1.5 times the distance you would have to cover as a pass rushing NT lined up at C. Which means more time for the QB. =========================================== Now, the question here is, can the defense afford to have a pass rushing NT - because NT is responsible for many other tasks, including the dominance in the box. If he is not good at containing the gap, then his pass rushing prowess will be as good as useless; the opposing team will just run right at him every down. NT that can rush the passer AND contain the run are pretty hard to come by [1] and command astronomical amount of salary. [2] [I mean - he is literally one-man wrecking crew.] So, there you go. We usually delegate the pass rushing role to other players. The next best thing after pass rushing NT is the double A-gap blitz. Here the opposing C is forced to take two blitzers coming from A-gap [or right from the center] - he won't stop both alone. This works by engaging the interior OLs with DLs, exposing C against 2 blitzers incoming. It doesn't matter which personnel group you go with, even though at collegiate level [and when Eagles employed it] 4 down linemen occupied Ts and Gs one-on-one, leaving the C vulnerable on his own. Jim Johnson of Eagles during McNabb days was a mastermind of this concept. And pressuring the QB from A-gap has quite a few advantages - if anything, this destroys the pocket within seconds after the snap. The QB is forced to run for his life if the blitz is not picked up. And most QBs are not accurate while throwing on the run. If the QB is not mobile, then the offense is in world of trouble. So - if you can have a choice, this way of pressure is the most preferable form. If Brady gets blitzer in his face within seconds, he usually goes down. [Ryan pulled this with regularity during his tenure with the Jets.] So - after this, the third best way to pressure is, namely 3T. The undertackle. He usually lines up against Guards, and splits between T and G during passing down. NT is shaded to the 1 T position on the other side. This is how the Steel Curtain operated during the 70's, and this proved effective even in 2000's, with Warren Sapp winning the SB as a heralded 3T DT. Edge rushers are AFTER these options. As in - the DTs cannot destroy the pocket [1] or split between OLs to get to the QBs. [2] And if the pocket is intact, stepping up into the pocket can neutralize quite a bit of edge rushes. Therefore, in order for the edge rush to be effective, DE [or OLB] has to be fast and agile enough to chase the QB moving inside the pocket while evading blockers [1] and strong enough to chase the QB even while dragging a player - usually RB, but OT with some regularity these days - behind. [2] There is a reason why these legendary edge rushers are all a fearsome specimen [like Reggie White, Bruce Smith, etc] and are in HoF. If you build your defense around DEs, then that's how the rushes work. ========================================== I am inclined to think that, Jets are in very good position to employ 2nd/3rd option above. They don't necessarily have to have a blue chip edge rusher.
I feel you.. i'm also not sure Rex had a REAL game plan and purpose for coples. I see him as a 4-3 end coming out of college.. i never saw the fit here for him. Mauldin has been through a lot he just seems hungry i like his story. He if coples can't, can for sure play the edge in our defense.
A 15 sack season for an edge rusher would be a phenomenal season, but even that is less than 1 sack per game.
its not just about sacks. its about QB pressures, hurries, knockdowns and more importantly the defense cant send out as many WRs if they need extra blockers to keep you in check. you can have 0 sacks and still dominant a game with your pass rush
Definitely seems like this is the last we'll see Pace and Babin. Next year we'll have Mauldin/Coples/IK. Maybe even Howarse. I have surprisingly high hopes for IK.
Of course.. that's what makes Sheldon Richardson so special. He does all those things very often, if he was one step faster they'd be sacks for sure though. idc for sacks just disrupt the play and that's just as meaningful to me. Imagine four animals up front that can constantly bring that kind of pressure though.. scary thought.
The emphasis people put on these coveted speed edge rushers are a bit annoying for the fact that people act like they grow on trees and every good defense in the league has them. Think about the ones that are really really good. Who is on the List? Von Miller Robert Quinn Elvis Dumervil Justin Houston Cameron Wake Terrell Suggs Clay Matthews A tier below you'd probably put: Demarcus Ware (fading) Paul Kruger (blitzing defense) Jerry Hughes (product of players around him) Connor Barwin (blitzing defense, majority of sacks in 3 games..8.5) Ryan Kerrigan Everson Griffin (one real successful year thus far) Below that you have average to good players. The league is moving towards having a dominant interior presence (Dareus, Suh, Watt, McCoy, Cameran Jordan, Calais Campbell). We don't have a true edge rusher but there's a reason tons of these players get drafted every year; they're increasingly harder to find and even tougher to find where they can consistently produce. Not to mention box defenses work in unison. Players like Suggs, Kruger and Kerrigan aren't products of their systems but they fit in blitzing defenses because they don't need to worry about the run so much because of the presence of the rest of their defense. That's why players like Mauldin and Coples are set up to succeed in a defense like this with the hogs all over the rest of the line should leave them in one on one's to the weak side of the defense with no runningback chip.
