Can I shed some light here...I think you all are over thinking this a bit. Let me speak from a spot of experience. When an offense practices against a defense it's about developing timing. The speed of the receivers...the speed of the RB...how many yards behind the QB the RB is and the timing of connection with the WR's. Practice is for developing that "unspoken" bond between WR and QB in deciphering the route tree. It is often misconstrued that if you have a stout defense your offense, in practicing against it day in and out, should be better but that is not the case. How many teams run on the Ravens...yet, you do not see Ray Rice having a problem. On the other hand their passing game is average. Same goes for the Steelers and others. If Sanchez has his timing and the WR's have the route tree down then the only difference between games and practice is Revis won't be there to break things up in the game. I'm not saying that the defense doesn't make the offense better in practice and vice versa...but the looks rarely matter in practice. ONLY if a unit does something exceedingly off the wall like a Wild Cat or something will you see things, in practice, tailored for a specific look. As discussed ad nauseum on this board, Schotty's schemes were the primary problem. A QB typically has anywhere from 5 - 15 seconds to get up to the line, diagnose what he sees and call the play. Same for the center and his protections. How many times did we see Sanchez hit the line with a short amount of time. It was common to see less than 10 seconds on the play clock. There's also a thing called too many options. For a play that usually will last for 5 seconds having a route tree, for a specific play, have 3-4 options is ridiculous. 2 is the common number. Your called route and the "hot" route...with changes only happening if an audible is called. I do not think you will see the same problem with Tony. The primary difference between the Dolphins results and ours will most likely be talent. Say what you want...Sanchez is far more talented than Henne...and we have the better line, RT not withstanding...and that may not be as big a problem this year. These guys aren't idiots and I do not think they would leave the "turnstile" in there this year if they didn't think he would take to Tony's schemes. Having gone totally off topic...the "looks" our defense gives in practice...especially OTA's is not nearly as important as our "O" simply getting repetitions together and building trust.
Coming off last years performance by Mark and the O, how much trust can they build while struggling again in practice? Not being able to move the ball is what caused the blow up last season. I think our O should be able to handle the defense, but if they can't we need to let them practice just running the plays the way they are drawn up to work. Let them build their confidence and knowledge of the plays before throwing a stout defense at them.
Our offense will improve because Schotty is now ruining the St.Louis offense as we speak. Ground and Pound will be back in true form this year.
Thanks for sharing a thought that has absolutely nothing to do with the thread. I really don't want this to turn into another one of "those" threads.
\ Lets just keep it civil these are the comments that stir the pot to create "that" thread But on to the topic... Like what was stated before Practicing is for Timing, and Chemistry on both sides of the ball. Learning how to get the calls in quicker and stream line the offense. Create Schemes and create a Identity which this team was missing last year
It's much tougher for the O because they're always in flux. Where as Rex has made sure to keep continuity with the D. He changes the D slightly every year but through packages, personal and coaches he keeps it consistent with a tweak here and there. I feel if he followed the same philosophy with the O we would be further with Sanchez. Sanchez has improved in spite of changes. They have never centered the O around his strengths.
WR carousel, Loss the idea of "Protecting" the QB( O-line never replaced the talent it lost ). Never getting a workhorse back after Jones left( LT was no what we needed ). #2TE never has been consistent with Cumberland being injured last year( I'm hoping for big things from him he is huge! ) Hopefully, hiring sparano will give us some continuity through the next couple of years
Couple of points. The question wasn't about why the defense is better than the offense so far in OTAs. Question is, does it help the offense to play against a defense that they will never face in the upcoming year ? Would the offense be better served in 7v7's and 11v11s if our defense, for those drills, played more like most other D's in the NFL? Or, a slightly different perspective, IF we aren't going to face any teams this season that use a 46 defense, how does it help to practice against a 46 in OTAs or camp ?
We need to keep in perspective that practices are for both the offense and the defense. The D also needs to practice the way they will play this season. They also need to get their timing down pat. So having the D play differently in practice does not make a lot of sense to me. Once the season gets closer they will start pacticng game specific and that is we're the O will benefit the most. What is important now is to build the chemistry with your players, and as many have said, get the timing and the rhythm down pat. No matter how the D lines up, the O has to be able to do the fundamentals perfectly to be a contender, something we lost last year A) getting plays in early B) get all the players on the same page for a given play C) know your routes cold and the position of your teammates D) avoid penalties due to position or technique E) develop confidence and avoid confusion due to overly complicated schemes F) learn about your players strengths and tweak the play book to be successful when it counts Call me a homer but with the in your mouth running game returning, Cumberland back, improved deep threat and the what you see it's what you get line ups I think we might be back in the hunt
All this offense needs to be is functional. Move the ball for field position,avoid turnovers and score every 2.5 series or so. That's all that this team needs to win football games w/ Rex's D. The problem w/ Schotty became taking a whole half to find tempo,complex presnap reads leading to turnovers & never making adjustments suited to improve execution. Sparano WILL get this running game back to the top. I have no doubt. The passing game?We'll see...but the good news is even on its worst days in year's past, this offense has displayed the ability to make big plays in crunch time. Top 12 offense is all we need. Can we get there?
can't hurt, I don't see any repercussions in practicing against the Jets defense. If anything the offense gets in sync, and playing an aggressive defense can only benefit it. competitions must be amazing, I mean every day your going up against the best CB in the league - so maybe you find a way to place a ball where NO one could get it for example.
I recall Mangini organizing a mid-training camp 'skirmish' with the G-girls just to get a flavor of a different group of players. Something that Mangini thought would be beneficial for both teams. Unfortunately, the G-girls cried all the way home reporting that the Jet D was 'too physical' and the G-girls had bruises in placed they didn't even know they had.
The OP presents an interesting question, but I don't know what the answer is. I will say it is not surprising that the Jet D tends to dominate the O, given that the D is better by any measure than the O.
