Ready for this years version of the band of lunatics? 1) Is Rex just as aggressive as last year? I hope so, but he may change the gameplan at times to throw off opponents now that they have a year of tape. 2) Is Jason Taylor the bonafide pass rusher our D lacked last year? He had a decent amount of sacks in limited PT last year on a much inferior D. all while wearing a teal jersey and pretending to be a gay shark. 3) Safety Blitzes. We have so many options here. Digs, Smith, Pool, Warren, Leonhard. And most importantly these guys are all smart enough to go after the ball if they strip the QB. 4) Corner Blitzes. I'm looking at you, Dwight Lowery. The guy is known to cause FF and has the speed off the edge. 5) Can Gholston and Devito seal off their men? I trust Devito, but hes never played full time. Vernon isnt going to have an impact anywhere unless he develops a sudden desire to get off the bench for the first time in years. 6) The secondary is better this year. Revis or no Revis, I think alCrotraz is going to make a huge impact on the D, Kyle Wilson will play solid for a rookie, and Lowery is a solid 3rd or 4th CB. although if coleman sees the field were fucked. 7) Full 16 games of our best passrusher, Calvin Pace. Calvin Pace is watching you Salivate. 8) Can Westerman or Satele make an impact? I think Westerman has the talent, but he wont crack the depth chart.
I can see Devito as a Ricky Lyle-esque type of role playing journeyman. He will get the job done when he gets his rotation. He's got an excellent explosion off the line and he has great hands, he usually gets excellent leverage on his man. He wasn't as consistent as he could have been in 2009, maybe they think he got better.
he certainly has done well in rotation thus far in his career. looked above average at times. so who gets the other snaps?
If Revis plays, and I assume he will, I think we will be more aggressive than last year. As crazy as that sounds, he should have the DB's to go cover 0 frequently. Calvin Pace was a pretty good pass rusher for us last year. The fact that Taylor picked up 7 sacks on a shitty Miami defense tells me he is capable of more than that on this defense. Rex will be able to get him many more 1 on 1 situations where he was likely doubled quite a bit last year. If Jenkins stays healthy it gives everyone else a much better shot at a 1 on 1 matchup.
VaGholston and Pouha and whoever makes the cut in a couple of weeks. Rex is totally working his defense backwards. Most teams will fluctuate at the defensive backs positions with exception of an established safety and a consistent 1CB. Rex is rotating at the DL and with his pass rushers and has his superstars in the secondary. Per the new philosophy of the NFL to pass pass pass.
Nice name draw on Lyle. Hopefully he'll be a cross of Lyle and Shane Burton who used to bat down every pass thrown in his direction.
Nice list. Unfortunately any team with a passing game is going to try to force Coleman on the field... there's no way around that. If we end up having to face the Colts again this year and Revis isn't back... we're fucked.
While talking about Gholston, how much should we expect him to play this preseason ? Id imagine Rex wanting to give him some serious time on the field ?
Well if Gholston gets serious playing time during the year, itd be because hes doing something right.
