Just a crazy thought. But last year Geno and the anemic offense practiced against one of the worst secondaries in the league. When they actually took the field on game day they saw far better talent, speed, game planning and coverage, and the interceptions were as much a result of poor decision making as lack of field alertness and preparedness. Geno and Fitz will now train and practice against the best, with blitzes coming out of nowhere, at a fast and furious tempo. They should be good and ready to face any other D come game day. I might be all wet but this D will not only help the offense by keeping the game close, but it will help them even more by proper preparation for the game itself. You get better when you practice against the best. To me preparation and game planning was something that at times last year, particularly after a buy was atrocious.
Good points! Plus during games our D will hand the ball back to our O in good field position. No more handing off to Ivory from inside our own endzone 30 times.
Actually I think it is the opposite. Bowles needs to dial back the D in practice SD o the offense can get some rhythm and timing. One of Rex's worst faults was having his D "win" each practice. Steve Young has talked about this with the Jets several times
Did not hear SY saying this but I think I posted that the D should play with 10 guys against the O until the O can do something. Was told to go fuck myself basically. Wouldn't be surprised to be told that again
I think it's a moot point. I don't think either helps each other out significantly. Bowles will dial back the D so the offense can learn the new system and gel. The O will likely be dialed back also to help the new secondary and new defensive system. I don't think you are gonna see any benefit until we have had a couple years under our belt with this new roster. With a new QB and entirely new system, it is unlikely the defense will be going full speed
Our D is looking solid! Bowles has all the tools to succeed!! On offense we are improved too but that glaring hole at QB is our biggest issue by far.
They used to say that about Sanchez/Schotty too. Worked out well for those guys. The way the D will help the O will be shutting teams down and getting off the field.
Good post. I agree, but also agree with others that it may be a while before we start seeing the benefit from practice. It should also help give the offense better field position and more possessions.
I don't think the O will need to be dialed back. Revis and Cro know what they're doing. Skrine does too. I think Pryor and Gilchrist (or whomever is playing FS) will get coached up quickly and will have to learn to deal with whatever. The D will have the natural advantage, even though we have new players in the secondary who will have to adjust to each other. The O has been the weak link here for years. I think they will do (at least hope they d0) everything they can to help get them up to speed quickly, and build rhythm and confidence.
The D will help the offense by generating turnovers. Rex's D produced a grand total of 6 INTs and 7 FF last year. I like what Bowles has done, adding younger guys with playmaking ability in the secondary.
All good points, I wouldn't worry too much about defense vs offense in practices ... Each week during the season we'll have to prepare for the opposing teams offenses and defenses in practice ... During training camp I'm sure both offense and defense will be busy trying to learn the new systems and gel with each other ... I do like our secondary on paper, especially with the signing of Safety Gilchrest ... I'm more concerned about our offense, but it's still early,, a ways to go before the season starts ...
I think that's the complementary football coach Bowles mentioned in his presser. The Defense gives the O the ball in good position, O puts up points to pay back the favor. Offense takes a risk that doesn't pay off, D gets the ball back and gets off the field to erase the mistake. D gets burned on a big play, O comes back with a quick score to answer back and stay in the game. The list could go on and on, and when you throw in special teams, all three phases have to set up as well as bail out the other. I dont know to what degree it makes a difference, but Brady seems to think there is something to the steel sharpens steel theory the OP was talking about (tried to post link but still to new to the forum *blush* its a USA Today article title "Darrell Revis, past slights still keeping Patriots' Tom Brady sharp")
In one of the interviews with Cro he said he loves playing in Bowles D because its simple and allows players to play fast. When I read that I thought it was just the opposite of the Rex D that seemed very complicated and required lots of communication, particularly in the secondary. How many miscommunications did we see just last year? I'm looking forward to a simple yet effective D that can impose its will on opponents.
