Webster Guy Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 This was the first game where we really missed having a fast young athletic Kiko out there making plays. Frank Reich took advantage of the fact that we were going to key on Gates and he kept exploiting our biggest weakness which is we are very slow at LB. Preston Brown is slow. Whaley and Schwartz rave about the guy but he was slow in college and he's even slower in the NFL. Spikes too. Those guys are thumpers and great between the tackles shedding blocks and hammering runners but in a spread out field with a veteran qb we don't stand a chance with the personnel we have at LB. Fans are blasting our corners and our pass rush after this game, but we will be fine there if we stay healthy and make some adjustments because we have the skill players to handle those jobs. LB is a different story, even more so now that Rivers is hurt and may take awhile to get back to 100%. Nigel seems to be improving but meanwhile Schwartz has some work to do because we got exposed pretty badly today and can expect a lot more of what SD did clearing out the middle of the field with deep and sideline routes, then throwing short balls to the slot guy or the backs and consistently moving the chains. Was a lot tougher to do against Kiko because of his speed and knack for diagnosing plays. i vote for a bionic knee replacement and get him on the field in 2 weeks.
Special K Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Well done. I was going to start a thread about this myself. Kiko was sorely missed today.
Gugny Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Today's defense looked more like last year's (with Kiko) than it did in weeks 1 and 2.
Webster Guy Posted September 22, 2014 Author Posted September 22, 2014 Today's defense looked more like last year's (with Kiko) than it did in weeks 1 and 2. I disagree. Last year we had very few series where we only rushed 4 despite down and distance, our corners played up more and tons more nickel it seems, and the biggest change is we don't have any 2 gap nose tackle in there which let Kiko to roam free. This is a single gap defense and Schwartz 'Wide 9' is totally different for coverage, which was killing us today. Pettine used to play Lawson off the ball quite a bit, especially in nickel and dime sets, and he played the second coverage LB next to Kiko. Manny is fast and long and did very well dropping and running. We are built to stop the run this year, but in the process we've slowed down a bit. I thought it was a drastic and noticeable difference from last year.
truth on hold Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 no doubt cant just bludgeon them with bradham but oth good teams find a way to win in spite of injuries overall bills have been pretty healthy
boyst Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 I disagree. Last year we had very few series where we only rushed 4 despite down and distance, our corners played up more and tons more nickel it seems, and the biggest change is we don't have any 2 gap nose tackle in there which let Kiko to roam free. This is a single gap defense and Schwartz 'Wide 9' is totally different for coverage, which was killing us today. Pettine used to play Lawson off the ball quite a bit, especially in nickel and dime sets, and he played the second coverage LB next to Kiko. Manny is fast and long and did very well dropping and running. We are built to stop the run this year, but in the process we've slowed down a bit. I thought it was a drastic and noticeable difference from last year. the truth. Schwartz has shown he knows how to stop the run but we need to look at how we are defending the pass and why its not working.
Formerly Allan in MD Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 Your absolutely right. Today Spikes really showed his inability to stay with receivers on passing downs.
The Big Cat Posted September 22, 2014 Posted September 22, 2014 the truth. Schwartz has shown he knows how to stop the run but we need to look at how we are defending the pass and why its not working. Well if he can shred Fitz next week then hope is lost. Fitz like rivers is more than happy to small ball you to death.
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