Coach Tuesday Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 They pressured him a lot but my memory is they got it done with their front 4 a lot. I think there is a place for blitzing Brady but I think you have to use them against him sparingly and intelligently. The intention should always be to confuse him. As Orton's Arm identifies if Brady knows you are going to be blitzing and he is picking them up he gets the ball out quickly and his safety valves hurt you at the second level - be that his slot guy, be it his running backs or be it his tight ends. I think wehave played 2 very good offences so far. I thought Schwartz did a decent job vs San Diego and a less good job vs New England. But in the recent past our defense has been susceptible against anyone.... good or bad. Don't tell me you have forgotten us making Brandon Wheedon look somewhat competent on TNF last season? This is the critical issue and it's why some of you are talking past each other here. You need to confuse the QB and give him multiple looks before the snap. Especially with elite QBs like Rivers and Brady. It also helps to confuse the source of the pressure - you don't actually need to blitz, you can bring four (or three) but confuse the linemen and QB about where the pressure is going to be coming from. Pettine did a lot of this (a lot more than he actually blitzed). Schwartz doesn't do enough pre-snap disguising and it's a big reason why his defense gets shredded by top QBs. I agree 100% with Orton's Arm - Schwartz's defense needs to be judged based on how it performs against top QBs. Greg Williams was a master at bullying weak offenses, but against top QBs, his defense always folded. I'll never forget the image of Greggo throwing his clipboard to the ground as the Patriots scored on their third screen pass of the day...
GunnerBill Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 Pettine tried to confuse top Quarterbacks... I'm not sure he really had any greater success in doing so than Schwartz had against New England, there were a couple of 3rd and longs in that gamewinning NE drive last season at RWS and Brady found his guy. I also agree judge them against top QBs. The defense played a pretty good game against Rivers.... if you hold San Diego to 22 points you give yoursleves a chance to win, unfortuntately our offense couldn't get it done. Against the Patriots I have agreed throughout they did not confuse Brady enough. I just disputed that the answer is blitzing more.
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