| ukcolt |
11-06-2017 07:25 PM |
Our defense this year has been statistically horrific (quite a few points should be going against the offense with the pick 6's etc), but i see a lot of positives, along with a few absolute horrors as well.
Our defensive line has been very good, especially against the run, Hankins and Woods have been great all season. Anderson has had a couple of very good games the last couple of weeks, Margus Hunt has seen a lot of game time and has played well. Ridgeway and Stewart haven't seen a huge amount of game time, but have both been adequate as young depth players.
Our secondary has been up and down at times, but from my eyes has been markedly improved overall from last year, they at least appear to be in a position to make a play, even if they haven't always done so. A cornerback stable of Davis, Melvin, Hairston, Desir and Wilson is something i am very comfortable with, especially as we have some youngsters who will hopefully continue to improve. I was really impressed with how Desir played against Hopkins yesterday.......sure he gave up the TD, but he was playing man to may for much of the game, and had tight coverage throughout. Hairston has been an absolute revelation in the slot, and has possibly been our defensive MVP for the season. The safety position has been less encouraging, Butler seems lost much of the time, and always a step late. Hooker looked like the player we had all hoped him to be, but obviously has a serious injury to overcome. Fairley has played well enough, but T.J. Green has been as bad, if not worse than he was last year. Hopefully we will get a sighting of Geathers in action at some point soon. A healthy trio of Hooker, Geathers and Fairley ought to be something that we can rely on for a few years to come.
I have been fairly impressed with the performances of our OLB's, especially Simon, he has brought the most impact to the defense, but needs to get back on to the playing field.....Sheard has also played well against the run, although hasn't really stood out as a pass rushing force. Mingo has also been a nice addition who always gives his all. Basham has been a big disappointment, but maybe there are a few signs of some improvement of late. There has been a more consistent pass rush threat than last year, but not exactly causing major issues for the opposition offenses either. It is not as if you think we have a double digit sack candidate on the team. Then again i would never have thought that we did last year, but of course we did.
The biggest and most obvious cause for concern has been the ILB's, we just haven't got anyone who i feel should be on the roster come next season. Bostic, has been truly awful in coverage, and not a whole lot better against the run either. Morrison, just looks completely lost most of the time, George was a nice feel good player as someone making the roster from nowhere, but he really hasn't made any notable plays. Walker has barely seen the field of play, but maybe he could be a bright spot going forward, but i am not holding my breath on that happening.
I think come next season we should be ok at corner even if we were to lose Davis, the safety position is fine, i wouldn't do anything drastic along the defensive line, and believe that we can make do with the OLB's, but the ILB's both need to be replaced with new starters.
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