Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg v1.0…Gus Bradley

[Kray007]

Every time a Defense underperforms, there’s a natural tendency for fans to grab their pitchforks and flaming torches, storm the castle walls, and burn the creature at the stake. At Castle Irsay, the call to move on from Gus Bradley has reached a cacophony, a fever pitch.

Right now, we don’t know just how this will play out; there’s a pretty good chance that this team will listen to the howls of the crowd, yield, and cut bait with Bradley. no one could blame them if they did.

But I wonder just how much of this is Gus Bradley‘s fault. Are we like the characters in the fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin? Have we locked Gus in a tower, tossed him a bale of hay, and find ourselves ticked off because he can’t turn the hay into gold?

Let’s be honest. When I look at the players Gus Bradley has to work with, I’m not seeing many Kam Chancellor’s or Richard Sherman’s. His 2013 Defense, the Legion Of Boom, was one of the best in the league. If you question that, all you have to do is go back and look at film and see how they shut down teams like the 49ers, the Rams, and the Vikings. Their worst performance of the year came against the Colts and Andrew Luck. Watching that game is particularly wrenching when you see Andrew and a cast of midgets, put up 34 points.

I find myself asking if it’s possible that the reason we’re giving so much cushion to guys like Dell and Diggs is because Gus Bradley doesn’t trust Sam Womack in coverage. I don’t know, but on some level, I’m willing to dabble in free agency, spend draft capital, and fill some of the holes on defense before I toss Gus overboard. This past Sunday, they held an elite Detroit offense that routinely racks up more than 40 points a game to 24. Against Jacksonville, they picked up 645 total yards on O, a team record. A week later, the Colts slashed that by 250 yards.

The last five games this season should give us a better handle on where we stand. There are no more Lions or Bills or Vikings or Bengals on the schedule. Let’s see how Gus D responds before we pull the trigger.