How good (or bad) will the Defense be?

I hope they’re really good. The pass rush should be stellar. Can they cover and tackle in the secondary? They were improving last year at both of those as the season progressed. At least everybody has at least one season of experience and if they stay relatively healthy, I’ll say top five too.

they should at least finish in the top 10. if they don’t, i’d say this coaching staff needs to fired.

Long, Hayes, and Dunbar will all be 30 this year. They are the oldest players on the current roster.

i would agree with that. strong running game or a better secondary in order for this defense to reach top 5.

If GW is trustworthy, than top 5. However Jenkins alone could screw it up.

If not, than first in sacks, blitzes, and big plays given up. Top 20 defense.

IM not sure if I trust him yet.

Well that will be a test of Coaching,
wont it. The JJ thing.
They will have had all offseason
and preseason to deal with the
“JJ problem.”

Well, they’ve had three offseasons to deal with the ‘JJ problem’ and nothing’s changed, so I’m not expecting things to be different this season.

JJ is JJ. He’s all about impact plays. Heck, his twitter handle is Mr.pick6sh*t. He’s always looking to make the big play and will foolishly gamble to make that happen. That’s just who he is.

It’s time for you to accept that and move on. Abandon this futile hope that JJ becomes a reliable and consistent corner because it’s not going to happen and I don’t want to see you get hurt.

I’ve said this before, but I think JJ has to be used correctly.

Look. He’s an aggressive player. The downside of that is that he makes mistakes.

But, there is an upside. He actually CAN make plays.

So, how does one use him?

1) Move him back off the LOS 7 yards. Take him out of close contact with the WR, reducing the value of his instinctive ability to go with cuts. Frustrate and bore him. Make him antsy, more liable to bite on a chance to come up. And limit the effectiveness of his gifts.

or

2) Make the most of his gifts. Play him up, aggressively. Maximize his ability to run with WRs. Make a virtue of his aggressiveness and give him chances to make plays. And provide some backup over the top.

What do you think?

And how has he been played?

And don’t forget, #1 tends to negate the impact of our pass rush. #2 maximizes its impact.

JJ is not a balanced, all around CB. Yet, I believe a smart DC would get value from his gifts. I KNOW we are not doing that.

Glad to see all the guys saying they don’t trust GW. That’s correct. Don’t trust him. Make him prove he can actually deploy our talent effectively. When he does, I’ll praise him.

Agamemnon wrote:

I agree with what you say. Aeneas said that he just needs to be smarter about when to be aggressive.

I agree with your agreement.

And of course, Aeneas was a world class DB. I doubt JJ will ever be that. And if he played smarter, he’d be better.

But the DC has to be smarter in how he uses him, as well.

Lots of players look great playing a role that matches who they are and bad playing another role … and vice versa.

They need a DT behind Fairley and Brockers. Bet they draft one.

I am going to keep Jenkins. Give him help over the top and let him gamble. I probably can’t keep both Jenkins and Johnson next year. I will let one walk and replace the other with Robinson. I have enough CBs to do that. Still, if the Rams add a CB this year, that is fine. I know Snead likes PJ Williams.