Nice defensive gameplan well executed

[Joelist]

The D did quite a nice job against the Rats today.

The plan was actually pretty close to what I predicted in other threads - take away Andrews and Brown and make Jackson put the ball into tight spaces. And aside from one blown coverage on Brown (where I could make a case that he did not control the ball as he went OOB) they pretty much did exactly that.

What was also noteworthy was the DL both got pressure AND was stout against the run without needing the D to cheat up - this meant we could stay in tighter and smaller zones so we did not have Rat receivers sitting in giant holes in zones (like they were against the Chargers and Colts).

Put these together and you saw what happens when Jackson has to be accurate (as opposed to just strong armed) and show touch - he isn't very good. He has slightly below average accuracy and very below average touch - this was a rap on him his whole career and in the playoffs where he has looked bad is what opposing defenses keyed on.

And also crucial was the SUPERB job of contain from the DL - by sealing the edges they made Jackson's running largely harmless and aided the pressure in getting home.