06-01-2018, 09:58 AM
(06-01-2018, 07:26 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Actually what was said was that he played a lot of snaps and he led the team in tackles. It sure doesn't mean he was good in coverage. What I said is that I doubt he is our nickel backer. Now, it is interesting to read that some thinks that Austin will use more 4-3 and less nickel, but I really would be surprised as our strength is our secondary over our front seven....at least over the linebackers.
And I do believe the much-maligned Vigil is pretty solid at coverage, but he takes poor angles in rush defense and misses a lot of open tackles. So, I guess take the good with the bad there.
While I do think it will be more "4-3", I think that will be a somewhat hybrid defense. If you read some of the things that Lions beat writers and fans said about losing Austin, they all talked about his hybrid defenses that he likes to use and how it caused a ton of confusion, leading to turnovers. Austin is supposedly incredible with using his secondary players and with that being our defenses biggest strength on paper, I think you're absolutely correct that he will get more defensive backs on the field most times. But sometimes that is going to hopefully mean guys like Illoka and Williams will be lined up in more of a "linebacker" role at times to get them closer to the line of scrimmage. He used James Ighabadagjo(or however you spell his name) a lot in that same facet when he was there from the readings I found. He is a big believer in guys with speed being on the field and thats why he tried to make kyle van noy a sam when he probably shouldn't have.
It's a copy cat league and guys are looking for that guy that can take away all of these nightmare TE matchups that are all over the league now, the Deone Buchanons of the world are hard to find and everyone is looking for them now. I honestly think Illoka would be really good at it. He's built to perfectly follow TE's and would be able to jump with them as well. If we could allow him to flow naturally around the line of scrimmage, and attack on run plays because he diagnoses well, he could be a difference maker.
