10-04-2018, 02:49 PM
(10-04-2018, 02:48 PM)thillan Wrote: Totally agree with you, but sadly it is true.That double move or stutter step Ridley put on Dre, made Dre look very bad.
One thing to note for me: In the two games where we've truly had a chance to get turnovers, we have done it. Carolina played old school football, and CMC is great with the ball in his hands. We still almost had 2, but Hubbard sadly got the short end of the stick twice (which sucks!)
And Matt Ryan, on top of usually not turning it over too much, is lights out this year. If you go back and watch the game, our coverage defense actually wasn't THAT bad. Yes it was bad, but some of those receivers looked open because Matt Ryan just made some great throws that dropped perfectly to where Matt wanted it. Sometimes while pressured! I came into the game saying Jesse Bates needed a good game, and he played OK, but Ryan really got him good with maneuvering him with his eyes. Not much he could do.
That's just what I've been seeing. So I know the last two weeks look bad, but honestly my biggest worries on defense aren't as large as others see it.
Run defense: This is my biggest worry, because even though the NFL is all about passing, if you allow runs you are SCREWED. Burfict HAS to make a really good impact on this, seriously.
Dre Kirk is my other concern. Calvin Ridley is a monster and wasn't an easy matchup by any means, but I feel his play has been declining since the start of the season honestly. WJ3 is being asked to do what he isn't best at, but man Dre is a serious liability to me right now. I wasn't as concerned two weeks ago.. now I am. By the way, there were 2 plays where Matt Ryan missed the throw, where Dre got BURNED. Just wasn't noticeable because the throw was off target.
So in short, I think the run defense gets shored up, and middle of the field gets a little tougher to defend. But I don't think Dre is going to perform up to expectations (which weren't even that high). I'm worried he's going to cost us a game or two.
