Lou speaks on the state of the defense

[Whatever]

(12-28-2023, 01:48 PM)samhain Wrote: Also wanna say, I think many of us really underestimated the loss of Bates.  Some posters, myself included, expected significant impact, but not anything like this.  My thinking was that there were enough other talented players on the defense that the loss could be sufficiently mitigated.  I think this particular perspective really failed to realize how big of a role he played here.  

People get into the concept of premium positions and where a team should or shouldn't shell out money.  Obviously our bread and butter is in offensive skill guys.  Obviously they needed to plug holes in the gushing dam that was the OL due to horrid talent eval and subsequent drafting.  Even so, a team needs to be able to identify it's key guys.  They've survived stretches without Reader, Hubbard, Wilson, Awuzie, etc.  They've absolutely cratered without Bates.  

I get that it's all but a given that this team doesn't want to pay a safety huge money, but if that particular safety is holding the defense together, then who cares?  You could argue that having that caliber of safety back there allowed them to get by with running the Eli Apples of the world out there for near full seasons.  It allowed CTB to get on the job training and not hurt the team significantly.  That's worth the price if you ask me when a player breaks the bank but allows you to skimp at multiple other spots.

I think our FO does a good job more often than not in the Taylor Burrow era, but this was a rare example of malpractice.  Everyone's view of Bates was shaded by his negotiations and hyper aggressive agent Mulgheta.  The lack of INTs also played a part.  It's unfortunate, but someone in the FO should have recognized the potential weight of his absence and ponied up.  Bates was super dependable in the regular season and a monster in the postseason. Hell, there was a time a few years ago where he was just about the only guy on the team worth paying any guaranteed money.  He was a cornerstone Taylor guy from the start.  Should have locked him up long term then instead of playing the tag game until the clock ran out.

Run defense has fallen off way more than pass defense, though.  We're 26th in run d this year compared to 5th in '22.  By comparison, pass defense has gone from 16th in '22 to 28th this year.

We also have to remember that we had 5 vets starting last year in the secondary until Awuzie went down later in the year.  This year, it's been mostly rookies and 2nd year guys.  Awuzie doesn't look to be 100% recovered from his injury, Scott was a bust,and Hill played more CB than S as a rookie.