Defense

[XsandOs]

(09-14-2024, 11:43 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Im pretty sure that J didnt start this thread to blame the defense for the loss.  Many keep stressing the defense didnt lose the game but that is not the point.  The defense didnt lose the game.  That said the defense is much more concerning to many of us because the offense has Burrow who will get it together, Chase who missed the preseason, and Tee who is hurt.  The oline is better.   TE has promise.  We have reasons to believe the offense will improve.

What evidence do we have that the defense isnt really bad vs the run?  Are we really banking on 2 rookies and Murphy coming off the IR to improve us significantly?  These are backups.  

We were horrendous vs the run last year and lost our top run stuffer.  We replaced him with a pass rusher (who has yet to rush the passer).  One of our best run stoppers, Hubbard, has possibly lost a step.  We signed a safety that has a history of missing tackles and that hasnt changed with a 40% missed tackle rate in his first game.

The defense is a major concern, more concerning than the offense in my opinion, the fact they didnt "lose this one game", isnt the issue.  They gave up 170 on the ground and could not make a stop with the game on the line.  Our offense would not need to get back to normal for us to be successful, they would need to be a high octane offense scoring tons of points to outscore other teams.  Im very doubtful we can average 30 points a game, and if the run defense remains this bad it will be impossible simply due to time of possession.

We have no idea what Lou can do to fix this, which is very worrisome.  If he does turn this D around, it would be his best coaching job in his career.

Agreed. Defense was not the root cause of the loss last week; however, the issues on defense moving forward are significant. Also, when it mattered, our run D could not get a stop.

Additionally; injuries and run defense aside, I did not see any pass rush up the middle. I saw too much of Hendrickson looping around the LT and opening escape gaps for Brissett.