11-09-2024, 09:47 PM
(11-09-2024, 08:47 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: having the best run stuffing defensive tackle, and one of the best ball hawk safeties certainly helped the 21 and 22 teams. One dominant guy in the front, one dominant guy in the back. And yes, Bates was dominant in the postseason.
replacing Reader and Bates with Rankins and Stone is the biggest reason why this defense just isnt working
Both are rare players. I said for 2 years that finding a guy to man centerfield in single high was going to be a tough ask. Bates was as good as it gets at it.
Same with Reader. There aren't a lot of good NTs in the league. You can count them on one hand, and that's generous. It's hard to evaluate them coming in from college. Not a premium position, but also a really difficult one to develop. FWIW, I'm not overly down on Jackson. He might be okay. He's better than I expected at this point honestly. Def no Reader though, and expecting him to be is unreasonable.
