On the bright side...

[TTK]

The run defense has been nails the past two weeks, something that has plagued this team for most of the year.

Did Pagano change something up? D-line stepping up?

[KNSD]

Stop with the positive threads now!!!! Seriously, looks pretty good. Ingram is a beast and seems to make the entire front play better.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

We need to add one more OLB that can rush the passer and one that can play the run like JJ. Still need a big ugly in the middle like Suh so Carrethers can play for Rayes and back up NT. JMHO

[blueman]

Suh in the rotation would be sick. Then draft all O.

[Steve]

We need to add one more OLB that can rush the passer and one that can play the run like JJ. Still need a big ugly in the middle like Suh so Carrethers can play for Rayes and back up NT. JMHO

WHy? We need to find a way to get quicker and get more penetration up the middle to make the whole pass rush go. Big slow guys are nice in theory, but you get penetration by being quicker. Problem is, where do we get that quickness from? In the 43 teams, it is the under DT/3 technique guy. In the 34? If the DL are quick enough to be good pass rushers, they are a liability against the run. If they are big and powerful, then they probably won't get much pass rush.

Our run D is getting better because guys are playing their assignments and sticking to their gaps. Still some breakdowns, but not like before.

We just don't want to be stupid like Atlanta did. They went out and got a bunch of the best individual run defenders, got a lot bigger, spent a ton of money, now they are being beat like a drum vs the run and pass. Size doesn't matter as much in run D as playing 11 guys all doing their job. 1 guy screws up, that is where the ball is going to go.

And we still allow a lot of teams to convert a lot of 3rd downs.

[Mister Hoarse]

The 1 guy screwing up the most just went on IR. D has been much better since they reduced his PT.
I am for any scheme that will allow the D to maximize Ingram pressuring the middle.
If that is a 34 or a 43 or a hybrid, then make it so.

[Panama]

The run defense has been nails the past two weeks...

You wouldn't know it reading the GDT, though.

[Yubaking]

WHy? We need to find a way to get quicker and get more penetration up the middle to make the whole pass rush go. Big slow guys are nice in theory, but you get penetration by being quicker. Problem is, where do we get that quickness from? In the 43 teams, it is the under DT/3 technique guy. In the 34? If the DL are quick enough to be good pass rushers, they are a liability against the run. If they are big and powerful, then they probably won't get much pass rush.

Our run D is getting better because guys are playing their assignments and sticking to their gaps. Still some breakdowns, but not like before.

We just don't want to be stupid like Atlanta did. They went out and got a bunch of the best individual run defenders, got a lot bigger, spent a ton of money, now they are being beat like a drum vs the run and pass. Size doesn't matter as much in run D as playing 11 guys all doing their job. 1 guy screws up, that is where the ball is going to go.

And we still allow a lot of teams to convert a lot of 3rd downs.

Your bias in favor of smaller/quicker DL players and against bigger/stronger DL players is showing again.

The reality is that ATL finished the 2013 season as the #31 ranked run defense at 4.8 YPC against. They added Soliai, but due to a couple of injuries, their starting defense is essentially Soliai and crap. Despite this and with just Soliai, ATL has improved to being the #16 YPC against run defense in the league at 4.1 YPC against. I would call that a pretty gigantic improvement, especially under the injury circumstances facing them.

After going to the rotation following the bye week, we have improved such that we are also now at 4.1 YPC against, not better than ATL when measured to the tenth of a yard. However, we were 4.6 YPC against last year, so ATL has actually improved more against the run than we have. Their plan to improve their run defense by adding Soliai has worked. They are not getting beat like a drum against the run over the season as a whole as you suggest.

In fact, their YPC against stat is somewhat misleading in that in 10 of their games, they have allowed 4.2 YPC against or less. However, they got gashed in 4 of their games, surrendering 5.0, 5.5, 5.6 and 6.0 YPC against in those games. Without those 4 bad games, they would be ranked 3rd in YPC against. But, because those games count, they are only 16th. Clearly, though, the vast majority of the time, they are not getting beaten like a drum against the run. Most of the time, they have been very good against the run.

Where ATL is getting killed is against the pass where they are dead last in total yards against and YPA against. They have a good run stopper in Soliai, but they really do not have much else on defense. By the way, they were 29th in YPA against last year and didn't have some of the injuries that they have had this year, so they are pretty close to the same this year against the pass as they were last year. Their INTs and QB rating against numbers are actually better this year.

So, overall, they are about the same against the pass and much, much better against the run. I would say that Soliai has helped them considerably and supports the view that run stopping NTs help teams stop the run. That said, I do not think Soliai is worth what ATL paid to get him, but ATL's results with him do show that the big two gap NTs do tend to stop the run.

The 3-4 has always been about pressure from the OLBs and not from the DL. Anything from the DL is a bonus. We led the NFL in sacks in 2006 with Igor, Jamal and Luis starting for us--not exactly game changing pass rushers. What we had was Merriman on one side and Phillips on the other and a DC who believed in attacking the QB.

With what we have been able to do against the run with the return of Ingram and Liuget playing well plus using Conner more leads me to believe that if we had a legitimate good NT playing for us, we would be an elite run defending team.

[SFW]

Your bias in favor of smaller/quicker DL players and against bigger/stronger DL players is showing again.

I'm sorry but I didn't read a single line past the quoted one. I just found it too funny and ironic that you called out another poster for showing bias.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Your bias in favor of smaller/quicker DL players and against bigger/stronger DL players is showing again.

The reality is that ATL finished the 2013 season as the #31 ranked run defense at 4.8 YPC against. They added Soliai, but due to a couple of injuries, their starting defense is essentially Soliai and crap. Despite this and with just Soliai, ATL has improved to being the #16 YPC against run defense in the league at 4.1 YPC against. I would call that a pretty gigantic improvement, especially under the injury circumstances facing them.

After going to the rotation following the bye week, we have improved such that we are also now at 4.1 YPC against, not better than ATL when measured to the tenth of a yard. However, we were 4.6 YPC against last year, so ATL has actually improved more against the run than we have. Their plan to improve their run defense by adding Soliai has worked. They are not getting beat like a drum against the run over the season as a whole as you suggest.

In fact, their YPC against stat is somewhat misleading in that in 10 of their games, they have allowed 4.2 YPC against or less. However, they got gashed in 4 of their games, surrendering 5.0, 5.5, 5.6 and 6.0 YPC against in those games. Without those 4 bad games, they would be ranked 3rd in YPC against. But, because those games count, they are only 16th. Clearly, though, the vast majority of the time, they are not getting beaten like a drum against the run. Most of the time, they have been very good against the run.

Where ATL is getting killed is against the pass where they are dead last in total yards against and YPA against. They have a good run stopper in Soliai, but they really do not have much else on defense. By the way, they were 29th in YPA against last year and didn't have some of the injuries that they have had this year, so they are pretty close to the same this year against the pass as they were last year. Their INTs and QB rating against numbers are actually better this year.

So, overall, they are about the same against the pass and much, much better against the run. I would say that Soliai has helped them considerably and supports the view that run stopping NTs help teams stop the run. That said, I do not think Soliai is worth what ATL paid to get him, but ATL's results with him do show that the big two gap NTs do tend to stop the run.

The 3-4 has always been about pressure from the OLBs and not from the DL. Anything from the DL is a bonus. We led the NFL in sacks in 2006 with Igor, Jamal and Luis starting for us--not exactly game changing pass rushers. What we had was Merriman on one side and Phillips on the other and a DC who believed in attacking the QB.

With what we have been able to do against the run with the return of Ingram and Liuget playing well plus using Conner more leads me to believe that if we had a legitimate good NT playing for us, we would be an elite run defending team.

Thank you for sharing your un-Steve-like abilities.

[Yubaking]

I'm sorry but I didn't read a single line past the quoted one. I just found it too funny and ironic that you called out another poster for showing bias.

I am sorry, but if you haven't noticed that he wildly downgrades every single bigger NT because he wants smaller, quicker penetrating DTs regardless of who the player is, you haven't been reading his posts very clearly.

He has said that Shelton is a poor prospect, basically a late round draft pick at best. Almost every mock has Shelton as a round 1 guy. He's just the latest example.

He said Soliai was no good and wouldn't help ATL's run defense. ATL's run defense has been markedly improved with the addition of Soliai.

You get the sense that if he had to choose between prime Earl Mitchell and prime Jamal Williams, he would choose Mitchell because he is a penetrating style NT whereas Williams was a two gap NT.

That's just a style of player preference.

For us, my preference is the two gap NT because we have not been consistently strong versus the run and we have other pieces in place already that would thrive if kept clean by a double team occupying NT.

Also, I think forcing double teams will help our OLBs get to the QB. As it is, our pass rush has been pretty anemic and we are still covering pretty well. While I want my NT to collapse the pocket and prevent the QB from stepping up, I really do not care if the NT gets sacks or not. Any sacks from the NT are a bonus. His main job is to shut down the run.

[Yubaking]

Thank you for sharing your un-Steve-like abilities.

If un-Steve-like abilities include pointing out Steve's complete misrepresentation of the success that ATL's run defense has had because they added Soliai, then I will take that as a compliment.