Quote:
Originally Posted by RAMFANRAIDERHATER
As far as Haslett's future with the Rams, I'd give him the same slack I'm willing to give Linehan. One more year to produce a top 10 defense, or he's gone.
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I'll admit that I've been one to give Haslett somewhat of a free pass, but here are my reasons.
1. Linehan's the head coach, he's responsible for the whole team, so defense is supposedly his problem too.
2. If the offense could sustain drives the defense wouldn't be so tired by the second quarter.
3. And this one is directed to RAIDERHATER, we don't have the personnel for a top 10 defense, and we need one either! With the skill players we have on offense, we really only need a top 15 defense to compete for a Super Bowl. That is, as long as the offense is performing how it should be. If it's not, then yes, we need a top 10 D to be able to compete, but look at the top 10 defenses for this year. We're a pro-bowl kind of player away on the line(DE), in the backers(Pisa's close) and in the secondary(namely SS, in my opinion) from being top 10.
Now, are the schemes the best? No. But we can't run a cover two defense like Lovie did, because we don't have the front four to pull it off. When we're fully healthy, we could maybe...
maybe... run it. However, the issue is that in a cover two, you need a front four who can pressure the QB all by itself, which I think we're a top notch DE away from. I say that because, while I love Little, I think he needs a threat from the other side now, just like Freeney needs Robert Mathis across from him.
Haslett's defense is at times very good, but our secondary is generally unexperienced and not of top 10 quality and so they end up giving up big plays, like the Green Bay game. At other times, the schemes just suck, but Haslett isn't exactly a defensive genius either.
To sum it all up, I blame Linehan most as his side of the ball is the worst problem, as it does not produce and it has all the talent, while Haslett's side is just about where they should be given the talent level.