Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

defensive problems

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    defensive problems

    I laid in bed last night wondering what was our problem on d was. This is what I came up with.

    Little - His head is other places not on the football field
    Lewis/Pickett - over-hyped and can be block with one blocker on a run in the middle allowing the blockers to the next level
    Fisher - I like this kid, and seems to have some potential
    Pisa - Has a fire burning, but has lacked any sense of direction or has not got any sort of leadership as this level.
    Chillar - Young, also is going to suffer from the lack of leadership
    Thomas - Plays with NO heart, suppose to be the field captain and shows little intensity for a middle LB.
    Fisher/Grose/Butler/Garrett - INJURIES
    Williams - Its time to admit his age. He still plays like a corner at a safety position
    Arch - because of weak front levels, Adam has to play too close to the line where is under sized and often gets taken out of the picture. We are ruining this kid.

    The bottom line, once you take Jackson out of the equation rest of the players are just playing and walking through motions. We have no one that motivates this team and shows the intensity needed to light fires. Our leadership is very poor. Williams is a good leader off the field, but on, he is just another body.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: defensive problems

    Originally posted by RamWraith
    Arch - because of weak front levels, Adam has to play too close to the line where is under sized and often gets taken out of the picture. We are ruining this kid.
    I think it is a combination of things. First and foremost, Arch got blown up today. Could not have been a worse game. He missed the tackle on Griffin to set an ominous tone. He was carried on Crumpler's shoulder for 10 yards on Vick's flip to the 2 and he was blown out of the hole on Dunn's .... He got blindsided by a nose-breaking jolt ... on some of these he had to play close to the line because there was nowhere to go. He was man-handled and couldn't shed blockers. That was a self-ruinous performance.

    Comment

    Previous template Next

    Related Topics

    Collapse
    • Goldenfleece
      What Ails the Defense
      by Goldenfleece
      The big problems I see with the defense right now are as follows:

      1) The run defense was atrocious today. Kennedy actually did seem to be tying up two blockers a lot of the time, although he only actually managed to fight through the blocks to make a play maybe once or twice. I saw Witherspoon fight his way through blocks without losing much speed to make some really good stops. But that's all the good I can say for our run defense.

      I'm still not sure where to lay the blame on this. On LT's first big run, our entire D except Otogwe bit on the counter and headed right (the offense's left). Fullback Lorenzo Neal gets a big block on the left defensive end, Glover has already been corraled out of the way by the right guard when Tomlinson makes his cut back to the (offense's) right. That leaves the right tackle and tight end loose to take on two of our linebackers in pursuit (Spoon and Chillar I think). OJ is in position to make the play, but LT easily breaks his tackle. As some of the chatroom folks pointed out, Atogwe tackled too high. That leaves Chavous deep trying to come back in before LT gets to the endzone, and a corner trailing behind. But neither was close enough to really have a chance at him. Later I recall Chavous whiffing on another big run. They aren't the only ones to blame, but our safeties definitely earned a share of the fault in our loss today.

      2) Fisher is a major liability in coverage. I'm not the first to say it, and I won't be the last. At about 7:10 in the second quarter Fisher appeared to be covering Eric Parker (with a five yard cushion) and would have given up a big first down if Parker hadn't dropped the pass. Later, he gave up 3 plays consecutively of 16 yards, 11 yards, and 11 yards towards the end of the second half. To be fair, though, his excellent coverage of Antonio Gates on a deep third down pass later in that drive forced a punt. So you could say he atoned a little bit for his mistakes, but it doesn't change the fact that he made them in the first place. Looking through the play-by-play, it appears that Fakhir Brown gave up about 7 yards total through the air on his side. It seems so clear to me when I watch plays going Brown's direction or even towards the Chargers' corners, that they all seemed to be playing much tighter coverage. Our receivers made some great catches despite the fact the Chargers' corners were getting their hands up there on the ball; I'm not sure Fisher ever touched the ball.

      3) We've gotten only 3 of our 13 sacks this year in the second half of a game. I suspect our defensive ends are wearing down late in the game, and it's affecting our ability to get pressure. This is in part a depth problem. I think we've sorely missed having a good situational pass rusher to bring in as a change of pace. I'm thinking along the lines of 2004 when Bryce Fisher got 8.5 sacks for us as a backup. Does anyone reckon Green is even going to be good for...
      -10-30-2006, 02:39 AM
    • RamWraith
      Jackson talks like he's big-time -- let's see him play like it
      by RamWraith
      BY JEFF GORDON
      STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
      03/30/2006

      Steven Jackson embodies the challenge facing new coach Scott Linehan, his staff and the entire Rams team in 2006.

      Jackson has obvious talent. Jackson has shown great promise, delivering performances that made him look like a Pro Bowl candidate. His 1,046 yards rushing and 320 yards receiving (on 43 catches) last season tell you he has that potential.

      But injuries, big and small, have nagged him since his arrival in St. Louis and he hasn’t quite put it all together.

      He offers a rare combination of size and speed, with soft hands and some shiftiness as well. He can pop through holes and accelerate into the secondary. He can catch the ball coming out of the backfield and make tacklers miss in space.



      But Jackson also misreads plays, either through a lack of recognition or his foolhardy determination to make something bigger happen. Jackson still does too much east-west running, while upright, when he needs to lower his shoulder and run north and south.

      Does he have the instinctive running ability to become a perennial Pro Bowl back? Does he have the intensity to reach the highest level? Does he have the toughness and durability to be the workhorse back he wants to become?

      We’ll find out this season. Linehan knows how to use power backs -– he had Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams last season in Miami –- and he will give Jackson every chance to advance.

      Let’s see what Steven does with the opportunity.

      His halting progress the last two years sums up the Rams' downturn. This team has brought in a lot of talented young players in the wake of the “Greatest Show on Turf” days.

      Most showed promise. Many got hurt. Few sustained their success over the 16-game haul. Some have been cycled out -– most notably former No. 1 picks Adam Archuleta, Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis -– and others are getting another chance.

      A lot of factors led to the demise of the Martz regime and the restart with Linehan and Co. The team missed on some key free-agent signings, most recently Chris Claiborne. Martz became estranged from the rest of the franchise’s leadership, for one reason or another.

      But the biggest problem -– and the one Linehan’s staff must fix -– was the inability of the Generation Next Rams to reach their full potential.

      Look at the season Leonard Little had at left defensive end, largely owing to off-field issues. Look at the erratic play of Anthony Hargrove at the other end and the inconsistency in the middle, with Pickett, Lewis and Jimmy Kennedy.

      (Pickett wasn’t bad, actually, but he didn’t do enough to justify the free-agent dollars he got from Green Bay. He was solid, but seldom a major difference-maker).

      The battered Archuleta was a shell of his former...
      -03-30-2006, 02:43 PM
    • Guest's Avatar
      A couple of more comments on the defense
      by Guest
      I think that robert thomas has been a big disappointment. He just does not seem to be able to stay healthy. Archuleta is playing hurt, so on that basis, i cut him slack, but i will say that while he still makes some spectacular plays, i believe his fundemental tackling skills are not at the pro bowl level for a safety. his miss in the atlanta game was a critical play.

      I also think that aeneas has not played at anywhere near his previous level. I love aeneas, but i see a lot of marshall comments on this board regarding dropoff and not much on aeneas. Again, i am not saying he is no good, merely that there has been a material dropoff in his performance. He still makes some plays, but has missed some relatively easy chances that have really cost us. Specifically, i cite the dropped INT at the end of the saints game and the ball that hit him in the hands at midfield against the dolphins. His play on the flea flicker against miami was an abomination.

      Call it harsh if you will, just trying to call them as i see them. You cant overlook the fact that in the three losses we have ZERO takeaways, and this defense lived on takeaways last year. When the ball hits you in the hands, you have to make the catch, whether that is a DB on an int or an open reciever.

      general counsel
      -10-26-2004, 10:11 AM
    • RamWraith
      Several young Rams already at crossroads of careers
      by RamWraith
      BY JEFF GORDON
      Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
      11/29/2004

      Online Columnist Jeff Gordon


      The Rams have time, with six games left on their schedule. They have opportunity, with so many NFC teams playing like they are in the Big 12 North this season.

      So what’s it going to be? Are the Rams going to overcome their pedestrian 5-5 start and battle into postseason play?

      Or are they going to stagger toward an offseason of heavy reconstruction?

      The Rams have been all over the map this season, so it’s tough to label the Monday Night Football game at Green Bay as a defining moment of the season.

      An upset would help the Rams, of course, but only if they followed it by dismissing the under-skilled ***** next week.

      A loss would hurt the Rams, obviously, but this is shaping up as a season where 9-7 or even 8-8 might be good enough.

      Will the Rams make it, or break? We’re guessing this season will go right down to the end, with plenty of good and bad surprises still in the offing.

      But this much is for sure: Many Rams are running out of time to make an impact for this franchise.

      There are lots of promising first- and second-year players on this team -- Mike Martz’s last two drafts have been OK -– but plenty of young veterans have reached the crossroads of their careers here.

      To wit:

      Damione Lewis, DT: He has made some big plays here and there, but he hasn’t become a defensive force. Lewis has NOT played like a first-round draft pick. When Martz elected to start street free agent Brian Howard ahead of him, that is a warning flare.

      Lewis is healthy now. There are no excuses.


      Jimmy Kennedy, DT: He is the same story. Foot problems slowed him earlier, but now he is healthy. He is overdue to become a force inside. At the very least, he needs to become a reliable run-stopper.

      On an otherwise under-sized front seven, he should make a big difference. But he hasn’t. Martz has been encouraged by Kennedy's improved work ethic, but that hasn’t been followed by improved productivity.


      Ryan Pickett, DT: He has shown more than the other two first-round picks -- largely because he has stayed relatively healthy -– but he hasn’t become special. Martz often says that defensive tackles take a while to develop, but at what point must an organization concede that a player has hit his plateau?

      It seems like we’ve about reached that threshold with “Big Grease.”


      Adam Archuleta, S: Remember when he appeared destined to become a regular at the Pro Bowl? That’s a faded memory. He is no longer a ferocious run-stopper and he hasn’t improved his coverage skills.

      Nagging back problems have certainly affected his play this season, but his ordinary play is still a concern....
      -11-29-2004, 01:02 PM
    • realchamp11
      Last years Defense
      by realchamp11
      Was last years defense horrible cause or Larry Maine (or how ever you spell it), or was it because of the players we had, or was it a combo. of both

      :1:
      Coach
      16.67%
      3
      Players
      0.00%
      0
      Both
      83.33%
      15
      -03-16-2006, 09:21 PM
    Working...
    X