Do we need to prioritize upgrading NT?

[purplefaithful]

Not that they grow on trees...

And not over a similarly graded OG or even OT mind you.

But with a bumper crop of DL coming-out, wouldn't surprise me to see one drafted high. 

[Guest]

We certainly need to find someone who can help Joseph.  I guess he's dealing with injuries but the interior of our DL has been bad this year.  Especially when you consider the resources used there. 

Frankly if it wasn't for Hunter having a fantastic year, Weatherly looking like he's got something and Harry being some what the Harry he's always been you could say our Defense has been atrocious given how much is spent there and given how we're supposed to be a defensive first team. 

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:
Not that they grow on trees...

And not over a similarly graded OG or even OT mind you.

But with a bumper crop of DL coming-out, wouldn't surprise me to see one drafted high. 

i dont care how they draft as long as they come out of the offseason with Easton as well as 2 new OG candidates,  another quality OT candidate,  and a replacement for Barr.  if the strength of the draft is DT... then take a DT in the first if the OL candidates are not worthy of the spot.  I dont want to see the team reach for need as that typically leads to disappointment (see Treadwell)

[Guest]

The interior run D was gashed against Seattle anf this year it seems like they generally start slow, but get it together eventually. It feels like we should be steong against the run with Joseph and Richardson. Richardson has mostly delivered as a rusher, but I have wondered if it makes sense re-signing him if teams can gash up tthe middle. What I haven’t considered is that maybe Joseph is banged up or slowing down. He was run over a couple time against Seattle, but he’s someone that I am so used to being steady that I don’t always watch him closely.

Also, there is more to bad run D than tackle play, so maybe there is another reason that they are struggling. I’ve noticed that we’ve had major problems with gap discipline all year. Guys cheating and creating a big running lane. I feel like Weatherly had done the best job of being disciplined, which is what we need right now.

[Guest]

I don't know what the deal with our defense is.  I would've thought that- in the 2nd half vs. Seattle- that we would've been more susceptible to the pass (due to allocating more resources to stop the run).  But I'm not sure that we actually did anything to put more men in the box.  In my opinion, we stopped trying to rush the passer as much and focused on run-gap responsibilities first.  I could be wrong... but since we didn't do anything (that I remember) to add more guys to the box... we must've done something different.  Of course, in the first half, it's not like guys were running past the RB; their OL was moving us 4 yards back every time, before the RB even got to the DL.  So my hypothesis doesn't necessarily fit with how things changed.  I deleted the game from my DVR, so I can't go back and see what schematic changes were made. 

I've said- on multiple occasions- that our run defense is bad.  And- for a half- I was right.  Then, in the 2nd half, we (mostly) shut them down.  So who knows?  Would a better (bigger, stronger) DL be the answer?  I really can't say.

[Guest]

@pumpf said:
I don't know what the deal with our defense is.  I would've thought that- in the 2nd half vs. Seattle- that we would've been more susceptible to the pass (due to allocating more resources to stop the run).  But I'm not sure that we actually did anything to put more men in the box.  In my opinion, we stopped trying to rush the passer as much and focused on run-gap responsibilities first.  I could be wrong... but since we didn't do anything (that I remember) to add more guys to the box... we must've done something different.  Of course, in the first half, it's not like guys were running past the RB; their OL was moving us 4 yards back every time, before the RB even got to the DL.  So my hypothesis doesn't necessarily fit with how things changed.  I deleted the game from my DVR, so I can't go back and see what schematic changes were made. 

I've said- on multiple occasions- that our run defense is bad.  And- for a half- I was right.  Then, in the 2nd half, we (mostly) shut them down.  So who knows?  Would a better (bigger, stronger) DL be the answer?  I really can't say.

I am going to wager that we focused on stopping the pass initially and when we saw their passing game without Baldwin wasn't a threat, we geared more towards the run.  And given how the game played out, I think Seattle was content to keep running since we weren't scoring.  But we locked them down in the second half with the exception of Wilson's big escape. 

[Guest]

Gedeon is also an issue on run defense. 2-down LBs who can’t play the run don’t help things. I would have preferred to see Kearse or Iloka out there.

[Guest]

@Tyr said:

Gedeon is also an issue on run defense. 2-down LBs who can’t play the run don’t help things. I would have preferred to see Kearse or Iloka out there.

Strange that we've seen very little of Iloka.  Or at least I haven't seen him.  Maybe I missed it.

[Guest]

@pumpf said:

@Tyr said:

Gedeon is also an issue on run defense. 2-down LBs who can’t play the run don’t help things. I would have preferred to see Kearse or Iloka out there.

Strange that we've seen very little of Iloka.  Or at least I haven't seen him.  Maybe I missed it.

He's been used pretty infrequently. Some of it is that young guys like Kearse and Harris have stepped up, but I'm still surprised they haven't utilized him at least some.