and it’s not just because those teams got lucky with them. It’s because they brought guys in with ability, and they relied on their respective leaders to help them. Hello, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis

first I think it’s a mistake to even talk about a front 7 last year. I could see no evidence of any coordinated play between the D-line and the LBs, no evidence of any underlying system, and no evidence of any identity. While it was not the most talented unit, there was sufficient talent. There was however, no coherant system for applying that talent. I’m not alone in this evaluation. Many commentators more knowlegeable on defense than I have made similar comments.

As to the D-line – they actually were not as bad against the run as their press would indicate. In fact Football Outsiders ranked them 10th and 16th respectively against power runs and for stuffing the run. What killed us on run defense was the long run. We were 29th in giving up runs over 10 yards. That was the result of the lack of a coherant system, non-existent coordination between units, over-pursuit by certain players, going for the big hit instead of sure tackling and sketchy safety play. We alos did a poor job of forcing fumbles due to a lack of gang tackling. That goes back to the lack of sure tackling instead of going for the highlight real hit.

Against the pass it was a similar story – the big play coupled with a lack of interceptions. One of the driving forces behind these was the lack of an effective pass rush, but piss poor safety play played a huge role as well. The deficit of a pass rush was partly due to lack of talent and partly due to scheme, or lack thereof. Too many times Slowik took a passive approach to pass defense. Look at the Buffalo game. Early in the game we kept Edwards back on his heels with a variety of blitzes. Then we get burned on one draw play and went passive the rest of the game.

While talent played a role in the abysmal performance of our defense, scheme was a significant factor as well. The scheme is being addressed. First expect to see much more edge rushing from players like Doom, Reid, and Ayers. The interior D-line will be expected to occupy blocker allowing the edge rushers and blitzing LBs to create pressure. There will be an emphasis on gang tackling and stripping the ball. The secondary will look for opportunities for the int.

As far as talent. Accross every difficiency there has been an upgrade in talent. Don’t you think Dawkins, Goodman, and Hill are an upgrade over Manuel, McCree, Bly? Davis may not be all-pro, but don’t you think he is an improvement over Webster? Is Woodyard an upgrade over Winborn? Fields and upgrade over Robertson?

We are going into 2009 with defense that looks nothign like the 2008 version, in scheme, personnel, or attitude. Just because the MSM is too lazy to put the pieces together, doesn’t mean you have to fall for their gloom and doom crap. I don’t expect us to have a great defense in 2009, but it will be a damn sight better than the 2008 piece of….

Coaches and schemes do matter, at the very least in being consistent;

We had young guys who had to live through something like 3 DC’s in 3 years, and they were trained for a 4-3 at the start of 2008, had to try to switch to a 3-4 in mid-stride, then were asked to go back to the 4-3. We can only imagine the kind of havoc that wreaked on their development, and on their ability to have their role in any given play ingrained. And if a player has to stop and think “Now what am I supposed to be doing on this play” chances are they’ll be slower, and end up not fulfilling the role.

has held down a job as a defensive coordinator for more than a year.