For all you people who have been saying that we need another Linebacker think again Jonathan Vilma is a beast no doubt about it and will lead our defense for years to come Eric Barton had 101 tackles and 4.5 sacks and was a leader on defense V-Hobs had 100 tackles and 6 sacks and has made huge strides in this season comparing to last season and mangini has said so also Bryan Thomas had 77 tackles and 8.5 sacks and even though he didnt have that many tackles he was probably the biggest suprise this season and just got a 5 year extension on his contract. Also we have great depth with Brad Kassel, anthony schlegel and Matt Chatham If anything we shold be focusing on a new runningback cornerback and defensive end to replace kimo
We need a LB that can rush the passer on a consistent basis. It's frustrating that the only way to get any pressure on Tom Brady is to rush the whole defense.
I agree with everything that you said execpt the depth. Saying Kassell was horible is an understatment, he wont be on the team next year. Chatham is a good ST player but sucks on D, both of these guys are very slow and cant move for shit. no one knows about Schlegel because he never played but if you can take some of the playing time from Kassell and Chatham you are either not ready or not that good. I see us getting an OLB in the fisrt or second round but not in FA
I'm happy with our main starting 4 guys plus the depth at ILB. At OLB however, we need a pass rushing specialist. Bryan Thomas and Victor Hobson can be good against the run and rush the passer as we saw this year. I expect them both to start again next year and for quite a while. What we need is a guy who can come in situationally, 3rd and long or on passing downs to wreck havoc in the pocket and get some sacks.
i think thats its always good to update our linebacking core but i think the backfeild the secondary and the d-line need more inprovement
The depth is trash bro. Chatham and Kassell are SPECIAL TEAMERS and at no time should be in the base defense as much as they were this year, I know the starters need a breather and whatnot, but the depth can definately be upgraded. I wouldn't mind spending less and looking at Tully Banta-Cain...
I agree that our starting LBs were solid and will all probably return in their positions but you can never, ever have enough good Linebackers in the 3-4. They are the life of the defense and the more and the more talented, the better. Defensive end may in fact be a bigger need, but Linebacker is still up there.
Starters are good enough to play- depth is garbage. What happens when you put Kassel in the game against the pats in the red zone? He bites on PA and allows a TD right over his head. Oh well, at least he's great on special teams, what, with him letting punts hit him in the ass for turnovers and all. So much for being "smart, hard working, and tough" BTW- find me one white guy who doesn't get that same description and I'll give you $10,000
why not quote all the stats. Like Vilma had ZERO sacks, and 1 interception the last year, and a TOTAL of 2 1/2 sacks and 6 interceptions in THREE YEARS. Yeah, he is quite a beast.
That was schlegel who got hit in the ass and made a penalty in the same game. Rookie mistakes, though...he gets a pass.
I was a big Barton fan in the 4-3, but he really seemed to fall off this year. With his big salary, I thought about 3 million, he might be a candidate for cut/restructuring. Imagine moving Hobson to the inside and bringing a Thomas / pass-rushing backer on the outside.
i say draft the NT and slide D-Rob over to DE. then take the pass-rusher within the first two rounds and the D will start generating pressure. cheers
People keep bringing up the sack numbers, but refuse to watch the gametape. I've seen Bryan Thomas blow up one passing play, which I believe was against Miami on Monday Night, when Theisman made the comment about leaving his feet, but not really. That's not to say he hasn't made strides, as he's very good in space, but we need a pass rusher. We need someone shooting off the edge, and forcing quarterbacks out of the pocket, not forcing quarterbacks to step up, like we saw Brady do. We got to him, but he just stepped up, and he was ready for the blitz. If we blitz as much as we did against the Patriots, in a lot of games next year because we can't get pressure, we'll be in trouble. Teams will take three step drop slants and outs all day long like Brady did.