St. PJ
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When you consider the upcoming draft, the quality of players left in free agency, our needs on defense, and the drop off in talent from "top rated" guys to the 3,4,5th rated guys, I guess all things aside, you have to first consider which position is most important. Another way of asking is which position has the most impact, or contribution, or importance to the overall success of our defense?
When asked that way, I have to believe that our two biggest needs on defense are a young, dominant, quality DT and a young, dominant, cover CB. We have the need for S and WLB, but for the sake of discussion, lets stay with the two biggest that will polarize us leading up to the draft.
It has been very obvious, for anyone to see, how terrible our CB play has been. The point in a passing play where a catch is made after the corner has been beaten is, to me, the culmination of a play. For our corners to be beat, and for a catch to be made, a QB has to have time to throw the ball. If we had, say Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, do you think our DE's would be able to get to the QB a little easier? The Jags have had plenty of sacks from that position the last few years. Having stout DT's also allows LB's to reach the QB on three step drops unimpeded. We have seen this against Baltimore, Carolina, Pittsburg, and Chicago. Drew is infamous for one two three throw, before anyone has the chance to touch him. Not so against these teams. Care to guess why?
Against these same teams, we have had trouble running the ball. Again, care to guess why? Look at Minnesota's run defense, Jacksonville's going back a few years when Stroud was healthy, and you see the common denominator is 1-2 dominant DT's plugging everything up in the middle. Great DT play garners double teams, allowing one on one matchups for DE's and LB's to penetrate and make plays. Many times a blocker has to choose between DE and LB, and one of them makes it to the QB untouched, before even a handoff or hot route can be executed. When was the last time we had that?
A great CB can shut down half the field. Those are few and far inbetween. A good CB will make plays here and there, but if you give a QB enough time, will eventually fail. Look at Denver with Bailey and Bly, of San Francisco with their two, or even Green Bay, Chicago, Baltimore and Philidelphia--- all of which have a very good CB tandem. Denver and San Fran obviously had problems getting pressure on opposing QB's and for all the star power at CB got beaten consistantly in the air. The other teams, Green Bay aside, got thrown on pretty well, especially when they struggled to get pressure. The point is, unless you have a once in a generation CB, you need a solid defensive line and LB corp to play well and give the CB a chance to make a play on a hurried pass. Ronde Barber makes a large impact on running plays, as do most Tampa cover 2 style CB's. Essentially, they take the place of a safety in run support, which is why they are usually on the big side, like around 200 lbs.
A great DT is disruptive on both passing and running plays. Nothing forces a QB into a mistake more than interior pressure. Nothing disheartens a team more when they can't run it up the middle and establish the line of scrimmage. NOTHING HELPS A CB MORE THAN A DOMINANT DT. Can anyone make a valid point otherwise? Even in a 34 defense (Jamal Williams, SD, Vince Wilfork NE, Casey Hampton Pittsburg) the DT is the starting point for those defenses. You can't be successful in a 34 without a really good and capable DT. The same rule applys to the 43; it just isn't as obvious to the fan when he sees the CB getting burnt often. You just notice the end result, and not what led up to it. Ask any general manager, "which would you rather, Jamal Williams/Warren Sapp (34/43) or Asante Samuels/Nate Clements (man/zone) all in their prime?" and I would bet that the overwhelming majority would say the dominant DT, if not all.
The point is that a DT makes an immediate impact at the line of scrimmage, every single play, wether it be pass or run. A CB doesn't. I know we need a CB desperately, but Hollis Thomas is past his prime and Bryan Young is undersized and not getting in bigger, any stronger, or any better. They have already reached and passed their potential. I don't care what scheme we chose to run on defense, having these guys as our starting DT's means that Will Smith and Charles Grant will not put up the sack numbers they are capable of. Vilma, Fujita, and WLB will not be able to get to the QB or RB quickly or cleanly on a consistant basis, like when we need it most. And Mike McKenzie and whoever is going to be our second corner will be left out there defending against the pass for far too long.
We must go after DT. The problem with the draft and free agency is that there are only two difference makers left that you can go to bed with no doubts or regrets after adding, and those are Ellis and Dorsey. After them, the talent drop off is drastic. Balmer is a bad, bad choice, and if the top two are gone, we should hope to get someone like Simms in the second or third round, which is like settling for a mazda miata instead of a porsche. There are two dominant DT's; and very likely they won't make it to 10. We do not plan on picking this high very often, so when you have a shot at a dominant DT, you damn well better do all that is in your power to get him. They don't come along very often.
At corner, no one can decide who is best. No one has even mentioned or compared anyone to being the next Champ Bailey or Deion Sanders. CB is kind of like drafting QB. The risk and failures are much higher than at DT in round one. You may bring up Sullivan, but he wasn't one of the top DT's and had the same red flags Balmer has. Haslett settled on him becuase the Jets leapfrogged us for the guy we wanted. The fact that he was chosen where he was doesn't reconcile the fact that no one had him rated that high and no one said he was a can't miss. Mike Mayok's top 5 CB's are McKlevin, Talib, Jenkins, DRC, and Flowers. This board has made a bid for every one as the top CB. I don't see all these guys going in round one, and one of them will almost postively be there at 41. Trade our third round pick if we must to NE for the seventh pick and grab either Ellis or Dorsey, whoever is left.
When asked that way, I have to believe that our two biggest needs on defense are a young, dominant, quality DT and a young, dominant, cover CB. We have the need for S and WLB, but for the sake of discussion, lets stay with the two biggest that will polarize us leading up to the draft.
It has been very obvious, for anyone to see, how terrible our CB play has been. The point in a passing play where a catch is made after the corner has been beaten is, to me, the culmination of a play. For our corners to be beat, and for a catch to be made, a QB has to have time to throw the ball. If we had, say Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, do you think our DE's would be able to get to the QB a little easier? The Jags have had plenty of sacks from that position the last few years. Having stout DT's also allows LB's to reach the QB on three step drops unimpeded. We have seen this against Baltimore, Carolina, Pittsburg, and Chicago. Drew is infamous for one two three throw, before anyone has the chance to touch him. Not so against these teams. Care to guess why?
Against these same teams, we have had trouble running the ball. Again, care to guess why? Look at Minnesota's run defense, Jacksonville's going back a few years when Stroud was healthy, and you see the common denominator is 1-2 dominant DT's plugging everything up in the middle. Great DT play garners double teams, allowing one on one matchups for DE's and LB's to penetrate and make plays. Many times a blocker has to choose between DE and LB, and one of them makes it to the QB untouched, before even a handoff or hot route can be executed. When was the last time we had that?
A great CB can shut down half the field. Those are few and far inbetween. A good CB will make plays here and there, but if you give a QB enough time, will eventually fail. Look at Denver with Bailey and Bly, of San Francisco with their two, or even Green Bay, Chicago, Baltimore and Philidelphia--- all of which have a very good CB tandem. Denver and San Fran obviously had problems getting pressure on opposing QB's and for all the star power at CB got beaten consistantly in the air. The other teams, Green Bay aside, got thrown on pretty well, especially when they struggled to get pressure. The point is, unless you have a once in a generation CB, you need a solid defensive line and LB corp to play well and give the CB a chance to make a play on a hurried pass. Ronde Barber makes a large impact on running plays, as do most Tampa cover 2 style CB's. Essentially, they take the place of a safety in run support, which is why they are usually on the big side, like around 200 lbs.
A great DT is disruptive on both passing and running plays. Nothing forces a QB into a mistake more than interior pressure. Nothing disheartens a team more when they can't run it up the middle and establish the line of scrimmage. NOTHING HELPS A CB MORE THAN A DOMINANT DT. Can anyone make a valid point otherwise? Even in a 34 defense (Jamal Williams, SD, Vince Wilfork NE, Casey Hampton Pittsburg) the DT is the starting point for those defenses. You can't be successful in a 34 without a really good and capable DT. The same rule applys to the 43; it just isn't as obvious to the fan when he sees the CB getting burnt often. You just notice the end result, and not what led up to it. Ask any general manager, "which would you rather, Jamal Williams/Warren Sapp (34/43) or Asante Samuels/Nate Clements (man/zone) all in their prime?" and I would bet that the overwhelming majority would say the dominant DT, if not all.
The point is that a DT makes an immediate impact at the line of scrimmage, every single play, wether it be pass or run. A CB doesn't. I know we need a CB desperately, but Hollis Thomas is past his prime and Bryan Young is undersized and not getting in bigger, any stronger, or any better. They have already reached and passed their potential. I don't care what scheme we chose to run on defense, having these guys as our starting DT's means that Will Smith and Charles Grant will not put up the sack numbers they are capable of. Vilma, Fujita, and WLB will not be able to get to the QB or RB quickly or cleanly on a consistant basis, like when we need it most. And Mike McKenzie and whoever is going to be our second corner will be left out there defending against the pass for far too long.
We must go after DT. The problem with the draft and free agency is that there are only two difference makers left that you can go to bed with no doubts or regrets after adding, and those are Ellis and Dorsey. After them, the talent drop off is drastic. Balmer is a bad, bad choice, and if the top two are gone, we should hope to get someone like Simms in the second or third round, which is like settling for a mazda miata instead of a porsche. There are two dominant DT's; and very likely they won't make it to 10. We do not plan on picking this high very often, so when you have a shot at a dominant DT, you damn well better do all that is in your power to get him. They don't come along very often.
At corner, no one can decide who is best. No one has even mentioned or compared anyone to being the next Champ Bailey or Deion Sanders. CB is kind of like drafting QB. The risk and failures are much higher than at DT in round one. You may bring up Sullivan, but he wasn't one of the top DT's and had the same red flags Balmer has. Haslett settled on him becuase the Jets leapfrogged us for the guy we wanted. The fact that he was chosen where he was doesn't reconcile the fact that no one had him rated that high and no one said he was a can't miss. Mike Mayok's top 5 CB's are McKlevin, Talib, Jenkins, DRC, and Flowers. This board has made a bid for every one as the top CB. I don't see all these guys going in round one, and one of them will almost postively be there at 41. Trade our third round pick if we must to NE for the seventh pick and grab either Ellis or Dorsey, whoever is left.
