Pass defense has me worried...
 

Ok, I am NOT a pessimist who can only find the bad stuff of the game - hell I've been so elated since yesterday I don't know what to do with mysef. I couldn't be more proud of this team.

The one major thing that concerns me is our pass defense. It's the big reason we lost to Tampa Bay last time, giving up huge plays to Galloway, and it was a nightmare all yesterday. We gave up 264 yards and 2 TDs (yes we had 2 INTs) to MIKE MCMAHON and KOY DETMER.

264 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs really isn't all that bad - pretty typical NFL passing. But we did this while playing against mostly Mike McMahon and a bunch of Eagles backup receivers. This should have been an absolute smother D against an offense of such low caliber.

We came out with the win, just like we have the previous 4 weeks, and that's the important thing. Stats don't matter much as long as you win.

I just gotta say it worries me - this rash of injuries to our DBs is leaving second-rate WRs wide open deep down the field.

Someone please convince me it's not as bad as I worry and we'll do fine against Tampa Bay. Please?

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

When your corners are as banged up as ours the coverage is bound to suffer.

Hopefully Rogers can get back into the mix this weekend.

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

What gets me is when we our corners or secondary has been banged up, GW blitzes more than I think he should. Like in Tampa, Taylor was out which hurt our over the middle coverage. Like yesterday too, springs was not 100%, Rogers was out we blitzed like crazy, leaving prealoui(how ever its spelled) and the stoutmeyer(probably spelled that wrong too) one on one. Taylor was blitzing on some plays too leaving those guys with no real safety help. I would think that w/ the secondary so beat up, you would play some cover two, zone, mix in a blitz here and there. Because when the blitz is picked up we are getting eaten alive, like some big plays yesterday and the whole Tampa game before. I just hope Rogers can play if spring cant, or vise versa.

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

What is the status of our injured secondary?

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

if taylor played the first time i garantee we would have won. That doesn't mean we will win this one but we would have won

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

We've got to shut down the run, so we can drop more guys back to give help to our DBs. If we can't stop the run, then Simms is gonna have another HOF day.

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

i think simms shot his load against us the first game.he hasnt played anywhere near that good since.phillip daniels has definitly gooten to be a monster the last 4 weeks.could be our difference maker

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

Taylor and Clark will definitly have to step up big to help out our corners. More importantly, our dline needs to keep up the pressure and force early throws to cause turnovers. They have been saving us with their stepped up play recently

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

I think one good hit by #21 and gallogay remembers that he is 80 years old...forget all that over the middle crap. and when #56 blitzes and rocks simms from behind he's gonna forget how to throw the ball. We all remember the phantom two point conversion. We got our front four playin great run stop defense. Not worried at all, everyone in the locker room knows they cant play like they did on sunday and win in the playoffs.----------and we are gonna win in the playoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

These past 5 games we have gotten a fair share of turnovers. Something that I think we lacked when we first played tampa. I wonder what our give-away to take-away ratio is now?

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

I believe we are +1 on the season. But considering how we started out, I believe we are way up in the plus range over the last 5 games.

I would point out that Williams made adjustments at half time that shut don the Eagles in the second half. He also played more zone with nickel D in giving 3 safeties over the top and that helped get the INT's. We played a lot of man to man in the first half that got exposed by our not getting to the QB when we blitzed. 2nd half and we got more pressure as they had to spend more time in the pocket.

What worries me more than the injuries is Williams blitzing too much early against the Buccs. To me, our priority is to stop the run and force the game into Simms' hands. He's proven when it's all on him then he can be shaky. Once he can't see his WR's open then we'll see him getting sacked and intercepted. Trying to sack him early and exposing the secondary won't work, as the Buccs will have seen what the Eagles did this week.

Re: Pass defense has me worried...
 

[QUOTE=#56fanatic]What gets me is when we our corners or secondary has been banged up, GW blitzes more than I think he should. Like in Tampa, Taylor was out which hurt our over the middle coverage. Like yesterday too, springs was not 100%, Rogers was out we blitzed like crazy, leaving prealoui(how ever its spelled) and the stoutmeyer(probably spelled that wrong too) one on one. Taylor was blitzing on some plays too leaving those guys with no real safety help. I would think that w/ the secondary so beat up, you would play some cover two, zone, mix in a blitz here and there. Because when the blitz is picked up we are getting eaten alive, like some big plays yesterday and the whole Tampa game before. I just hope Rogers can play if spring cant, or vise versa.[/QUOTE]

Definitely agree. With the way we blitz, if we dont get to the QB in time, we are very vulnerable in the secondary. It happened in Tampa and yesterday too. I think that our D-line is getting more of a pass rush recently than it was last time we played TB, so maybe GW won't have to send as many people on blitzes. I think having Taylor back is huge since I think he is the most important player on our defense because his coverage skills over the top allow us to blitz the way we do. We definitely need at least one of our corners to play (Springs or Rogers) but GW won't under estimate Simms in this game as he seemed like he did last time. He will be ready and have a better gameplan this time around.