Post Email: Noble Gains Confidence
 

Nose tackle Brandon Noble was a happy man as he walked to his car at Redskins Park Tuesday afternoon, two days after starting his first NFL game in more than a year. Noble isn't fully recovered from a severe knee injury, but the sixth-year veteran was forced into the starting lineup during Sunday's 13-10 victory over the Chicago Bears. Noble filled in for Joe Salave'a, who was out with a calf injury, and produced one tackle and tipped a pass. The Bears mustered only 160 yards and a field goal -- an interception on a tipped pass by Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell returned for a touchdown.

"It felt good," Noble said Tuesday. "It was good to be back out there for that many snaps. I think that it helped my confidence because I got a lot of work. I felt as good as you can feel after a football game.

"I'm being my own worst critic: There's obviously things that I need to do better. I think that I'm still trying to slow the game down after missing so much time. Before I got hurt, I could see everything, and everything happened very slow. And it was very easy to react, where as right now I'm still trying to slow it down, things are happening fast. The more I play, the better I'll get."

Noble wasn't even willing to take credit for his pass deflection.

"I think that pass was six inches off the ground," said the 6-foot-2, 300-pounder, chuckling.

The Redskins are in the midst of a bye week, and don't play again until Halloween against the [url="javascript:OpenWin('http://65.54.187.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=6c7c0838ad6334b0dcb76fc397839284&lat=1098299169&hm___action=http%253a%252f%252fletters%252ewashingtonpost%252ecom%252fW9RH047F3236A0875E17F3F79FA610');"][color=#0000ff]Green Bay Packer[/color][/url]s. Noble expects Salave'a to be back in the starting lineup against the Packers. Noble suffered a severe knee injury during the 2003 preseason, and made a remarkable comeback to be just healthy enough to contribute off the bench this season.

"I didn't have a choice," Noble said of going in the starting line up last Sunday. "Each week it [the knee] gets stronger. I've been out there on the practice field and I'm getting a lot of work out there so my leg is getting stronger."

[i]-- Nunyo Demasio[/i]

[QUOTE]Noble wasn't even willing to take credit for his pass deflection.

"I think that pass was six inches off the ground," said the 6-foot-2, 300-pounder, chuckling.
[/QUOTE]That's funny. It's pretty safe to say he does'nt have a 40" vertical leap. I hope he stay's healthy. We're going to need everbody on that line to contribute if we want to compete against the better offenses we'll be facing.

I'm real leary about ex-cowboys playing for this team. Noble did what was expected of him do to the injury of Salave'a.

and what does that mean?

[QUOTE=Big C]and what does that mean?[/QUOTE]

It means get him out of here. Salave'a should be ready to go and Noble needs to be let go.

LOL

HUH?

Because he's an ex-Cowboy??

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]LOL

HUH?

Because he's an ex-Cowboy??[/QUOTE]

No because check his stats in tackles. Against the Ravens he had one tackle. Please.

[QUOTE=SUNRA]No because check his stats in tackles. Against the Ravens he had one tackle. Please.[/QUOTE]

Correction. Noble had one assisted tackle against Chicago.

The tipped pass was thrown into his groin....

I don't think we should get rid of him. Shawn Springs dad played for the Cowboys and he grew up a 'boys fan. Should we ship him out too?

I don't think even Salave'a had a tackle against Baltimore. And if you look at their stats Noble and Salave'a have an equal amount of tackles and I think Salave'a plays considerably more minutes but I don't think you can measure their value in tackles alone.

Besides, just the fact that Noble can even play after that horrible knee injury is remarkable

Cut Noble and Salave'a right now, these guys aren't getting any stats... oh wait a minute this isn't Madden, nevermind

wow, cut every backup for not immediately getting 300 rushing yards, what the hell??

some people need to chill ;)

[QUOTE=SUNRA]No because check his stats in tackles. Against the Ravens he had one tackle. Please.[/QUOTE]
It is not his (main) job to make tackles. He is there to occupy blockers so OTHER players can make plays. He is doing fine.

Considering that, I wonder if his play had anything to do with Griffin having a great game?

Given our success against the run, you want to CUT our d-linemen, SUNRA?????

SkinsRock is correct: the role of Noble and Salave'a in this defense is to occupy o-linemen, clog lanes, and collapse the pocket, mainly in order to free our LBs to make plays.

I think Griffin's outstanding performance thus far is due in large part to the overachieving performances of Noble and Salave'a alongside him. Though all three players are "defensive tackles", Griffin's role is significantly different from that of the other two tackles. Noble and Salave'a are nose tackles, occupying the center and guard, and providing Griffin-- who generally plays the more athletic 3-technique-- with an easier path into the backfield. Since most blocking schemes are designed to double-team the nose tackle with the guard and center, it is the duty of the nose tackle to keep those blockers occupied, and prevent them from sliding off and blocking Griffin. This allows Griffin, as well as the other front-seven defenders, to penetrate and make plays. Thus, the statistical performance of those defenders is largely a product of how well the nose tackle is doing [i]his[/i] job-- which generally doesn't reward him with eye-popping stats of his own.

That's not to say that Noble or Salave'a are great defensive tackles. They're quietly effective at performing their assigned duty, which is to provide the more physically talented tackle next to them with more opportunities to make plays. You'll never see these guys racking up lots of sacks or tackles, but I'm sure if you asked Greg Blache, Gregg Williams or Cornelius Griffin, they'd tell you that Noble and Salave'a are a big reason why this defense is doing so well.