Quote:
Originally Posted by GTripp0012
Last year it was a legit pass rushing line, top quartile in the NFL, and more or less with the same personnel.
You can tell where the sack production is lacking vs. last year: Andre Carter. But Carter's thing is not the level of his performance, but that he's not an every down player in this defense. Between him and Carriker and Alexander and whoever else plays that position in the defense, we're getting but a fraction of what Carter provided all by himself last season.
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The problem is that the the pieces were put together by the previous FO to be a top 4-3 D-line. In that formation, Haynesworth's presence was huge, as was Orakpo's emergence as a pass rushing SAM, all but guaranteeing that Carter faced a single blocker on passing downs. Everyone knew that Carter would be a weak link as a 3-4 OLB, and I credit Haslett for adjusting after Carter's rough start, and converting him to a pass russ specialist the last few games.