Not enough turnovers
 

I think a huge thing we are overlooking about the D is that they are not creating turnovers. I made a point in some other thread that our turnover ratio is around -2, while it was it was positive when we made that 6 game run for the the playoffs.

The point is, it is ok if your D gives up big chunks of yards, but if they get picks, and create fumbles, to put a weak Brunell in favorable field position chances are we will score more and stop scoring. Overall our special teams is pretty good, but if our D starts creating turnovers, we will be much better on both sides of the ball. Last year the Bengals ran a similar D, that gave up yards, but created alot of turnovers, which is very successful in the NFL.



Mods: I am sorry if this issue has formally been mentioned in another thread, if mods feel the need, please delete.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[QUOTE=hooskins;233186]I think a huge thing we are overlooking about the D is that they are not creating turnovers. I made a point in some other thread that our turnover ratio is around -2, while it was it was positive when we made that 6 game run for the the playoffs.

The point is, it is ok if your D gives up big chunks of yards, but if they get picks, and create fumbles, to put a weak Brunell in favorable field position chances are we will score more and stop scoring. Overall our special teams is pretty good, but if our D starts creating turnovers, we will be much better on both sides of the ball. Last year the Bengals ran a similar D, that gave up yards, but created alot of turnovers, which is very successful in the NFL.



Mods: I am sorry if this issue has formally been mentioned in another thread, if mods feel the need, please delete.[/QUOTE]

5 turnovers all year i think. its pitiful

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

Excellent, excellent point hooskins! Our defense has been awful lately in all regards, but its failure to create turnovers is just pathetic.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

Finally a worthy thread. Anyways, this is just another problem with our defense. Maybe G.W. is getting too soft on them.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

I don't want to hijack this thread, but maybe I can piggyback with a related topic.
I was just thinking today, how many sacks does our defense have? We've been decent at pressuring the QBs but we need to get the sacks. In fact, I think if there is more fear that our D will take down the opposing QB there may be a better chance that he will throw the ball into tighter spots and the D will be more likely to pick it off.
I guess this all just goes under the broader category of "the defense needs to play better."

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[quote=Sheriff Gonna Getcha;233199]Excellent, excellent point hooskins! Our defense has been awful lately in all regards, but its failure to create turnovers is just pathetic.[/quote]

I honestly cannot tell if there was a hint of a sarcastic response lol....

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[QUOTE=hooskins;233186]
The point is, it is ok if your D gives up big chunks of yards, but if they get picks, and create fumbles, to put a weak Brunell in favorable field position chances are we will score more and stop scoring. Overall our special teams is pretty good, but if our D starts creating turnovers, we will be much better on both sides of the ball. Last year the Bengals ran a similar D, that gave up yards, but created alot of turnovers, which is very successful in the NFL.
[/QUOTE]

The kind of reminds me of the season...not sure if it was 96 or 97. We had ol' Gus as QB and Davis as our RB..and let's not forget future HOF WR Michael Westbrook...lol! Our team went 8-1 and appeared to be a shoe in for the playoffs..if not home field advantage. BUT...our D all year had been the bend but don't break type of defense. Well..they finally broke and our team ended up 8-8. Now granted we didn't have a pro bowl QB at the helm, but we were scoring points and winning ball games.

I believe that in the NFC East..you HAVE TO HAVE a great defense. I believe Indy can get away with it in their division and can go but so far....but ultimately, I believe you must have a strong defense in order to win games and ultimately Super Bowls.....

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

A problem we had the last couple of years, and it may be the case this year was not forcing the turnover it was recovering the turnover. Case in point, Sean Taylor knocking the ball loose from Tiki forcing a fumble. Could have made a huge difference if someone on the D had recovered the ball

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[quote=TAFKAS;233292]A problem we had the last couple of years, and it may be the case this year was not forcing the turnover it was recovering the turnover. Case in point, Sean Taylor knocking the ball loose from Tiki forcing a fumble. Could have made a huge difference if someone on the D had recovered the ball[/quote]

I agree with that statement to an extent, but last year, towards the end of the season, we won alot of those games bc of crucial turnovers(at Philly, and pretty much the entire tampa bay game).

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

TAFKAS is right - we've had trouble with this under GW for some reason. I should know - I had the Skins defense in my '04 fantasy league when we allowed 15 ppg. However, they sucked for fantasy because they never got any turnovers.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

we don't get enough sacks - so we don't get many chances at sack-fumbles (the easiest and best kind). we don't get ints cause rogers is blind and can't catch balls that bonk him right in the face... holdman and arch can't catch anything either.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[QUOTE=skinsguy;233284]The kind of reminds me of the season...not sure if it was 96 or 97. We had ol' Gus as QB and Davis as our RB..and let's not forget future HOF WR Michael Westbrook...lol! Our team went 8-1 and appeared to be a shoe in for the playoffs..if not home field advantage. BUT...our D all year had been the bend but don't break type of defense. Well..they finally broke and our team ended up 8-8. Now granted we didn't have a pro bowl QB at the helm, but we were scoring points and winning ball games.

I believe that in the NFC East..you HAVE TO HAVE a great defense. I believe Indy can get away with it in their division and can go but so far....but ultimately, I believe you must have a strong defense in order to win games and ultimately Super Bowls.....[/QUOTE]

I think we were 7-1 and finished 9-7. The game I remember most vividly was against Arizona. We were up 14 in the fourth quarter and choked away the lead. We drove down to give Conway a shot at the game winner. He nailed it, but a penalty forced us to kick it again. No good, and we lost in OT.

Incidentally, this was where an inchoate version of my theory about kickers was first formed: kickers always miss field goals in which they are rekicking as a result of penalty, provided they made the first nullified attempt. This theory was again evinced this weekend in the Pitt Atl game.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

good teams with positive turnover ratio are almost always in the playoffs. teams with a minus 2 never make the playoffs.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

Our D can't even handle the basics of tackling right now.

Re: Not enough turnovers
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;233596]Our D can't even handle the basics of tackling right now.[/QUOTE]
That's a huge part of it. It's no secret I've been railing against our inability to tackle since last year. If you can't wrap the guy up, you're not going to be able to strip the ball.