DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Missing Pieces?

I don't think our defense becomes "elite" until we upgrade the MLB position.

I like DQ...he seems like a great guy and a leader. But he does not bring the impact of a Lewis or Urlacher type. His next contract expectation may be too much to deal with.

All too often he gets caught up in the mix and is nowhere to be found. He's got some very good DTs in front of him...yet he is still not a force in stepping up and stopping the run at the line of scrimmage.

He's good...but not very good/great...he is not our #1 priority to upgrade...but guys like that can fade pretty quickly and he cannot afford much drop-off and remain a "good" player.

I don't know, man. All I remember from Patterson that game was how abused he was by Anquan Boldin.

Apparently our new rule of thumb should be "If your number is 21, please do not guard Anquan Boldin." - if any of you remember that disastrous game Eric Wright had against him a couple years ago.

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Flacco - as overrated as he is - made some great throws to Boldin who caught everything his hands touched. Patterson was right there...but the throw was too good and Boldin to consistent.

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For me it's hard to be sure if a couple of those were particularly excellent passes, put exactly where they needed to be to defeat tight coverage, or if they were great catches by Boldin on under thrown balls.

I know what you mean, but sometimes QB & WRs just make great plays, no matter how good the coverage.

Side note: it would be wonderful to see our WRs make a couple of those plays for a change.

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He's good...but not very good/great...he is not our #1 priority to upgrade...but guys like that can fade pretty quickly and he cannot afford much drop-off and remain a "good" player.

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This is a good point, he does play very well on occasion, and other times tends to "disappear" but it will be quite a while before he is replace unless he get injured or his production drops waaaay off.

I think that DQ is having a strong year so far.

25 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 I+TD, 5 passes defended, and a fumble recovered. I believe that he's already had 2 or 3 tackles for loss as well. He's also been playing alongside a rookie or 2 ...... or 2 rather mediocre OLB in Fujita and Maiava. We really have 2 LB who have an impact on the game right now, those being DQ and Robertson. I am hopeful that JMJ gets healthy and can work his way in as well.

His tackles are down, but I don't see that as being because he's been ineffective. Teams have been throwing over the top more, and frankly, our DL has played very well against the run. Their play has been a huge part of why we aren't last in the NFL against the rush anymore. It's also a big reason why we have only given up 1 rushing TD all season.

If we get to the point where our biggest problem is replacing DQ, we'll be doing quite well.

Fort is the backup to DQ, and he's been a rather intriguing player. Hopefully we can add another solid LB in the middle rounds of next year's draft as well. I like the depth we are building. I really think that our LB corps will be hugely improved when we can move out guys like Fujita and Maiava from the starting lineup.

Maiava is not good wherever you put him. Fujita seems to be playing better this year to me. Maybe staying fresh by rotating is helping him out

Maiava is ONLY a solid special-teamer. He's a liability when inserted in the front seven on this defense. Robertson should be our full-time WLB, IMO. He's shown he can make plays out there. Maiava hasn't done anything of note in the 3.25 seasons he's been here.

Robertson is actually playing more snaps that either Fujita and Maiava. The nice part is that Robertson seems to be playing better as he gets more time. I am hopeful that JMJ can take the other OLB spot when he returns from injury and make it his own like Robertson has.

I also like Fort and Carder as backups. I think that both guys have talent.

Frankly I don't like either Fujita or Maiava as OLB. Neither guy is very fast, and Maiava has had one good play all year when he stuffed a runner. Fujita has one as well, that being a sack. Neither guy has been much of an impact player. Compared to DQ and Robertson, they have played like they were stuck in mud.

Luckily our DL has been very good. However, the OLB really have to get to the ball quickly in our defense, and neither Fujita nor Maiava play fast.

Maiava is a solid special teams/backup type guy, and I can see him with a role there into the future.