Good article.

Hey, I'm not the guy to wow anyone with true x's and o's. That's more up your alley, Vers. You and others do a much better job in that department.

My thoughts on defensive scheme? Quit cutting off the upside of our talent because you're afraid of the downside. I truly, truly think that our "guard rails" on the defensive chart over-emphasize limiting big plays... by refraining from blitzing LBs and safeties. I feel like we are so scared to "live and die" by that sword that we succumb to a million stabs with an ice-pick instead. Teams dominate in TOP... and young, even rookie QBs, are made to feel waaay too comfortable.

Early last season, after a dominating defensive performance against the Bears, Woods message in the PC was clear -- (not verbatim) "It's obvious that our defensive players excelled when I gave them the opportunity to play more instinctively". He said we could expect more of what we had already seen (except way too rarely imo), as the season progressed.

We followed that game by giving Cousins all the time in the world, all day, and barely eeked out a win. Then we let Herbert stand back and play hero ball while playing a vanilla defense for four quarters... and returned home with our tails between our legs. That's not gonna cut it in this league if you want to be top dawg.

We are solid on the back end. Newsome passed the eye test even quicker than Ward. Ward had a lot of "splash" straight out of the gate his rookie campaign, but Newsome played with much more consistency and discipline. Bookend CBs is a pretty special thing in this league. Greedy and other quality depth has us with a big check mark next to "solid", if not "exceptional".

There is no reason not to implement more "looks" and blitz packages into the middle. It's not even a question in my eyes.

I watched Delpit, JOK and Troy Hill all excel in any designed blitz package. Not sure you could have even asked for more. I was particularly surprised by Hill's efficiency. JOK? He was launched on the play that put Lamar down for the count in '21. Hell, even Takitaki looked the part when his number was called. JJIII expressed frustration a few times with "scheme" and uninspired performance, though he was quick to point the finger at himself and "team" rather than pointing a finger at Woods. I think a lot of the question marks going into this season need to be answered by Woods; his scheme and his play-calling during the ebb and flow of "game day".

Up front is an asset that has become our Achilles Heel. Myles and our insistence on being "a defense predicated on creating pressure up front". How many times have we heard that? We need to become a defense where that fact is the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. So here we are again with Myles and a bunch of "fill in the blanks".

I hope we start to adapt into a more dynamic, instinctual defense... we have more than enough speed and talent.

And yes, as I said in the other thread, we need more "nasty". I want that DE (or DT) that stomps around like someone stole his pop-tart when someone else makes a play. Fired-up on all cylinders, high-motor, and angry. I love Myles, but he has never been that guy... we need that guy.