I wanted to get back to the defense for a minute ....... and a few things so far ......
#1) The defense is obviously a totally different animal when Joe Haden is on the field. He is a major difference maker.
#2) Scott Fujita is so incredibly overrated that it hurts. He can sit out every game as far as I'm concerned.
It seems like we are more aggressive when Fujita is not on the field. He is a complete waste in pass coverage, and if I was an opposing offensive coach, I would run pass plays right at him, forcing him to try to cover.
#3) Why is Usama Young even still on the team? he can make the game closing INT ...... but he is lost in coverage way too often. He's really only playing nickel right now, so why not bring in a guy like Bademosi for a shot? He has shown that he has speed, can tackle (what a concept for a safety) can hit, and can take on player bigger than him. I would love to see him worked into the coverage schemes a bit, instead of a guy like Young.
#4) Our DL is actually really deep. Imagine if I told you, at the beginning of the year, that we were going to go into game 5 with neither Taylor nor Rubin. 'Nuff said. (except I'm gonna say more)
For those draft experts who wondered why we would take Hughes as early as we did when they had him rated as an UDFA ....... 6 games, 13 tackles, 1 sack, and a disruptive, immovable force inside. I don't think that I have seen him shoved out of his responsibility yet ...... and he has made plays all over the field. Winn has also played well. I believe that for both guys the sacks will come as they learn their positions better ...... but both have shown a lot of ability at DT.
#5) Ward really does a nice job on some plays, then looks like he's never played the game on others. He gets caught so far out of position on some plays that it's absolutely scary. He really needs to improve. This is his 3rd year. Time to get the mental side down 100%.
#6) I am impressed with a lot of the young talent we have on defense. Hopefully they get to grow together, but we really need that scary player that teams need to beware. Imagine if we had a JJ Watt on this team .... or a Clay Matthews, or a Cameron Wake. Imagine if we had that one player that ever team went "Oh crap, where is number ____ now?" I just don't see that kind of guy on our defense right now. I see a lot of kids who look like they will be competent ...... but I don't know if any will ever out the fear of God into another team.
Just a few random thoughts bouncing around my somewhat empty head this ugly looking Monday morning.