I know it's not the end of the world but

[Hervoyel]

I have to admit I cringed when I read this.

Originally Posted by DeMeco Ryans

“We’re running the same defense from last year, but it’s all cleaned up,” Ryans said. “It allows us to play faster. Everybody knows their assignments, knows what to do. It just lets us go.”

From the story in the Chronic this morning

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/6478699.html

I'm not all that confident that a good "cleaning up" is going to do the trick but I'm trying to stay optimistic.

[DoCRoN]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

I have to admit I cringed when I read this.



From the story in the Chronic this morning

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/6478699.html

I'm not all that confident that a good "cleaning up" is going to do the trick but I'm trying to stay optimistic.

Here's hoping that when he says "the same defense from last year" he's referring to the 4-3.

[FirstTexansFan]

You're panicking for no reason Herv, things will be find, come off the roof

[Mike Kerns]

Originally Posted by DoCRoN

Here's hoping that when he says "the same defense from last year" he's referring to the 4-3.

Ha Ha! Yeah, same here.

[Runner]

I think it's nice the players know their assigments and what they are supposed to do now. That has to help!

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by FirstTexansFan

You're panicking for no reason Herv, things will be find, come off the roof

No panic here. Just a kind of queasy feeling. I could have gone the rest of the off-season without reading the words "same defense as last year"

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

No panic here. Just a kind of queasy feeling. I could have gone the rest of the off-season without reading the words "same defense as last year"

Well Herv; It's the same thing, only different.

[nunusguy]

Good players are effective and successful in any defense, not-so-good players are not too successful in any system. I dunno, but I suspect that's why Richard Smith didn't do as well as we expect the new DC to do. Frank Bush simply has a more talented group of defensive players on the roster and will probably have more success no matter which defensive formation they operate.

[HOU-TEX]

I've been in the wait and see group when speaking of the defense. It seems like every off-season we have hype up the defense only to see "vanilla" in the pre-season. Then we chalk it up to be "just the pre-season". IMO, if this defense has gotten better we should notice in the pre-season.

If we have another pre-season with a "vanilla" defense I'm going to have myself commited.

[The Pencil Neck]

I think this gets back to all of our basic fear about our defense. The words coming out of Bush's mouth are almost identical to the words that were coming out of Smith's mouth: aggressive, more aggressive, attacking, simpler, blah, blah, blah. What I'm hoping is that the problem isn't with the basic defense but rather with Smith's play calling.

I like the fact that it sounds like we're playing more of a 1-gap system with Bush. That really suits most of our players, I think.

[GP]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

I think this gets back to all of our basic fear about our defense. The words coming out of Bush's mouth are almost identical to the words that were coming out of Smith's mouth: aggressive, more aggressive, attacking, simpler, blah, blah, blah. What I'm hoping is that the problem isn't with the basic defense but rather with Smith's play calling.

I like the fact that it sounds like we're playing more of a 1-gap system with Bush. That really suits most of our players, I think.

I am hoping this is Demeco playing the misinformation game. As in "We're going to do the same thing (wink, wink) we've always done."

Because if this defense hasn't made some pretty wide departures from Richard Smith's handling of it...then I'll have to hang out at Whataburger and wait for Kubiak to show up so I can have a talk with him. j/k

[TimeKiller]

I thought the base defense was to be a 4-3 Under instead of straight up 4-3, which if I'm not mistaken would bring Cushing tight with the line instead of behind it.

Defense, for as complicated as you can make a scheme is about one thing: stop the ball. One thing that is NOT the same as last year, no matter what is the talent level. Throwing a guy like Barwin in with Mario, Okoye, and Smith. Throwing in Cushing to Demeco and Adibi. Plenty of players have been added to the secondary. That should show immediate dividends, if not production then flashes of playmaking early in the season. Also, team speed has to be improved over last year. Smith and Barwin easily take Weaver's lunch in anything to do with speed. Cushing is a 4.6/4.7 guy so he's certainly not slow. Maybe Demeco's health returns (and maybe some of that girth goes away) and he's a quick LB, Adibi need not even be questioned. Plenty of long, fast guys in the 2ndary as well. Hell, if attitude is the change they are talking about it's about the 4th major change the defense has made this offseason. Leadership first, talent second, speed 3rd, and now how 'bout some slobbering running backs?

[badboy]

Originally Posted by GP

I am hoping this is Demeco playing the misinformation game. As in "We're going to do the same thing (wink, wink) we've always done."

Because if this defense hasn't made some pretty wide departures from Richard Smith's handling of it...then I'll have to hang out at Whataburger and wait for Kubiak to show up so I can have a talk with him. j/k

Just remember those Whataburger french fries have feelings so be careful with that bat.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

I've been in the wait and see group when speaking of the defense. It seems like every off-season we have hype up the defense only to see "vanilla" in the pre-season. Then we chalk it up to be "just the pre-season". IMO, if this defense has gotten better we should notice in the pre-season.

If we have another pre-season with a "vanilla" defense I'm going to have myself commited.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that we will avoid the "We won't be showing our hand in preseason trend..........just wait for the real games." I hope I'm wrong. Good teams with good solid schemes will not be afraid to show their stuff in the preseason (where they should be getting practice executing against "unfamiliar" opponents). "Specialty" plays may not be revealed, but general themes should be utilized because their continued success will be based mainly on preparation and execution........not surprise or trickery. Remember the saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."??

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Good players are effective and successful in any defense, not-so-good players are not too successful in any system. I dunno, but I suspect that's why Richard Smith didn't do as well as we expect the new DC to do. Frank Bush simply has a more talented group of defensive players on the roster and will probably have more success no matter which defensive formation they operate.

Even a team with great players put into a scheme that is totally "predictable" will have difficulty being successfull.

[J. Sean Wonton]

I remember a commentator mentioning during a game that Eugene Wilson said our guys don't disguise well compared to the Patriots. It sounds like an example of something that we could improve without changing our defense. But all I read about our changes is flying to the ball and being more aggressive in our mindset. That's nice too. I'd just like to see improvement in more concrete techniques. Maybe they keep that stuff top secret.

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

I've been in the wait and see group when speaking of the defense. It seems like every off-season we have hype up the defense only to see "vanilla" in the pre-season. Then we chalk it up to be "just the pre-season". IMO, if this defense has gotten better we should notice in the pre-season.

If we have another pre-season with a "vanilla" defense I'm going to have myself commited.

I feel the same way. I've really tried to be optimistic, yet pragmatic, about Bush. We simply do not have a track record to look at with his resume.

What did concern me was that if the D faltered at the beginning, we would immediately be provided with the age-old "it's a new system and we have to have time to learn it" routine. But now, since it's basically the same defense, we don't have to concern ourselves with that angle...however, there is a new set of head-scratchings beginning with the quote “We’re running the same defense from last year,...."

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by J. Sean Wonton

I remember a commentator mentioning during a game that Eugene Wilson said our guys don't disguise well compared to the Patriots. It sounds like an example of something that we could improve without changing our defense.

That's on Hoke, as far as I'm concerned. Although Smith should have said SOMETHING about it.

For Dunta to have to learn to disguise his coverage from watching Wilson in an actual game and not having been taught to do that prior to that... I think the word is inexcusable.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

I thought the base defense was to be a 4-3 Under instead of straight up 4-3, which if I'm not mistaken would bring Cushing tight with the line instead of behind it.

We played some 4-3 Under last year. We're just supposed to play more of it this year.

And from what it has sounded like in the interviews from the past, our d-line's approach has been more of a read and react approach instead of the shoot-the-gap approach you usually see with those sorts of 4-3's. We're supposed to be moving to a more shoot-the-gap line approach and that should really help Amobi but TJ as well.

[mancunian]

Originally Posted by Runner

I think it's nice the players know their assigments and what they are supposed to do now. That has to help!

The same defence but ran with a different DC, new players and who know what they are supposed to be doing.