#12 QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/13
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WHEN injuries happen, it’s important to have proper back-ups. Proper as in, fits the scheme, so they can step right in and allow a continuation of the program. If a back-up requires the coaches to re-vamp the system, or implement a drastic scale-back on how much of the playbook can be used, then someone (the GM) didn’t do their job building the roster.

This isn’t me suggesting roster moves here. I NEVER do that in The 12. It would be antithetical to why I started this series in the first place. What I will do however, is discuss the idea of adopting and adapting the vision to build proper back-ups. That way we can take a true, next man up approach. Like the 2017 Eagles did.

Quality depth isn’t just about talent. Quality depth actually is more often about a back-up being prepared to play, and understanding their role if they have to start for an extended length of time. This is about being prepared if certain players were to become unavailable.

Players such as:

WR DeSean Jackson – Brought here to take the lid off of defenses, we saw what happens to the Offense in a year where we had a deep threat for 16 games (Torrey Smith). We also saw what happened when we lost our deep threat (Mike Wallace) in the second game. In the event that Jackson goes down, the next most logical player to step up would be WR Mack Hollins.

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Mack Hollins rocking his former number 10 jersey, celebrating a 64 yard TD vs the Redskins.

Hollins missed all of 2018 with a sports hernia, followed by a groin injury. While he doesn’t have Djax’s speed (who does?), he has legit wheels and hands. Plus with that 6’4” frame, he’d be a nightmare for any secondary. Especially one already trying to cope with WR Alshon Jeffery and TE Zach Ertz.

DT Fletcher Cox – While there are a few guys at DT, there is of course no one who can fill Cox’s shoes. However, splitting his duties could lessen the blow if we have to do with out him. DT Trayvon Hester vs the run on 1st down, or 2nd and short, and DE Vinny Curry playing inside on 2nd and long and 3rd downs.

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Vinny.

Again, this isn’t about replacing talent, it’s about players understanding their roles and doing what they’re good at. In that way they can focus on delivering, when called upon.

SS Malcolm Jenkins – I’ve had my eye on S Tre Sullivan for a couple of years now.

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He didn’t make the cut in 2017, but he got to play a little in 2018. He was big in the playoff game vs Chicago, mostly in a FS role. Sullivan can be prone to the stupid penalty, but he’s got a hitter’s mentality, and plays with confidence and passion. He’s an emotional leader waiting to happen.

QB Carson Wentz – QB Nate Sudfeld is the back-up now.

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He’s played here for two years, knows the system, the playbook, and has played well when he’s stepped on the field. The key to Sudfeld is in making sure that he doesn’t think it’s his job to “win” games. Have him just focus on his job, and let the outcome take care of itself.

RB Jordan Howard – RB Corey Clement battled a leg injury early last year that kept him from being his best.

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The Eagles allowed he, and Wendell Smallwood to duke it out for the nod when RB Jay Ajayi was lost for the year. Clement was eventually lost for the year, and Smallwood got the nod until the staff couldn’t take it anymore, and started RB Josh Adams. Based on what we have now, Clement should be the #2 here. It’s time.

For pretty much everything else, the Eagles have either proven depth , or they have burning needs. Positions like DE, G, CB, TE, WR are pretty well stocked, and the Eagles can mix and match to exploit match-ups. Positions like MLB, reserve LT, reserve OLB, are already dumpster fires, and no amount of spin, or putting lipstick on a pig, will cover that up.

For some positions, the Draft can’t get here fast enough, but for others… A little planning now would keep us rolling smoothly over obstacles, and into the playoffs.

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#11 EFFECTIVE TARGETING

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/12
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, Roster, stats, Super Bowl, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

11-EFFECTIVE TARGETING

THIS one is less about “adopt and adapt”, and more about “get back to get back”. What that means is, to get back to the Super Bowl, we have to get back to what REALLY got us there, and what really won it for us. What we need to get back to, is giving the QB room to operate the Offense.

Two years ago, WR Torrey Smith took the lid off of defenses, and allowed the QB to render our intermediate passing game, as safe as a short passing game. Smith himself didn’t do a lot of statistical damage (36 – 430 – 11.9 – 2), despite playing in every game.

The real damage that Smith did, was open up the defense underneath, which then allowed players like WR Nelson Agholor (62 – 768 – 12.4 – 8) and TE Zach Ertz (74 – 824 – 11.1 – 8) to have career years.

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2015. A Bills player gets a stiff arm to the mug and it Ertz so good. Eagles win 23 – 20

With so many receivers to cover in the intermediate area, that loosened up the box and allowed the Eagles to run for over 2,000 yards, despite not having a superstar RB on the roster.

Replacing Smith in 2018, was WR Mike Wallace, who was brought in to fill the role of deep threat. Wallace was hurt in the second game of the season, and never caught a single pass. Having lost it’s catalyst, the offense never seemed to find it’s legs until around Week 12.

At no point did the running game ever recover.

Now we have the King of the Deep Threats, WR DeSean Jackson, back on our roster.

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2010. DJax hangs 210 yards on the Cowboys, including this 91 yard pimp-hand, drawn across the spitter. Eagles win 30 – 27

If we say enough prayers for his hamstrings, he’ll likely give us more as a receiver than Smith did, which means that he’ll be a very credible threat, thus opening up the Offense.

That means we have to use him. The more targets he sees (and catches), the more afraid opposing coaching staffs will be of him. That doesn’t mean he should become our number one WR! Far from it.

Assuming QB Carson Wentz attempts 40 passes per game, the actual target pecking order should look something like Ertz (9), WR Alshon Jeffery (9), Agholor (7), Jackson (6).

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Mind you, those numbers represent how many targets (not catches), those players need to see in a game. (Those remaining 9 attempts could go to RB’s and reserve players.)

If you notice, that’s 15 to the outside, and 16 to the inside, per game. Again, the remaining 9 passes are all crimes of opportunity. The idea is to make the game between the hashmarks a high percentage one. Run or pass, with the top coming off the defense, the deck is stacked in our favor at every snap.

We just need to make sure Djax sees enough targets.

And to pray for those hammies.

#10 BENCH ANKLE-BITERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/11
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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AFTER last year’s season-ending injury to FS Rod McLeod, S Corey Graham stepped in as our starter. Graham is a seasoned NFL veteran, who’d already played a year in this system, with this team. He’s solid as far diagnosing plays, and has good ball-skills. The only problem with him is, he’s an ankle-biter.

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Shitty tackler, but in coverage he was money in 2017. (BTW 38 – 7)

Ankle-biters are defensive players who frequently make “business decisions”, instead of striking through opponents. To avoid taking any punishment themselves, they dive at legs and feet instead of making chest up, wrap-up tackles. They attempt to make stops by tripping an opponent up, or leading with a shoulder, while their head is turned away from their target.

Ankle-biting is not only cowardly, but it leads to too many missed tackles, and free yardage. It allows ball carries to “fall forward”, which is often the difference between a punt and a first down. It also means that there is no chance to cause a fumble.

Notice however, that I don’t say that they should be cut from the team. Ankle-biters do have a place on an NFL roster. On every NFL roster, in fact. As poor performers, they can function in ways that no All-Pro player ever could.

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Big Red in 1999. If we don’t win this next Super Bowl, I want him to win it.

Adopting and adapting the tactic of Andy Reid, he made an example of a poor performing veteran, in favor of a young player with upside, once that veteran gave him the opening.

Older Eagles fans my recall George Hegamin. For those who do not, or who likely have (justifiably) forgotten him, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:
“with the arrival of new head coach Andy Reid, (Hegamin) walked out of training camp for one day, after being told of his demotion in favor of rookie Doug Brzezinski. When he came back, Reid made him push a blocking sled the length of a practice field under the heat, in front of some players, coaches, executives and the media. He eventually was cut on September 4, 1999.”

So you add a few, but keep just a couple. Poor tacklers make NFL rosters every single year, because frequently these players have other skills that give them specific situational value.

One specific situation, is when ball-skills are needed. Hail Marys, Prevent, Picket Fence, or anytime the object is to discourage the ball being thrown to a specific receiver, are all examples of this situation. At which point, tackling becomes less of a priority.

Another specific condition would be the Gunner position on punt returns. When the object is to quickly get down-field, and herd the returner into an area of containment, speed is the most important asset. So yet again, outright tackling becomes less of a priority.

Yet a third specific situation, is in developing young players. If a more veteran player loses playing time to a younger player, because that young player makes better tackles, it tells the young guy to keep doing what he’s doing. Keep seeing what he hits. Keep wrapping up. Keep striking through opponents. Once more, good tackling is less of a priority.

A poor tackler can even be used to make a few good tacklers. If he sits. Subbing in a poor tackler due to injury is one thing. However, when you start a poor tackler among your original 11 (for example us starting CB Ronald Darby), it sends the wrong message, and can stall development throughout the secondary.

There are likely other situations, but you get the idea. These players are not completely without value. So keep a couple ankle-biters, just mostly sit them.

#9 WRECK THAT POCKET

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Inside The Helmet, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

9-WRECK THAT POCKET

OPPOSING QB’s cannot be allowed to plant their feet. When a QB can stand in the pocket, our Defense has a hard time stopping an opponent. That’s true for any team, but what makes it so telling for us, is how bad we look when that one thing doesn’t go our way. It’s like pulling on a thread and unraveling a sweater.

We have been just that easy to solve for smart coaches. Forgive my analogy dear reader, but our flaw has become as easy to ignore, as a burning cross.

That’s why every defensive game plan needs to come with keys specific to each opposing offensive line, for how to attack the central part of the pocket, discard obstacles, rip apart the protective layer, and get at the QB inside.

Different o-line coaches teach different techniques, to get the desired performance from their line. Since coaches vary, techniques will vary. No matter how good a technique is, it has an Achilles heel. Every technique has, and every technique always will. We just need to determine what they use, before we can exploit it.

For example, the splits (distance between linemen) may vary. Whether pass-blockers shoot both hands early, or stagger them. The depth on a kick-slide may vary, as some coaches want full extension, and others want players more under control. There are pluses to each of these things, but definite minuses to each, as well.

Week to week, we should be attacking the weakness of the technique, in order to break the protection down at what would be it’s cellular level. Imagine if all five linemen were somehow wrong on every snap. (This next sentence might be a little confusing, so take it slow.) We’d be exploiting what was wrong, with what was right, about what an opponent has relied on since OTA’s.

Eagle DLine

On a weekly basis we should adopt and adapt tactics of Sun Tzu, not only to defeat the opponent, but to make it impossible for opponents to get a handle of us in film study. “Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.” In this way, we become impossible to solve. In this way, we no longer unravel.

 

#8 QB HOLDING

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/09
Posted in: Coaching, NFL, Players, Rants, Special Teams, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

8-QB HOLDING

I’VE said this before and I’ll keep saying it every year, until we do it. If you want to increase the accuracy of the Kicker, use a QB as his Holder on Field Goal attempts.

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K Jake Elliott has a career accuracy rating of 83.9%. He was 26/31 in his first year. He was 26/31 in his second year. He’s had none of his kicks blocked (knock wood), thus far. That’s not for a lack of teams trying though.

That of course has to factor into him working to get his kicks away sooner. However, if given a second or second and a half longer, to dial in… Hey, that can only help him out. But what does that have to do with a QB playing Holder?

If a QB is the Holder, it means that any FG attempt could be a fake. It means every FG attempt could be a fake. (Especially with Doug as the coach.) If the kicking team packs the line, then the defense has to crowd them and gets to attempt a block. However, if it’s 4th and 4, and the wing players line up outside, then the defense has to pull potential blockers away from the kick, to cover what could otherwise become a completely uncovered receiver.

This tells the Kicker that he has a little more time and breathing room for his kick. And it would all stem from using a QB as the Holder, as the Saints did here with QB Luke McCown

This play might not have happened had the defense identified and respected the personnel that was on the field.

We need to adapt and adopt tactics which make teams uneasy about how they approach US. At the same time, these seemingly small wrinkles can supply our own players with a greater sense of calm and confidence.

#7 DUELING RETURNERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/08
Posted in: Coaching, Players, Rants, Special Teams, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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SPECIAL Teams has really fallen off here in Philadelphia over these last couple years. Some of it is player loss. Some of it is rule changes. Regardless, something needs to be done to make this unit’s presence felt again.

I still have faith in Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp. However, over the years he’s lost some key coverage specialists (LB Bryan Braman, S Chris Maragos, TE Trey Burton),

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and has either missed out on the availability of our primary return specialist (2017, 2018 PR Darren Sproles) with injury, or lost them completely (2015 KR Josh Huff, 2018 KR Kenjon Barner).

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A major part of the problem has been trying to give the Punt Returner job to one guy, and the Kickoff Returner job to one guy. When that player gets hurt (or cut for driving through Jersey with hollow-points and weed in his car), then other players get pressed into the duty. At that point the fill-ins are never as good.

Also with the new kickoff rules, KR’s are encouraged to take touchbacks rather than try to make something happen. How does the Offense begin an aggressive drive with kneeling? It’s psychologically counter-intuitive. Where is the spirit of competition?

It’s that very problem which gives rise to my solution. These jobs need to be split. Two PR’s and two KR’s.

BOOM! Right away the competition comes back. While I could end this article right there, and claim Supreme Victory, I have an even better idea…

To make things sweeter, Starters on the team could put money into a pot (maybe each Starter puts in 300$ per week, for a weekly pot of 6,600$, which can roll over.) When a returner breaks one for a touchdown, they get the whole pot. If a coverage guy forces a fumble, he splits the pot with whomever recovers the fumble. If more than one of these things happen in a game, then all of those players split the pot.

The coaches could give Special Teamers who commit no penalties, or who down balls inside the 5, an extra day off during the week. Holds and blocks in the back, would practically disappear. Near fanatical hustle would be evident on every play. From every player!

All throughout each aspect of Special Teams there would be improvement. Players would be competing with each other, and playing for short-term bragging rights. (After all, these weekly pots wouldn’t really make that big of difference to these guys financially.)

Our Special Teams is merely fine today. However, if we adopt and and adapt the Seahawks practice of encouraging competition among teammates, we will be ensuring ourselves of a unit that pushes themselves, and also each other. When teammates do that, excellence is sure to follow.

#6 UTILIZE THE SPEED

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/07
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Players, Rants, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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OUTSIDE Linebackers Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill, are probably not the fastest OLB duo in the NFL, but each man has better than average speed. However, in 2018 the Eagles did a poor job of using it to it’s full potential. As a result the Defense (quite frankly), underperformed.

The OLB’s generally get used in shallow man or underneath zone coverage, most of the time. They do a pretty good job of reading run keys and filling their run fits. This keeps many inside runs held to small gains. These are all good things.

What we need to do more of, is use these players to attack. Yes, that means more blitzing (as I said in #3). However, it also means more baiting the QB to throw short passes, and then undercutting those routes. Possibly intercepting a Screen pass here and there, and taking it directly to the house.

Our OLB’s should be more than just run and chase guys. It’s not 1962, LB’s should do more than just scrape. We need to adopt and adapt the tactic of using our LB’s as weapons. Similar to how the Bills use their LB’s to disrupt plays, and not be passive observers. They need to be used to intimidate opposing coaches into simply not calling certain plays when they play US.

#5 GIVE MAILATA THE BALL

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/06
Posted in: Coaching, NFL, Offense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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WHEN you have a weapon that nobody else has, you’re almost obligated to cram it down your rival’s throats. It’s almost a requirement to put on vulgar displays of power, and abuse the privilege of the small window that exists until the arms race equalizes. Or maybe that’s just me.

Such is the case with OT Jordan Mailata. No other team in the NFL has anything like Mailata. So we need to be about the business of letting the other 31 teams know that we have him, they don’t, and then educate them on exactly what that means.

Ostensibly, Mailata was brought here to play Offensive Tackle, but that’s not what got him noticed. Prior to being drafted by the Eagles in 2018, he’d never played a down of pro, college, or even high school AMERICAN style, football. In his entire rookie season last year, he never stepped foot on the field. Even on Special Teams.

In 2017 He caught the Front Office’s eye as a rugby player in Australia. (Which lets you know how thorough the Eagles Scouting department is.) He was damned near unstoppable with the ball in his hands, displaying a level of athleticism that is unheard of in 346 pound men who don’t play in the NFL.

To be fair, I can’t say I’ve seen it in the NFL either. Which is why I say give him the ball. Adopt and adapt the tactic of using, practically abusing, all of our unfair advantages. I’d like to see him report as tackle-eligible for a few plays, lining up as an H-Back. Then get the ball into his hands, in short yardage situations.

There’s no need to do anything crazy. Short pass here, a Toss Run there. There’s that Middle Shovel Pass that Chiefs TE Travis Kelce made popular a couple years ago.

And of course we could just motion him into the backfield and hand the damned thing off to him.

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget, he’s actually a blocker! If he lines up at H-back, things like the H-Back Iso are there for the taking.

It would be a way to get Mailata into live action, while LT Jason Peters is still here to mentor him.

And you know what the best part would be? When teams didn’t know if they needed to fight off his block or cover him. Spread out, to account for him. Or pack in, to cause a pile-up? It would be hard for opponents to be effective in short yardage defense, if they were second guessing themselves the whole time before the ball is snapped.

We can do that to them. We already have the player. All we have to do, is do it. We have an unfair advantage here. We need to use it.

#4 WENTZ RUNS FOR 300 YARDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/05
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, stats, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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GETTING 300 rushing yards out of QB Carson Wentz, should be a priority this season. While that might sound like a lot, it’s just 19 rushing yards per game. Still, there are people who will be skeptical of having the QB run. This is despite how much it helped us be the best team in football in 2017, and how we slipped several notches when he didn’t run much in 2018. 

It’s silly. He’s a football player, not a porcelain doll. Moreover, just a few rushing yards per game can turn even an average QB, into someone that teams need to be wary of. (See: BORTLES, Blake / MARIOTA, Marcus / TRUBISKY, Mitchell). Even when Seattle’s roster sucks, QB Russell Wilson makes them worthy of fear. Running QB’s can even help teams that should get blown out, steal a game here and there. We witnessed this firsthand vs the Titans, last season.

Running QB’s are lethal to defenses. Adopting and adapting the tactic of making the defense worry about ALL 11 offensive players on the field, will only make moving the ball easier for us. (As it did in 2017.) The notion that it’s more dangerous for the QB is a moot point given that Wentz himself said that, he’s still going to run here and there. We may as well strategize to make it more effective.

Look, a quick 5 yard scamper and slide, when the pocket opens up ahead of Wentz? That’s cheap and easy real estate. Go get that! Eat those up! Put pressure on opposing MLB’s and ILB’s. Get them looking at our QB, and losing track of who they have in coverage. Later on that opens up big plays behind them in the passing game.

All for just 19 yards per game.

While we’re on the subject of using our QB like an athlete (wild idea, right?), here’s a play I’d love to see the Eagles run for him.

QB screen

Yes. That’s a QB Screen. Yes, it’s  my design. (Notice how well it’s blocked up?) Imagine Wentz gaining 30 or more yards on that thing.

It’s for when we’re backed up inside our own 10. It’s for 3rd and 11 in a tied game. It’s for the first play of overtime. It’s a momentum stealing, 70-piece, Ultra Combo to the face. You know. One of these:

And for those reasons, we need to do this. Or something very like it.

If opponents now have to be aware of Wentz, they have to plan to contain him. At which point we already have them doing something they aren’t comfortable with. The idea here is to rattle them mentally.

Again, all for the low low price of just 19 yards per game. We’d be fools not to.

#3 BLITZ MORE

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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WE need to get to opposing QB’s more. Not pressuring them more. Not just hitting them more. We need to get actual sacks. While the Eagles will never be a blitz-heavy team under Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, he needs to turn it loose more often. (Told you I’d bring it up soon.)

The theory is that hurries should create interceptions, the reality is that sacks often do create fumbles. Also, sack-fumbles are easier to turn into defensive touchdowns than interceptions are. Here’s an example of how immediately a sack-fumble can affect a game’s outcome:

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Besides, how much pressure can we really be applying, with all the off-coverage that we play? How much pressure can we really be applying, when we allow opponents a 66.6 completion percentage? (9th worst in the NFL.) How much pressure can we really be applying, when in 626 pass attempts by opponents, we only come away with 10 interceptions in 16 games.

Opponents have realized that our bark (hurries) is a lot worse than our bite (actual sacks). As a result, opposing QB’s are standing in those pockets, with total faith that they’ll have time to get the ball to an open man. And we keep making them right for doing so! We too often, don’t make teams pay for doing that.

This monotonous four man rush, has yielded some highly mixed results. Before you mention that we went 13 – 3 and  won a Super Bowl with this system, keep Four Things in mind:

1) We also went 7 – 9 with it.

2) We also went 9 – 7 with it.

3) We gave up an all-time record number of passing yards in that Super Bowl win.

4) If it wasn’t for that Super Bowl’s only sack (sack-fumble), we may have allowed a comeback.

So let’s not get cocky about our four man rush. It’s praised for it’s hits, but it generates an awful lot of misses.

We need to turn up the heat. And we need to turn it up more often. Like the Bears did last year getting 50 sacks and keeping opposing QB’s to a rating of 72.9. (That’s not a typo.) They got sacks from everywhere, including 6 from their secondary.

Settling for hurries with these simple four man rushes… It seems like teams have figured us out. It’s time to adopt and adapt new tactics.

We need to blitz more.