10 - 12 Yard Cushions!!!!

Lets see how they play the dink and dunk here in a couple weeks.

 

I get what RPO is saying. Fans don't know the reasons why things are done a certain way. A lot of things can dictate the type of coverage we play. We don't have access to the information used to make the decisions that we criticize.

It doesn't make sense to me when it's 3rd and 5 and the CB is playing 7 yards off, but I try and keep in mind that if there was a trial going on and they needed an expert to testify regarding football and the choices are myself and Tomlin, I'm pretty sure they're going with Tomlin.

 

How about that Ben waits for game clock to zero before he gets the ball hiked to him lol

 

Not necessarily. CBs aren't the only ones allowed to defend the pass, after all. The aim of the game is to make the QB unsure as to where the defenders are going to be after the snap.

There's also an argument that, if it's 3rd and 3, and the offense might run the ball off tackle, you need your DB free from contact with the WR.

That's not to say giving a cushion on 3rd and short is always a good thing; and, even when you've lined up, players have to actually execute (the main issue in Philly was not the cushion, but the tackling).

But it's not always crazy. And nor, as RPO has suggested, does it always happen.

 

Right, what I was trying to say was I tend to notice the cushion more on third down, when I'm hoping the defense can get off the field.

Beyond that, fans can say whatever they want, they're not going to change the game. At least on the game day thread it's brought up when it happens so it's not a figment of our imagination

 

I think another difference is we have 2 good man corners in Cockrell and Burns. I'm excited to see those 2 grow together and really free up the defense to get creative. In hoping we come out against NE like we did a few years ago with bump and run and blitzing.

 

Is a 27th ranked defense something to brag about? That's the bottom line. Right now we are ranked 27th. We are actually ranked 30th against the pass. That's not a myth. What IS a myth is that this one game in KC means that our pass defense is actually great and we are all just idiots. Based on those numbers if there was a hypothetical trial and Tomlin was put on the stand and I was on the jury and they asked Tomlin to explain things I'm sure he would come off as though he very much knew what he was talking about. Then Matlock would cross examine him and say "Mr. Tomlin, as I was drinking my morning coffee I was looking at the defensive stats this year. Could you tell me how many teams are in the NFL?" Then Tomlin would say "32". Then Matlock would say "And where exactly is your pass defense ranked?" and then Tomlin would say "30TH" and then Matlock would say "Well, Mr. Tomlin, I'm not exactly sure you're as much of an expert as you'd want us all to think" and then Tomlin would say "Obviously" and then the judge would break for recess so Matlock could go to the bathroom. LOL! I'm not a fan that views myself as someone on the stand.I view myself as someone on the jury. Not the O.J. jury mind you but still the jury. LOL!

 

Actually it IS a figment of our imagination and this one game proves it. Please stop believing your lying eyes. However, you can ALWAYS believe internet threads based on one game that speak to the contrary...

 

Even Coach Butler stated we played a lot more aggressive ...He stated we didn't always blitz , but we gave the look a lot more..My take on that was more men closer to the LOS than normal ....

 

I think they are getting better, if they play more aggressive they play better ...The shorter the field gets the more they are forced to play tighter..

 

Who's to say that playing man coverage with the cornerbacks on the line of scrimmage won't yield worse results? I think the point of RPO's post is that the coaches know these players strengths and weaknesses and watch game tape of the opponent and they tried to put our players in the best position to succeed and the fans think they know better, which 99.9% of the time they don't.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you either. One game don't mean squat. Also I'm not a fan of playing off zone coverage. But maybe at this point in time that's all our players are capable of?

Based on RPO's posts I get the feeling that he has a pretty good idea of how the game of football is played and how coaching works.

If I recall correctly you work at UPS? Imagine if someone was ranting about how they're doing a crappy job and how they could get packages delivered quicker, but you working there know that that's not possible. You know things like the maximum size of your trucks and how much they can haul, the maximum allowed hours a driver can log by law in a day.
And a bunch of other stuff and only a person like yourself would know. I could totally see where a person could get agitated when someone is criticizing about something they really have no idea what they're talking about.

With all that said RPO could probably do a better job of making his point without coming off like an elitist all the time.

By the way BFT I still love you brother.

 

10th in passing TDs against
12th in Yards Per Reception
18th in YPA
14th in Passer Rating Against

Focusing on yards in pretty stupid. We could go through another year of "yards lead to points" arguments. But it's pretty clear the Butler bend do break defense has been successful in it's philosophy.

It's pretty clear that I did not claim the pass defense is "actually great". The only point I was making, was that people that scream "cushions" are relatively uninformed.

stupid people get on juries all the time. But why would Matlock be making a stupid argument?

 

Highly unlikely... lol

 

damn
BFT
being driven by a KIA

bring on the gerbils

 

Reaction/Anticipatin that the corner has when he gives that "cushion" can't be overlooked at all. A 7-yard cushion on a 3rd and 3 seems sound as long as the DB doesn't backpeddle at the snap.

 

which they do

 

Lol

 

And then becomes an issue of individual skill progression-playing time.

Of course a formidable pass rush and stout front line makes all DB's better.

 

Exactly.

There are numerous scenarios, calls, situations that explain a CB lining up at a distance beyond the 1st down marker on 3rd down.

 

The point of the thread is about the cushion. Nobody's saying we can't criticise the defense, just a reminder that a lot of the myths we kick about are at best half truths.

 

Cushions? Forget the cushions.

Now that rug.... That rug really tied the room together

 

The point is that one game does not prove or disprove a "myth". It is absolutely not a myth that our corners don't play tight coverage. If anything Sunday proves what the detractors have been saying. When we DON'T give that cushion we play better. Regardless of "why" the cushion exists it exists. That is a fact. Out of curiosity do you actually watch every snap of every game on Sunday Ticket or do you only get to actually watch at the mercy of the networks?

 

The myth of the cushion being "how we play" has always existed... even throughout the Lebeau era. We play off man, trail man, zone, man tight, press, etc. Like most NFL teams, we don't play one coverage. The myth is born of the over reaction of the fan base to the handful of 3rd down coversions that come against off man coverage. The myth is that "it's stupid". And the myth is born because most don't udnerstand everything that is going on on the field. All they see is off coverage/completion/1st down. And the only conclusion they can draw from the play is, "it's dumb".

If fans aren't complaining about the off man 3rd and 5 completion, then they are complaining about the CB's sucking while getting beat off the line for huge gains in man-press.

Leaving the weak side corner in off man (off the 3rd down line), while you blitz the strong side, drop a LBer in to the hot zone, while pressing the flanker... is a playcall. If the Offense picks up the blitz, and the QB makes the right read on the LBer (coming off his hot, and going to the split end being played off)... that's not the defense being called stupidly on 3rd down, it's simply the offense executing. And that's why the "cushions" nonsense is a myth...

I watch every game live, and then I watch the All 22 replays when they are available the next day. Commenting on coverage during the live game feed is pointless.