Why not play bend not break on Defense?

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Elmgrovegnome

Legend
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Jan 23, 2013
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21,604
Whoever figures out a defense to stop today’s offenses is going to be labeled the next Genius, and win some Super Bowls.

Wade appears to me following Fisher in doing what worked in the past. Clock is ticking. A new defense needs to be imagined.



There was just an article out on a college coach that is credited with figuring out a good scheme. He said that you start in man/press and after a certain number of yards morph into zone coverage.
 

Dieter the Brock

Fourth responder
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May 18, 2014
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8,196
Did someone say Fitz???
Please not again

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Rams43

Hall of Fame
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Jun 20, 2014
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4,130
Well, when I hear that Wade doesn’t have all the right pieces yet, it pisses me off.

Not at the posters, because I actually agree with the statement. But with the fact that it’s true.

Wade’s current D is an enigma to me.

Highly regarded DC, and yet...

Poor run D
Poor, or at least unreliable pass D
Poor tackling
Poor edge pressure
Stupid penalties

And this is Wade’s SECOND year after receiving tremendous influx of D personnel.

McVay, by way of comparison, in his FIRST year took our O from worst to first. Terms such as smooth, polished, efficient, multi-faceted, and elite could be used to describe McVay’s O. Cooks is the sole new starter in ‘18.

No such terms are being used to describe Wade’s D, obviously.

I love Wade, but I’m a realist. And a frustrated one, at that.
 

Dieter the Brock

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May 18, 2014
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8,196
Fritz, not Fitz...

I liked Fritz... Rams D in the 80s was innovative and pretty good... and Fritz won a SB later with the Pack.

Yes Fritz
Typo sorry

Rams D was bend and don’t break as I recall - of course those were my elementary and high school years in the 80’s. We always had good teams back then but man did we love the bend don’t break
 

Merlin

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May 8, 2014
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Fritz, not Fitz...

I liked Fritz... Rams D in the 80s was innovative and pretty good... and Fritz won a SB later with the Pack.

Fritz was a classic example of a DC being hung out to dry due to subpar pieces. His Eagle defense that held it down for a season was brilliant, but he never could overcome the poor talent brought in by the front office.

Robinson I seem to recall fought against firing him but in the end caved. And then followed him thereafter.

I wasn't the biggest fan of JR and his staff (they were always a cut below SF's staff), but they were better than most. Anyway, always felt bad for him and how that was handled, another Shaw & Ziggy special.
 

TheTackle

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Apr 3, 2015
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967
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #28
Yes Fritz
Typo sorry

Rams D was bend and don’t break as I recall - of course those were my elementary and high school years in the 80’s. We always had good teams back then but man did we love the bend don’t break

I agree, like I said, playing bend not break does not lead to dominant displays - I was expecting our defense to shut down offenses, but we seem a long way from that right now.

As for that great 49ers team, they ran rough shod over practically every team they ever played - we were unlucky to be in the same division with greatness

This Rams team can do the same and become truly great, I am sure, but playing more conservative on defense might be enough to win the SB now, without ever truly managing greatness
 
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