Falcons: Simply put...

[ggp]

(10-03-2011 03:20 PM)Radical Wrote:  What you're seeing is the result of having a young defense, with new players, in a mostly zone type scheme, with no off-season to work with.

Zone schemes work, they do, and anyone who says they don't are talking out their ass. The crux though is that they require cohesiveness and harmony from the coverage unit. One player needs to know when to let someone go and the other guy needs to know when to pick a guy up. It's very clear to me right now that not everyone is where they need to be. This is why the Patriots have given up more passing yards than anyone in the league, because they run a very complex zone scheme that requires smart and instinctive football players.

Looking at the higher ranked pass defense teams, most of them are either man coverage type defenses(Jets, Bengals) or they're defenses are loaded with experienced players(Steelers, Ravens).

I am not sure that I agree with you. While you can argue that an inexperienced secondary takes time to "gell", can we apply this to our secondary?

The play that I have trouble forgetting is the TD allowed by Robinson late the game. I hear that there was a miscommunication between Robinson and DeCoud. Both players are veterans and they have a full season of experience playing together. A shortened preseason can create rustiness, but not a gaff this bad in the fourth regular season game.

There are some serious issues at hand. Not knowing where to place the blame, the first place I have to look is the coaching staff. I don't know who our secondary coach is but I would put some serious pressure on him to execute the scheme better. Failing that, I might consider moving to a simpler scheme.

Our OL is terrible and we will not be dominating the time of possession this season. For that reason, it is essential that our defense finally step up and shut offenses down.