I've taken a lot of shit on this here blog for not drinking the Frank Bush kool-aid as I've been worried we never addressed the real problem of our shitty defense. Sure, we blitzed more, but we never put real and consistent pressure on the QB...a QB making his first NFL start as a rookie on the fucking road.
The unfortunate fact is: we do not have the defensive talent to compete, a problem on obvious display today.
We can change the scheme, we can change the defensive coordinator, but we never addressed our serious talent issues. Sure, Brian Cushing helps. He was worthless in the first quarter, but he played better the rest of the game. Connor Barwin was horrible, completely absorbed by either tackle to disappear on every snap he took. Glover Quin and Brice McCain all saw plenty of time on the field, and McCain's performance was especially sucky. Them's the rookies. The older dudes played little better.
Mario Williams led the team in tackles today. Our pass-rushing LDE. Let that sink in for a moment. The rest of our d-line was almost utterly worthless. Okoye wound up with four tackles, but several were down field (at least he was active). Shaun Cody flashed talent. Antonio Smith? What are you even doing on the field? Didn't we pay Anthony Weaver for the same fucking thing?
I saw several people say they were happy with our run defense performance, but we still gave up 4.5/carry.
Our defensive secondary? Wow, what can I possibly say? We were consistently torched by Mark Sanchez who lit us up like a Christmas tree? 3rd down? No problem! Nick Ferguson was beyond atrocious all game, but he was followed closely in scrubiness by Dominique Barber and Dunta Robinson, who has become a horrible defensive liability. If I saw correctly, he didn't see many snaps in the second half. John Busing, as nice as that pick was, is just not ready.
We never addressed our core problems defensively. We put more pressure on the QB, sure, but we didn't record a single sack. Our run defense sucks, our pass defense is worse, and I have absolutely no faith we have a defensive coaching staff capable of making necessary adjustments.
I know I'm going to hear: but it's the first game! Chill out! No, I will not. We made the same mistakes under Richard Smith, and we still lack the necessary talent to address our biggest problems. Going into today, I started thinking we were another 8-8 team. Now, I don't know if we're that good.
462 yards against. In-fucking-credible.