Definately, D is the problem

[Tay]

With the talent we have on the defensive side of the ball, there is no reason we shouldn't be dominant and force many 3 and outs. Did you see what the Giants did against the Bucs. Our D should be able to put up those types of performances, but w/ our style of play that is highly unlikely.

[THE HAMMER'IN HOG]

Our Defensive statistics are deceitful. The Defense is not getting the Offense the ball. They clearly do not play to win every play. Teams are consistantly sustaining drives against us. Here are some telling statistics:

We are 26th in Time of Possession.

Our Offense is 8th in yards per play.

Our Defense is DEAD LAST in third down percentage against.

These stats show our D must step up.

Or it could be that the deceit is in the offense, as in lets blame the defense for their inability to control the ball, or put opposing offenses in a hole so they have to take more chances down field instead of run, run, run, knowing if we do stop them they will get the ball right back, so they just keep pounding away until they wear the D down.

Here's a question, how hard would you play on defense knowing your offense can't score, and that you will be on the field all day for what will amount to a lose no matter how few points you give up? Then only to be told it's your fault we lost the game because the offense can't sustain drives, and it's your fault the team lost because you couldn't stop a team with a shortened field after a turnover, or my favorite you don't score on defense.

I get the feeling not only from posters but Zorn as well, that unless the defense pitches a shutout the defense has failed the offense, what a joke!

But the offense is making progress, our offense and it's QB have more excuses than a pregnant nun.

[Thiebear]

Any offense in the NFL with

Cooley, Moss, Portis as locks for probowl... (ARE)

Should score 27pts per game...

Any Defense with Fletcher, Haynes, Orakpo, etc.

Should be able to keep it under 70% on 3rd down conversions.

We have switched places with Baltimore.

[HailYeah]

Frankly, our defense isn't giving our offense a chance. They're not letting our o on the field.

Our O started with a nice time consuming drive that took the Lions to the 1 yard line. The D then allowed 90 yard drive after 90 yard drive. They don't stop anyone. That's unacceptable. You can't let the Lions and Rams drive on you like they're the Patriots with Brady. Yay! We kept them out of the endzone kind of, but we allowed them 20 plus minutes of posession in the first half.

Don't go on one stat. Our D is killing us. Our O is merely inept.

Merely inept? And that's not killing us? So you think scoring 14 points against the Lions is enough? Thats pathetic. What did our offense do when our D did stop them in the fourth quarter and forced them to punt with 9:00 left on the clock? Nothing.

I dont really care anymore. Our offense is totally incompetent. Our D is bad on third downs. We totally suck.

I just dont understand how people say they trust Zorn more than Blache. How many games, over the past 19 during Blache's tenure, can you unequivocally say the defense played poorly?

[HailYeah]

The offense is allowed to hold onto the ball themselves. It's in the rulebook.

.

Amen.

TOP has a little to do with offense too.

[Old Bay]

Why is there a discussion on which one is to blame, though? They both are.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Or it could be that the deceit is in the offense' date=' as in lets blame the defense for their inability to control the ball, or put opposing offenses in a hole so they have to take more chances down field instead of run, run, run, knowing if we do stop them they will get the ball right back, so they just keep pounding away until they wear the D down.

Here's a question, how hard would you play on defense knowing your offense can't score, and that you will be on the field all day for what will amount to a lose no matter how few points you give up? Then only to be told it's your fault we lost the game because the offense can't sustain drives, and it's your fault the team lost because you couldn't stop a team with a shortened field after a turnover, or my favorite you don't score on defense.

[b']I get the feeling not only from posters but Zorn as well, that unless the defense pitches a shutout the defense has failed the offense, what a joke! [/b]

But the offense is making progress, our offense and it's QB have more excuses than a pregnant nun.

were giving up 16 points per game, which is 6th in the NFL, and were scoring 13 points per game, good for 28th.

so the defense gives up less points than 25 other NFL teams, and the offense scores less than 27 other teams. hmm

by the way, the teams scoring less than us are a collective 1-11 for the season.

pittsburgh is in the exact same boat. theyre averaging like 15 points a game on offense, and their D is giving up 16 points per game as well, listed at 7th. think their D is a problem?

complaining about 3rd downs is super nitpicky. yeah we need to get better on 3rd down stopping, but at the end of the day, we dont give up points. our offense is a joke and they are why we lose.

[bikie]

I was a big supporter of our D last year, we lead the league in 3-and-outs and had decent time of possession rating, but this year, we aren't getting it done...

the biggest surprise to me has been the inability of our d-lineman to beat single-man assignments... AH is getting the doubleteams, but no one is beating their man as a result of that... I thought carter was going to be a monster this year, finally getting protection off him but he's not getting the job done...

[Madison Redskin]

D is giving up 16.3 points/game. 6th best in NFL.

While, O is averaging 13.3 points/game. 28th in the league.

28>6. Higher is better right...

The defense is not allowing teams to score boatloads of points, but it is letting teams like the Rams and Lions sustain very long drives and chew up the clock. The defense allowed a rookie, who came into the game with 1 TD and 5 INTs, to throw for 241 yards and a TD. The defense allowed Kevin Smith to averge over 6 yards per carry and accumulate nearly 100 rushing yards by the half. The defense is averaging about 1 sack per game after spending tens of millions of dollars on Haynesworth, Orakpo, and Hall. This team's defense is, for now, a mediocre one.

[JustAfan47]

the defense is not allowing teams to score boatloads of points, but it is letting teams like the rams and lions sustain very long drives and chew up the clock. The defense allowed a rookie, who came into the game with 1 td and 5 ints, to throw for 241 yards and a td. The defense allowed kevin smith to averge over 6 yards per carry and accumulate nearly 100 rushing yards by the half. The defense is averaging about 1 sack per game after spending tens of millions of dollars on haynesworth, orakpo, and hall. This team's defense is, for now, a mediocre one.

+1

[DGREENHULK]

We are ranked dead LAST in 3rd down defense this year. A lot has been made of Zorns failure but Blache is just as bad this year.....he talked all week about blitzing a rookie qb and then he played that coward defense on Sunday blache is a joke

[Burgold]

complaining about 3rd downs is super nitpicky. yeah we need to get better on 3rd down stopping, but at the end of the day, we dont give up points. our offense is a joke and they are why we lose.

Seriously, you've watched the games. What makes you think this defense is good? What makes you think they are even average? Consider competition. Consider the drives they've allowed. Consider everything.

Our defense is almost worthless.

Our O isn't much better, but it can drive the field (it just can't bloody score)

Our D allowed the Lions to stay on the field in the first half for 20 plus minutes! Our D allowed three ninety plus yard scoring drives in the first half! Against arguably the worst team in the NFL. Against the second worst team in the NFL, our D also let the Rams go up and down the field at will. Luckily, they are as bad at scoring as we are and even luckier we caused a fumble within the ten yard line. If not for that, we probably lose.

Don't get me wrong. Our O is inept. It can't score. It's afraid to throw the ball into the endzone. But we expected our o to be average to below average. We expected our D to dominate and not only are they not dominating. They are barely competive and last week they were not competitive! With the Lions! They made the Lions look like the -'91 skins, or the Patriots, or Joe Montana's 49ers.

[JustAfan47]

complaining about 3rd downs is super nitpicky. yeah we need to get better on 3rd down stopping, but at the end of the day, we dont give up points. our offense is a joke and they are why we lose.

lol....nitpicky huh?.....nice when the lions have 3 consecutive drives leading to scores 99,84, and 76yards while not being able to stop any of those drives on 3rd down or 3rd in long is not being nitpicky it is just the truth..

[finbudguy]

Fighting within.....I love it!!!

Go Lions!!!

[hoosandskinsMUSTwin]

Defense is definitely the problem. The reason why we havent allowed a crazy amount of points is because teams are having incredibly long drives against us that are eating up a ton of clock. Our inability to stop a third down has been unbelievable, and is limiting our offenses chances.

D Hall is terrible. Good sign Vinny you prick.

[hoosandskinsMUSTwin]

The defense is not allowing teams to score boatloads of points, but it is letting teams like the Rams and Lions sustain very long drives and chew up the clock. The defense allowed a rookie, who came into the game with 1 TD and 5 INTs, to throw for 241 yards and a TD. The defense allowed Kevin Smith to averge over 6 yards per carry and accumulate nearly 100 rushing yards by the half. The defense is averaging about 1 sack per game after spending tens of millions of dollars on Haynesworth, Orakpo, and Hall. This team's defense is, for now, a mediocre one.

Damn, I'm sorry dude. Should have read the whole thread before I posted.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Seriously, you've watched the games. What makes you think this defense is good? What makes you think they are even average? Consider competition. Consider the drives they've allowed. Consider everything.

Our defense is almost worthless.

Our O isn't much better, but it can drive the field (it just can't bloody score)

Our D allowed the Lions to stay on the field in the first half for 20 plus minutes! Our D allowed three ninety plus yard scoring drives in the first half! Against arguably the worst team in the NFL. Against the second worst team in the NFL, our D also let the Rams go up and down the field at will. Luckily, they are as bad at scoring as we are and even luckier we caused a fumble within the ten yard line. If not for that, we probably lose.

Don't get me wrong. Our O is inept. It can't score. It's afraid to throw the ball into the endzone. But we expected our o to be average to below average. We expected our D to dominate and not only are they not dominating. They are barely competive and last week they were not competitive! With the Lions! They made the Lions look like the -'91 skins, or the Patriots, or Joe Montana's 49ers.

i did not expect our D to be dominant because the scheme we run prohibits dominance. i did expect us to play better, but again, at the end of the day after all the yardage and time, teams arent scoring on us. i think thats more important than teams just chewing up the clock. its only bad because our offense is so terrible that this fact gets magnified.

so weve given up big drives, they chew up time, were all aware. we should have an offense that can come back and do the exact same thing, but they cant. so you get one big drive against the D because blache likes allowing teams to just march down the field until they get to the red zone, then our offense is supposed to answer, yet the answer is always nothing.

and frankly the first big drive against us was mostly on zorn. we stopped them in field goal range and zorn decided to accept a penalty (maybe the dumbest move ever) and give them another shot.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

If you watched the game, you can't say the D played well. Truthfully, the D only played well against the Rams.

[Burgold]

So, you think 99 yard drives are typical and acceptable?

The D has to make a play. This D doesn't make plays. It allows plays. Against the Rams, the Redskins went consistantly on long sustained drives. Didn't matter. The D was still dreadful. Last week, the O had a great opening drive and sputtered then picked it up a bit in the second half. Somewhere in between, the D has to do something. Our D created nothing positive. Frankly, they stink. They stink so horribly they make skunks flee and bathe in tomato juice. They stink so bad Oscar the Grouch wouldn't touch them. If this is what they can do to stifle the Lions and the Rams, they are worthless.

[20April1980]

If you watched the game, you can't say the D played well. Truthfully, the D only played well against the Rams.

I don't think you can even say they played well against the rams. Rams avg 6.0 yrds a rush.

We have a issue stopping the run right now.

[dockeryfan]

Anyone who thinks this defense is dominant needs to have their head examined.

Poor tackling form, super deep Laron Landry out of the play and out of position, LBs telegraphing which gaps they will try. That's all coaching.

People have to realize that the coaches are using the talent incorrectly.

[Madison Redskin]

i did not expect our D to be dominant because the scheme we run prohibits dominance. i did expect us to play better, but again, at the end of the day after all the yardage and time, teams arent scoring on us. i think thats more important than teams just chewing up the clock. its only bad because our offense is so terrible that this fact gets magnified.

so weve given up big drives, they chew up time, were all aware. we should have an offense that can come back and do the exact same thing, but they cant. so you get one big drive against the D because blache likes allowing teams to just march down the field until they get to the red zone, then our offense is supposed to answer, yet the answer is always nothing.

Fair post. I wanted, but did not expect, our defense to be dominant. I expected our defense to be very good and make more plays. We all know our defense is in much better shape than our offense, and it better be. We spent a boatload of cash to acquire Haynesworth and retain Hall. We spent the 13th overall pick, as well as two 3rd rounders, to draft defensive stars. We have a 6th overall pick, 9th overall pick, Fletcher, McIntosh, Griffin, and Carter playing on the defense. So, while the defense is average, our return on investment sucks right now.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

So, you think 99 yard drives are typical and acceptable?

The D has to make a play. This D doesn't make plays. It allows plays. Against the Rams, the Redskins went consistantly on long sustained drives. Didn't matter. The D was still dreadful. Last week, the O had a great opening drive and sputtered then picked it up a bit in the second half. Somewhere in between, the D has to do something. Our D created nothing positive. Frankly, they stink. They stink so horribly they make skunks flee and bathe in tomato juice. They stink so bad Oscar the Grouch wouldn't touch them. If this is what they can do to stifle the Lions and the Rams, they are worthless.

if theyre so bad how come theyre not giving up points? just answer me that. if theyre such a doormat, where are the big scores?

I don't think you can even say they played well against the rams. Rams avg 6.0 yrds a rush.

We have a issue stopping the run right now.

this is the real issue, we gave up 193 passing yards per game last season, right now were giving up 198, looks identical. running were giving up a lot more though. although thats kinda inflated right now, Sjax had that one big run against us, aside from that he was quiet most of the day.

i always thought monty was a good run stopper and he seems to have been shown the bench.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Fair post. I wanted, but did not expect, our defense to be dominant. I expected our defense to be very good and make more plays. We all know our defense is in much better shape than our offense, and it better be. We spent a boatload of cash to acquire Haynesworth and retain Hall. We spent the 13th overall pick, as well as two 3rd rounders, to draft defensive stars. We have a 6th overall pick, 9th overall pick, Fletcher, McIntosh, Griffin, and Carter playing on the defense. So, while the defense is average, our return on investment sucks right now.

agreed big time, which is why i think its on blache not our guys. we have way too much talent on defense to be playing like this. we acquired a bunch of a pressure guys then decided to play prevent. haynesworth and orakpo are going to be nonfactors unless they are given chances to make plays. we do not run a pressure defense, and our blitzing is so telegraphed and terrible because blaches scheme is a "beat yourself" and "dont give up the big play" defense.

this defense takes no risks, and therefore it will receive no rewards.

[20April1980]

if theyre so bad how come theyre not giving up points? just answer me that. if theyre such a doormat, where are the big scores?

this is the real issue, we gave up 193 passing yards per game last season, right now were giving up 198, looks identical. running were giving up a lot more though. although thats kinda inflated right now, Sjax had that one big run against us, aside from that he was quiet most of the day.

i always thought monty was a good run stopper and he seems to have been shown the bench.

Doesn't matter. We still gave up that big run. 2 straight weeks of the defense giving up 100 yard rushes and a avg of 6+.

You can't make any excuse for this defense. The Lions loss falls squarely on their shoulders first. They could not get those bums off the field.