Defensive Outsiders: An underlying pattern revealing a philosophy or just the obvious?

[skinny21]

Scot loaded up on DBs and I thought he was going try use this draft to get impactful and powerful at the line of scrimmage. I'm not critizing the emphasis on the back just surprised.

He's following his board. We might see a DL pick tomorrow, particularly if he focuses more on need. I like our DL depth as of now... an impact player would be great, but less likely this late. As for center/guard, there are some solid guys left.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

This wound up being alarmingly accurate.

 

And after the trade downs for 2017 picks today, it's all luck.  I don't think anybody realized how much our 2016 draft would be for our future instead of contributing as rookies (like the 2015 draft).

[Conn]

And after the trade downs for 2017 picks today, it's all luck. I don't think anybody realized how much our 2016 draft would be for our future instead of contributing as rookies (like the 2015 draft).

I don't think anyone realized at the time how much the 2015 draft class would contribute their rookie years...don't write off this 2016 draft class just yet, they will contribute too. But, the better our roster gets the less rookies will get on the field right away. That's a good thing, means you have depth.

[Bang]

Regardless of whether we understand the method of the madness, in watching highlight tapes on youtube of our picks, this untrained eye can see they all fit that "football player" priority Scot has.

I love the DB picks especially,, they are hybrid powerful players, can transition into the place they can be most effective. The RB should be able to compete and contribute immediately.

the QB I don't see as anything but a longshot, scout team guy, emergency player...  maybe the holder... but aside from Doctson, everyone else looks like they could be a special teams player, too. Maybe him too, but why risk him chasing down kicks?
I love what i see out of him, he looks like a pro already. 

 

Some of the trades were mystifyng, but unless i miss my guess, we now have 9 picks for next year already,,  so who is likely to be leaving / let go by then? We know Scot has an eye on the future, and a couple of small moves this weekend could be cornerstones for the continuing build into 2018 and beyond.

 

god this is SO much better than the last 15 years.

 

~Bang

[TSO]

So we came out of the draft with another offensive player taken in the first round, though we drafted heavily on the defense after that. 

 

I'll call that a wash in terms of evidence for or against this theory. 

 

Really, though, from the onset the biggest proof (or lack thereof) of the veracity of the theory would have to come from Free Agency every year. If we continue to add defensive pieces via FA/trade, I think it'll be safe to say there's actually an underlying philosophy to it and it's not just about plugging up holes that happen to be on defense as opposed to offense.

 

We've also got some extra ammo coming out of this draft in terms of picks in the next draft, so it'll be interesting to see if we use any of them this season to get any players and to see which side of the ball they're on.     

 

 

As an aside... doesn't that quote from Scot at the beginning of the OP just scream "Su'a Cravens"? 

[Bang]

Even though he did go defense in both of his offseason free agent acquisitions, and he is likely right about it being easy to fix by finding a player type rather than a position type..    I think a thing that is largely overlooked when viewing his moves here are his in-season signings last year. 

I think two of the biggest moves he made were Will Blackmon and Mason Foster. Both guys signed off the street when need pressed.

Both plugged right in, and both played well.. Foster in particular is a primary example of his idea of a football player..  the guy wasn't playing for anyone, and yet he clearly demonstrated that he can play.

Blackmon got beat a few times, but i noticed that when it happened he tended to be in single man coverage, and I can forgive O'Dell Beckham making a one handed layout on him.

 

Scot was forced to make an offensive move in the trade for Carrier, but I thought we got adequate production out of him for such short notice.

 

Overall, I agree with your assertion that it is easier to work th D through free agency, and more important to use the draft to build your offense.

 

~Bang

[Morneblade]

Submitted, I agree and I think there is something else that adds to it.

 

Verbage

 

Every time there is a new offense put in, or a new player comes in, there is a learning curve for the verbage alone. When was the last time any defensive player that came in said "Well, I've got the learn the verbage, because it's very different than what we used in XXXX".

[TSO]

Submitted, I agree and I think there is something else that adds to it.

Verbage

Every time there is a new offense put in, or a new player comes in, there is a learning curve for the verbage alone. When was the last time any defensive player that came in said "Well, I've got the learn the verbage, because it's very different than what we used in XXXX".

Yeah, that's a very good point. I have heard defensive players say that, but not as often and I'm sure it's infinitely less complicated than offense.

[Bang]

Yeah, that's a very good point. I have heard defensive players say that, but not as often and I'm sure it's infinitely less complicated than offense.

that is definitely a good point, and Scot confirms it in the quote you have at the top of the OP

"They can be a small guy, a big guy, as long as they can find the ball."

Defense is more instinctual once the play begins.  They have to move into the position the defensive play-call dictates, but once the offensive play is diagnosed, it's immediately boils down to "run to the ball".

 

~Bang

[bedlamVR]

I think it is interesting and I kind of think that TSO may be onto something - (i must admit I kind of skimmed a lot of the OP) - I think the selection of the defensive players seems to be in the premium positions - DB/OLB - Pass Rusher - They do no often escape into free agency and when they do GMSM swoops on them from upon high (Gallete, Norman) - The guys who generally do make it to FA are a mixture of people who are not good enough to play on their old team or too expensive for their old teams and tend not to be top shelf players. 

 

Interestingly the guys who we had most success with in the Vinny C days were on defence  - So you had guys like Sean Springs from Seattle (who was also injured a lot for them - although not as much for us) - Marcus Washington - (i think from the Colts - they had just payed Manning a **** ton of money and focused on Cato June) Cornelius Griffin (back when NY used to be a DL factory) and London from the Bills - and it is not uncommon to see this around the league . 

 

So in summary it seams the best thing to do is draft a load of offenisve players use them up until their contracts are due and fill in the defensive cracks with other teams left overs - But at key positions suplement with draft talent. 

 

Simple -