Pat Williams back to leading D-line

"Wiggles67" wrote:

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I will be honest, singer and del, I didnt know what you meant by one gap and two and your explanation makes pefect sense. Here is my only question with Hovan, if he was doing his job and doing it well, making the 10 players around him better. Then why was our D so awful? I mean K Will put up some decnet numbers but thats about it. No one else on our D really stood out and we were constantly at the bottom of the NFL. Am I missing something else here?

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And why did the previous coaching staff make him inactive then boot him off the squad, so to speak? I guess one possible explanation is the previous staff were idiots but I don't think they were complete fools.


I will admit, Hovan seemed to do well in Tampa. Maybe they were idiots...LOL.

Great piece Del. I think you have made "gap responsibility" a lot clearer to everyone on this board.

"Rastak" wrote:

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"Wiggles67" wrote:

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I will be honest, singer and del, I didnt know what you meant by one gap and two and your explanation makes pefect sense. Here is my only question with Hovan, if he was doing his job and doing it well, making the 10 players around him better. Then why was our D so awful? I mean K Will put up some decnet numbers but thats about it. No one else on our D really stood out and we were constantly at the bottom of the NFL. Am I missing something else here?

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And why did the previous coaching staff make him inactive then boot him off the squad, so to speak? I guess one possible explanation is the previous staff were idiots but I don't think they were complete fools.


I will admit, Hovan seemed to do well in Tampa. Maybe they were idiots...LOL.

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I think he was made inactive for a few reasons.

One I think he was the one who turned Mike Tice in for scalping.
I think that Mike Tice didn't need a gap assignment DT he needed one who could create on his own.

and ultimately I think Cris Hovan has thin skin and overreacted to his coaches critisizm. Instead of embracing it as a challenge to try and improve his game I think he pouted and did the exact opposite which landed him on the bench.

That's my interpretation of how it went down.

Gap responsibility is great but do you take the best D-lineman from a year ago and make him a non-playmaker?

The guy that kept that front line together when K-Will was having the worst season of his career, do you just brush him a side and tell him to stand there and hold the gap while the opposing RB is going around the end for a 15 yard gain when last year P-will would have been there to crush his a$$!

"Del Rio" wrote:

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"Rastak" wrote:

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"Wiggles67" wrote:

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I will be honest, singer and del, I didnt know what you meant by one gap and two and your explanation makes pefect sense. Here is my only question with Hovan, if he was doing his job and doing it well, making the 10 players around him better. Then why was our D so awful? I mean K Will put up some decnet numbers but thats about it. No one else on our D really stood out and we were constantly at the bottom of the NFL. Am I missing something else here?

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And why did the previous coaching staff make him inactive then boot him off the squad, so to speak? I guess one possible explanation is the previous staff were idiots but I don't think they were complete fools.


I will admit, Hovan seemed to do well in Tampa. Maybe they were idiots...LOL.

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I think he was made inactive for a few reasons.

One I think he was the one who turned Mike Tice in for scalping.
I think that Mike Tice didn't need a gap assignment DT he needed one who could create on his own.

and ultimately I think Cris Hovan has thin skin and overreacted to his coaches critisizm. Instead of embracing it as a challenge to try and improve his game I think he pouted and did the exact opposite which landed him on the bench.

That's my interpretation of how it went down.

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That's a very plausible explanation. Although I think he snitched on Tice after the season and after they didn't bring him back.

"whackthepack" wrote:

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Gap responsibility is great but do you take the best D-lineman from a year ago and make him a non-playmaker?

The guy that kept that front line together when K-Will was having the worst season of his career, do you just brush him a side and tell him to stand there and hold the gap while the opposing RB is going around the end for a 15 yard gain when last year P-will would have been there to crush his a$$!

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Gap responsibility is the way football is meant to be played. If your relying on your DT's to stop that RB from going around the end well then sorry to say your defense is probably ranked 25+

It might sell a few jerseys, it may pump the crowd up for one play, but in the end it is a sign of a weak defensive team. When you can allow your DT's to do their job then your team is probably sitting between 1-15 on the defensive ranking.

Lets look at this a different way.

The top 5 defensive teams in yards allowed per game

1)Tampa Bay
2)Chicago
3)Carolina
4)Pittsburgh
5)Baltimore

If you look at their defensive statistics you will see that their DT's are down on the list. You have your LB's your DB's even your defensive ends leading the pack. That doesn't mean their DT's suck. It means they are playing football the way it should be played. They are not relying on the DT's to make plays, they are relying on the DT's to open up plays for the rest of the team.

Of course if the defense calls for it or if there is an opportunity you get the ball. You have to still try for the ball, but the #1 responsibility of a DT is to maintain gaps.

Generally speaking teams with DT's that have monster years are not that great of teams lol.

Sack leaders for DT's
1) Rod Coleman (Falcons ranked 22)
2) Bryce Fisher (Seahawks ranked 17)
3) Rocky Bernard (Seahawks ranked 17)
4) Bryant Young (49ers ranked 32)

Tackle leaders for DT's not combo.
1)Ryan Pickett (Rams ranked 30)
2)Alvin Mckinley (Browns ranked 16)
3)Seth Payne (Texans ranked 31)
4) James Reed (Jets ranked 24)


So really it is fantastic that Pat Williams is a beast and gets good numbers. I think Childress and Co. realize however that in order for the team to get into the top 15 defenses in the NFL they are going to need their DT's to do what DT's are supposed to do.

In the end it will be pretty amazing if they can pull it off. It makes the DT more dangerous if Pat Williams is maintaining gaps 3 plays in a row then the Guard may let up just enough when they call a stunt that Pat gets a free shot. See it isnt all or nothing it is a mixture.

Thanks again to Del, this is really a pleasure to read. Granted PA/Dubay got Childress to bring up PW's new responsibility, but to many of us fans, even hard core ones, we don't always understand the intricacies of the trenches. Could you imagine how much more enjoyable reading the strib or press's sport's section would be if any of our local writers knew anything about football? No wonder there are so many fans on this site, it is one of the only places to get real news from people who really know the game.

SUPER THANKS!

WILLIAMS IS OUT!?!?! Damn

Well with all this being said, You were very unhappy with the signing of Pat Williams last year Del. :wink:

Anyways. Does this switch in defense mean that we should expect a huge breakout season from Kevin Williams?