KoreAmBear;842268940 said:
On the other hand, the LB position was pretty horrible (I'd say second to the DBs) so you would think his area of expertise would have actually been solid. I'm not saying they had to be world beaters with sacks and TFLs. They just had to stay in their lanes and contain, which they didn't, play after play for the whole season.
There are a lot of variables. Who knows if being the DC took too much time away from him that he wasn't able to give the LBs enough time. Maybe our LB's were instinctive and didn't follow instructions well. I mean, staying in your assigned gap is all about discipline - personal discipline. If you know the call and your assignment, there is no excuse. Absent doing the complete wrong thing, the biggest issue that can be fixed is proper alignment.
I had a chance to break down some game tape a few years back with one of our defensive assistants. Almost every time we had a less than positive play on defense (say a run of 4+ yards) it almost always came down to a LB who didn't fill his gap responsibility being slightly out of position pre-snap. If you are lined up just two inches off to one side from where you are supposed to be, it makes it just a little easier for the OL to reach and seal you on the block, whereas had you been properly aligned, you would have beaten that reach block and been there to disrupt the play. Or it makes you just a hair late, so you don't fill your lane, and that results in a 5 yard gain. Or you lose backside contain and the RB cuts back on you because you over-pursued. etc. etc.
This game (especially on defense) is really so much about following instruction, reading your keys, getting lined up properly, and then just reacting to the ball. If everyone does that in concert, you have a successful play. One guy screws up, and the whole thing goes to crap.
I'm hoping that Buh can focus on getting these guys to trust their keys and work in harmony together. Or someone else comes in and does it. The thing is, the system itself is actually pretty simple. So the guys just need to execute. Maybe he's a bad teacher at technique, and that's the problem - that once the whistle blows, we aren't able to defeat those blocks because our players don't have the tools to do it. I have no idea. But you're right, something needs to change.
