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Ware and Miller

RockThatBlue

By RockThatBlue
in NFL General

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chad72 Ring of Honor

chad72

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The slight difference is that this tandem plays screens, draws and the run better than the Freeney/Mathis tandem.

 

The Freeney/Mathis tandem would have been even better if we had ANY kind of push in the interior but we chose to go with small NTs/UTs and paid the price with no doubling needed in the middle and the coaches did not favors with the big whoopy cushion defense played by DBs allowing 3 step drops to flourish besides draw plays. Either provide push in the middle or play close coverage which will give time for your pass rushers to get there. I could never fathom why Dungy and Meeks wasted all those years playing passive defense that woke up thankfully for one stretch of 4 games.

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Narcosys Practice Squad

Narcosys

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The slight difference is that this tandem plays screens, draws and the run better than the Freeney/Mathis tandem.

 

The Freeney/Mathis tandem would have been even better if we had ANY kind of push in the interior but we chose to go with small NTs/UTs and paid the price with no doubling needed in the middle and the coaches did not favors with the big whoopy cushion defense played by DBs allowing 3 step drops to flourish besides draw plays. Either provide push in the middle or play close coverage which will give time for your pass rushers to get there. I could never fathom why Dungy and Meeks wasted all those years playing passive defense that woke up thankfully for one stretch of 4 games.

 

Because his defense won a Superbowl without him.

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chad72 Ring of Honor

chad72

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Because his defense won a Superbowl without him.

 

My point is we would have won more SBs if we had such level of high play in the front 7 and secondary like that 4 game stretch. To me, our D never matched up well against balanced teams like the Chargers and Patriots, period, and that is why the one playoff run that Peyton and the Colts got past one, just one of them (Patriots), we won the SB. Heck, a running team like the Steelers in 2005 chose to pass on us to go up 14-0 and our D was caught like deer in the headlights before they woke up for the rest of the game. Chiefs and Ravens in 2006 were one dimensional teams too, Patriots were the only balanced team we beat.

 

Our next SB, we faced running teams in 2009 vs the Ravens and Jets, we fared well as a D against one dimensional teams. Then we went against the Saints, a balanced offense, and lost. Just goes to show you time and time again how we came up short vs balanced offensive teams, even when our team was good. The theme is striking and I feel Dungy and Meeks' schemes had as much to do as our finesse offense that suddenly became a running juggernaut when we won the SB.

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RockThatBlue Practice Squad

RockThatBlue

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The slight difference is that this tandem plays screens, draws and the run better than the Freeney/Mathis tandem.

The Freeney/Mathis tandem would have been even better if we had ANY kind of push in the interior but we chose to go with small NTs/UTs and paid the price with no doubling needed in the middle and the coaches did not favors with the big whoopy cushion defense played by DBs allowing 3 step drops to flourish besides draw plays. Either provide push in the middle or play close coverage which will give time for your pass rushers to get there. I could never fathom why Dungy and Meeks wasted all those years playing passive defense that woke up thankfully for one stretch of 4 games.

True but I'm talking about their pass rush ability is similar. Ware and Millers ability to collapse the pocket reminded me of how freeney and Mathis would do the same.

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Narcosys Practice Squad

Narcosys

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My point is we would have won more SBs if we had such level of high play in the front 7 and secondary like that 4 game stretch. To me, our D never matched up well against balanced teams like the Chargers and Patriots, period, and that is why the one playoff run that Peyton and the Colts got past one, just one of them (Patriots), we won the SB. Heck, a running team like the Steelers in 2005 chose to pass on us to go up 14-0 and our D was caught like deer in the headlights before they woke up for the rest of the game. Chiefs and Ravens in 2006 were one dimensional teams too, Patriots were the only balanced team we beat.

Our next SB, we faced running teams in 2009 vs the Ravens and Jets, we fared well as a D against one dimensional teams. Then we went against the Saints, a balanced offense, and lost. Just goes to show you time and time again how we came up short vs balanced offensive teams, even when our team was good. The theme is striking and I feel Dungy and Meeks' schemes had as much to do as our finesse offense that suddenly became a running juggernaut when we won the SB.

Ya I just meant that Dungys' Tampa team won a SB without him and it worked. Gruden didn't do anything different.

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chad72 Ring of Honor

chad72

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Ya I just meant that Dungys' Tampa team won a SB without him and it worked. Gruden didn't do anything different.

 

Gruden opened up the offense a little more and the D had interior personnel that Dungy did not have in Indy consistently, that was the main difference for them getting over the hump. It was not a co-incidence that we won the SB once we got Booger (from Tampa) for the interior. We did not have a Derrick Brooks but we did have a Bob Sanders ala Lynch for them that got healthy at the right time and Bethea drafted at the same time to make a great safety tandem. 

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Malakai432 Practice Squad

Malakai432

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Yeah the Colts didn't have a dominant D back in the days but it was good at applying pressure, forcing turnovers, and bending but not breaking.  I would take that D back in a heart beat over the one they've had in the last 3 years.  I remember there were years where they were bottom in the league at run stopping but a very good scoring D.  That being said, I do feel somewhat optimistic that this D could be ok in the future.  I really like some of the young and new talent on the DL. 

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oldunclemark Walk On

oldunclemark

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Which makes me wonder if our D (and O-line) issues are coaching issues....oops....just opened up a can of worms.

When Robert Mathis gets back, I hope we do him and Phillips does Ware..dont worry about pass coverage

..Penetrate on every play....disrupt...pass blitz or run blitz..just blitz..different angles

.and we'll take you out on first down...

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