https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5224090748

I read that and ask myself how that varies from his time in Atlanta and New Orleans. I don't think any coach just forgets how to coach, so I wonder if there are factors to any variance from his history?

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5564086699

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https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5224090748

I read that and ask myself how that varies from his time in Atlanta and New Orleans. I don't think any coach just forgets how to coach, so I wonder if there are factors to any variance from his history?

Something had to be going on behind the scenes that caused this. We do know his wife was dealing with breast cancer but the whole scheme was different that what he ran previously. The subbing, the less blitzing than the previous no blitzing Jags, etc don't make sense.

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Soft and choke on third down.

Since when do we force an offense to third down?

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Philosophy: Bend and break

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Soft and choke on third down.

Since when do we force an offense to third down?

When the receivers drop the first 2 passes.

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A new broom always sweeps clean.

The defense suffers from Baalke's inability to fit players to the scheme. The Travon Walker pick is the premier case study of this issue, taking a guy #1 who should be playing with his hand down on the end of a 43 line when the scheme calls for him to play linebacker in space. He had two full offseasons to get the right players in here to fit Caldwell's 34 but the guys he brought in just weren't the right guys for that look (ie no true Nose and all lighter linemen like RHH, Foye is a 43 Mike, Lloyd is a bust at ILB, etc.). Then this year we switched to a man-heavy look but we have zone scheme DBs who can't cover on the back end so we've got Johnson and Darby and CIsco getting burned all over the place instead of in position because they aren't man coverage guys. Getting Jarrian helps but clearly not enough, Prince might be a guy in another season but now we don't even know what kind of defense we're going to run next year and we've got all these players who I don't think really fit together in any scheme, some of them signed to long term deals. It's just a mess because the guy bringing in players doesn't understand the concept of "fit", he just goes on his tape measure and hubris to create the previously alluded to Isle of Misfit Toys.

What kind of defensive coordinator tries to force players into his scheme when they don't fit, and then refuses to change his scheme when it is obvious they can't execute it?  And what kind of head coach would sign off on all these player acquisitions, then go out and hire a defensive coordinator whose scheme didn't fit those players?  

Don't let the coaches off the hook.  We had a massive failure in the coaching department.

The kind of Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach Shad Khan hires. The kind of guys that have been hired and employed the past 14 years.

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Nielson is a total [BLEEP]. We don't blitz. We don't even scheme as if we are blitzing. We don't punch the ball out ...... We suck !!! Can't believe there is potential that he will return.

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Nielson is a total [BLEEP].  We don't blitz.  We don't even scheme as if we are blitzing.  We don't punch the ball out ...... We suck !!!  Can't believe there is potential that he will return.

Whaere are seeing potential he'll return? I've not seen that anywhere.

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Nielson is a total [BLEEP].  We don't blitz.  We don't even scheme as if we are blitzing.  We don't punch the ball out ...... We suck !!!  Can't believe there is potential that he will return.

Whaere are seeing potential he'll return? I've not seen that anywhere.

I think his point is that since he still has not been let go, there is a potential -- however small and improbable -- that he could return.

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https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5564086699

The issue with pressures though, is that it can still result in a positive or big play for the offense if the QB fights off the sack or scrambles out of it to run/throw. I feel hurries are more of an impactful stat.

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Whaere are seeing potential he'll return? I've not seen that anywhere.

I think his point is that since he still has not been let go, there is a potential -- however small and improbable -- that he could return.

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https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5564086699

The issue with pressures though, is that it can still result in a positive or big play for the offense if the QB fights off the sack or scrambles out of it to run/throw. I feel hurries are more of an impactful stat.

Can't get a sack without a hurry. Can't get a hurry without a pressure. 

Can't get to the superbowl without winning playoff games. 

They track the stat for a reason, and yes there are more meaningful stats, but a defense with 60 pressures from its ends is usually better than one with 30.

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For the ones who haven't seen this. The payers knew his scheme is trash and brought it up. Nielsen was an arrogant [BLEEP] and dismissed what they said. They knew the hockey rotation was a joke but he didn't want to hear it. Having our best players on the field until the are tired and actually need a break will help this D on that alone. Towards the end of the season he did it less and Amratead playd more 3 tech and our D improved. He would switch our LB out like the dline. Some players need to stay on the field and they get in a rhythm as the game goes on. Foye should never come off the field unless he needs a breather. The great LBs play 100% of the snaps. Dline needs rotating but only don't when needed, you don't rotate just to rotate. Conrers amd safties can play 95% of the snaps unless one needs a breather.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sport...586345007/

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For the ones who haven't seen this.  The payers knew his scheme is trash and brought it up.  Nielsen was an arrogant [BLEEP] and dismissed what they said.  They knew the hockey rotation was a joke but he didn't want to hear it.  Having our best  players on the field until the are tired and actually need a break will help this D on that alone.  Towards the end of the season he did it less and Amratead playd more 3 tech and our D improved.  He would switch our LB out like the dline.  Some players need to stay on the field and they get in a rhythm as the game goes on.  Foye should never come off the field unless he needs a breather.  The great LBs play 100% of the snaps.  Dline needs rotating but only don't when needed, you don't rotate just to rotate.  Conrers amd safties can play 95% of the snaps unless one needs a breather. 

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sport...586345007/

Agreed. If I am paying you multimillion dollars or have invested quality draft picks on you to begin with? You better be dying, injured or in desperate need of water before I pull you off the field. 

When I found out during that Eagles game that Walker and Hines-Allen were playing a [BLEEP] game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would be on the field when that fumble happened and we ran it back for a TD?

I thought it was funny at first. Until I realized how [BLEEP] dumb it was and how many times we may have missed out on other plays like that because of this stupid [BLEEP] approach.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Whaere are seeing potential he'll return? I've not seen that anywhere.

I think his point is that since he still has not been let go, there is a potential -- however small and improbable -- that he could return.

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https://twitter.com/DanDGriffis/status/1...5564086699

The issue with pressures though, is that it can still result in a positive or big play for the offense if the QB fights off the sack or scrambles out of it to run/throw. I feel hurries are more of an impactful stat.

Correct.  Until fired, I would not put anything past Shad to retain anyone in avoidance of having to pay salaries for coaches that are let go.    Given the Baalke decision, heck Shad is probably thinking we only need a HC and we're done.

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I think his point is that since he still has not been let go, there is a potential -- however small and improbable -- that he could return.

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The issue with pressures though, is that it can still result in a positive or big play for the offense if the QB fights off the sack or scrambles out of it to run/throw. I feel hurries are more of an impactful stat.

Correct.  Until fired, I would not put anything past Shad to retain anyone in avoidance of having to pay salaries for coaches that are let go.    Given the Baalke decision, heck Shad is probably thinking we only need a HC and we're done.

That's nonsense.  Shad Khan has never been a cheapskate.

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For the ones who haven't seen this.  The payers knew his scheme is trash and brought it up.  Nielsen was an arrogant [BLEEP] and dismissed what they said.  They knew the hockey rotation was a joke but he didn't want to hear it.  Having our best  players on the field until the are tired and actually need a break will help this D on that alone.  Towards the end of the season he did it less and Amratead playd more 3 tech and our D improved.  He would switch our LB out like the dline.  Some players need to stay on the field and they get in a rhythm as the game goes on.  Foye should never come off the field unless he needs a breather.  The great LBs play 100% of the snaps.  Dline needs rotating but only don't when needed, you don't rotate just to rotate.  Conrers amd safties can play 95% of the snaps unless one needs a breather. 

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sport...586345007/

Agreed. If I am paying you multimillion dollars or have invested quality draft picks on you to begin with? You better be dying, injured or in desperate need of water before I pull you off the field. 

When I found out during that Eagles game that Walker and Hines-Allen were playing a [BLEEP] game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would be on the field when that fumble happened and we ran it back for a TD?

I thought it was funny at first. Until I realized how [BLEEP] dumb it was and how many times we may have missed out on other plays like that because of this stupid [BLEEP] approach.

It happened a little in offense as well.  There were 3 different times where the game was on the line and we went to our 3rd string RB .  The Eagles game, the Raiders game, and one more.  Our last play on offense with the game on the line we go to our 3rd string RB lol

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Agreed. If I am paying you multimillion dollars or have invested quality draft picks on you to begin with? You better be dying, injured or in desperate need of water before I pull you off the field. 

When I found out during that Eagles game that Walker and Hines-Allen were playing a [BLEEP] game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would be on the field when that fumble happened and we ran it back for a TD?

I thought it was funny at first. Until I realized how [BLEEP] dumb it was and how many times we may have missed out on other plays like that because of this stupid [BLEEP] approach.

It happened a little in offense as well.  There were 3 different times where the game was on the line and we went to our 3rd string RB .  The Eagles game, the Raiders game, and one more.  Our last play on offense with the game on the line we go to our 3rd string RB lol

Yeah. I remember that as well. "That was by play design". Game on the [BLEEP] line. Let's go to our 3rd string RB on a wheel route against one of the better secondaries in the NFL. Brilliant.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

It happened a little in offense as well.  There were 3 different times where the game was on the line and we went to our 3rd string RB .  The Eagles game, the Raiders game, and one more.  Our last play on offense with the game on the line we go to our 3rd string RB lol

Yeah. I remember that as well. "That was by play design". Game on the [BLEEP] line. Let's go to our 3rd string RB on a wheel route against one of the better secondaries in the NFL. Brilliant.

Guys, it is not very surprising. As the season progressed I realized we had a hockey coach as a DC. Our OC was a guy that thought out of the box only because the other OC's wouldn't let him in the box. This because they were afraid whatever he had was contagious.

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A new broom always sweeps clean.

I'm curious what fans want the defensive identity to be?

Personally - as sexy as it is to have a bunch of ball-hawking cover guys in the secondary that disguise coverage and bait QBs into throws - I kind of still lean towards a smash mouth DL that consistently makes QBs uncomfortable by collapsing pockets and sealing off/pressuring the edges.Give me a DC that actually implements the blitzes and stunts Nielsen promised but never delivered. 

(back in August I thought Walker-Armstead-Hamilton-JHA was going to be able to do what I'm talking about here. 
Armstead didn't get enough reps there, Hamilton never returned to pre injury/illness form, and the DC neutered the whole line with mind numbing substitutions. 

Having both a sexy secondary and powerhouse line would be amazing of course, but we all know the likelihood of that happening in one offseason here. 

We are one piece away potentially of being a powerhouse front on the DL if we draft or acquire an impact pocket disruptor IMO.  It hinges a bit on Maason Smith developing and Armstead doing what we sort of expected last year when he finally gets significant snaps at DT, but it feels doable. 
And yes some depth at DE is also a need, even if it isn't as integral to the success of that line. They need that spell guy and he needs to have a decent pressure rate and run stop ability. 

The next challenge for the new DC to me (after hopefully  getting that line completed with talent) is to figure out how to use our linebacking corps to play smarter in both phases - run and pass. 
Miller may be in a place this offseason to take the next step, Lloyd needs to have a defined role and get coached up on how to play it with more discipline (gap integrity and fewer coverage confusions) and hopefully we can get back to another year of Oluokun being the boss in the middle that limits runs as well as any backer in the league and makes a few plays in coverage. 

At that point - so much pressure will be taken from the secondary that they could play quite well by just executing fundamentals and incorporating just a moderate amount of creativity with safety assignments and disguises. I don't want a ton of soft zone and giving up the underneath stuff to limit big plays constantly, but I don't think forcing man coverage too often is the answer either. Install the requisite packages for both and be adept at when to call them from week to week and play to play situationally. 
Still need a CB opposite Campbell and improved safeties from a roster standpoint, but we've got some money and we've got extra picks. 

TL;DR
I want a smash mouth defensive front with smarter LB play dialed up, and then the secondary doesn't have to be elite in year one of this regime reset.

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It happened a little in offense as well.  There were 3 different times where the game was on the line and we went to our 3rd string RB .  The Eagles game, the Raiders game, and one more.  Our last play on offense with the game on the line we go to our 3rd string RB lol

Yeah. I remember that as well. "That was by play design". Game on the [BLEEP] line. Let's go to our 3rd string RB on a wheel route against one of the better secondaries in the NFL. Brilliant.

Went to him in the Raiders game as well on 4th down to end the game

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