Our offense has stolen the spot light as of late

That is fair...I think is going to be a beast. I am expecting him to be Cameron Wake-esque on the line. I would love to see the defense completely destroy an offense on a consistent basis.

 

Preferably the New England O line.

 

I for one am really excited for Odrick. He showed promise as a first round rookie before getting injured and then followed it up with a year having no offseason to prepare and really came on at parts during the season. I think he really has a chance to make a huge leap this year. Our CBs are in a similar position having been expected to make a jump last year that a holdout might have hurt. Furthermore, Dansby might be more dangerous going to OLB like his days in Arizona which got him paid so well here.

People talk about our defense being very solid, what is usually overlooked is how young most of them are and how bad it hurts a young player to miss an offseason. With the right coaching this offseason we really might see this defense make a huge leap from being a great numbers D(ranked high at the end of the year for the past 2 or so years) to a D that is feared and able to flat out win games.

Here is to our young guys... Odrick, Davis, Smith, Jones, Wilson and maybe even Misi making huge strides.

 

In 2012, Offense wins Championships!

I, too am intrigued by our Defense. I want to see:

1. If Vontae and SS will finally live up to expectations or just be a bunch of talented knuckleheads who couldn't get it together.
2. The further development of Odrick. He played great last year, his real rookie season.
3. Cam Wake dominate. Cam played as good as he could have last year, considering he got held on every play. I can't wait to see what he does next.
4. Koa Misi make a play. I truly think this guy is a bust, but I want to be wrong.
5. Can anyone at Safety make a play?

 

meh, average defense is average. I'd like to see some progress from our younger DBs. Sean Smith needs to grab a starting role or be cut. I want them to either pay cam wake or trade him. dont let the dude walk next year for nothing. I have no expectations for any of the rookie defenders we drafted. Odrick needs to be a 3 down starters since we spent a first round pick on him. Technically this is year two, time for him to play.

 

Wanna see if they can quit talking like their something and start playing like it..Especially Dansby as the front and center leader..Last year talking like he was the best, when he knew damn well he was partly responsible for the abysmal start..not sure if he thinks we're stupid or something, but he needs to understand we understand what a great linebacker looks like, and that he can't just show up and were good..better act like a beast...All that being said, I do feel like the man has tremendous leadership potential, and does have that special prescense all the great leaders have, I do believe he now understands that he can't continue to slack in the offseason, and I feel very confident his game and leadership will be at another level.

 

I like the 4-3 better but drafting vernon doesnt make sense IMO if thats what we r doing. I guess vernon is going to play DE and odrick moves inside for passing downs and in our base sets odrick plays outside and vernon rides pine? i dont see him being a 3 down guy.

 

I don't think it's going to be a "true" 4-3...aka an "even" front with 4 defensive linemen and 3 linebackers behind the LOS>

It's more likely going to be a 4-3 Under... It's going to be the same general personnel and alignments as a 3-4, just a little bit more flexible in terms of personnel. It'll probably look a lot like Saban's defense. They've said they are going to be multiple, so I think they're going to go with a starting line-up that can shift around. Something like-


Close End- Jared Odrick
Nose Tackle- Paul Soliai
3-technique- Randy Starks
Open End- Cameron Wake.
SOLB- Koa Misi/Jamal Westerman/Olivier Vernon
MLB- Karlos Dansby
WOLB- Kevin Burnett
CB- Vontae Davis/Sean Smith/Richard Marshall
SS- Chris Clemons
FS- Jimmy Wilson