Need these 3 to pick up their game in the second half of the season:

"cbrad wrote:

True, but it was mostly about the rush. On 1st and 2nd down they ran and gained a total of -1 yards. He has the rushing attack SF had that kind of play calling makes more sense. But given how poor our running game is, and how good our passing game is, that's bad play calling. We got real lucky with a non-DPI call on the next drive so that the game doesn't go into OT (at minimum).

McDaniel needs to rely on the passing game heavily not just during most of the game, but all the way up to right before the very end. We'd be a much tougher team to beat if he did that (maybe on average 3+ points difference in scoring?).

He also had a throw to TE that would have been a first down had the TE for some bizarre reason not turned his head away from the QB.

Even if they were to cut ties with Boyer now or before the bye week, who do you replace him with for a playoff run?

"Fishhead wrote:

Even if they were to cut ties with Boyer now or before the bye week, who do you replace him with for a playoff run?

his players were in the position to make plays. They didn't make the tackle. Boyer can't tackle for them.

"Fishhead wrote:

Even if they were to cut ties with Boyer now or before the bye week, who do you replace him with for a playoff run?

I'd offer a ton of money to Keith Butler and see if he comes out of retirement.

"Springveldt wrote:

With the season X is having you could say both our top corners are out. Either X is starting to decline real fast or that injury is lingering and he's playing through it but he's not the same player this year.

I think Byron is done for the year, something isn't right with him.

I don't think we can win Superbowl with this defence, I'm not even sure we can win a playoff game with them.

Byron almost seems like he doesn't want to play. The vibe around him and that injury is just kind of weird. Either that or it was much worse than anyone thought and nobody wants to say it for some reason.

IMO the Chubb move was made with the idea that Jones is out most/all of the season and likely not a Phin next year. Moving more from the Patriot elite CB model into the standard down line pressure model.

Overall, I'd say the Browns game is a vital test. We consider the Lions and Bears to be low level teams, but if we want to be fair the Lions have scored in bunches in multiple games and the Bears put up near 250yds rushing and 30 points for three weeks in a row against the Pats, then Cowboys then us. But really that just takes the sting off a bit, we still left A LOT to be desired.

The Browns can run, but Brisset is the QB type we usually feast on and our run D is good. If we can hold them to a lowish total we might give Boyer more time to try and remake the defense away from what it had been. If the Browns put up 24+ on us in our house then I think we need to make a move. The bye + home against Houston is the place. Gotta be right before we head out to that west coast road trip.

"cbrad wrote:

I'd offer a ton of money to Keith Butler and see if he comes out of retirement.

Given where we are in the season, would he (or whoever they brought in) have enough time to make effective changes? I would imagine installing a new scheme takes a fair amount of time.

"Fishhead wrote:

Given where we are in the season, would he (or whoever they brought in) have enough time to make effective changes? I would imagine installing a new scheme takes a fair amount of time.

Can't install a completely new scheme this late. However, in-game adjustments are another story. Need someone better than Boyer there.

"dolphin25 wrote:

If a single player being out causes your defense to not work, you got a serious issue with the defense.

Well, Needham was a great backup- so we're really down to CB3 on that side of the ball. The cover zero is all about being able to shut down routes in man...we just can't do that.

The other issue with switching him out now is, unless you have someone who is considering coming out of retirement, virtually all of your other candidates are currently employed, and whose employers are unlikely to allow them to interview with us mid season.

"KeyFin wrote:

Well, Needham was a great backup- so we're really down to CB3 on that side of the ball. The cover zero is all about being able to shut down routes in man...we just can't do that.

Not only is Needham out, but Brandon Jones is out. His ability to blitz had a lot to do with the cover zero success.

"cbrad wrote:

I'd offer a ton of money to Keith Butler and see if he comes out of retirement.

Has that really ever happened - firing a coordinator in the season and replacing them with someone who wasn't on staff and hadn't been at any recent time? Maybe it has, but it seems an unlikely thing overall.

The more likely answer is that we promote from within, though who on our staff would be best suited for that step up is not something I have an answer for.

I really don't think that Boyer is going to get fired mid season. Not with the team 6-3, potentially headed to 8-3. More likely, we change in the offseason. Fingers crossed.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I really don't think that Boyer is going to get fired mid season. Not with the team 6-3, potentially headed to 8-3. More likely, we change in the offseason. Fingers crossed.

Or...Jones comes back, the D plays lights out, we win a Super Bowl, and then we don't have to replace anyone. I'm always the optimist, LoL, and hope for the easiest path to success. I could be way off on this one though.

"KeyFin wrote:

Or...Jones comes back, the D plays lights out, we win a Super Bowl, and then we don't have to replace anyone. I'm always the optimist, LoL, and hope for the easiest path to success. I could be way off on this one though.

I don't care if we win every game the rest of the way and end as champions, I want Boyer fired. Don't let emotions get in the way of making the right long term choice.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I don't care if we win every game the rest of the way and end as champions, I want Boyer fired. Don't let emotions get in the way of making the right long term choice.

If we win the rest of the way and end up as champions, then that means our D did really well down the stretch, at least in the playoffs. In that case you keep Boyer. That means he figured it out.

"cbrad wrote:

If we win the rest of the way and end up as champions, then that means our D did really well down the stretch, at least in the playoffs. In that case you keep Boyer. That means he figured it out.

What if we're winning more games 38-35? Are you still keeping the DC because we can win shootouts?

This isn't a new problem. The defense is fundamentally broken and has been for a couple of years. The bad teams that we faced and all of the turnovers just made it look better than it was. Subjectively, they've played like crap in a lot of wins but it got forgotten.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

What if we're winning more games 38-35? Are you still keeping the DC because we can win shootouts?

No in that case I agree with you. D has to play well down the stretch to keep Boyer. It's unlikely though our defense didn't play well down the stretch if we end up winning the SB.

"cbrad wrote:

No in that case I agree with you. D has to play well down the stretch to keep Boyer. It's unlikely though our defense didn't play well down the stretch if we end up winning the SB.

What if we win 11 or 12 games and get into the playoffs? You on board getting rid of him if the rest of the regular season looks like what we've seen?

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

What if we win 11 or 12 games and get into the playoffs? You on board getting rid of him if the rest of the regular season looks like what we've seen?

Yeah of course. Covered that in the post you quoted. D has to play well down the stretch, or in the playoffs if we win the SB.

"dolphin25 wrote:

OMG stop! It was a touchdown if Tua throws it out there in stride.

For that to happen Tua has to loft the ball over the CB, which is exactly what he tried to do. Throwing a dagger stops Waddle’s momentum and he gets tackled as soon as he catches the ball.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

his players were in the position to make plays. They didn't make the tackle. Boyer can't tackle for them.

Tackling is more about motivation and willingness to put your body on the line than anything else. Poor tackling is a bad sign.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

What if we win 11 or 12 games and get into the playoffs? You on board getting rid of him if the rest of the regular season looks like what we've seen?

Most definitely. This defense should be better than it has been, injuries included. It’s not an elite unit, not without a top edge rusher (hopefully Chubb), better interior LBs and a top tier CB (no faith Jones is coming back). With that being said, they should be better than they are - players are not put into position to make plays, and in game adjustments are minimally effective at best.

"Pauly wrote:

For that to happen Tua has to loft the ball over the CB, which is exactly what he tried to do. Throwing a dagger stops Waddle’s momentum and he gets tackled as soon as he catches the ball.

Uh no.... Waddle was open by at least 5 years, throw the ball down field and let him run under it.

There is another play that you may be thinking about. The one I am talking about was like the last drive or 2 of the game.

"Fishhead wrote:

Most definitely. This defense should be better than it has been, injuries included. It’s not an elite unit, not without a top edge rusher (hopefully Chubb), better interior LBs and a top tier CB (no faith Jones is coming back). With that being said, they should be better than they are - players are not put into position to make plays, and in game adjustments are minimally effective at best.

Did you notice DC rotated Chub and Phillips? Just brilliant :(