On 1/5/2022 at 9:28 AM, eagle45 said:

The defense has been transformed by facing a relentless progression of practice squad qbs.

Oversimplification.......but not surprising around here.  It certainly contributes, but there is more at work there.  You can write it off simply to the QB, but historically, new defensive schemes take time, 6-8 games into a season, to start to jell.  

Playing Ryan, Prescott, Mahommes, Brady and Carr in the first 7 weeks of the season, would be difficult for any defense, let alone one that is adjusting to a new scheme and some new personnel.

The fact is that we really don't know how good the defense is.....there has to be some accounting for learning and implementing, Gannon adjusting, and the confidence they have built up.

I think getting McLeod back, dumping Wilson for Taylor, inserting TJ Edwards more and and Gannon blitzing a bit more has given the defense some feeling of being more aggressive, which some of them complained about earlier in the season.

But the playoffs will show more......they will be playing pretty dam good offenses and will be expected to keep the game reachable.

Simple answer.................................No

We have played the bottom feeder teams in the NFL and even worse with backup/third string QBs. 

It comes down to a predictable scheme. Any good team will rip this defense apart like we saw in the beginning of the year when we played real QBs/opponents. 

3 hours ago, Mike030270 said:

So you want to keep Singleton now?

Yes? I think Singleton as a 4th/5th LBer is fine.

6 hours ago, nipples said:

Yeah… but doubt Howie drafts a LB in the first. 

Agreed.

6 hours ago, Walkdawalk said:

He's been by far the best LBer we have had in last couple seasons but that's not saying much...Also, I've noticed couple times on swing passes/passes to the flats he has gotten beaten for first downs and completely whiffed on the tackle. A competent QB like Brady or Rodgers is gonna take advantage of that in a big way. 

Yeah he seems to play better/be better in between the hashes. His side to side field play can improve.

Quickness and open field tackling on the outside can be tough for a lot of LBers.

TJ has improved as a player but has a long way to go until he's maxed out. His improvement helps the defense, but he has not transformed it the way a star in the making like Micah Parsons might. We'll get to see great rookie LB'er play this week. Sadly it's for the opposition.

4 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

TJ has improved as a player but has a long way to go until he's maxed out. His improvement helps the defense, but he has not transformed it the way a star in the making like Micah Parsons might. We'll get to see great rookie LB'er play this week. Sadly it's for the opposition.

That’s not really a fair standard to hold anyone to, though. Parsons is going to be one of the best LBers in the league for a long time. 

4 hours ago, nipples said:

That’s not really a fair standard to hold anyone to, though. Parsons is going to be one of the best LBers in the league for a long time. 

I think the standard is on point for a single player "transforming a defense," which was the original question. 

I think playing **** opponents has.  Not Edwards. 

I think Edwards can be a starter for years. However we saw the same with Singleton last year. Look what happened year two 😳. But if Edwards can step up and improve next year then I think he’ll be a solid lb for years.

2 hours ago, xxeaglesfanxx said:

I think Edwards can be a starter for years. However we saw the same with Singleton last year. Look what happened year two 😳. But if Edwards can step up and improve next year then I think he’ll be a solid lb for years.

I still think they could use another linebacker. I don’t know if Taylor could be that guy of if he can even stay healthy, but they need another guy.