The problem on D is they are forcing the system on the players and not playing a system that reflects the players. There is no true Nose player that I’ve seen play yet this year, no idea who’s on the bench but put in a big strong body already! How can you play a 3-4 with a lightweight playing over center? Newton isn’t a guy that should be putting a hand in the dirt, he’s a Calvin Pace type player. Palma is the only DL I saw that did what a 3-4 DL should be doing, he took up space, took on double teams, shed blocks and made plays. To me this is a team that screams for a 4-3 system.
The LB’s are avg at best, you don’t run a 3-4 system when you don’t have a wide body at nose, you have a LB playing out of position with his hand in the dirt and avg at best LB’s that can’t tackle, don’t stay home and can’t read plays. The secondary is shaky at best, they gave up more plays than they made. I don’t see attention to detail on the defensive side of the ball. The way their playing suggests there is no one teaching proper position, proper technique or reading offensive sets and adjusting.
On offense they need to get a true RB to take the pressure off the QB. You can’t expect the QB to be the lead rusher and also be a 70% passer. If he wasn’t running for his life or yardage the entire game he would have better touch on his balls. Loving 85, this kid is a player but they need more than him or he’s going to draw the focus of the opposing D going forward as no other receivers have been consistent week to week.
