Steelers, Titans, Ravens fans unite (1 Viewer)

[Chase Stuart]

Three awesome defenses on display this weekend, and Eagles fans, your team's isn't far behind.

I'd like to get a 1-11 breakdown from the homers of these three defenses where you rank your defensive players. I'm curious to see who you guys view as the strengths and weaknesses of these fine units. I know we have a ton of Ravens and Steelers homers on the board and some Titans guys, so I think this should be a fun thread.

 

[FUBAR]

1. Haynesworth - S T U D

2. Bulluck - no longer a FF force so he's lost some of the luster, but he's still a leader among men

3. KVB - STUD

4. Finnegan - STUD

5. Griffin - STUD

6. Hope - STUD

7. Harper

8. Tony Brown

9. Thornton

10. Kearse

11. Tulluch

Our weakness is the MLB and we don't have that playmaker that just lights up the field like Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, or Troy Polamalu.

But this is an extremely well coached team with good to great players throughout.

 

[5-ish Finkle]

I'll take a stab for you on "1-11" for the Steelers. Keep in mind, this is solely my opinion. I'm sure others will share theirs:

1a. Polamalu- He changes how OCs must prepare for this defense on all levels.

1b. Harrison- He's not really far behind Troy in regard to being schemed for.

3. Aaron Smith- 2007 showed exactly how important Smith is, especially to the run defense.

4. Hampton- When healthy and motivated, as he is this year, you could make an argument for Hammy being #2 on the list most years.

5. Farrior- If Troy and Harrison are the heart and lungs of the D, then Farrior is the brain.

6. Clark- Not anywhere near as crazy as this might sound if you've been paying attention the past couple seasons. Clark is rarely out of position and has plus instincts. He allows Polamalu to get away with a LOT of freelancing. He's the 2nd most vital cog in their pass defense, as far as DBs go, because when he goes out it tends to fall apart quickly.

7. Taylor- Typically paired up against the other teams #1 WRs and typcially more than holds his own. If the guy could catch, he'd be a lot more recognizable.

8. Woodley- He wouldn't be near #8 on just about any other defense. Really came on this season. I liked him as a player at Michigan, but was afraid his best pro position may be with his hand on the ground(I'm still not sure it wouldn't be, as scary as that sounds). He's done far better in space, so far, than I thought he would by this point.

9. McFadden- Was having a great season before his injury. He has been worked back into the starting lineup slowly, but seems to be back to close to where he was at least.

10. Foote- Steady, but unspectacular. Can be had, but he's pretty much seen it all by now. Makes up for lack of athleticism by reading plays well. Plus, he's got the best H.S. team name/mascot ever.

11. Kiesel- Down year for him, due mostly to injuries, but he'd probably be last in line on this team in his best year anyway. Was billed as a guy who could rush from the 3-4 DE spot when they were developing him, but has only really been good for that one year. Still a bit of a liability vs. the run, although he has improved there a tad over the past couple years. Injuries are his biggest issue now, it seems.

Gun to my head, I'd actually put Timmons at #11, but since Kiesel technically starts(when he's healthy) I'll give it to him. Timmons has made far more plays in his limited time this year than Kiesel has, that's for sure.

Significant backups:

The aforementioned Timmons- They work him in at all 4 LB spots some games, but primarily sub him for Larry Foote. Great in coverage and emerging as a blitzer.

Townsend- Instincts are still good, though the athleticism is starting to erode some. Still capable of starting, and has done so when McFadden was injured and performed as good as could have been expected.

Hoke- Can still penetrate when called upon if Hampton needs a rest.

Gay- May actually be the team's best hands at DB.

Eason/Kirshcke- Neither guy has really been that great for the Steelers....until this year. Both are probably better at stopping the run than Kiesel is, so they become "significant" for no other reason than Kiesel has been banged up a lot this season so they've had a lot of reps and were fairly productive with them.

In my mind, the Achilles Heel of the Steelers defense is probably overall depth. The starters, and initial backups for most units, are good-to-excellent. Outside of LB though, none of the other units are THAT deep. Most specifically safety. BOTH starters are so important to this defense already, but it's compounded when you only have Tyrone Carter and Anthony friggin' Smith behind them. Carter can make a play here and there, but Smith is basically bread sitting on the bench waiting to be toasted by being inserted into the starting lineup. If either Polamalu or Clark(especially Clark) were to miss significant time it really changes the whole complexion of that pass defense.

 

[roadkill1292]

We're ranking the defensive starters 1-11, right? Man, I'm terrible at these kinds of comparisons but I'll give the Ratbirds a try.

1. Ed Reed -- if he's not hurt at the start of season (and it pained me to see him every time he made contact with somebody) he's the defensive POY. I've never seen anybody with his instincts and big-play making ability.

2. Ray Lewis -- this is already tough because it's plain to see that he's lost a step but he still makes all the right reads, plugs every hole almost as well as anyone and keeps everybody on the same page in the most complicated blitzing scheme in the league.

3. Haloti Ngata -- that's right, he's already their third best guy. He had a rep for taking plays off at Oregon but every time I watch him he's making tackles sideline to sideline. Athletic enough to drop into coverage, big and strong enough to plug the middle. He's why you can't run on these guys and the veterans on the team love him. Do they move him outside if and when Kelly Gregg (Michelin Man) comes back? He might be even more awesome at tackle.

4. Terrell Suggs -- he's the Ravens' version of Harrison, guaranteed to make a big play coming off the edge at least once a game.

5. Trevor Pryce -- a huge pickup for the team when they got him, another big reason why they always stop the run and not a bad pass rusher for a DT in a 3-4.

6. Jim Leonhard -- he's undersized and he hasn't made an impact anywhere else but he took to Rex Ryan's defense like he was born to it. Very sure tackler, they put him down in the box a lot and send him after the QB, where his timing is great, a couple of times a game, which lets Ed Reed play centerfield all the time. Leonhard made a ton of tackles last week but also intercepted Pennington way downfield, too.

7. Jarret Johnson -- if he's your best LB, your team may not be very good, but if he's your third best guy then you're pretty tough. Still making the occasional mistake but plays the run very well. More athletic than you think; blitzing against the Giants he knocked Hedgecock on his ### and then jumped over his prone body into Eli's face. It was pretty awesome in an otherwise bad game for the D.

8. Samari Rolle -- Still pretty solid this year, hasn't gotten beaten deep hardly at all, though it's fair to say that the Ravens haven't had too many of the league's top receiving guns on their schedule. And the ones that were (like Ocho and Housh) had off years. But Rolle and

9. Fabian Washington are big reasons why they've been able to overcome the loss of McAlister, legitimately a Top 5 CB at his peak. Of course, both those guys are helped by Ed Reed often being in the vicinity. Neither Rolle nor Washington are particularly strong tacklers.

10. Bart Scott -- he made his rep knocking out Roethlisberger but the team has better blitzers and I don't think he's strong enough to play the run well nor has the instincts to cover well. They have a couple of kids (Barnes and McClain?) that will probably take his job in the near future.

11. Justin Bannan -- he's all right, trying to play the Kelly Gregg role of occupying space so the backers can make the tackle. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

 

[Slider]

The DC's make all these teams/players look as good as they do. When two of them get a HC job next year those 2 D's will take a step back.

 

[CharrdWood]

The DC's make all these teams/players look as good as they do. When two of them get a HC job next year those 2 D's will take a step back.

Is it safe to assume that by the "two" you mean Schwartz and Ryan? If so, I'd argue that you're dead wrong. Seems to me that both Tennessee and Baltimore are stacked with talent on D, so any coordinator worth his salt will get production out of them. It's the personnel more than the scheme(s). Hell, there's even a Titans' fans' website called fireschwartz.com (or summat). Many, many Titans fans believe that Schwartz's D is nothing without the personnel, that he doesn't actually do much to improve them. I'm not saying that I can be counted amongst those agnostics, but there is a strong sentiment out there that Schwartz is only as good as his personnel (and that can probably be said about any coordinator, O or D).OTOH, assuming I'm correct, it seems to me that, although the Steelers also have a tremendous amount of quality on D, they're more scheme-dependent on Lebeau and his blitzing schemes. Anecdotally I'd say that the Ravens do at least as good a job of stockpiling defensive talent as the Steelers.Not sure what the original point was in any event, as they are all very, very good defenses, with little separating them. Oh, and during the regular season the Titans gave up only 10 points to the Ravens (in Bal'more) and only 14 to the Steelers. Who, BTW, gave up 24 to the Titans O. I won't even be so churlish as to bring up Griffin's "unnecessary" pick-6. :]

 

[kethnaab]

5-ish, I really like your ratings. If Woodley can add about 10-15 lbs of muscle to get more stout against the run, he's going to be a Harrison-like beast

 

[Uruk-Hai]

We're ranking the defensive starters 1-11, right? Man, I'm terrible at these kinds of comparisons but I'll give the Ratbirds a try.1. Ed Reed -- if he's not hurt at the start of season (and it pained me to see him every time he made contact with somebody) he's the defensive POY. I've never seen anybody with his instincts and big-play making ability.2. Ray Lewis -- this is already tough because it's plain to see that he's lost a step but he still makes all the right reads, plugs every hole almost as well as anyone and keeps everybody on the same page in the most complicated blitzing scheme in the league.3. Haloti Ngata -- that's right, he's already their third best guy. He had a rep for taking plays off at Oregon but every time I watch him he's making tackles sideline to sideline. Athletic enough to drop into coverage, big and strong enough to plug the middle. He's why you can't run on these guys and the veterans on the team love him. Do they move him outside if and when Kelly Gregg (Michelin Man) comes back? He might be even more awesome at tackle.4. Terrell Suggs -- he's the Ravens' version of Harrison, guaranteed to make a big play coming off the edge at least once a game.5. Trevor Pryce -- a huge pickup for the team when they got him, another big reason why they always stop the run and not a bad pass rusher for a DT in a 3-4.6. Jim Leonhard -- he's undersized and he hasn't made an impact anywhere else but he took to Rex Ryan's defense like he was born to it. Very sure tackler, they put him down in the box a lot and send him after the QB, where his timing is great, a couple of times a game, which lets Ed Reed play centerfield all the time. Leonhard made a ton of tackles last week but also intercepted Pennington way downfield, too.7. Jarret Johnson -- if he's your best LB, your team may not be very good, but if he's your third best guy then you're pretty tough. Still making the occasional mistake but plays the run very well. More athletic than you think; blitzing against the Giants he knocked Hedgecock on his ### and then jumped over his prone body into Eli's face. It was pretty awesome in an otherwise bad game for the D.8. Samari Rolle -- Still pretty solid this year, hasn't gotten beaten deep hardly at all, though it's fair to say that the Ravens haven't had too many of the league's top receiving guns on their schedule. And the ones that were (like Ocho and Housh) had off years. But Rolle and9. Fabian Washington are big reasons why they've been able to overcome the loss of McAlister, legitimately a Top 5 CB at his peak. Of course, both those guys are helped by Ed Reed often being in the vicinity. Neither Rolle nor Washington are particularly strong tacklers.10. Bart Scott -- he made his rep knocking out Roethlisberger but the team has better blitzers and I don't think he's strong enough to play the run well nor has the instincts to cover well. They have a couple of kids (Barnes and McClain?) that will probably take his job in the near future.11. Justin Bannan -- he's all right, trying to play the Kelly Gregg role of occupying space so the backers can make the tackle. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

This is pretty much how I'd rank them, except that I'd have Scott above at least one of the CBs. He's still 2nd on the team in Ts & As, though they dropped off a bit this season (in part, IMO, because of Ngata's emergence). His sacks have certainly gone way down but I think some of that is because they moved him into Adalius Thomas' spot (where he's nowhere near as good as AD was) & Suggs, Johnson, and Pryce have moved past him into his old sacker role.Anyway, that's pretty much splitting hairs on my part & roadkill's analysis is pretty much spot-on. Ngata is a beast & allows Baltimore to do what they do because he occupies the entire interior O Line of his opponents. When Greeg comes back next season, I'd like to see the Ravens keep both he & Ngata inside the OTs with their rush-end (Pryce) & Suggs as a hybrid on the outside.

 

[roadkill1292]

The DC's make all these teams/players look as good as they do. When two of them get a HC job next year those 2 D's will take a step back.

While this may sound unnecessarily negative on the surface, I think it's fair to say that the loss of a great DC like Ryan or LeBeau (who I doubt is going anywhere) definitely has a detrimental effect on a unit. But all three of these teams are still stocked with some of the league's best personnel.

 

[roadkill1292]

We're ranking the defensive starters 1-11, right? Man, I'm terrible at these kinds of comparisons but I'll give the Ratbirds a try.1. Ed Reed -- if he's not hurt at the start of season (and it pained me to see him every time he made contact with somebody) he's the defensive POY. I've never seen anybody with his instincts and big-play making ability.2. Ray Lewis -- this is already tough because it's plain to see that he's lost a step but he still makes all the right reads, plugs every hole almost as well as anyone and keeps everybody on the same page in the most complicated blitzing scheme in the league.3. Haloti Ngata -- that's right, he's already their third best guy. He had a rep for taking plays off at Oregon but every time I watch him he's making tackles sideline to sideline. Athletic enough to drop into coverage, big and strong enough to plug the middle. He's why you can't run on these guys and the veterans on the team love him. Do they move him outside if and when Kelly Gregg (Michelin Man) comes back? He might be even more awesome at tackle.4. Terrell Suggs -- he's the Ravens' version of Harrison, guaranteed to make a big play coming off the edge at least once a game.5. Trevor Pryce -- a huge pickup for the team when they got him, another big reason why they always stop the run and not a bad pass rusher for a DT in a 3-4.6. Jim Leonhard -- he's undersized and he hasn't made an impact anywhere else but he took to Rex Ryan's defense like he was born to it. Very sure tackler, they put him down in the box a lot and send him after the QB, where his timing is great, a couple of times a game, which lets Ed Reed play centerfield all the time. Leonhard made a ton of tackles last week but also intercepted Pennington way downfield, too.7. Jarret Johnson -- if he's your best LB, your team may not be very good, but if he's your third best guy then you're pretty tough. Still making the occasional mistake but plays the run very well. More athletic than you think; blitzing against the Giants he knocked Hedgecock on his ### and then jumped over his prone body into Eli's face. It was pretty awesome in an otherwise bad game for the D.8. Samari Rolle -- Still pretty solid this year, hasn't gotten beaten deep hardly at all, though it's fair to say that the Ravens haven't had too many of the league's top receiving guns on their schedule. And the ones that were (like Ocho and Housh) had off years. But Rolle and9. Fabian Washington are big reasons why they've been able to overcome the loss of McAlister, legitimately a Top 5 CB at his peak. Of course, both those guys are helped by Ed Reed often being in the vicinity. Neither Rolle nor Washington are particularly strong tacklers.10. Bart Scott -- he made his rep knocking out Roethlisberger but the team has better blitzers and I don't think he's strong enough to play the run well nor has the instincts to cover well. They have a couple of kids (Barnes and McClain?) that will probably take his job in the near future.11. Justin Bannan -- he's all right, trying to play the Kelly Gregg role of occupying space so the backers can make the tackle. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

This is pretty much how I'd rank them, except that I'd have Scott above at least one of the CBs. He's still 2nd on the team in Ts & As, though they dropped off a bit this season (in part, IMO, because of Ngata's emergence). His sacks have certainly gone way down but I think some of that is because they moved him into Adalius Thomas' spot (where he's nowhere near as good as AD was) & Suggs, Johnson, and Pryce have moved past him into his old sacker role.Anyway, that's pretty much splitting hairs on my part & roadkill's analysis is pretty much spot-on. Ngata is a beast & allows Baltimore to do what they do because he occupies the entire interior O Line of his opponents. When Greeg comes back next season, I'd like to see the Ravens keep both he & Ngata inside the OTs with their rush-end (Pryce) & Suggs as a hybrid on the outside.

If your front five is Pryce, Ngata, Gregg, Suggs and Johnson, opponents' rushing games are going nowhere once again.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

We're ranking the defensive starters 1-11, right? Man, I'm terrible at these kinds of comparisons but I'll give the Ratbirds a try.1. Ed Reed -- if he's not hurt at the start of season (and it pained me to see him every time he made contact with somebody) he's the defensive POY. I've never seen anybody with his instincts and big-play making ability.2. Ray Lewis -- this is already tough because it's plain to see that he's lost a step but he still makes all the right reads, plugs every hole almost as well as anyone and keeps everybody on the same page in the most complicated blitzing scheme in the league.3. Haloti Ngata -- that's right, he's already their third best guy. He had a rep for taking plays off at Oregon but every time I watch him he's making tackles sideline to sideline. Athletic enough to drop into coverage, big and strong enough to plug the middle. He's why you can't run on these guys and the veterans on the team love him. Do they move him outside if and when Kelly Gregg (Michelin Man) comes back? He might be even more awesome at tackle.4. Terrell Suggs -- he's the Ravens' version of Harrison, guaranteed to make a big play coming off the edge at least once a game.5. Trevor Pryce -- a huge pickup for the team when they got him, another big reason why they always stop the run and not a bad pass rusher for a DT in a 3-4.6. Jim Leonhard -- he's undersized and he hasn't made an impact anywhere else but he took to Rex Ryan's defense like he was born to it. Very sure tackler, they put him down in the box a lot and send him after the QB, where his timing is great, a couple of times a game, which lets Ed Reed play centerfield all the time. Leonhard made a ton of tackles last week but also intercepted Pennington way downfield, too.7. Jarret Johnson -- if he's your best LB, your team may not be very good, but if he's your third best guy then you're pretty tough. Still making the occasional mistake but plays the run very well. More athletic than you think; blitzing against the Giants he knocked Hedgecock on his ### and then jumped over his prone body into Eli's face. It was pretty awesome in an otherwise bad game for the D.8. Samari Rolle -- Still pretty solid this year, hasn't gotten beaten deep hardly at all, though it's fair to say that the Ravens haven't had too many of the league's top receiving guns on their schedule. And the ones that were (like Ocho and Housh) had off years. But Rolle and9. Fabian Washington are big reasons why they've been able to overcome the loss of McAlister, legitimately a Top 5 CB at his peak. Of course, both those guys are helped by Ed Reed often being in the vicinity. Neither Rolle nor Washington are particularly strong tacklers.10. Bart Scott -- he made his rep knocking out Roethlisberger but the team has better blitzers and I don't think he's strong enough to play the run well nor has the instincts to cover well. They have a couple of kids (Barnes and McClain?) that will probably take his job in the near future.11. Justin Bannan -- he's all right, trying to play the Kelly Gregg role of occupying space so the backers can make the tackle. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

This is pretty much how I'd rank them, except that I'd have Scott above at least one of the CBs. He's still 2nd on the team in Ts & As, though they dropped off a bit this season (in part, IMO, because of Ngata's emergence). His sacks have certainly gone way down but I think some of that is because they moved him into Adalius Thomas' spot (where he's nowhere near as good as AD was) & Suggs, Johnson, and Pryce have moved past him into his old sacker role.Anyway, that's pretty much splitting hairs on my part & roadkill's analysis is pretty much spot-on. Ngata is a beast & allows Baltimore to do what they do because he occupies the entire interior O Line of his opponents. When Greeg comes back next season, I'd like to see the Ravens keep both he & Ngata inside the OTs with their rush-end (Pryce) & Suggs as a hybrid on the outside.

If your front five is Pryce, Ngata, Gregg, Suggs and Johnson, opponents' rushing games are going nowhere once again.

Comparing them as best I can to the 2000 D (though that was a 4-3), I'd say Ngata/Gregg would be better than Goose/Adams mainly because of Haoli's versatility (I look for an explosion in sack totals from him when Kelly comes back) - edge 2009. Rob Burnett & McCrary were very good DEs; but Pryce is like a combo of the two & along with Suggs gives this squad a slightly more versitile look - edge 2009, IMO. Lewis isn't as good as he was then, obviously - big edge 2000. Bart Scott isn't as stalwart as Sharper was, though he's more dynamic - pretty big edge 2000. Jarrett Johnson isn't the player Boulware was, though Suggs may be a better comparison - edge 2000 (Suggs vs Boulware, I'd take Suggs though to be fair Boulware played about half his career with one arm & was still a helluva player). McAlister/Starks were, IMO, much better than today's CBs - edge 2000. Woodson/drawing-a-blank on the SS in 2000 are really no match for Reed/Lenhard with Reed obviously the big difference - big edge 2009.So, I think this team could have an advantage up front & in the back. The rest of the D - LB & CB - is well-behind the benchmark 2000 team. The SB team really imtimidated other teams physically; this one is a little less imposing but may be a tad more veratile because of what Reed/Ngata allow them to do.

 

[roadkill1292]

We're ranking the defensive starters 1-11, right? Man, I'm terrible at these kinds of comparisons but I'll give the Ratbirds a try.1. Ed Reed -- if he's not hurt at the start of season (and it pained me to see him every time he made contact with somebody) he's the defensive POY. I've never seen anybody with his instincts and big-play making ability.2. Ray Lewis -- this is already tough because it's plain to see that he's lost a step but he still makes all the right reads, plugs every hole almost as well as anyone and keeps everybody on the same page in the most complicated blitzing scheme in the league.3. Haloti Ngata -- that's right, he's already their third best guy. He had a rep for taking plays off at Oregon but every time I watch him he's making tackles sideline to sideline. Athletic enough to drop into coverage, big and strong enough to plug the middle. He's why you can't run on these guys and the veterans on the team love him. Do they move him outside if and when Kelly Gregg (Michelin Man) comes back? He might be even more awesome at tackle.4. Terrell Suggs -- he's the Ravens' version of Harrison, guaranteed to make a big play coming off the edge at least once a game.5. Trevor Pryce -- a huge pickup for the team when they got him, another big reason why they always stop the run and not a bad pass rusher for a DT in a 3-4.6. Jim Leonhard -- he's undersized and he hasn't made an impact anywhere else but he took to Rex Ryan's defense like he was born to it. Very sure tackler, they put him down in the box a lot and send him after the QB, where his timing is great, a couple of times a game, which lets Ed Reed play centerfield all the time. Leonhard made a ton of tackles last week but also intercepted Pennington way downfield, too.7. Jarret Johnson -- if he's your best LB, your team may not be very good, but if he's your third best guy then you're pretty tough. Still making the occasional mistake but plays the run very well. More athletic than you think; blitzing against the Giants he knocked Hedgecock on his ### and then jumped over his prone body into Eli's face. It was pretty awesome in an otherwise bad game for the D.8. Samari Rolle -- Still pretty solid this year, hasn't gotten beaten deep hardly at all, though it's fair to say that the Ravens haven't had too many of the league's top receiving guns on their schedule. And the ones that were (like Ocho and Housh) had off years. But Rolle and9. Fabian Washington are big reasons why they've been able to overcome the loss of McAlister, legitimately a Top 5 CB at his peak. Of course, both those guys are helped by Ed Reed often being in the vicinity. Neither Rolle nor Washington are particularly strong tacklers.10. Bart Scott -- he made his rep knocking out Roethlisberger but the team has better blitzers and I don't think he's strong enough to play the run well nor has the instincts to cover well. They have a couple of kids (Barnes and McClain?) that will probably take his job in the near future.11. Justin Bannan -- he's all right, trying to play the Kelly Gregg role of occupying space so the backers can make the tackle. The world needs ditch diggers, too.

This is pretty much how I'd rank them, except that I'd have Scott above at least one of the CBs. He's still 2nd on the team in Ts & As, though they dropped off a bit this season (in part, IMO, because of Ngata's emergence). His sacks have certainly gone way down but I think some of that is because they moved him into Adalius Thomas' spot (where he's nowhere near as good as AD was) & Suggs, Johnson, and Pryce have moved past him into his old sacker role.Anyway, that's pretty much splitting hairs on my part & roadkill's analysis is pretty much spot-on. Ngata is a beast & allows Baltimore to do what they do because he occupies the entire interior O Line of his opponents. When Greeg comes back next season, I'd like to see the Ravens keep both he & Ngata inside the OTs with their rush-end (Pryce) & Suggs as a hybrid on the outside.

If your front five is Pryce, Ngata, Gregg, Suggs and Johnson, opponents' rushing games are going nowhere once again.

Comparing them as best I can to the 2000 D (though that was a 4-3), I'd say Ngata/Gregg would be better than Goose/Adams mainly because of Haoli's versatility (I look for an explosion in sack totals from him when Kelly comes back) - edge 2009. Rob Burnett & McCrary were very good DEs; but Pryce is like a combo of the two & along with Suggs gives this squad a slightly more versitile look - edge 2009, IMO. Lewis isn't as good as he was then, obviously - big edge 2000. Bart Scott isn't as stalwart as Sharper was, though he's more dynamic - pretty big edge 2000. Jarrett Johnson isn't the player Boulware was, though Suggs may be a better comparison - edge 2000 (Suggs vs Boulware, I'd take Suggs though to be fair Boulware played about half his career with one arm & was still a helluva player). McAlister/Starks were, IMO, much better than today's CBs - edge 2000. Woodson/drawing-a-blank on the SS in 2000 are really no match for Reed/Lenhard with Reed obviously the big difference - big edge 2009.So, I think this team could have an advantage up front & in the back. The rest of the D - LB & CB - is well-behind the benchmark 2000 team. The SB team really imtimidated other teams physically; this one is a little less imposing but may be a tad more veratile because of what Reed/Ngata allow them to do.

It's a boring observation to make but the 2000 squad was the best tackling team I've ever seen. I swear they didn't miss an open field tackle all year. First contact meant the ball carrier was stopped.

 

[The_Man]

It's a boring observation to make but the 2000 squad was the best tackling team I've ever seen. I swear they didn't miss an open field tackle all year. First contact meant the ball carrier was stopped.

A lot of people don't realize just how vanilla the 2000 Ravens D was. They knew that if they just lined up and played their responsibility, then nobody was going to move the ball on them. Their team discipline was incredible -- though McAlsiter bought the periodic double move.That team generated so much presure from its Front Four that they didn't blitz or gamble very much. The only 3 defensive TDs they had all year came in Week 17, the divisional playoff, and the Super Bowl.

 

[sho nuff]

The DC's make all these teams/players look as good as they do. When two of them get a HC job next year those 2 D's will take a step back.

Is it safe to assume that by the "two" you mean Schwartz and Ryan? If so, I'd argue that you're dead wrong. Seems to me that both Tennessee and Baltimore are stacked with talent on D, so any coordinator worth his salt will get production out of them. It's the personnel more than the scheme(s). Hell, there's even a Titans' fans' website called fireschwartz.com (or summat). Many, many Titans fans believe that Schwartz's D is nothing without the personnel, that he doesn't actually do much to improve them. I'm not saying that I can be counted amongst those agnostics, but there is a strong sentiment out there that Schwartz is only as good as his personnel (and that can probably be said about any coordinator, O or D).OTOH, assuming I'm correct, it seems to me that, although the Steelers also have a tremendous amount of quality on D, they're more scheme-dependent on Lebeau and his blitzing schemes. Anecdotally I'd say that the Ravens do at least as good a job of stockpiling defensive talent as the Steelers.Not sure what the original point was in any event, as they are all very, very good defenses, with little separating them. Oh, and during the regular season the Titans gave up only 10 points to the Ravens (in Bal'more) and only 14 to the Steelers. Who, BTW, gave up 24 to the Titans O. I won't even be so churlish as to bring up Griffin's "unnecessary" pick-6. :]

Not sure why any Titans fans would not like Schwartz...either way, if he gets a HC gig...I don't see the D stepping back too much.They could then bring in Gregg Williams again...or even promote from within with McGinnis. I don't see much changing if that happens.

 

[CharrdWood]

Not sure why any Titans fans would not like Schwartz...either way, if he gets a HC gig...I don't see the D stepping back too much.

They could then bring in Gregg Williams again...or even promote from within with McGinnis. I don't see much changing if that happens.

See for yourself...http://www.fireschwartz.com/

Larger point was that, even if Schwartz leaves, the Titans D will be just fine, especially if they re-sign Haynesworth. Personnel, not scheme.

 

[sho nuff]

Not sure why any Titans fans would not like Schwartz...either way, if he gets a HC gig...I don't see the D stepping back too much.

They could then bring in Gregg Williams again...or even promote from within with McGinnis. I don't see much changing if that happens.

See for yourself...http://www.fireschwartz.com/

Larger point was that, even if Schwartz leaves, the Titans D will be just fine, especially if they re-sign Haynesworth. Personnel, not scheme.

Agreed...and I know its there...I just think its funny that people think that of him.He is a very good DC.