I will Take the HEAT.

[flyerhawk]

This team will not win another SB with Richard running that unit. No chance. Won't happen. They can still win with Cable, Bevell, and every other coach here if that defense plays up to the level we all know they can.

That's a really bold statement. Don't think I can agree with that at all. I honestly don't believe that the DC under PC makes that big a difference.

 

[WizardHawk]

That's a really bold statement. Don't think I can agree with that at all. I honestly don't believe that the DC under PC makes that big a difference.

I didn't think so either until Quinn took over from Bradley and saw some fairly noticeable differences and now with Richard it's night and day different. There is no time I have faith in that unit to hold a 4pt lead late in games anymore. Absolutely none. And a team built around defense can't have that and win at the highest level.

 

[dude82]

I didn't think so either until Quinn took over from Bradley and saw some fairly noticeable differences and now with Richard it's night and day different. There is no time I have faith in that unit to hold a 4pt lead late in games anymore. Absolutely none. And a team built around defense can't have that and win at the highest level.

Don't you think that losing important players/leaders at every level of the defense for weeks at a time (with some overlap) had something to do with the drop in quality? Don't you also think that the offense's tendency to disappear for quarters or halves at a time had something to do with it too? I don't care how good a defense you have on paper, you can't lose important players/leaders on every level for weeks at a time, get no help from your offense on too many occasions and not expect it to have an effect. Let's also not forget that Quinn was given an extra pair of pass rushers to rotate in and out of the lineup to keep a fresh pass rusher in at all times. That's not a luxury that Bradley was given and it came back to bite the Hawks in the ass during that first Atlanta playoff game in 2012.

On that note... Hypothetically speaking, let's say Richard gets fired and gets replaced by someone who tweaks things a little but doesn't do anything drastically different from how Richard did things. This is, after all, ultimately Carroll's defense, not any one coordinator's defense. Then let's say we get everybody back that we lost for chunks of time this year, they stay healthy all year with no ill effects from their injuries or missed time, and the offense develops enough of a running game to keep that defense fresh all year. Finally, let's say that those circumstances combine to bring the defense back to where it was, statistically, under Quinn. Do we credit the new defensive coordinator for being better at his job than Richard was or do we realize that Richard was dealt a pretty bad hand this year and probably would have been able to do as well as the new guy given the new guy's set of circumstances?

 

[WizardHawk]

Jesus, I said already there were injuries, and there always is. That by default means it impacted this year and it always impacts every year. It happens to every single team in the NFL. Go show me one team that has ever not had a single injury over a season. Go ahead. Blame that all you like, but every team has to continue on after those guys are no longer available.

You cannot deny they had substantial communications issues this year in several games, just like they did last year around the time Kam came back.

You also can't deny most of the injuries you are talking about are in the back 7 and yet they had the worst pass rush they have had under Carroll. There is more going on than just a few boo boos. And it's been quite glaring over both of the last two seasons. Just open your eyes and look at it.