The point by Kirk that the blitzers don't get thru is painfully obvious. It has been for most of two seasons now. I think LeBeau is terrified to send 6-8 guys on a true old-fashioned blitz because that requires great man to man skills.  Our DB's stink in man coverage. Of course, they didn't draft for that, they are a different type of player (this could be read as 2nd rate, cheap or other for most of them). Troy P. is a great athlete but he plays safety not corner, hence our vulnerability on the outside. Taylor is decent and big for a corner but is hardly elite. The rest of them are not real good cover guys, they are reaction players.

The other fact is that our 3 down guys up front are moderately sized except for Hampton. None of them are great pass rushers. The inside LB's are not big enough nor physical enough to make up for it against a team like Jax down after down, all game long. Remember Kirkland? That guy was 270 in training camp for God's sake. Nobody like him now. Bottom line is that our defense is a little light in the ass to run a 3-4 against the better teams. They are also lacking in cover and pass rush ability. They are good but not great at any one thing. I hope the coaches do something different scheme-wise to help give the players tactical advantages. The offense needs to score early and force Jax from their comfort zone. I heard Chris Carter today on the radio and he said that Jax is the Pittsburgh of the south, they are actually more Pittsburgh than Pittsburgh currently. I would agree with that whole heartedly. What killed the Cowher Steelers? Forcing them out of a run first offense (see Belichek/NE ad nauseum). We must do the same and hope to win on turnovers and field position.

Reacting in zone means number one that you see the ball thrown, with the receiver/route recognizable in front of you.  Our corners are typically playing well off the outside receiver- which is usually a zone alignment. You can play man from an 'off' position but this is usually considered one of the toughest techniques.

I have not liked the style of db play for quite awhile. Just my opinion as a dumb high school coach.... It may be that they are playing this style because of their personnel and not that LeBeau wants to necessarily. He is a former great NFL db, which has always been a curiosity to me. You would think he would run more bump/man stuff, but maybe he figures in this era of NFL football that the offense has so many advantages he would rather try to defend with pressure schemes instead of tight man coverage. Can't say I blame him. I just think that their overall db play is often soft and gives up too many 3rd and long pass plays. Their defense for many years seemed to be the opposite of most NFL defenses. They were so much better than most against the run and bringing pressure via the blitz but had trouble rushing the passer w/o numbers and never seems to have a real ball hawk - every team seems to have at least one. Troy was a real ball hawk but is increasingly less effective, mostly due to injuries it seems. Like most db's, ours seem to be highly allergic to leather!!