Jim Schwart'z future

Aside from one or two good DC's, who are you talking about? Most bad teams are bad at one or the other (D or O) and some are bad at both (i.e. the Titans) that's what makes bad teams bad.

I'd say Fisher has a lot to do with scheming plays towards the end of the game. He may not call every play but being a defensive minded coach you know he's got his hand in there somewhere. Some people act like we played obsurdly and it's all Schwart'z fault. That's they way Fisher's team have alway's played. Even when we had Williams we still played conservative D when we had the lead in the second half. Think about how many games were won with Al DelGreco kicking the game winning field goal. It happened all the time but it just so happened that we were winning games so nobody remembers. That's Fisher's style, not Schwartz's.

 

Absolutely, I agree... and Fisher is all for Asst. Coaches getting a chance to HC regardless of years remaining on their contract. One(1) good thing is Fisher is in complete control of hiring/Firing his staff... Reese has no say when it comes to that.

 

in response to Carie, I think San Fran gets alot out of their defensive players for the type of players they have, but most of that might have to do with Mike Nolan. Washington, Green Bay, Cleveland and Miami round out the list. It just seems to me their players are fired up, come with intensity and aren't afraid to pop someone in the mouth. It's been two full seasons since I've seen a Titans defensive player on Monday Night Countdown's "Jacked up". Although, I will give you this, we are very young on the D side of the ball and a bit inexperienced in key positions which isn't fair to Schwartz. To be honest, I wouldn't mind keeping him and seeing what he could do when... A) given more talent and B) has more freedom with the play-calling.

By the way, you make a good point of argument with the whole D play-calling being more Fisher's fault. Now that I think about it, that is Fish's style. Only he got away with it because we had good D's then.

 

If you think Schwartz is a great coach then you need serious mental help....Schwartz is not even a good coach much less a great one.

 

Compare the possession just before the scoring drive that ended in a Texans punt, and the one at the end of the half when they put together the scoring drive. Look at the coverages, take into account the package the Texans are running (e.g., 2-WR vs. 3-WR, which means changes for the defensive alignment), and the fact that the Texans got tagged with a pretty crucial tripping penalty the possession before.

Tell me what's so drastically different about the way the defense played it (including the times when the nickel LBs were right up on the LOS giving a blitz look, etc.). Unless it's that, like, the Titans missed a tackle at the LOS on Davis on a play where he ended up gaining 18 yards whereas on the drive before, the penalty gets called.

Players also have to make the plays when they are put in position to make them.

 

I remember the Texans touchdown drive right before the half? The commentators said it best, " I don't know what the defense is doing. They are going to in to prevent and you know what that means." Two minutes later, touchdown Texans. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that isn't the right call against a the worse team in the league, especially after sacking the snot of care for most of the first half."

I said to myself, same song different cast. But one thing remains the same, the DIRECTOR.

 

I'm no pro at football terminology, nor do I remember everything exactly on the drive, but, like Mrs. Titan puts it, how do you allow them to drive so easily on that drive to score the go-ahead score when you were just sacking the piss out of their QB and/or forcing them to punt? Now, we have one person suggesting its Fisher and another claiming its the players not doing what they've been put in position to do. But weren't they in position to make plays when they were sacking Carr like crazy? The thing with Schwartz that gets me is, one minute he looks good in his play calling and the next he looks like he has no clue what he's doing. I want to know why? Is it Schwartz, is it Fish? It surely can't be the players all the time....

 

If you guys want to believe Baldinger, by all means take him at his word. He also went on and on about Jarrett Payton blocked Chad Stanley in the back on the Jones punt return, but I don't think he had that one right either (or at least, Mike Keith seemed to think Payton did the right thing and Stanley tried to draw a flag by turning into what was a clean block, to make it look like a block in the back.

The safeties really didn't do anything different and it's not like they'd been blitzing Carr on every single down before that, either.

How about this Texans possession in the first half that even included a couple of sacks:

11 minutes remaining first and 10 from their own 11:

Titans play deep safeties, off coverage on one side and tighter press on the other. They blitz, it gets picked up, Carr launches one towards Johnson and Reynaldo Hill gives up a 29-yard PI.

First and 10 at the 40, Domanick Davis runs but they get him at the LOS (1 yards gain).

Second and 9, 3WR, Titans play all the corners up but safeties deep, linebackers near the LOS, blitz Bulluck, get a really good push up front and get Carr.

3-and 13, shotgun/3 WR, mix of off coverage on one side and the slot/other outside corner closer to the LOS, safeties deep, LBs drop into coverage...Davis picks up 13 yards and a first down.

1-and-10, end around WR run, picks up six. But Chester Pitts gets flagged for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness assessed AFTER the play.

So 2-and-19, again deep safeties, no blitz, Carr dumps a swing pass to Davis for a short gain.

3-and-17. Kind of a great opportunity to blitz. So they do. They've dropped Woolfolk deep this time and kept Williams up near the LOS, and they bring him. KVB beats his man one-on-one, though, as the blitz is picked up, and KVB gets the sac.

So the Titans gave up a 6-play drive where the big difference was really Chester Pitt's penalty that turned a second-and-4 into a second-and-19 and put the Texans into an almost impossible 3rd-and-17 when their swing pass on the next play was tackled well.

Compared to....

First and 10 when they run Davis for a medium (4 yard gain). Titans had a nickel defense on the field but had Woolfolk right up near the LOS against the slot receiver.

2nd and 6 where they rush four and Carr throws a quick out to the TE against the nickel.

First and 10 where they throw another quick out. (You know, if the Texans insist on throwing quickly in the hurry up, blitzes aren't likely to produce sacks off a quick drop. These are entirely different routes than Carr was trying to hit on the earlier possessions when the Texans weren't running hurry-up)

2nd and 2, Titans DO (run?) blitz as both nickel LBs are right up on the line and come, but Davis runs for first down.

First and 10. 3-WR, Titans play pretty much the same mix of coverages with their corners, still have the safeties deep. Carr throws a little out to the TE for 9 yards.

2-and-1, they bring Bulluck right up to the line (this is not prevent defense), Woolfolk charges right up to the line from his position just off the slot receiver (also not prevent defense) -- this looks like a run blitz to me? -- when Davis gets the handoff but Woolfolk misses the tackle right at the LOS. Both LBs are well-blocked by the OL, Davis cuts it back and goes for 18.

1st and 10 at the Titans 20. This might be a busted coverage, but the initial set is pretty much a similar alignment to what the corners have shown on other series this half. Johnson is lined up wide and Pac is playing a few yards off. Pac lets him go by even though it would seem like (I would've expected) he'd stay with him in that route. Instead, both Jones and Bulluck come up to the LOS to cover Marcellus Rivers who's running a quick out, leaving Williams to come over from his safety spot to cover Andre Johnson. Doesn't get there in time.

Call me crazy, I don't think the coverage called for Marcellus Rivers to be doubled at the LOS while Johnson was allowed to run free behind the corner and force the safety to come all the way over to the sideline.

This gets them to the five.

Next play is the roll-out/dump off to Davis for the TD, after clearing that side of the field by running the WRs towards the middle and then asking them to block.

It wasn't drastically different in terms of defensive alignment. And it definitely wasn't prevent.

 

see thats just it, theres no beast in Schwartz.... he doesnt have an aggressive bone in his zone scheme body!

 

Do you believe that about Bill Belichick/Romeo Crennel or Monte Kiffin, too?

Note: I'm not saying Schwartz is as good a DC, I've said before there's no way I think he's earned that (I just don't think he's as bad as other people think)...but zone defenses are not inherently "lesser" defenses, either.