Greg Blache Defensive Scheme!!

Well are they good or not? No pass rush usually means a bad defense. Springs never played and their only all-pro was murdered. Their best corner scratched his ear with his cleats against New England the year before and was covering people on a new knee. Their weak side linebacker was on a new knee and faded down the stretch yet at the end of the year they were able to hold Philly (one of the best offenses in the league in the middle of another NFC Championship game season) to 3 points.

I would say that Blache did an excellent job with fairly little.
What I am saying is that our D while good, had some issues. Not quite sure what your problem about that is. The phrase "4th ranked defense" is often used here, and I think it is fair to point out the fact that there were several games where the offense, as lackluster as it was got the lead in the 4th quarter, and the defense lost it. To say that the every loss was on the offense, which is what you seem to be arguing, ignores several very strong 4th quarters from the offense, or the fact that in Dallas and Baltimore games, the offense was trying to get into the game, and our 4th quarter defense gave up 8-10 minute time of possessions.
I think Blache had the players he wanted, he basically set Rodgers on the shelf, a very bad decision to me. He blitzed like a mad man, even when it was shown as ineffective. Hopefully AH/Orakpo will make those blitzes less frequent and more effective.

Apparently the 4th best defense in the league that was supplemented with mediocre offense needs tweaking. Lets hope we can jump the Ravens and the Steelers next year.

p.s. I'm trying to be cute.

Every cornerback in the league has given up a pass like that.

And mediocre corners like Torrence give up more than most.

GB a good coach he now on paper has a DL that will require the opposing OL to keep TE & RB to block, leaving opposing OF with less options. GB did wonders with what he had.

I could be wrong, but I am guessing it was lack of true talent that prevented him from letting the players go. What's the point of sending 8 players if none of them touch the QB, so he kept them in pass coverage. He did what he needed to to get by. The fact that we were 4th in defense shows a lot about what Blache did with less than stellar talent up front.Blache played to our defensive strength, which was clearly the range and athletic ability of our DBs. With Haynesworth and Orakpo, we will get to the QB much more. Their presence all but guarantee one-on-one matchups for Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin. Add in Montgomery, Golston, Daniels, and Alexander, and we have a nice deep rotation on the D-line. I predict that Blache will use much the same scheme at the beginning of next season to see if we can hit the QB consistently while rushing four.

Blache played to our defensive strength, which was clearly the range and athletic ability of our DBs. With Haynesworth and Orakpo, we will get to the QB much more. Their presence all but guarantee one-on-one matchups for Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin. Add in Montgomery, Golston, Daniels, and Alexander, and we have a nice deep rotation on the D-line. I predict that Blache will use much the same scheme at the beginning of next season to see if we can hit the QB consistently while rushing four.Please explain how leading the NFL in 6+ man blitzes is playing to the strengths of the secondary.

Please explain how leading the NFL in 6+ man blitzes is playing to the strengths of the secondary.That was exactly my point - Blache had enough trust that our DBs could hold the fort while throwing multiple blitzes due to our weaker front 7. Wouldn't that be the definition of playing to the strength of our DBs? As I mentioned, I would expect to see far fewer blitzes out of the gate this season, and a far more balanced defense, especially if our front 4 applies consistent pressure.

That was exactly my point - Blache had enough trust that our DBs could hold the fort while throwing multiple blitzes due to our weaker front 7. Wouldn't that be the definition of playing to the strength of our DBs? As I mentioned, I would expect to see far fewer blitzes out of the gate this season, and a far more balanced defense, especially if our front 4 applies consistent pressure.It's a fair point, if you believe that simplifying the game is playing to the strength of the defensive backfield. I see it more as taking the game out of their hands and putting it in the offenses' blitz recognition ability. I always thought playing to the strength of your secondary means rushing four and asking them to make sure all the passing lanes are shut down.

Which is what I hope to see more of this year with Haynesworth, but I'm legitimately worried that Blache will fall into old habits.

I think the lessons taken from last season include:

1) Never, ever blitz Eli Manning
2) You can blitz McNabb or Romo, but only to exploit a matchup in the trenches. Not just for the abstract concept that is "pressure."

Blitz Eli! But don't show him what the blitz is before the snap. I agree with you Gtripp about the futility of blitzing to apply pressure, when the quarterback is 95% confident that he's got a hat on every head.