Should we have kept Antonio Pierce?

I can't believe I'm saying this... but are we missing A. Pierce? :frusty:

I was the first to say good riddens, but man, we did not give up big runs last year, and so far three big ones (that screen to Priest today was more of a run than pass).

Also, teams are killing us on the perimeter with sweeps, off-tackle, and toss plays. Could that be because Antonio Pierce was good at reading the play and getting to the play and making the tackle? I would imagine when you give up yards on run plays that are more vertical (east-west) than north-south the linebackers come into play. Our second line of defense seems to be weak from sideline to sideline, i.e. chasing down plays, that was pretty evident on the screen to Holmes today.

I don't know why our defense is giving up so many big plays without turning the ball over or forcing sacks. Our defense has gone from dominant to just "okay" in a hurry.

I want some answers.

Don't forget, missing Shawn Springs has hurt us quite a bit too. We need him back in there, but honestly, I don't believe our defense is going to be as feared as what they were last year. However, look back last week....five 3 and outs forced against Denver's offense. Honestly, would we rather have the DC before Gregg Williams? If so, you're smokin' some strong stuff!

put arrington in at DE...at least on passing downs

Look at the list of walking wounded and actual sidelined players, that's why it went wrong today. If we'd had Springs in there instead of The Ade.......

I dont ever really think its Lamar Marshal being out of postion or anything. I think we are missing Marshal/Arrington on the outside. Holdman is not playing well, in my opinion. I dont need Arringotn in the game, I just need Holdman or whoever our OLB is to start playing better.

We miss Antonio way more than we miss LaVar.

We were missing Clark as well weren't we. Plus Noble is out, not that Salave'a isn't a solid replacement, he is.

But when you move Salave'a up to starter then you're pulling some relatively inexperienced player like Boschetti or Killings up the depth chart, and giving them more playing time. Playing time that they might not be quite ready for.

Injuries tend to cause a domino effect

Right, I had forgotten about Clark! When is he expect back?