What happened to our aggressive defense?
 

Has anyone else noticed that since Bowen went down we don't seem to be as aggressive on defense as we were at the beginning of the season? What happened to the aggressive 3rd down blitzing? I, for one, would like Williams to step it up again and finish the season with the same tenacity that we started with...Show what we have in Taylor and bring Smoot and Springs also.

I was just thinking the same thing. I guess it's understandable with a couple of youngsters in Clark and Taylor back there but I think it goes to show how key Bowen is to this team.

Seems like they bring in Springs a lot on the blitz, which is great, but overall something does feel different about the defense. Still, they're carrying this team. No question about that

with the inexpirience in the back field, as well as the increased amounts of injuries it's not all that suprising but u could definitely tell Williams enjoyed using bowen as a blitzer and bowen was pretty good at disguising the blitzes. I've been kind of suprised to not see washington used more off the blind side as a blitzer or even marshall. hoepfully we'll see some more aggressive blitzes this week against the rookie, even though he's handled it all pretty damn well thus far but if cinci can get 7 sacks against them we should be able to atleast get a few.

I think with Owens on the field, they didn't want to bring as many blitzes. Can't double team and blitz without leaving huge holes elsewhere.

our blitzers to start the season (roughly in order of importance):
lavar
bowen
springs
taylor
marcus (can't blitz easily without lavar)

next year we should be set and have 5 good blitzers again...

I REALLY want to see Taylor come free on a blitz or two. A hit by that guy or LaVar could really leave someone's head ringing. Bowen did a great job too, I must admit I was impressed week 1!

I agree Daseal. Thats why I'm confused as to why so many people have mentioned getting rid of Bowen in the offseason. I know that he's not the best pass coverage guy in the NFL, but its been pretty obvious to me that he was a big part of this defense. Ryan Clark has done a good job, but were defintley limitied. I do think Bowen was one of the key injuires to our team.

I think all the injuries have something to do with it. We're really depleted all around, the line, LB's and secondary are all pushing the limits of our depth.

Its a combination of injuries and how much time they have to spend on the field because the offense is so bad. The D cant be as aggressive as they want/need because they are forced by an inept offense to conserve their energy in order to have something left in the tank when the 4th quarter rolls around.

It's hard to be aggressive when half of the starting defense were considered special teamers at best in the preseason

We lost alot when we lost Bowen, but our defense has played tough without him, Arrington and others. Any word on Griffin for this weekend? He has been a monster on our line and I think we sorely missed him this past weekend.

Bowen is good in run support and I like him, but he blows coverage too often. Unless we get a good pass rushing DE, I think we need a SS who can drop back into coverage and blitz. Williams' system relies on good DBs who are versatile. Even though Clark and Lott provide good depth, I have mixed feelings about whether we need another good SS.

I think we're more than fine at the safety spots for next year. Bowen, Clark, Lott and Taylor is a pretty good group to go with. Just gotta get Bowen and Lott healthy.

I've never liked Bowen. If he can play 1/2 as well as he did against TB against everyone else, he's fine by me!

I didn't see much wrong with Bowen's performance before his injury....I felt he had played rather solid and was stepping up to be team leader on the D. I mean he's not up to superstar status, but he's played well.