Duckjake said:
Well of course. It's called experience and developing that mentality through continued success. They are only 11 games removed from being the worst scoring defense in the NFL. I think we'll see them "pounce" more quickly next season.
Um, after playing football at the NCAA level, the high school level, and in some cases the Pop Warner level, I would sure as Hell hope that pouncing on a loose ball is like a brain-stem function for defensive players in the NFL. There is no excuse, no amount of points given up the previous year, no lack of NFL experience that will excuse not doing something that's drilled into the heads of every defensive player from the time they are little kids (or at least 7th graders).
Seriously, this is the NFL, and making excuses for not pouncing on the ball is almost as bad as the complete lack of good tackling that plagues the league at the moment. And the irony is, the bad tackles are coming from players trying to make SportCenter Top 10 highlights by forcing fumbles but when the ball is actually knocked loose the team lacks the "instincts" to jump on it?
I haven't played an organized game of baseball since I was in high school. Yet, if I were thrown in the outfield and asked to play I'd remember all the basic rules I was taught, like calling for the fly ball, or hitting the cut off man. But a professional football player that has at the moment he steps into the NFL usually has at least 8 years of organized football under their belt needs to work on getting to a loose ball for next year?
To quote Tango, "simply amazing".
No, going for the loose ball is something every player should have no control over. It should be like dangling a string in front of a cat, it should trigger some primitive recess of the brain to jump into instantaneous action. I'm talking Vikings gnawing on their shields to get themselves into a wild frenzy type action here.
I understand your point Duckjake, the defense is improving and we should expect that part of their game to improve as well. And I understand that forcing fumbles is a function of skill and that recovering said fumble is more a function of luck. But you can't give Lady Luck a chance to roll the dice if you stop pursuing to the action because it appears a teammate has made the tackle already. I think we both have the same optimism for the future of our defense it's just that you're comparing to past Cardinals defenses and I am looking at the rest of the league so where we are right now differs.
And finally, thank you for a positive post.
