Dawgs By Nature, a Cleveland Browns community

Interesting take on the defensive line - "...how many times have you seen someone on a message board or blog say that a 3-4 defensive end’s job isn’t to pressure the QB, its to occupy blockers. 1,000? 10,000? In all seriousness, I’ve read that several hundred times. Its been relentlessly drilled into our heads ever since Tin Man was picked. What we’re being told, essentially, is that our starting defensive ends, in our base set, only have responsibilities in the running game. The passing game is not their province. Thats how the defense is set up. These guys are only expected to be useful on 40% of plays. Does that seem archaic to anyone else? Through eight games, Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey have combined for zero sacks. I’m not going to talk about where these guys were drafted, or how much money they make, or any of that. All I’m saying is that these players cannot rush the passer. At all. I think we can all agree on this. ..." ... "The Chiefs need to find more snaps for Wallace Gilberry. I know he’s been something of a disappointment thus far, but he’s the only guy who laid a finger on Matt Moore yesterday. And he’s our only defensive lineman who has shown any ability, in his NFL career, to rush the passer. That makes him extremely valuable to this defense, disappointing start or no. I think the base set needs to feature him at RDE. Enen in a 3-4, its still the QBs blind side, and its still a position that will be going after the quarterback for many plays every game. Having Dorsey there is a waste. He and Tin Man should be competing for the LDE spot. Wally Gilby may be a liability against the run, but Dorsey and Jackson are a clear liability against the pass. Why should the former matter so much more than the latter? NFL offenses being what they are, shouldn’t it matter less? "