I'm starving for football. Anything will do. So when I read that our defensive coordinator talked with Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com, I was stoked.
He touched on numerous topics, from Defensive line to Defensive backs. See his quotes after the jump.
When asked if Rubin and Taylor are going to play LDT and RDT instead of 1 & 3 tech DT's:
"It's still to be determined," Jauron said. "But ideally, that's what we would like to do. Then you can just slide them. But if it doesn't work out that way, we don't have issues with moving a guy. You'll see teams do it at times with certain movements on offense. They'll just get up and they'll both move and assume the three and the one once the offense has set the formation. But it's a lot better if you can slide."
If you remember Rufio's piece on the Defensive Tackles in Jauron's past, this sounds like a good thing. Jauron had a lot of success in Chicago with two massive DT's in Keith Traylor and Ted Washington. I am excited about the damage that these two massive kids could do up front.
Pressure vs. Coverage?
"Ideally, we'd like to pressure more than we cover," Jauron said. "You've got to be able to make the quarterback uncomfortable. It doesn't mean you have to pressure a certain percentage all the time, but you've got to put doubt in their mind. You've got to have a high percentage of pressure or at least a very good mix that keeps people off balance."
Music to my ears. I am hoping that the two mountains in the middle are able to slow the run game down, allowing for some 3rd and long situations. With Joe Haden coming on last season, hopefully the coaching staff will feel a little more at ease bringing pressure and letting the DB's clamp down.
As much as people bitched about Eric Wright last season, his return would be a huge help in this area.
The entire interview is worth a read, but I thought that these two points were worth noting. I know many around here weren't happy with Rob Ryan leaving, myself included, but I am excited to see what plans Jauron has for the best young DT combo in the NFL and the rest of the Browns defense.