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2011 Ravens vs. 2019 Bears Defence


Madmike90

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I thought I would do a bit of digging into Chuck Pagano’s Ravens defence back in 2011 and our D right now…some of the parallels are exciting…

DE…Haloti Ngata – Akiem Hicks

Both huge dominant inside players…Ngata had his best season in terms tackles and joint best in sacks, FF & PBUs…Hicks IMO was more dominant that I every remember seeing Hgata who was excellent in his own right and offers more as a pass rusher.

NT…Terrence Cody – Eddie Goldman

Easy win for our guys here…Goldman is a far superior player to Cody in every aspect…the Ravens have had a number of good NTs over the years and I think Goldman will continue to be a key cog in this D.

DE…Cory Redding – Bilal Nichols

Redding enjoyed his 2nd best season in tackles and sacks in 2011...I expect Nichols to step into a starting role…Pagano seems to like bigger DL who can protect his LBs…I think Nichols will prove to be an excellent fit.

OLB…Terrell Suggs…Khalil Mack

Both dominant pass rushers who can change a game in a heart beat…Suggs put up a career best 14 sacks in 2011…I expect Mack to potentially surpass this given the rest of the talent around him.

ILB…Ray Lewis…Roquan Smith

Lewis was coming towards to the end of his outstanding career in 2011 and wasn’t the player he once was…still he was used as a seek and destroy LB which is perfect for Smith’s range and athletic ability…I fully expect him to lead the team in tackles.

ILB…Jameel McClain…Danny Trevathan

The first comparison that isn’t a great fit…McClain was a bigger ILB who would soak up blocks and allow Lewis to scrap over him…that’s not Trevathan’s game but it could be an even better fit if we can keep these guys clean…Trevathan should be a strong fit inside.

OLB…Jarret Johnson…Leonard Floyd

Another one that is not really a comparison…Johnson did a lot of dirty work for the Ravens on the outside but offered little as a pass rusher with just 2.5 sacks…that Ravens also had McPhee (6 sacks) & Kruger (5.5 sacks)…Floyd alone will be an excellent fit on the outside and offer something totally different on stunts and twists but this does show we may be in the market for a larger OLB given the size of Johnson, Kruger & McPhee as a rotational guy.

CB/NB…LaDarius Webb…Bryce Callahan?

Webb was excellent in 2011 under Pagano and was used outside in base and on the inside in nickel…if we resign Callahan he has the same type of athletic profile and size…if he can stay healthy he would be a good fit.

CB…Cary Williams…Kyle Fuller

Williams is another guy who really seemed to excel under the coaching of Pagano enjoying his best pro seasons in 2011 (and arguably 2012) with the Ravens…Fuller has a better skill set and with the improvements he made last season this shouldn’t slow down…will be interesting to see if we still play as much zone under Pagano.

CB…Jimmy Smith…Prince Amukamara

Smith was the Ravens first round pick in 2011 and came in mostly on 3rd downs to play on the outside…Amukamara is a totally different level of experience but the skill sets are similar…both physical players without elite speed Pagano was able to guide him through what was a somewhat productive rookie year…Amukamara will give him more options.

SS…Bernard Pollard…Adrian Amos?

Another one where guys have a different skill set…Pagano seems to like bigger SS with Pollard (then with Indy Clifton Geathers) being 6-2” and around 225lbs…physically Amos isn’t as big but he still packs a punch as a hitter down around the LOS and has far better range…again I see him as a strong fit.

FS…Ed Reed…Eddie Jackson

Ed Reed was special…I mean really special…I am not sure we will ever see a better pure centre fielder but if you look around the NFL today Eddie Jackson is without doubt the best there is…if Pagano can install some of that in Reed magic in Jackson he will be even better than under Fangio.

 

The take away from this is that the key players from that defence match up extremely well with what we have…Ngata – Hicks inside force…Suggs – Mack as the primer pass rusher…Lewis – Smith as the athletic tackling machine…Reed – Jackson as the true centre fielder…those four positions were so key to that defence and the fact we have top 5 players (project for Smith I know) at those spots means we could continue to be scary good…

Where the differences are is small…Nichols will fill the role of a slightly bigger interior linemen over Bullard at DE…Trevathan & Floyd are smaller but more athletic and higher quality players than Johnson & McClain were…Amos is smaller but way more athletic and range while still being physical..

What we need to improve in comparison to that Ravens D is the depth at OLB…guys like Irving & Lynch are solid but we need more production from that 3rd rusher spot.

Regardless of what Pagano did with his defences in Indy he never found the type of talent there that he had in 2011 with the Ravens…he has that and more here…this could be a special defence again this season if everyone stays healthy.

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I think when looking at some of these players (McClain, Pollard), we have to consider how much the NFL has changed since 2011 and whether that archetype is still useful in the modern game. We've seen box safeties get slightly smaller and we've seen teams move away from traditional block-fighting ILBs who don't have the coverage ability to keep up with modern RBs and TEs. With that in mind, I think Trevathan and Amos should be fine in this defense.

I'm most interested in seeing what Pagano does with Leonard Floyd. I think he was somewhat wasted in Fangio's simplified schemes and could become a terror if used in a more complex blitz package.

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1 hour ago, abstract_thought said:

I think when looking at some of these players (McClain, Pollard), we have to consider how much the NFL has changed since 2011 and whether that archetype is still useful in the modern game. We've seen box safeties get slightly smaller and we've seen teams move away from traditional block-fighting ILBs who don't have the coverage ability to keep up with modern RBs and TEs. With that in mind, I think Trevathan and Amos should be fine in this defense.

I'm most interested in seeing what Pagano does with Leonard Floyd. I think he was somewhat wasted in Fangio's simplified schemes and could become a terror if used in a more complex blitz package.

No doubt...as I said having more athletic guys will be a huge benefit to Pagano that he didn't have in 2011...

Floyd should be awesome in this scheme. 

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That was a pretty cool write up MM. 

 

We have a hell of a roster even if taking drop offs at NB and SS. I'd expect to see his main scheme changes being to use the athleticism of guys like Floyd and Mack. Suggs was an awesome power rusher, but he was not the athlete Mack is and Floyd allows a mix of  coverage and delayed blitzing. 

 

We saw Roquan get a lot of pressures and sacks off timing blitzes with his ridiculous burst. Fangio didn't really put Floyd in that same position, I hope Fangio does, and that they work on him developing as a real passrusher. 

 

I'm curious to SS as well. Do we pair another FS kind of guy since we will likely be in man and blitzing more? If Amos is not retained I am leaning towards that. 

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