After 3 games: #4 in offense, #25 in defense

[toffee]

PFF opined that the Hawks climbed from #23 to #13 after the Panthers game. We are particularly good at special team #2, receiving #3, run defense #8, and passing #9. The run defense ranking was a nice surprise.

2023

Week

Record

Overall

Offense

Pass

Pass blkg

Recv

Run

Run blkg

Defense

Run Def

Tack

Prsh

Coverage

Special

1

0-1

2

1-1

#23 (66.1)

#3 (74.4)

#11 (72.8)

#21 (62.7)

#30 (51.7)

#11 (66.8)

#5 (80)

3

2-1

#13 (73.9)

#4 (75.8)

#9 (74.1)

#13 (68.8)

#3 (75.3)

#14 (75)

#10 (64.6)

#25 (60.9)

#8 (69.7)

#20 (52.2)

#12 (71.3)

#30 (49.6)

#2 (86.3)

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

 

[sutz]

Always wide swings in rankings this early in the season.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

At the very minimum, the Run defense has been a HUGE improvement over last season.

 

[toffee]

At the very minimum, the Run defense has been a HUGE improvement over last season.

I really appreciated our run defense improvement after watching the Broncos Dolphins game.

 

[toffee]

Always wide swings in rankings this early in the season.

So true, and it's from a single evaluator PFF. Take it for whatever it's worth, but it's entertaining.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think it's not a big surprise given the talent we have on Offense compared to defense. That being said, I think the defense starts moving closer to that #15 mark over the next few games.

 

[kidhawk]

Our run defense has really shown itself to be a real solid unit so far. I know our biggest problem right now is our pass defense, and IMO that's a combination of youth and injuries. It only takes a slight misstep to be totally out of place in the defensive backfield and once you get out of place, quarterbacks/receivers will eat you alive. It is my hope/belief that getting these guys healthy and playing together a few games, we might see a stellar defense by the end of the year. Making the playoffs could actually be interesting this year if this is the case.

 

[hedgehawk]

At the very minimum, the Run defense has been a HUGE improvement over last season.

Agreed. It was brutal watching 5+ yards per carry, and then the QB doing anything they want. It’s an improvement. Not good enough but it’s still early.

 

[AROS]

That sounds right. I see our offense ending up top 3 and our defense improving as the year goes on to closer to 15. That would get us past the first round IMO.

 

[knownone]

Things should improve on Monday night. The Giants have one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL.

 

[toffee]

For the last two games, our offense played behind an OL with backups, I think for a few plays we had 4 backups?

 

[jammerhawk]

As has been frequently observed: 'the trend is our friend,' and that trend is upwards.

 

[Mick063]

Some of us were coming to conclusions based upon a PFF grade for a preseason game. I chuckled at it. As a person that has experience working in hazardous environments, I understand the science behind representative sampling.

A preseason game is definitely not representative sampling. Three NFL games is approaching representative sampling but is likely not quite there yet. Probably need one more.

Three months ago, I dwelled upon a single point. There are too many new faces on defense for it to immediately gel and be productive. I predicted it would take the first quarter of the season for them to finally be on the same page. I stand by that assessment.

 

[kidhawk]

Things should improve on Monday night. The Giants have one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL.

And hopefully we'll get some of these guys like Adams and Woolen back who know the system well and can make an immediate impact.

 

[sutz]

Some of us were coming to conclusions based upon a PFF grade for a preseason game. I chuckled at it. As a person that has experience working in hazardous environments, I understand the science behind representative sampling.

A preseason game is definitely not representative sampling. Three NFL games is approaching representative sampling but is likely not quite there yet. Probably need one more.

Three months ago, I dwelled upon a single point. There are too many new faces on defense for it to immediately gel and be productive. I predicted it would take the first quarter of the season for them to finally be on the same page. I stand by that assessment.

The pre-season thing is even worse these days when most teams hardly play in-season starters at all. Nearly half (or more) of the guys on the field in pre-season won't even be on the roster come Day 1. Sure, about a quarter to a third of the rest will be on practice squads but how much do those guys actually affect any outcomes in-season?

 

[jammerhawk]

If the team can improve their pass D in the same way their run D has improved so far we will have very little to grumble about soon.

A return to health on the Line will make a huge difference as well.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

The offense looks far from running on all cylinders, if they can get healthy, stay healthy, and the young players start to hit their strides, look out.

And I have a feeling Adams is the key to unlocking this 3-4 defense, while I feel they built the foundation going into this season to be more sustainable without him after losing him last year and having to back track quite a bit on the scheme. They definitely built the house to get the most out of Adams best and dominant skill sets.

If you can get this offense to function and operate without any restrictions and get the defense to at least average, this team has the potential to start rolling opponents over.

 

[cymatica]

If the team can improve their pass D in the same way their run D has improved so far we will have very little to grumble about soon.

A return to health on the Line will make a huge difference as well.

The run D has been sporadically pretty good, or great throughout Pete's tenure. The pass defense has been consistently bad, average at best. The exception was the few years of a once in a generation defense, loaded with talent and good backups at every position. The defense has never recovered since losing those players.

If the new crop of players start geling and stay healthy, then maybe they become better than average. I just don't expect anything schematically to overcome the pass defense. I don't expect Pete and Clint to figure out a way to coach it better or add wrinkles. I think Witherspoon and Woolen together will definitely help, and if Adams is healthy that's a bonus, but we'll see.

 

[LTH]

That sounds right. I see our offense ending up top 3 and our defense improving as the year goes on to closer to 15. That would get us past the first round IMO.

I think the D will be much better than the ranking Stat.

LTH

 

[toffee]

At the very minimum, the Run defense has been a HUGE improvement over last season.

PFF ranked our run defense at #19 (62) for 2022. Both using PFF's subjective algorithm.