My takeaways on the defense as a whole this year.
-Norton is especially bad with his schemes, I hate the base defense and how much strain it put on the LBs in coverage
-Safety play was probably the worst I have seen it in years, T2 and Hill are awful and should be let go but at the same time maybe it was a blessing as it forced Pete to act and bring in Quandre Diggs who has done nothing but perform in every game he has played.
-Tackling was really bad this year, lots of bad angles from all players
-Screens destroyed this team on an almost weekly basis, I can only remember a few plays where KJ actually sniffed it out and blew it up.
-Pass rush was non-existent on a consistent basis, Ansah was a wasted signing, Reed was suspended six games and took awhile to get going, Clowney had his moments but I feel like he really needs another rusher to be truly effective otherwise he's double teamed most of the game or just beat up with injuries like he is now. Damn you Al Woods!!
A few positives tho:
Shaquille definitely turned it around an had a great season, he might not have gotten the INTS but I know he got a lot of pass breakups, I think the INTS will definitely come next year. Tre Flowers is not far behind
The defense was bad but I think they led the NFC in takeaways at one point, they were really getting after it in forcing fumbles (it's just too bad the offense was doing the same thing)
Thank God for Quandre Diggs getting signed to this team, probably one of the better trades in awhile
Rasheem Green went from being a nobody last year to a great standout player on the D-line, 4 sacks 4 forced fumbles, hope he continues to get better.
Poona Ford is fast, 5 TFLs this year, not bad for an un-drafted