LoneHawkFan":oc2ahjzf said:
+healthy Jamal Adams
+Carlos Dunlap
+DJ Reed
+healthy Ugo Amadi
+emergence of Alton
+emergence of Brooks
+emergence of Collier
+stout/consistent Reed/Ford up the middle
+leadership
+confidence
+synergy
-Tre Flowers
-Quinton Dunbar
The improvement essentially takes care of itself with all of the above ingredients. We didn't have the horses, we didn't have any confidence, we had zero synergy together- we were a hot mess.
The results of some great coaching are finally manifesting and the defense is finally changing the direction of their overall trajectory- they are finally better than they were before instead of continuing a 5 1/2-yr freefall. That's what I'm happiest about- and with a young, hungry core and stud veteran leadership.
I applaud KNJ for keeping everyone on board, coordinating the unit, managing his team of coaches and analysts to continue to trust the process and focus on the game ahead and on improving- especially technically. When we finally found the right personnel to fit the desired scheme....well it all just fell into place.
I was hard on the entire unit as well. I hated this defense just two months ago. It was disgusting to watch. This has been one of the biggest in-season turnarounds I remember seeing. The coaching staff deserves a ton of credit, to be sure. Let's hope the trajectory continues and the defense continues to provide us opportunities to compete with the very best teams out there.
Others mentioned by others include:
+ Healthy Mayowa
+ Healthy Quill Griffin
It looks like the D, in addition to personnel improvements, is being called with more variety and better disguised. Seems like Pete's attitude had been to out-execute, rather than use much deception. I've noticed more times the Hawks D has done things like show LB blitzes, only to back out at the snap and have LBs drop in zone.
Maybe someone else other than KNJ is doing the game planning and helping with game-time calls. Kam on staff as consultant? Or maybe KNJ is simply growing into it, or getting some mentoring and showing the results. I always thought of KNJ as the ass-kicker in chief, sort of the bad cop to Pete's good cop. Maybe KNJ is becoming a better communicator, teaching as much as ass-kicking. Maybe KNJ is getting better at secondary play and coverage topics.
My best guess? Pete is spending more energy and attention mentoring KNJ in the "Carroll Defense", and/or has arranged consultants and tutors to work with KNJ. Pete would never reveal that type of stuff in-season; if we ever found out, it would be years down the road, and probably from KNJ, not Pete. I also suspect Carroll may have adjusted some of his defensive philosophies to adjust for rule changes and such, and given KNJ more latitude.
Whatever it is, it's sure a lot more fun to watch!