What do you think of the starting D-linemen in the 3-4?

Need to see more but I think it looked good from what I saw of them in game 1.  Hard to really judge without the full squad going against a real O,  but for game 1 they looked decent.

@"JimmyinSD" said: Need to see more but I think it looked good from what I saw of them in game 1.  Hard to really judge without the full squad going against a real O,  but for game 1 they looked decent.

Don't know what to think since our best reference point (last year) was so distorted. Last year, the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts. Pierce and Tomlinson, when together and healthy, played very well individually. Their PFF scores reflect this. But the end results were horrible. 

Hopefully Donatell can get everything working together again. 

So many questions about this D, but especially DL and corners....

This conversation almost starts and ends with the health of Z and DH

The D can't really be any worse then it was last year right?  Right??

It doesn't seem to me that we have the right personnel for a 3-4, when I think of 3-4, I think of a monster NT and two large DEs that are in the 6'4 280 range, but we have 3 DTs on the line.  DT has been one of our weak spots and now we are putting 3 of them on the DL?  Otomewo seems to be one of the few in the mold of 3-4 DE, the rest of our DEs are for a more traditional 4-3.  If we were going to play this defense, why not draft a guy like Jordan Davis in the 1st to be your true NT.  It just seems very forced to me and not very natural to the talent on the team. 

@"JR44" said: It doesn't seem to me that we have the right personnel for a 3-4, when I think of 3-4, I think of a monster NT and two large DEs that are in the 6'4 280 range, but we have 3 DTs on the line.  DT has been one of our weak spots and now we are putting 3 of them on the DL?  Otomewo seems to be one of the few in the mold of 3-4 DE, the rest of our DEs are for a more traditional 4-3.  If we were going to play this defense, why not draft a guy like Jordan Davis in the 1st to be your true NT.  It just seems very forced to me and not very natural to the talent on the team. 

3-4 5Ts tend to be mostly no names who don't get a lot of recognition. For example, the top two 3-4 defenses last year were the Broncos and Patriots. Their 5Ts were Dremont Jones, Shelby Harris, Lawrence Guy and Deatrich Wise. Journeymen all.

@"purplefaithful" said: So many questions about this D, but especially DL and corners....

This conversation almost starts and ends with the health of Z and DH

@"purplefaithful" said: So many questions about this D, but especially DL and corners....

This conversation almost starts and ends with the health of Z and DH

Love the Phillips signing with his run stopping ability. I watched some tape on him when he came over and he’s outstanding in that regard. He’s exactly what I would look for.

I actually thought Tomlinson was very good last year and consider him one of the underrated players on the team when it comes to the fans view of him. He should be good. He has a well balanced skill set. 
Watts is the one I’m not too confident in. He was very good rushing the passer last year, but I felt he was below average/not starter performance against the run. I’m hoping he makes a big leap at the new spot. We’ll see if anyone can take his job though before the season kicks off. 

I think the behind the scenes thinking by the staff is once the D gels, it could be really good. Might take a few games. Tough game for Minnesota to start the season out with, but it is what it is. I'm sure fans won't overreact with a loss.

Phillips looks quick, disruptive but disciplined.

Watts flashed a few times but meh.  

Tomlinson I have no idea.  

On paper our Front 3 look pretty spotty IMO

@"SFVikeFan" said: Phillips looks quick, disruptive but disciplined.

Watts flashed a few times but meh.  

Tomlinson I have no idea.  

On paper our Front 3 look pretty spotty IMO

In that, he's a bit like Cousins. He won't take over games, but you put talent around him and he'll thrive. 

Horrible Harry is not so...um...horrible. This is badass. 

Yeah I saw Phillips causing lots of problems for the Raiders while he was in briefly. Nice find Maroon.

To the OP, I feel good about Watts, Tomlinson, and Phillips up front.  Our front 7 should be pretty formidable this year.  The player I'm most worried about is Kendricks...  he needed big boys up front to keep him clean and let him hunt in Zimmer's defense.  Not sure if he'll be as effective against the run in a 3-4.  We'll see.

3-4 I have no idea if our personnel is good or not??   But we have a ton of changes in systems, coaches and players and as I predicted much earlier this offseason we will have 8 + new starters in our starting Off/Def.   Many folks said we would have a lot less new starters but have come around to the obvious.  We needed a lot of change and we got it.  I didn't think we were a very good team, talent wise, last year.  Coaching wise I had given up on Z years ago.  Shitshow that occurred was not an anomaly - IMO - it had a lot to do with our personnel and HC.  

Our Defense is totally revamped system and player wise.  Even the remaining veterans - Kendricks, Harry, Hunter (healthy), Peterson - one on each level is in a new system and it is not just plug and play results. 

We need to manage expectations and hope this team as a whole can grow together and play better as the season goes on.  With all that is new I expect a lot of penalties, bad decisions, some poor clock management, bad play calls on both sides etc....

But it was more than time for a change so carpe diem fellow SB/Valhalla seekers :)  

"In Norse mythology Valhalla (/vælˈhælə, vɑːlˈhɑːlə/;) is the anglicised name for Old Norse: Valhǫll ("hall of the slain"). It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat enter Valhalla, while the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja to reside in Fólkvangr. The masses of those killed in combat (known as the Einherjar) along with various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, live in Valhalla until Ragnarök when they will march out of its many doors to fight in aid of Odin against the giants."

@"minny65" said: But we have a ton of changes in systems, coaches and players and as I predicted much earlier this offseason we will have 8 + new starters in our starting Off/Def.   Many folks said we would have a lot less new starters but have come around to the obvious.  We needed a lot of change and we got it. 

Will some rookies over at some point during the season? Maybe. Booth probably at some point. But I think Cine will have a very hard time supplanting Bynum.

It seems as if you're trying to retrofit reality into your belief that we should've torn the whole thing down. You can't possibly still believe that was the right move, do you? 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"minny65" said: But we have a ton of changes in systems, coaches and players and as I predicted much earlier this offseason we will have 8 + new starters in our starting Off/Def.   Many folks said we would have a lot less new starters but have come around to the obvious.  We needed a lot of change and we got it. 

Curious where you're getting 8+ new starters. Things could change later in the season, but as it stands right now, I count 3 new starters on defense and 1 on offense. We added Hicks and Z to the LBs and Phillips to the DL. On offense, we added Ed Ingram. Everywhere else has the same presumptive starter as we had before free agency and the draft.

Will some rookies over at some point during the season? Maybe. Booth probably at some point. But I think Cine will have a very hard time supplanting Bynum.

It seems as if you're trying to retrofit reality into your belief that we should've torn the whole thing down. You can't possibly still believe that was the right move, do you?