When this defense has a team third-and-forever, and they let a RB rip off a 40 yard gain up the middle? When they leave a receiver open in the end zone with no-one in the same zip code for the 3rd time in 2 games? How can anyone defend this?
This is a veteran defensive backfield, with lots of talent and depth. These failures are inexplicable, and at some point it simply HAS to come down on the coaching.
All I hear is miscommunication, miscommunication, miscommunication. You can blame the responsible players all you want but the buck stops with Woods, he is doing something seriously wrong for these defects to continue week in and week out.
I can't wait to see some breakdowns. We have the talent on the defense to get it done - can't blame Sendejo anymore.
I feel like the major problem is that offenses seem to know ~exactly~ what we're doing. That's how they beat us so much on 3rd down - they're stretching the field and hitting us in spaces our zone can't really cover. A QB who is mobile enough can buy the time needed to make those downfield strikes.
One recurring thing I keep seeing is when we play Cover 3. Take this sketch for example:
What I saw the Chiefs, Chargers and now Cardinals do is attack the field between the deep corners and free safety. The Vikings did it too on the Greedy interception but Kirk couldn't get the ball far enough and Greedy made a great play. Whichever side the safety helps on, the wide receiver runs a post towards the middle. As long as the QB can get enough time, it'll be open fairly often. And sometimes it'll even work on a condensed field (Hopkins TD where he was all alone) because the CB is expecting help from the safety, but the safety sees a guy on the other side.
If we run Cover 4 (SS plays deep instead of the flat) or some variation of that, it opens the flat route OR the inside curl/slant depending on how the LB plays. Or, basic comeback routes against the corners if they aren't tight enough.
Smart, spread offenses are killing this defense, and while I know man coverage presents some issues (especially vs. scrambling QBs), we cannot keep giving up these big plays. We need a better mix of man coverage.
Things SHOULD get easier since we no longer face an elite passing offense until Christmas (Burrow isn't there yet and Lamar is just a different kind of challenge). So we'll see if things get better, but if we face a team like the Chargers or Chiefs in the playoffs this can't be the same defensive gameplan.