Revenge of the Birds
Despite abysmal defensive performances the last two weeks, there have been a couple of positives that have come out of the losses.
One that is undeniable and something to hopefully build on and around is what we have seen from Walter Nolen.
Nolen in three games has put up fine numbers, eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and one sack, but more importantly he has been a menace creating pressures from the interior.
Now, I have never been a huge proponent of pressures being an important thing. Instead, I like production, but you cannot deny the impact that consistent pressures will have on a team. The problem is you have only Nolen and Josh Sweat who produce any type of pressures consistently and they get about 50 snaps a game combined.
Yet, in Nolen’s 23 snaps, 16 of them pass rushing snaps, he gets a pressure about 20% of the time. That is near elite status and he combines that with a dominant game against the run, and you have kid, because he is only 22 years old, that looks like a future star.
Now, can they get more from the rest of the defense and show something to end the season for their defensive minded head coach?
