Game Goats

[Pocket$ $traight]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

It seemed to me that pocket has been trying to point out that this defense can't be successful without AH and that it's the coaches' fault if AH is whiny b**** who doesn't play hard.

Occasionally, AH made plays. Occasionally, he seemingly got pushed around or took himself out of the play. Never did it appear - to me anyway - that he was dominating in the way one would expect for a player of his talent. Rather, he did enough to get along which, b/c of his talent, is better than most.

W/ or w/out him, the defense will be okay. It's got its issues but a half-assed AH ain't gonna solve them and, unless the coaches toss their "team first" bottom line aside for a "oh pretty please Albert, we would like you to play hard and we will design a defense just for you and do whatever it takes to get you your stats" mentality, AH's attitude ain't gonna happen. I think last night proved that.

It isn't that they will be unsuccessful, I think they could be more successful with him playing. In my opinion Albert is an unusual talent. He is a guy, when used properly, who has DPOY ability. I don't think that anyone else on the defense has that kind of talent and it bothers me to have someone like that on the team who has isn't being used. Our coaches are being paid a lot of money and sometimes you have to deal with some bad when someone is that good. Jimmy Johnson never had an issue. Hell, Marvin Lewis accomplished a lot with a bunch of characters last year.

I don't want 8-8, I want at least 9-7 or 10-6 with a possible division win and some type of playoff run. The Jets showed that a dominant defense can get a team with offensive issues close to the promised land. Getting to the playoffs is one thing but to succeed you need talent and the ability to create mismatches. IMO Albert is the only guy on the line that can consistently create a mismatch.