The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Voice_of_Reason]

It's far more Zone than people realize. So they want the CBs to have eyes on QB. (It's why I think Sainristil will thrive)

It's a lot of fire zone blitzes. Less cover 0 with 0 help defense. There are extra blitzers but there are still helpers in sections with more traditional zone principles. Like you align and leverage to help defense over on this side, and then on the other you kind of overplay to parts of the route. Like if it's a hot route, you bite early especially if the QB is looking.

The Flores principal is all about pressure, and getting the pass blocking to guess wrong where pressure is coming from. Getting the QB to look to the part where the more traditional zone coverages are.

But if the pressure isn't being felt...?

We really need Oweh, Chaisson, Luvu, Sonny, etc etc to, well, be who we think they could be. Otherwise we're in trouble.

However, what's key is you CAN beat pressure schemes with quick game. If the QB gets the ball out of his hands in 2.2 seconds, it's very rare pressure is going to get there.

So, if you're DBs are playing off-zone coverage with eyes on the QB, they better be able to break on the ball and either make really sure tackles or break up/intercept passes, because teams are going to go to quick game and the run game to combat pressure.

When the ball is in the air, every defense turns into man on man. So the question is, can our outside guys hold up against bigger WRs, or are opponents going to throw a million slants at us for 8 yards a shot because they can do that to beat pressure, and larger WRs can get body position on our smaller CBs?

I really understand the concept. I also get that the defense minimizes the importance of CBs.

But I'm really interested in how this is going to work out. It might. But CB has been my position of concern the entire off season. I hope to be proven wrong that it is still a concern.

 

[HTTR]

However, what's key is you CAN beat pressure schemes with quick game. If the QB gets the ball out of his hands in 2.2 seconds, it's very rare pressure is going to get there.

So, if you're DBs are playing off-zone coverage with eyes on the QB, they better be able to break on the ball and either make really sure tackles or break up/intercept passes, because teams are going to go to quick game and the run game to combat pressure.

When the ball is in the air, every defense turns into man on man. So the question is, can our outside guys hold up against bigger WRs, or are opponents going to throw a million slants at us for 8 yards a shot because they can do that to beat pressure, and larger WRs can get body position on our smaller CBs?

I really understand the concept. I also get that the defense minimizes the importance of CBs.

But I'm really interested in how this is going to work out. It might. But CB has been my position of concern the entire off season. I hope to be proven wrong that it is still a concern.

Far from an expert here, but I would think having guys facing the quarterback, and also knowing they have help behind them, will make it easier to break quickly on these quick hitter routes. And then with linebackers and even linemen randomly dropping into coverage, they’re going to get in the way of some of these. I definitely love the scheme in theory, and I hope we have the horses to run it effectively like Minnesota has been doing.

As for Porter Jr, we all know he was the consensus chalk pick. It’s really a shame we didn’t have a legitimate GM in place. But I guess the silver lining is that if we did take him, he’d be holding out on us right now for money that I question if this ownership group would be willing to fork over.

 

[washington football]

This team made an unbelievable pretty much unimaginable run to the nfc championship game 2 years ago. I think the original plan whatever it was has been thrown off. With the lack of depth and horrible drafts during the Rivera years, I think we have to realize this team just may not be that good. We have the Qb but not much else. This team could be looking at a 5 win season.

 

[Conn]

Might have missed it, but don’t think I saw this here:



Bears fan intel from reading comments: zone guy who no longer fits what they’re doing as well, and got lost in the weeds with them after he tore his ACL. But has potential

 

[RedWolf]

Sign Glasgow dammit. Let's see if Allegretti can beat him out, doubt it...he could be a guard and a backup C - he's 30 and oft injured

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

It has to be more than that, just gross incompetence and lack of effort.

Well, they labeled one of their problems: turnover creation. Then, they decided if you score off the turnover “reliably,” even better.

Rivera talked about how “data” drove many of his decisions. This is a classic case I think.

He said a few times- they picked Forbes because he “had a nose for the ball” and returned many for TDs- illustrating clearly how data misinterpreted or misunderstood leads to one of the worst qualities you can have in general as an analyst:
uber-confident and totally wrong.

As we all know, the stats they were apparently laser focused on are not sustainable year-to-year. When you look at players’ predictive stats, yes some may look cool, but anyone with any experience would know specific ones are not particularly predictive. The horrible part is that Rivera was considered a defensive guy. I can’t remember how this time related to his cancer diagnosis, but Mayhew was a CB. Not saying either was necessarily deeply involved in this (only excuse for Rivera would ostensibly be cancer).

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Sign Glasgow dammit. Let's see if Allegretti can beat him out, doubt it...he could be a guard and a backup C - he's 30 and oft injured

Nothing you said here seems even remotely debatable. Maybe Glasgow is waiting for something better. Maybe he wants either more money or to go to a more competitive team. Maybe we are getting our old “suck” tax back and that is the delay. <— all suppositions from a fog of nothing

 

[RedWolf]

Nothing you said here seems even remotely debatable. Maybe Glasgow is waiting for something better. Maybe he wants either more money or to go to a more competitive team. Maybe we are getting our old “suck” tax back and that is the delay. <— all suppositions from a fog of nothing

I hear he wants to sign as the starter

 

[burgold]

It's a little hard for me to buy that Glasgow is great just because so many teams did trade for a center recently and he's still out there. My guess is he is the best available, but far from the best.

 

[RedWolf]

It's a little hard for me to buy that Glasgow is great just because so many teams did trade for a center recently and he's still out there. My guess is he is the best available, but far from the best.

Probably better than what we got is my guess

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

However, what's key is you CAN beat pressure schemes with quick game. If the QB gets the ball out of his hands in 2.2 seconds, it's very rare pressure is going to get there.

So, if you're DBs are playing off-zone coverage with eyes on the QB, they better be able to break on the ball and either make really sure tackles or break up/intercept passes, because teams are going to go to quick game and the run game to combat pressure.

When the ball is in the air, every defense turns into man on man. So the question is, can our outside guys hold up against bigger WRs, or are opponents going to throw a million slants at us for 8 yards a shot because they can do that to beat pressure, and larger WRs can get body position on our smaller CBs?

I really understand the concept. I also get that the defense minimizes the importance of CBs.

But I'm really interested in how this is going to work out. It might. But CB has been my position of concern the entire off season. I hope to be proven wrong that it is still a concern.

If this is a well coached fire zone blitz defense then the guys who are dropping are supposed to be getting into the throwing lane of the hot route (or 1st target in the quick game). So the QB might shift to the next read or if they don't maybe the corner can get over and disrupt the next throwing lane.

This is also where Sonny Styles ability to flip his hips in coverage is so useful. He can get over to some hot routes that most LB's couldn't.

P.S. I swear we haven't had a well coached fire zone blitz on this team in so long. They just drop a random DL/Edge/whoever straight back and sometimes that's nowhere near any of the routes that the QB is going to look at. It's like what's the point of a DT dropping back to cover empty space 15 yards away on the opposite side of the field from where the action is. The coaches quotes to defend these plays are infuriating.

 

[burgold]

Probably better than what we got is my guess

Yeah, I fear that might be true, too.