Some of the adjustments started last game against the Saints. The defense still played like crap but some of the positive signs were there. They took it up a notch vs the Cardinals. Here are some of the adjustments that I'm aware of.
1) The Hawks are going back to Bear fronts on early downs. DT is not in on those downs. They have Nwosu, Harris, Mone, Poona, and Mafe lining up at the LOS. This allows for one on ones along the line. Players don't need to 2 gap as much. They just need to beat their man and not worry about holding on. This allows the LBs to fire off and play more free. They aren't waiting around for the Dline to hold their blocks. They just fire off now. The edge is still being lost though. They need to get better there. The middle is not being gashed as much.
2) On obvious passing downs, they rolled out DT to attack the QB. They take Barton off and put in Ryan Neal to roam around in a dime package. Josh Jones is the SS. Neal's sack was a pretty cool blitz. They were showing 5 up front to blitz. They rushed Neal while dropping Nwosu and Brooks. Confused the heck out of the Cardinals.
**The next adjustments are to figure out the edges and the other CB position. They need someone to step up and set the edge more so plays get turned back inside. They also need one of Burns, S. Jones, or Tre Brown to step up into the LCB role. Not a huge hole but it can elevate the defense even more.
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Defensive shutout!
