What is wrong with the Talons Defense?

So with the loss Friday due mainly to the lack of defensive stops the question around the league has become, what is wrong with the Talons defense?

Well here is my take. We aren't being physical enough in the secondary. But lets start with the hard stats and I will get to that.

The Good.

Sacks: 6 (3rd in the league)

Forced Fumbles: 4

The Bad.

Points given up per game: 64.7

Passing Yards per game: 377.7

As you can see, the Talons defense is solid up front. 6 sacks and 4 forced fumbles are impressive stats. A lot of teams are wishing to have just half that. The problem is definitely in the pass defense, which means we need to look at the secondary.

First up: Andre Burns (the showster)

While Burns's stats look good (20 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 6 Pass Breakups). He is considered by a lot of people as our weak link. In fact, the stats may actually support this premise. Andre has more tackles because he is being thrown at more. This would also lead to more pass breakups as well.

Next: James Sadler (the injured)

Sadler has 19 tackles with only 2 pass breakups. A bigger problem was that a lot of Arizona's 4th down conversions and TDs were thrown in Sadler's direction.

Last: B.J. Barre (the suspended)

B.J. Barre leads the team with 2 INTs. Which if you consider he was ejected early in Friday's game, means he's averaging almost 1 INT a game. Barre, however, has no pass breakups. This could just mean he's being thrown at less because he's our best back.

What does all this mean? It means we are on receivers. In fact, watching the games we get hands on passes. Opponents don't get many yards after the catch. We are in their face, but they are making catches.

How do we change things? We have to be more physical. This means more jamming at the line. It means taking a page from OKC DB Fred Shaw's book and knocking a receiver out when he makes a catch. It means attacking the ball instead of waiting back for the INT. The defensive front is doing their job. They are getting pressure, forcing mistakes. But the secondary needs to start forcing dropped passes for the defense to take shape.

Now on to current developments. B.J. Barre has been suspended for the game against Jacksonville this week after his ejection Friday. In addition, James Sadler has to undergo for an injury to his thumb. This means Burns will be the only starter in our secondary. He will be joined by LaRico Stevenson who filled in for Barre after he was ejected friday. In addition, we will get our first look at Chris Royal who was the 2007 af2 rookie of the year.