Much has been said about how much time it will take for the new offense to gel under offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer and head coach Marc Trestman. But, as emphasized by this quote from defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, the defense is likely going to be feeling its way through some adjustments as well. Via Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times:
‘‘’It’s all about who is doing it,’ Tucker said. ‘It all looks good on the board, but you really have to ask yourself, ‘Who is doing what? Who is doing the blitzing? Who is doing the movement? When we create ones-on-ones, can we win?’
‘‘’Every team is different, and certain pressures are different because you’ve got different guys coming. That’s the first thing we try to evaluate — ‘Is this effective?’ I know it looks good on the board, but it is effective on the field? And usually the effectiveness starts with who is doing it.’’’
The former staff did blitz on occasion, especially in recent years. But not much. So Tucker isn’t going to have much tape to go on when it comes to determining who is going to win one-on-one match ups in a blitz situation. Its likely something he’s going to have to feel his way through the first half of the season. The process of evaluation should be an interesting thing to watch.