Raji has been solid when Cullen Jenkins was in the lineup. Post-Cullen Jenkins, he's been quite average; definitely not first round material. I think one of š¹š¹'s priorities in the 2012 off-season (via draft, trade, waivers, or whatever) would be to replace Cullen Jenkins.
I've said elsewhere that the 2011 D was so bad that it may take 2 off-seasons to bring us back to elite status (as we were in 2010).
Originally Posted by: zombieslayer
What's worth noting is that Jenkins doesn't have a sack in his last 16 games as a starter. They have a large rotation but so do the packers now when at full strength.
We need to start seeing more push from Raji though, he has more than adequate talent around him with Worthy (2 sacks)Wilson (2 sacks)Neal (1 sack/2 games) Pickett who kills is our best run defender on the line. Even Daniels has looked good playing rarely (1 sack). Over the course of the year if those stats continue it'll be one of the more dominant lines in the NFL as far as 3-4 D's go.
Raji has 0 sacks on the year and most NT only get about 0-3 on the year but when watching good defenses you usually always see the line moving towards the QB. We showed some push last week. Against the Bears I believe Raji looked half decent but other than that it's only been outside pressure unless it's a creative stunt blitz. It's time Raji starts dominating upfront or it's time to start looking at other potential NT's within the next few years.
Also, sometimes it looks like Raji is trying to beat guys more than take on blocks and push through, actually looking to show quickness to get a sack. Which worked in 2010 but since he's shown barely anything (probably an adjustment from the offense). You'd think for the amount of times we blitz he could get a one on one and blow a guy up with his strength/speed but that's been more the case with Worthy, Neal, Wilson ect..