Bryan Thomas was not one to make sexy plays.  He didn't flash off the edge with an incredibly athletic pass rush and make offensive tackles look silly enroute to easy sacks.  Nope.  Bryan Thomas was a grisled vet that knew all the tricks of the trade and wasn't affraid to get muddy and bloody.  Dude made plays, but not the highlight reels.  And he'll be missed this season (and probably forever).  Now its time for the next man to step up.  And that man is no mere mortal.  Some say he's a myth.  Some say he's a beast.  His name is Kenrick, and he's a 350 pound athlete.

"But Kenrick doesn't play backer," you say.  No, he doesn't young grasshopper.  And thats why we'll be playing more 4-man fronts.  This will not only help alleviate (or improve) the loss of Thomas, but it'll also help Kenrick with the problems with his pad level.  In a 3-man front DLs have more two-gap responsibilities; and I think this may have made it difficult to stay low as his natural inclination would be to try and stand his opponent up so that he can read and react to the ball.  But in a 4-man front he can be given one gap responsibilities, and he can blow that muthaducka to smithereens.  Rex can stick him in a gap and tell him to shoot it and all the monster has to do is stay low, destroy, find the ball, kill the ball.  He can focus on his get off and just wreak havoc.  Simplify it for him and let him ball.

This could be a good week to go with a 4-2-5 Base Defense. 

What say you?