I donāt know that youāre wrong, but I am always wary of fans evaluating effort. I just donāt see how a fan watching on television can say with much confidence, "that guy isnāt showing much effortā. Maybe where a wide receiver is concerned itās a little easier to make that call, but on the D line it seems tougher.
Offenses have been bringing in max protect schemes and running the football with cutesy misdirections plays, then taking what they can get downfield in plays that take forever to develop. Dom has been playing bend but donāt break style defense until the redzone, on one hand, or the Packers have a healthy lead, on the other. I donāt think youāre going to see Raji (and the rest of the D line) streaking toward the QB while Dom is rushing three guys against an entire offensive line, two tight ends and a fullback. On the other hand, I think it was during the Atlanta game that they showed a replay of Raji blocking up two gaps singlehandedly, waiting for the running back to make his cut, and stopping the play for no gain. That takes effort. Itās not QB sack effort but it gets the job done, within the scheme, when a team is trying to trudge down the field 4 yards at a time.
Originally Posted by: Silentio