Bob Sanders - The Colts D

[JR4]

Watching the game last night my eye was on this guy. He seems to be
perhaps the key to the Colts D. Give credit to this player he is an
awesome saftey ... wish we had him.

He sits back there ... free to roam and determines quickly if it's run or pass.
On Run he follows the ball and with his speed and illusiveness he gets to
the ball often before the RB crosses the LOS and even if the play is away
from him.

If he sees it is Pass he drops in coverage or comes up to cover the short
wing receiver.
His tackling is excellent and I haven't seen anyone juke him.

It seems if you can take away Sanders out the play then the Colts D just
wouldn't be as effective.

How do you do this? Always insure someone is sent to block him?
On run do you send a WR like Welker to block him?

Thoughts?

 

[c_nice_37]

Bob Sanders is a baaaaad man.

He is extremely quick to read the play, very quick, sure tackler, and good hands (as seen by that pick which wasn't all that easy to catch, especially by a DB.)

He is the sole reason that D is that much better IMO.

It's hard to just get to the safety as you indicate, I'd like to learn about an effective gameplan that has been successful, limiting Sanders' impact, but I'm not sure it exists yet.

I think with all the Pats' weapons they can choose to attack away from him and can still put up plenty of enough points to win.

 

[JoeSixPat]

No disrespect to the Colts D - but I question whether our offense can be stopped... the best Defense for the Colts is a good offense - specifically a ball control offense.

The longer they can keep the Pats offense off the field, the closer the game will be - and the better the Colts' chances will be to win.

 

[Mack Herron]

Blocking him is easier said than done. The only WR who could do it is Washington IMO, and other than that Watson or Evans.

 

[Nordberg]

Watching Sanders is something special....I think he is the best defensive player in the league. I watched just him last night....and I have never seen someone recognize run or pass so quickly before. It's almost like he knows the play call and where it's going before the snap.

 

[JR4]

Blocking him is easier said than done. The only WR who could do it is Washington IMO, and other than that Watson or Evans.

The problem with big guys is their momentum. Sanders jukes and he's by
blockers. It seems you need a quick guy like he is. Sanders is not that big
and Welker is quick and may have a better chance of staying with him.

 

[363839]

"A pox on you, Bob Sanders"
Peyton manning's former failure monkey

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

How to negate Sanders?

This is what Mike Martz has to say on the subject of attacking safeties in a cover 2/3 defense like the Colts:

"A great slot receiver can put incredible pressure on safeties," Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. "If your slot receiver is good, you can control coverages, particularly against the Cover 2 teams. The slot receiver can move that middle safety on a Cover 3. If you can move that safety, you open up things on the outside."

Seems we have said slot receiver in Welker who can allow our offense to control the coverages we see from opposing defenses like the Colts. In fact I believe this is why the Pats were so hot to acquire Welker .... specifically to counter what Sanders brings to the table for the Colts.

IMO, the best way to control Sanders is to keep him in coverage (away from run support) and then to throw away from him and at the other Colts DB's. Those other Colts DB's are exploitable. Having Moss, Stallworth and Welker lining up should keep Sanders over the top in pass coverage and if Brady is smart enough to recognize coverages and identify where he is, all should be good. Stallworth should have a great day. Watson too (seams) if he plays.

 

[frankiesfly]

Watching Sanders is something special....I think he is the best defensive player in the league. I watched just him last night....and I have never seen someone recognize run or pass so quickly before. It's almost like he knows the play call and where it's going before the snap.

I know, he's awesome. That one play when he hit Drew like 2 yards behind the line for a loss. I was literally like WTF. How the hell did he get back there so quick. Real solid player.

 

[SVN]

sanders is good but their secondary has improved in general. iam pissed harper and jason david didnt re-sign with them.

 

[Mack Herron]

How to negate Sanders?

This is what Mike Martz has to say on the subject of attacking safeties in a cover 2/3 defense like the Colts:

"A great slot receiver can put incredible pressure on safeties," Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. "If your slot receiver is good, you can control coverages, particularly against the Cover 2 teams. The slot receiver can move that middle safety on a Cover 3. If you can move that safety, you open up things on the outside."

Seems we have said slot receiver in Welker who can allow our offense to control the coverages we see from opposing defenses like the Colts. In fact I believe this is why the Pats were so hot to acquire Welker .... specifically to counter what Sanders brings to the table for the Colts.

IMO, the best way to control Sanders is to keep him in coverage (away from run support) and then to throw away from him and at the other Colts DB's. Those other Colts DB's are exploitable. Having Moss, Stallworth and Welker lining up should keep Sanders over the top in pass coverage and if Brady is smart enough to recognize coverages and identify where he is, all should be good. Stallworth should have a great day. Watson too (seams) if he plays.

I would not hesitate to throw at Sanders if he is doubling Moss. :rocker:

 

[BelichickFan]

IMO, the best way to control Sanders is to keep him in coverage (away from run support) and then to throw away from him and at the other Colts DB's. Those other Colts DB's are exploitable. Having Moss, Stallworth and Welker lining up should keep Sanders over the top in pass coverage and if Brady is smart enough to recognize coverages and identify where he is, all should be good. Stallworth should have a great day. Watson too (seams) if he plays.

The Patriots love to throw against the Colts, I always expected them to run in the past but I'm used to the throwing now. As Bob's Nephew said, I expect our usual base formation of Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Watson and either Maroney or Faulk and think that will put enough stress points on the defense that Sanders will have to play as more of a pure coverage Safety than he has against us in the past.

We will need a healthy Watson. I would have loved Morris but I think Maroney will be sufficient along with Faulk in for his time and also some 5 WR sets with Gaffney.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

Agree with both sides.

With Wes in the slot and our great receivers on the side, I think Sanders will be far more distracted and have much things on his plate.

That said, I was amazed at his keen read of the offense during a crucial 4 and 1 drive of the Jags (1st half) and single handedly brought down the RB. When the ball snapped and the entire OL and DL shifted right, I was pretty sure that the RB had enough room on the left to get the first down; but I was surprised to see Sanders stay clear of the traffic jam and run fast to tackle the RB effectively a yard or two behind the line of scrimmage. Awesome job!!

 

[wistahpatsfan]

Watching Sanders is something special... It's almost like he knows the play call and where it's going before the snap.

Dungy's taping the Jags' signals!

Sanders is like a ghost on defense. A ghost that hits like a hammer. I wish the Pats had him.

 

[danny88]

Dungy's taping the Jags' signals!

Sanders is like a ghost on defense. A ghost that hits like a hammer. I wish the Pats had him.

He has been healthy. At any second you can lose him for long periods of time though.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

The Patriots love to throw against the Colts, I always expected them to run in the past but I'm used to the throwing now. As Bob's Nephew said, I expect our usual base formation of Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Watson and either Maroney or Faulk and think that will put enough stress points on the defense that Sanders will have to play as more of a pure coverage Safety than he has against us in the past.

We will need a healthy Watson. I would have loved Morris but I think Maroney will be sufficient along with Faulk in for his time and also some 5 WR sets with Gaffney.

As mentioned, keeping Sanders in coverage (and throwing away from him) is the best way to neutralize him. Essentially, if he's in coverage he can't stop the run as readily, and if he's not being thrown at he can't make many plays in coverage.

This is all well and good in theory but how do we do so in practice? Well, I think Martz is correct that we accomplish this task by controlling Colts defenses schematically by way of Welker. And, in the unlikely event it can't be done with Welker, then surely the Colts will have to double up Moss with someone, leaving them vulnerable elsewhere. If both Welker and Moss are accounted for (with doubling of at least 1 of them) then you'll have Stallworth m2m on someone. And then Watson running up the seam against a LB .............. And then Maroney singled up coming out of the backfield ................

Geez, is it any wonder why this Patriot offense is so dominating :singing:

Key in this game for the Pats on offense is going to be pass protection on Brady. If the Pats can keep the Colts DL at bay with just 1 TE in there, all will be very good.

 

[shakadave]

For a while now, noone has quite been able to figure out why the Colts D is as good as it is. (They've allowed 95 points to our 120, in one less game.) On paper you should be able to run it down their throats, but that doesn't work. I agree with most everything on this thread. (The Martz quote is important.) This year is all about having too many weapons for their defense to handle. I don't buy the idea that now that we have Adalius, we'll hold the Colts to 10 points.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

For a while now, noone has quite been able to figure out why the Colts D is as good as it is. (They've allowed 95 points to our 120, in one less game.) On paper you should be able to run it down their throats, but that doesn't work.

The cover 2 defense is a heck of a defense when properly administered. I've watched the Bills play this defense the last little while and it's all about speed and flying to the ball. They overwhelm you with numbers. It's beautiful to watch when done right.

To run it properly you need at least 1 DE who can rush the passer at a high level and a safety who can cover and run support. It helps to have a MLB who can drop back in coverage as well but beyond these 2/3 players, the rest of the group are interchangeable pieces. That's why you see the Colts and the Bills and Bucs just drop new players in their defense and continue to perform at high levels. I believe it is the best styled defense to run in the NFL this day and age of salary cap economics and player movement/attrition.

 

[sieglo]

It seems if you can take away Sanders out the play then the Colts D just
wouldn't be as effective.

How do you do this? Always insure someone is sent to block him?
On run do you send a WR like Welker to block him?

1) Force him into coverage using guys like Welker and Watson.

2) Send Rodney Harrison in on offense to take him out.

 

[PlattsFan]

I'm a huge Bob Sanders fan, too. But he's just one guy, and I don't think he solves the riddle that has stumped the rest of the league: how do you double every receiver on the Patriots?

On a normal play, you have 3 excellent receivers, one of whom needs to be triple-covered to be neutralized. The Tampa 2 relies on a lot of speed and keeping the plays in front of you. But the consistent thing about the Pats is that they have the most patient QB and offense in the league. Having Welker to attack the middle of the field and the speed of Moss and Stallworth to keep the corners off the line ... I think that Pats can take 8-12 yard gains at will in the passing game. Even if the Colts play a flawless game and take away all the big plays, I still think the Patriots march down the field relentlessly.

Or the safeties and the MLB can stay down and try to clog the middle of the field, but then they'll have to watch Moss pull jump balls down over their CBs all day.

The key in the passing game to me would be to watch Sanders and attack short or long depending on where he's playing.

Ought to be a fun game. Unlike others, I actually don't mind the Colts - kinda like their coach and most of their main players - so I'm really going to enjoy that game.