My Blueprint for the Defense

manxman2601 said:

I really liked Hightower as an OLB. He's not going to put up a huge number of sacks but, and I've thought this right from his 'Bama days, he has one he'll of a bull rush. Very powerful rusher.

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PatriotReign said:

Vellano also needs to find himself off the roster. He's the team's new Jake Bequette.

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stelfans said:

We could be so good in a 4-3 under..if only..

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mayoclinic said:

No kidding. I've been advocating this for years.

That's part of why I've been so intrigued with Jerel Worthy and Kelcy Quarles. Get a guy with the versatility to play LDE in a 4-3 under and DT, and you have tremendous versatility.

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stelfans said:

Yeah thats the only spot i dont think we have someone for but all the others are nearly perfect fits. I mean, Hightower was probably the best player out there on defense

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stelfans said:

Hightower was probably the best player out there on defense

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manxman2601 said:

Wasn't a shock to me, I've always been a fan.

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manxman2601 said:

The need for another exterior pass rusher, either as a backup to Jones/Ninkovich or as a longer term replacement for Nink has been discussed. However, if 3-4 (or a 4-3 under) is the new norm and the skill set that I believe Hightower demonstrated against the Dolphins is indicative of his true abilities as a 3-4 OLB then I think it drops down the priority list and the 3-4 DE becomes much more important and Carl Davis becomes very appealing as a compliment to Easley. The following becomes a very appealing front 7:

Davis - Wilfork/Siliga - Easley

Hightower/Nink - Collins - Mayo - C. Jones.

This could easily become a 4-3 under by shifting Chandler up onto the line as the RDE/Leo or a nickel 4-2 by swapping the NT for a DB with, obviously, Hightower/Nink as the LDE. It's nothing ground-breaking but it gives the flexibility that we really lacked Sunday. Davis isn't really a 0-tech or 3-tech but his strength makes him an ideal 1 or 3-tech.

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mayoclinic said:

I agree with most of this, though I'm not convinced Davis is a significant upgrade over what Kelcy Quarles could be, especially if he bulks up to around 310#.

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stelfans said:

Im yet to see Davis play but he has the size, right now im looking at Orr and Henry Anderson.

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stelfans said:

Right now im looking at Orr and Henry Anderson.

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And then there’s Henry Anderson, the best old school 3-4 defensive end prospect I’ve ever seen. First of all, the job of the 3-4 end is one of the hardest in football. It’s less common in the NFL today, but they are often asked to be a two gap defensive linemen. That means that, in Anderson’s case, he’s asked to prevent successful running plays in both the B gap and the C gap. Controlling two gaps is hard. You need incredibly long arms and strength to make arm tackles on both sides of the linemen, as well as incredible instincts to see the running back moving in front of you. Another interesting aspect is that the 2 gap linemen shouldn’t be behind the line of scrimmage against the run. If Anderson, for example, penetrates the line through the C gap, the running back will simply run through the B gap, so TFL’s usually are an indicator of a guy who is not doing his job. Other than sacks, the only reason a 3-4 end should get a TFL is on certain run blitzes. It’s not a glamorous job (and that’s why Albert Haynesworth hated it), but it’s an important one. Anderson is so good that he actually gets TFL’s since he simply can push his tackle back behind the line of scrimmage and then begin to act like a normal two gap linemen. He follows his assignment because he does not shed his block but simply pushes the block behind the line of scrimmage so no matter what gap the running back chooses he’ll run right into an arm tackle. It’s pretty incredible. He has ideal length at 6’6, phenomenal strength (anecdotal evidence: with his stomach on the ground, Anderson grabbed Kenjon Barner’s jersey and wouldn’t let go. He simply laid on the field. Barner=Boat, Anderson=Anchor, and Barner fell to the ground), great discipline, good instincts, good fundamentals, everything you could ask for in a 3-4 end.

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mayoclinic said:

What about someone who could play LDE in a 4-3 under but also has more explosiveness, such as Shawn Oakman? Do you think he's more of a pure 4-3 over player, or could he play both roles?

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mayoclinic said:

For anyone that missed it, this was Mackenzie Pantoja's profile on Henry Anderson from 15 months ago:

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stelfans said:

:drool:

I was the biggest Josh Mauro fan last year, Anderson is at another level but hey Im a big fan of that Stanford program in general so you could probably say im a bit biased.

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manxman2601 said:

Genuine question but how successful have players from that defensive program bee. I don't know how Murphy, Gardner and Mauro have faired but Chase Thomas is on his fourth team and Skov and Ed Reynolds are, for now, practice squad fodder. I have yet to watch Anderson properly but my sense is that Stanford players, a bit like Wisconsin and Iowa linemen, are a little over-coached without much upside. They have certainly produced what looked like good talent that hasn't really lived up to expectations so far (aside from Luck and Zach Ertz) so it will be interesting to see what proportion of them do develop (Tyler Gaffney hopefully for one).

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