My Blueprint for the Defense

mayoclinic said:

Andy Benoit of the MMQB has some interesting comments on the Pats-Miami game on his twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/andy_benoit

On Jamie Collins:



On Dont'a Hightower:



On Akeem Ayers (first one very interesting):



On Vince Wilfork:


On the coverage:



On the safeties:



Very interesting stuff.

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manxman2601 said:

I mentioned Hightower playing 3-4 OLB int the game thread. Very surprised to see him there instead of Ayers.

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manxman2601 said:

I mentioned Hightower playing 3-4 OLB int the game thread. Very surprised to see him there instead of Ayers.

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In a passing league, what must you do? You must rush the quarterback, and you must cover receivers. That’s the Cliff's Notes version. The devil is always in the details. What the Seahawks have done is draft and sign players that give them tremendous pass rush versatility -- and just as important, disruption on the outside versus wide receivers.

Go back a year to the 2012 NFL draft. All we heard when Seattle selected Bruce Irvin with the 15th overall pick in the first round was, “what a reach.” Those same “experts” would then tell you in the next breath that rushing the quarterback is the most important defensive element in today’s NFL. And by the way, Irvin played 46 percent of the snaps in his rookie season, including the playoffs, recording 11 sacks. But there’s a much larger point at work here. It’s how you scheme pass rush pressure. With Irvin, a returning Chris Clemons, and newly signed Cliff Avril, the Seahawks have three players who can align anywhere in their nickel sub-package. They all have what we call “Joker” ability, the talent to line up in either 3-point or 2-point stances and rush from different positions and angles.

What you have is an ideal mix of physical athleticism, and multiple schemes. It’s the new age pressure concepts in the NFL. It’s very difficult to line up with four defensive linemen in conventional positions, and create consistent pressure on the quarterback. Not only is it difficult to find four players who can do that, it’s tactically easier for the offense to protect against those more basic fronts. What defenses are trying to accomplish is pass protection indecision based on front alignments, coupled with athletic mismatches. The Seahawks are well positioned to do that with their personnel.

Let’s not forget Bennett. In Tampa last season, he played defensive end in the base 4-3, and then moved inside to tackle in the nickel and dime sub-packages. His pass rush quickness was not only a problem for offensive guards, it allowed him to be effective with stunts, another tactic that creates hesitation and confusion in pass protection schemes. The bottom line is this: the Seahawks have constructed a multi-dimensional combination of talent with speed, athleticism, and position and scheme versatility. That’s what’s necessary in the NFL of 2013 and beyond.

The picture is not complete, however. The Seahawks made a commitment to big, physical corners, players who were not held in the same high value around the league because they did not possess what has long been regarded as the necessary attributes of lateral quickness, dynamic change of direction and timed speed. Richard Sherman was a former wide receiver at Stanford who switched to corner his final two years. The Seahawks selected the 6’3” Sherman in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL entering the 2013 season. 6’4” Brandon Browner was undrafted out of Oregon State in 2005; again, he was seen as too slow and not quick enough to play NFL corner. The Seahawks signed him as a free agent after 4 seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

Gus Bradley, the Seahawks defensive coordinator the last four seasons before becoming the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach in January, summed it up best. He once said, “Whatever scheme you play, you’ve got to create disruption at the perimeter.” With Sherman and Browner, the Seahawks do that more consistently and better than any team in the NFL. Disruption outside with taller, more aggressive corners; pass rush flexibility and adaptability with athletic and versatile hybrids who can align all over.

That’s the template for defensive success in a passing league.

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Defensively the Patriots had a sound plan as well. They were very multiple in this game. The Patriots played nickel on every passing snap, with 59 percent man coverage and 41 percent zone coverage. They were very multiple within the man coverage concepts too, switching up coverages the whole game. They played just one snap of “two shell” with two deep safeties the whole game. It was mostly either man coverage or “Cover 3” zone.

The Patriots started with an unexpected matchup, putting safety Patrick Chung on tight end Julius Thomas. The Patriots put cornerback Brandon Browner at safety in some nickel snaps, and in those snaps Browner would match up with Thomas. Thomas wasn’t targeted at all in the first half and just twice in the game.

Another wrinkle was the Patriots going with a lot of “Double 'A' Gap” looks, with linebackers aligning on both sides of the center. The Patriots hadn’t used that look much before they played Chicago two weeks ago. What it did was force running back Ronnie Hillman to stay in and block. That eliminated an eligible receiver.

The Patriots’ first interception off Peyton Manning was due to a great disguise.

Before the snap, the Patriots showed man free blitz with the “Double ‘A’ Gap” alignment, with linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins in the “A” gaps. Both edge rushers, Akeem Ayers and Ninkovich, were on the line of scrimmage. It was clearly a blitz alert. The “A” gap blitz ate up Hillman and removed him as a receiver. Manning expected cornerback Darrelle Revis to run with Emmanuel Sanders, who was lined up wide to the right as the “x iso.” That’s part of the “man free” the Patriots showed. He expected Ninkovich to rush. But at the snap it became “Cover 3” zone behind a four-man rush. Revis dropped into the outside third and Ninkovich dropped into his zone.

You won’t fool Manning too often, but the Patriots got him on that play.

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The Colts have had no consistent run game for a number of weeks, which resulted in no commitment to it. What was more interesting was how the Patriots matched up against Indianapolis in the passing game.

The Patriots’ nickel package early in the game featured four cornerbacks and safety Devin McCourty. The Patriots used defenders in different ways. Darrelle Revis traveled to match up with Reggie Wayne, especially as the game progressed.

Revis’ outstanding man-to-man coverage led to a Luck interception in the second quarter. Luck threw to Wayne out of the inside slot on a three-receiver side in a three-by-one set. Revis had outstanding man-to-man coverage, and McCourty picked off Luck.

Revis had a specific assignment, but other defensive backs were used in a variety of ways. Cornerback Brandon Browner spent time covering tight end Coby Fleener, receivers T.Y. Hilton, Hakeem Nicks and Donte Moncrief. Cornerback Logan Ryan, who was the fourth cornerback when the Patriots used four corners and a single safety, covered Nicks, Moncrief and Fleener. The Patriots used a lot of different combinations. They didn’t blitz much either. They just played a coverage-based defense with a lot of man-to-man looks. They went with man-coverage concepts on 77 percent of Luck’s 40 drop backs. The Patriots played nickel 55 percent of the time and dime 32 – so they used extra defensive backs on 87 percent of downs. That could be a byproduct of the Colts’ lack of a run game.

There are two big takeaways from the matchup. The Patriots’ strength in pass defense lies in their versatility and man-to-man flexibility, plus the ability of linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins to stay on the field in all situations. Also, the Colts at this point have a one-dimensional offense, and Luck must play great for them to have a chance to beat high-level teams. He wasn't perfect on Sunday night, especially against a Patriots team that had a great plan on both sides of the ball.

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captain stone said:

Rush the QB & cover receivers: that says it all.

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captain stone said:

Rush the QB & cover receivers: that says it all.

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luuked said:

Maybe you should become a professional coach.. seems like you have the winning recipe figured out..

1.) Rush the QB
2.) Cover receivers
3.) ???
4.) Profit

Right ?

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manxman2601 said:

Just a further thought on the ideal player for a sub package. The 'Nink' type end guy who could be an athletic one like a Bud Dupree is certainly one direction but we've started running lighter three man fronts. If you say that Easley at NT and Chandler Jones at RE are already there for these fronts then that's where I envisage Hardison, Odhigizuwa and Mario Edwards fitting really well as the LE in that formation. Oakman as well would fit obviously.

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manxman2601 said:

I don't think it's a case of optimising for one or the other, I think they want to play both. Two thoughts:

If Branch is re/signed then I think he can play that bigger DT and if Wilfork hangs around then that makes three with Siliga too.

I've noticed this smaller front three in the last two games particularly. Was it a result of getting no pressure against Aaron Rodgers with just three men. It certainly adds a lot of flexibility if you can get pressure with a three man front because it means you can play Hightower, Collins and Mayo and still have a nickel back. All three linebackers are excellent blitzers so you can still get pressure with four and drop two linebackers or use one as a spy etc.

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mayoclinic said:

I agree they want to play both. But the skill sets required for the edge role in the 2 fronts are markedly different, and there aren't many players who can do both equally well.

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patsfaninpa said:

I'm sure I'll be proven wrong. But, that 4-2-5 base seems like we're getting away from the body types in the old 3-4. Can't explain Hightower. But, still want a stout dt to go with Easley. Doesn't require the ends to be two-gappers like Richard Seymour. Drafting of Jamie Collins and his development seems to be headed for more athletic lb's. Not to mention trades for Ayers and Casillas.

Top priority to me is that stout dt. Mainly, because I'm letting VW walk. Goldman, Malcolm Brown and Shelton appear to be the 3 guys who can fill that role. Probably have to trade up. May not want to do that because a kid like Terry Williams might give you a similiar player later and not having to trade up or use first.

Obviously, we can always use an edge pass-rusher. But, because I'm letting VW walk. I can keep Ayers. Which lessens the need this year. I'd still take one somewhere. Zach Moore looks body-wise like he might grow into one of those bigger LDE's whom you want to take out on passing down. Valuable, but not a key part.

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patsfaninpa said:

Not sure where Noah Spence is going to be drafted. Closest comp I can think of is Honey Badger. He went early 3rd. Spence isn't some kid with a long history of getting in trouble. He's a pretty good kid who obviously has a drug issue. I'm guessing he beats it. But, what do I know. Don't think I'd take him at 64. But, would at 96 or 97.

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The Patriots are a gameplan team under Coach Bill Belichick. Always have been, always will be. They do something different virtually every week. Too much detailed candor on where they see the strengths and weaknesses of an upcoming opponent and the trained ear could take previous game tape and figure out where they may shift their chess pieces for the following week, fashioning their own practice schedule and gameplan around it. The Patriots clearly don't want that.

Matt just does what he does. He works his ass off, comes up with unique weekly defensive approaches, and orchestrates Sundays with a balance of discipline and creativity. Most impressively, he hasn't been beholden to any particular approach. The public calls to just-have-Revis-do this, or MORE PASS RUSH, or whatever other distraction, but Matt understands that's not the best way to get the Patriots to where they want to go. There's a lot more to it than that. The opponents are wildly different, so the defensive approach has to be as well. The team has stocked the roster with versatile people, giving the coordinator license to be multiple in his own approach.

It's one thing to have a bunch of stuff installed. It's another thing to apply them at the right time, mixing and blending throughout the course of 60 minutes to address what needs to be done. The Patriots defense doesn't aim to win some mythical stats or rankings championship. They aim to win. And the play-calling from Matty P exemplifies as much. The looks are varied, but the big-play aversion is evident in almost every call. You have Tom Brady on your sideline. You play the style that mitigates risk, takes away the other teams best options in an ever-changing manner, and keeps the rest of the offense on their toes with front and coverage wrinkles from series-to-series.

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There's been no more clueless point of view in Patriots Land in the past several years than those that called for a 'real' defensive coordinator, someone who could 'challenge' Belichick...somebody who would do their own thing.

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mayoclinic said:

That's my take. We'll likely have 3 picks within a 10 pick range - our own late 1st (probably 92-96 range), a likely comp pick for Talib (97-100 range), and TB's 4th (100-102 range). The comp pick can't be traded. I'd be willing to use one of the other 2 to trade up for Goldman, and take Spence with one of the other 2. Then I'd use our 2nd and 3rd round picks on OL. If Goldman is out of range then I'd take (or possibly trade back slightly for) Brown or Phillips. If Spence doesn't last or pass scrutiny then there are guys like Preston Smith and Corey Crawford who are intriguing.

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It's incredible to look at the Seahawks' defenders who are now signed long-term. Carroll and general manager John Schneider have inked long-term deals with Wright, Avril, Bennett, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas. It is difficult to keep great defenses together, but this group has a chance -- a chance -- to go down as one of the all-time great units.

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patfanken said:

Sweet thread, glad I rediscovered it. I was trying to get something like this started on the regular board but it never took off. I really don't know anything about the potential draftees mentioned in your post. Way too early for me actually. But a quick question immediately came to mind while I was reading. I was just wondering, in just pure physical ability, what do those potential draftees have to offer that Buchannon and Moore have to offer with a year's experience to boot.

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patfanken said:

At this point My initial instinct is to look for that potentially elite interior offensive lineman to upgrade that area of the OL from adequate to exceptional. Like in an ideal world our OL next season would be made up of Solder, #1 draft pick, Stork, Flemming, Volmer, with Cannon, Kline, Wendell, and Connolly backing them up (if Connolly doesn't wind up a cap casualty)

After that I'm open to almost anything, but with the understanding upgrading the DL is one of the hardest things to do. I'll be interested to see where they go after that first pick.

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