Patriots offense against the 49ers 'Big Sub' defense

[PATRIOT64]

Nolan has been running the big sub defense so far this season and it has not worked out too well as the niners are in the lower rankings on overall defense.

The big sub defense is playing 4 defensive lineman and 5 defensive backs on the field to minimize long gains which have yet to be successful

If Nolan once again goes to the big sub D,I wonder how McDaniels will figure out how to use Cassel in this game against a most unusual formation and the only one I know of doing it this much as the niners are right now.

 

[jmt57]

Hopefully McDaniels and the offense will do a better job than Capers and the defense did 'against a most unusual formation.'

 

[BPF]

Nolan has been running the big sub defense so far this season and it has not worked out too well as the niners are in the lower rankings on overall defense.

The big sub defense is playing 4 defensive lineman and 5 defensive backs on the field to minimize long gains which have yet to be successful

If Nolan once again goes to the big sub D,I wonder how McDaniels will figure out how to use Cassel in this game against a most unusual formation and the only one I know of doing it this much as the niners are right now.

I don't think the "Big Sub" defense is really that unusual, it's a nickel D. It's a 4/2/5 where they remove a LB from what would be a standard 4-3 to get an extra DB to in theory avoid big "explosive" plays. A variation is the 2/4/5 which replaces rush DE's with OLB's and this formation is more common for teams that have a base 3-4 D.

How I would attack this formation would be by running between the tackles to start off, just like the Saints did with McAllister after dusting him off since he only had 2 carries going into the game (he finished w/20 rushes for 73 yds, 3.7 avg in this game), then after establishing the run at will you can pass when you want to and not when you have to and be a lot more successful. With Maroney, Morris and Jordan the options are plentiful compared to what the Saints have in terms of inside runners, which is only McAllister and he is on the downside of his career now. If you control the 4 DL you can let Willis make all the tackles he wants after 5-6 yd gains. In my mind the Saints are a finesse team and if they pushed the 49ers around for 467 total yds in this defense, which is geared to attack finesse teams I would welcome facing the "Big Sub." Also I would think that this formation would negate your pass rush as a defense as evidenced by the 49ers having just 1 sack in it. This defense also limits Justin Smith's strength, which is moving all around as a DE, LB and DT to wreak havoc as a pass rusher but in the "Big Sub" he can only line up as DE. Maybe if you have two dominating run stuffing DT's and two quality DE's this defense can be really effective but I don't think the 49ers DL qualifies as dominating.

 

[BPF]

Hopefully McDaniels and the offense will do a better job than Capers and the defense did 'against a most unusual formation.'

Dean Peas is the defensive coordinator not Capers, at least not yet.

 

[jmt57]

Dean Peas is the defensive coordinator not Capers, at least not yet.

Whoops, I guess that's what happens when you're thinking about three different topics, watching the game on TV, and trying to get the dogs and kids to go to sleep! Hopefully I'm not morphing in to (fill in the blank of your least favorite/most idiotic forum member here.)

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I prefer Italian subs but they are hard to get where I live.

 

[jmt57]

Here's what SF HC Mike Nolan says about the 'Big Sub' Defense.

Q: Can you go through your big sub and your sub – what is the philosophy behind the big sub?

Nolan: “It’s all matchups and everybody in the league does it. Simple case: if you stay in base when they go three wide receivers and you have a lot of confidence that Takeo Spikes can cover Wes Welker, then you try to do that. In our case, I would like to think we’ve got a better matchup maybe with a defensive back.

“So typically, it’s all…I shouldn’t say ‘typically’. From a standard, really, throughout the NFL it’s a matchup issue. That’s all it really is, and most everybody does it. Now you can get away doing the other way if you’re just a straight zone team. There’s things you can leave them on for. You could leave any group on and get through the down. And we do that at times.

“But personnel that are on the field, whether it be offensively or defensively, is a matchup game. If it was good to stay with one standard group even offensively, people would do that and typically if you have your best players are one personnel group you’ll, stay with them longer. But football has evolved from 30 or 40 years ago where now there’s a lot of players going on the field. Teams need five and six wide receivers because four of them are out there at one time.

“There’s a reason on third down you see a lot of little guys out there, but why don’t you say, ‘what’s the difference? If it’s third-and-three, what’s the difference between first-and-ten? Can’t you get three yards out of base people?’ Some people believe they are their best people to get that so they use them. But when you get that change, you want to make sure that you don’t leave yourself vulnerable to a mismatch where somebody can take advantage of you. So it’s really just a matchup issue.”

 

[PATSNUTme]

Yes we need to win on first down. does that mean running off tackle? Not really. We can do that by running screens and draws.

However, a running running game that put us in 3rd and short is vital. We don't want to be looking at 3rd and 7,8,or 9. If that happens often then Cassel will be under pressure and we lose.