X&O Analysis: Run Defense

[America's Cowboy]

Yeah, the Patriots shaded the DL tighter because they wanted to control runs up the middle, which was afforded because of the LBs in more outside contain + occupying blockers.

On run downs, they basically played a 6 man DL this way. They also had Hightower basically stay put in the middle of the field, only flowing in a for sure run, to counter play action and to play the inside run.

Their goal was to clog the middle of the field, reduce play action effectiveness (which LBs are more prone to be exposed to) so DL on run downs grouped tighter with LBs or S/LB hybrid Chung grouped outside for the Tackles and contain.

On more passing downs, they'd create matchups and blitzed pretty successfully. Bringing 5-6 man pressure more.

Belichick is a defensive genius compared to Marinelli. It's not even close.

 

[Beast_from_East]

The image below is from the Super Bowl.

• Notice the difference in where the LBs are aligned as compared to the Cowboys?
• The Pats moved the OLBs outside the DEs and up on the line.
• On outside zone runs the DL didn't need to immediately flow to the play-side because there was a LB out there already.
• The Pats had their DEs squeeze the inside to offset having the LBs outside.
• This is possible because the LBs now have outside contain instead of the DEs.
• The result is that the DL has not significantly moved to the play-side and remain in the middle area when the RB cuts back inside.

So in other words, the Pats actually have a head coach that knows how to scheme to stop his opponent and we have the Clapper.

Good to know

 

[Beast_from_East]

Yada yada yada yada can you tell us what our offense was doing while the Packers took us to the house 31-3?

Turning the ball over...……that is what our offense was doing…….did you not watch the game?

We actually outgained the Packers in total yardage, but had 3 turnovers. The win rate for 3 or more turnovers is less than 10% in the NFL. Bottom line is that if you turn the ball over, especially multiple times, you are not going to win very many games in the NFL.

 

[Johnny23]

Belichick is a defensive genius compared to Marinelli. It's not even close.

Absolutely. He is it's why he's the greatest coach ever. Because he knows how to shake things up. His game plan vs. the K-Gun in Super Bowl 25 versus Buffalo as genius and one of the greatest things in football I have ever seen. Him revising that game plan versus the Rams in 2001 to win Super Bowl 36 was genius. It had different wrinkles.

This is a good breakdown by @xwalker but not something that I can see being implemented by our defensive coaching staff.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Every team has holes in talent. Why does it always seem like we are top 3 in talent and can barely get to top 15 in production.

Other teams can cover for their weaknesses. We seem like we need pro bowl players across the board to compete.

Its called coaching, or lack of.

You can get by with less talent if you have really good coaches that can scheme well.

If you have coaches that totally suck, then you typically need more talent to compensate for lack of schemes.

Guess which category Dallas falls under.

 

[Johnny23]

Its called coaching, or lack of.

You can get by with less talent if you have really good coaches that can scheme well.

If you have coaches that totally suck, then you typically need more talent to compensate for lack of schemes.

Guess which category Dallas falls under.

I think Rod Marinelli has been overrated because he was Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, and Lovie Smith's guy in Tampa and Chicago. Rod didn't bring in the horses...

 

[Beast_from_East]

I think Rod Marinelli has been overrated because he was Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, and Lovie Smith's guy in Tampa and Chicago. Rod didn't bring in the horses...

Good point...…….……..the scheme is outdated and we dont even have the personnel to run it correctly either.

You really need a stud DT like Warren Sapp to really make this defense go...………….we obviously are missing that.

 

[Johnny23]

Good point...…….……..the scheme is outdated and we dont even have the personnel to run it correctly either.

You really need a stud DT like Warren Sapp to really make this defense go...………….we obviously are missing that.

Absolutely. It also needs compete linebacker and safety play. Lovie and Tony put the Tampa Two together. It also had Greg Spires, and Booger McFarland those were big mean DTs who allowed Warren to wreck havoc.

 

[CCBoy]

No, because you have to consider how the 1-tech plays on zone runs.

Cowboys method

• In that Pats image, the 1-tech is on the right.
• If the Offense shows zone outside the RDE, the Cowboys 1-tech would basically sprint towards the outside.
• That takes the 1-tech out of the middle area and puts him in a bad leverage position when the RB cuts back to the inside.

Pats method

• The Pats change the 1-tech's assignments because of the LB(s) on the outside.
• The DE(s) can play the inside gap (B gap) instead of the outside gap (C gap).
• The DE shifting assignments by 1 gap to the inside keeps the 1-tech from needing to get over to squeeze the B gap.

Example

• Without considering TEs and in the Nickel defense, there are 6 gaps with 4 DL and 2 LBs.
• The B gap between the 1-tech and DE is an open or LB gap.
• The 1-tech is in the A gap and the DE outside in the C gap.
• The Pats move that LB normally responsible for that B gap outside to the C gap.
• That allows the DE to cover the B gap instead of the C gap.

The effects total to shrinking actual gap coverages...

 

[Future]

They're facing very different fronts and personnel...

The Pats alignment is different because they don't have 8 men in the box. They're also either asking guys to 2-gap (which the Cowboys never do) or leaving one gap open, unless the safety-31-crashes immediately. The Cowboys are in a more advantageous front to defend the run, pre-snap.

The only options for a successful run on this play, for the packers, are strong-side A gap and weakside B gap. Neither is available after the snap if the Cowboys maintain integrity.

 

[Zordon]

The image below is from the Super Bowl.

• Notice the difference in where the LBs are aligned as compared to the Cowboys?
• The Pats moved the OLBs outside the DEs and up on the line.
• On outside zone runs the DL didn't need to immediately flow to the play-side because there was a LB out there already.
• The Pats had their DEs squeeze the inside to offset having the LBs outside.
• This is possible because the LBs now have outside contain instead of the DEs.
• The result is that the DL has not significantly moved to the play-side and remain in the middle area when the RB cuts back inside.

This is a very sobering thread. It seems like our coaches have us behind the eight ball even before the snap. They are not putting our players in the best position to succeed.

 

[kskboys]

And from a layman's point of view: We put way too much pressure on our LB's due to an undermanned DLine. Get someone up there who the other team has to consistently double, and suddenly there's less space to run through.

Our DT's suck, and no amount of explaining and cherry picking will cover that up.

 

[TheDude]

Blocking for the outside zone run always looks like an outside run but the cut back to the inside is part of the design.

Defenses have to respect the outside and flow that direction, but RB can cut back inside at anytime.

Many (maybe most) outside zone runs are actually intended to be cut backs to the inside on that specific play but offenses need to get defenses to respect the outside.

The Cowboys offense struggled to execute zone runs with cut backs to the inside because the Saints didn't respect the outside run and the Cowboys didn't do much to force them to respect it.

they dont respect the outside run because there is no threat or speed to have to worry about

 

[TheDude]

Its called coaching, or lack of.

You can get by with less talent if you have really good coaches that can scheme well.

If you have coaches that totally suck, then you typically need more talent to compensate for lack of schemes.

Guess which category Dallas falls under.

Remember coaching is never the problem. Only player execution

 

[CB61]

Blocking for the outside zone run always looks like an outside run but the cut back to the inside is part of the design.

Defenses have to respect the outside and flow that direction, but RB can cut back inside at anytime.

Many (maybe most) outside zone runs are actually intended to be cut backs to the inside on that specific play but offenses need to get defenses to respect the outside.

The Cowboys offense struggled to execute zone runs with cut backs to the inside because the Saints didn't respect the outside run and the Cowboys didn't do much to force them to respect it.

Well part of that I believe is that we are still too predictable both sides of the ball that would speak to respect that you talked about the whole culture thing in Dallas it's been bad for

Blocking for the outside zone run always looks like an outside run but the cut back to the inside is part of the design.

Defenses have to respect the outside and flow that direction, but RB can cut back inside at anytime.

Many (maybe most) outside zone runs are actually intended to be cut backs to the inside on that specific play but offenses need to get defenses to respect the outside.

The Cowboys offense struggled to execute zone runs with cut backs to the inside because the Saints didn't respect the outside run and the Cowboys didn't do much to force them to respect it.

Well you got some points there but I thought we were talking about the defense? And they watch how the Patriots played at different last night of course they got burned a couple times but that's going to happen to any good defense

 

[xwalker]

I don't like Jaylon playing as a DT, even a roaming DT. I like him swapping off with LVE for coverage/blitz a little better, though rarely. I'd rather have a 4 man line and leave it to Jaylon to option blitz or drop in coverage.

Or if we got another stand up rush LB not name LVE, let's play 3-4 on passing downs, always blitzing one or both of that guy with Jaylon. Lee isn't that guy. I wonder if Thomas can do it. Maybe that rookie? Seems like a stretch.

Going into the season, I wanted Jaylon to play like an in the box SS sometimes, where in Big Nickel, we take out our SS, bring in a CB, but put Jaylon in the box to blitz or man cover a TE. His agility doesn't look as good as I expected, though, so now I'm not sure about him being able to take a TE in man. Before his injury in college, that would have been a lock.

The Pats do the same thing on obvious passing situations with regards to a 3-man DL with a LB replacing a DT.

Even when they play a 4 man line in obvious passing situations, they generally play the both as 3-techs with a big gap in the middle of the line.

It's not likely to be a run on 3rd and long or even 3rd and medium. There is no need for 2 DTs in those situations.

 

[xwalker]

They're facing very different fronts and personnel...

The Pats alignment is different because they don't have 8 men in the box. They're also either asking guys to 2-gap (which the Cowboys never do) or leaving one gap open, unless the safety-31-crashes immediately. The Cowboys are in a more advantageous front to defend the run, pre-snap.

The only options for a successful run on this play, for the packers, are strong-side A gap and weakside B gap. Neither is available after the snap if the Cowboys maintain integrity.

Wrong.

 

[xwalker]

And from a layman's point of view: We put way too much pressure on our LB's due to an undermanned DLine. Get someone up there who the other team has to consistently double, and suddenly there's less space to run through.

Our DT's suck, and no amount of explaining and cherry picking will cover that up.

Wrong.

 

[xwalker]

It’s real simple. DL need to play with better gap discipline. Backside defender on outside zone needs to have contain. Tackling as a whole was atrocious.

Collins may be a good rusher but he sucks at anchoring in the run game. We need to find better DTs.

LVE had the worst game of his career. Jaylon and LVE are getting caught up with too much eye candy and taking initial false steps.

Scheme concepts are too complicated for you. Please move on to "Players suck and Coaches suck" threads that you can understand.

 

[Johnny23]

Scheme concepts are too complicated for you. Please move on to "Players suck and Coaches suck" threads that you can understand.

@xwalker your arrogance that you're the only one who knows football is maddening and makes it impossible to interact with you. This was an excellent breakdown of the scheme and the gaps in the line being too wide open with how the alignment is set up.

Your every Cowboys player but Dez is good attitude is getting old. It negates anything you say.