CFZ Cowboys Edge Rushers

[Ranching]

There are 2 basic types of Edge Rushers & some that played both styles.
Speed Rusher: ex. Von Miller
Leverage Rusher: DLaw
Both: Lawrence Taylor

Obviously there is more to Von Miller than just speed rushing.
- However, he is in that category because a very high percentage of his pass rush wins are from just blowing past OTs with speed.

Leverage Rusher could also be called Technique Rusher.
- DLaw developed an array of pass rush moves based on technique over speed.
- At at 251 pounds pre-draft, DLaw didn't have great speed (4.8 forty, 1.68 ten yard).

Football media have started using the term 'Euro Step' which is taken from Basketball jargon.

Sam Williams, despite being a 4.46 forty guy, had a high percentage of his success as a leverage type rusher.

Quick note on Dante Fowler:
- In 2020 with Atlanta in Dan Quinn's defense, he played more of the leverage/technique style than before or after being with Quinn. After Quinn departed Atlanta, Fowler played as a 3-4 OLB in 2021.

Dan Quinn obviously likes the leverage style.
- UDFA Mika Tafua's style is like a DLaw clone.
- Tafua might not have the athletic ability to make it in the NFL, but he had great technique in college.
- It took DLaw 2 or 3 years in the NFL to develop the same type of pass rush techniques.

I don't have cut-ups of DLaw or Sam Williams; therefore, I'm going to use some of Mika Tafua for discussion purposes.

Again, this is not about Mika Tafua per se. My goal is to demonstrate pass rush techniques.

This is a textbook DLaw pass rush move.
- Notice how he has that jump-step and it puts him on a straight line path to the QB.
- The hands and feet have to be in precise sync; otherwise, this move will be a big fail.
- DLaw does it will a bit more of a power move into the OT before the jump-step, but it's the same concept.

Good stuff!

 

[Praxit]

..thanks Xwalker, always good stuff. Surprising how many components football can have. I remember my HS coach. "Ok, line up here or here, then rush the guy"..lol..

 

[xwalker]

He definitely has an elite long arm.

But I'm on the bandwagon, I want you to be right.

SW has a lot of nuanced moves.

I've reviewed hundreds of his snaps in college.
- Many subtle nuances are not obvious if you watch 1 game or highlights.
- However, after watching a player for a large number of snaps, you start to notice some repeating patterns.

• Many of his nuances are about setting up the blocker. Some examples:
  • Let up for a moment as if the QB had already released the ball.
    • He baited some OTs into relaxing and then he would blow past them.
  • He loved to catch a blocker off-balance and then knock that blocker to the ground.
    • This often happened late in the play such as when the QB had already released the ball.
  • I wouldn't be surprised if he has studied game footage of Charles Haley.
    • Haley loved to get under the skin of blockers with a variety of antics.

 

[xwalker]

..thanks Xwalker, always good stuff. Surprising how many components football can have. I remember my HS coach. "Ok, line up here or here, then rush the guy"..lol..

The Garrett motto: Line up and beat your man...

 

[xwalker]

Give me a big edge rusher that can stand up against the run for 17 games a year. Most of our guys either can't do that or they get hurt trying. Give me a couple of Reggie White clones.

Sam Williams played 4i on many run downs.
- That is a position normally played by a DT type or 3-4 DE.
- Brent Urban (6-7, 308) played that alignment often in his NFL career.
- SW was never going to look great against the run from a 4i alignment.
- If the draft media graded his run defense only when he was outside as a true 4-3 or 4-2-5 DE, then he would have been considered a plus run defender.

 

[Vintage]

Give me a big edge rusher that can stand up against the run for 17 games a year. Most of our guys either can't do that or they get hurt trying. Give me a couple of Reggie White clones.

Sure. While we are at it, let’s ask for a couple of Joe Montana’s as well….

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

There are 2 basic types of Edge Rushers & some that played both styles.
Speed Rusher: ex. Von Miller
Leverage Rusher: DLaw
Both: Lawrence Taylor

Obviously there is more to Von Miller than just speed rushing.
- However, he is in that category because a very high percentage of his pass rush wins are from just blowing past OTs with speed.

Leverage Rusher could also be called Technique Rusher.
- DLaw developed an array of pass rush moves based on technique over speed.
- At at 251 pounds pre-draft, DLaw didn't have great speed (4.8 forty, 1.68 ten yard).

Football media have started using the term 'Euro Step' which is taken from Basketball jargon.

Sam Williams, despite being a 4.46 forty guy, had a high percentage of his success as a leverage type rusher.

Quick note on Dante Fowler:
- In 2020 with Atlanta in Dan Quinn's defense, he played more of the leverage/technique style than before or after being with Quinn. After Quinn departed Atlanta, Fowler played as a 3-4 OLB in 2021.

Dan Quinn obviously likes the leverage style.
- UDFA Mika Tafua's style is like a DLaw clone.
- Tafua might not have the athletic ability to make it in the NFL, but he had great technique in college.
- It took DLaw 2 or 3 years in the NFL to develop the same type of pass rush techniques.

I don't have cut-ups of DLaw or Sam Williams; therefore, I'm going to use some of Mika Tafua for discussion purposes.

Again, this is not about Mika Tafua per se. My goal is to demonstrate pass rush techniques.

This is a textbook DLaw pass rush move.
- Notice how he has that jump-step and it puts him on a straight line path to the QB.
- The hands and feet have to be in precise sync; otherwise, this move will be a big fail.
- DLaw does it will a bit more of a power move into the OT before the jump-step, but it's the same concept.

Guys, listen to xwalker.

He was spot-on about Bradley Anae being a star.

 

[BAT]

This is exactly what I've been trying to communicate to all the SW haters since forever.

SW lined as a 3-4 DE in college.

Of course he struggled vs the run.

Sam Williams played 4i on many run downs.
- That is a position normally played by a DT type or 3-4 DE.
- Brent Urban (6-7, 308) played that alignment often in his NFL career.
- SW was never going to look great against the run from a 4i alignment.
- If the draft media graded his run defense only when he was outside as a true 4-3 or 4-2-5 DE, then he would have been considered a plus run defender.

 

[starfrombirth]

Outside pass rush moves also set them up for inside cut-backs which is a go-to move for both SW and DLaw.
1st clip: This spin is Mika Tafua's inside cut-back move.
- The key to this is the inside cut-back, not the spin move.
- The inside cut-back was setup by the previous outside moves to get the OT on his outside foot.

2nd clip: Notice in this wide alignment how his path to the QB is almost a straight line.
- Pure speed rushers, even on wide alignments tend to loop deeper and come back to the QB.
- Dan Quinn prefers to have pass rushers avoid looping deep because is takes them out of position against the run and it gives QBs a path to roll outside to escape other pass rushers.

I know you are not evaluating him but I noticed some things that don't bode well for him sticking with an NFL team. He is not strong. The qb got away from him a lot. It looks like he has all this technique to get past the RT but comes at the QB out of control. Maybe it's something he can fix.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Sure. While we are at it, let’s ask for a couple of Joe Montana’s as well….

What I actually meant was give me some edge rushers who are similar in size to Reggie White.

Now see that wasn't so hard to understand, right? So as the saying goes....seek to understand, before being understood.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Lawrence did his best work as a pass rusher lining up in a 9 gap in the right side. In 2014, 2017 and 2018, RT's had issues handing his speed off the edge. A big reason why he hasnt produced much since 2018 is that they stopped using his as a wide gap rusher and played him almost extensively in a 7 gap. I definitely wouldn't categorize Lawrence as a technique rusher

 

[TequilaCowboy]

There are 2 basic types of Edge Rushers & some that played both styles.
Speed Rusher: ex. Von Miller
Leverage Rusher: DLaw
Both: Lawrence Taylor

Obviously there is more to Von Miller than just speed rushing.
- However, he is in that category because a very high percentage of his pass rush wins are from just blowing past OTs with speed.

Leverage Rusher could also be called Technique Rusher.
- DLaw developed an array of pass rush moves based on technique over speed.
- At at 251 pounds pre-draft, DLaw didn't have great speed (4.8 forty, 1.68 ten yard).

Football media have started using the term 'Euro Step' which is taken from Basketball jargon.

Sam Williams, despite being a 4.46 forty guy, had a high percentage of his success as a leverage type rusher.

Quick note on Dante Fowler:
- In 2020 with Atlanta in Dan Quinn's defense, he played more of the leverage/technique style than before or after being with Quinn. After Quinn departed Atlanta, Fowler played as a 3-4 OLB in 2021.

Dan Quinn obviously likes the leverage style.
- UDFA Mika Tafua's style is like a DLaw clone.
- Tafua might not have the athletic ability to make it in the NFL, but he had great technique in college.
- It took DLaw 2 or 3 years in the NFL to develop the same type of pass rush techniques.

I don't have cut-ups of DLaw or Sam Williams; therefore, I'm going to use some of Mika Tafua for discussion purposes.

Again, this is not about Mika Tafua per se. My goal is to demonstrate pass rush techniques.

This is a textbook DLaw pass rush move.
- Notice how he has that jump-step and it puts him on a straight line path to the QB.
- The hands and feet have to be in precise sync; otherwise, this move will be a big fail.
- DLaw does it will a bit more of a power move into the OT before the jump-step, but it's the same concept.

Sam needs to develop more moves like the bull rush and spin moves to incorporate into his repertoire.... his mostly outside pressure right now. But i feel he will get that down and become a demon. Just a matter of time.

 

[vig454]

I'll take two of whatever Lawrence Taylor was.​

 

[xwalker]

I know you are not evaluating him but I noticed some things that don't bode well for him sticking with an NFL team. He is not strong. The qb got away from him a lot. It looks like he has all this technique to get past the RT but comes at the QB out of control. Maybe it's something he can fix.

Did you get that from the 5 snaps that I posted of Tafua?

I've watched hundreds of snaps for Sam Williams.
- I would need to watch at least a couple of full games for Tafua before commenting on his chances to make the roster.

 

[starfrombirth]

Did you get that from the 5 snaps that I posted of Tafua?

I've watched hundreds of snaps for Sam Williams.
- I would need to watch at least a couple of full games for Tafua before commenting on his chances to make the roster.

Tafua was who I was referring too. I actually like De Williams.

 

[starfrombirth]

Did you get that from the 5 snaps that I posted of Tafua?

I've watched hundreds of snaps for Sam Williams.
- I would need to watch at least a couple of full games for Tafua before commenting on his chances to make the roster.

Tafua was who I was referring too. I actually like De Williams.

 

[john van brocklin]

There are 2 basic types of Edge Rushers & some that played both styles.
Speed Rusher: ex. Von Miller
Leverage Rusher: DLaw
Both: Lawrence Taylor

Obviously there is more to Von Miller than just speed rushing.
- However, he is in that category because a very high percentage of his pass rush wins are from just blowing past OTs with speed.

Leverage Rusher could also be called Technique Rusher.
- DLaw developed an array of pass rush moves based on technique over speed.
- At at 251 pounds pre-draft, DLaw didn't have great speed (4.8 forty, 1.68 ten yard).

Football media have started using the term 'Euro Step' which is taken from Basketball jargon.

Sam Williams, despite being a 4.46 forty guy, had a high percentage of his success as a leverage type rusher.

Quick note on Dante Fowler:
- In 2020 with Atlanta in Dan Quinn's defense, he played more of the leverage/technique style than before or after being with Quinn. After Quinn departed Atlanta, Fowler played as a 3-4 OLB in 2021.

Dan Quinn obviously likes the leverage style.
- UDFA Mika Tafua's style is like a DLaw clone.
- Tafua might not have the athletic ability to make it in the NFL, but he had great technique in college.
- It took DLaw 2 or 3 years in the NFL to develop the same type of pass rush techniques.

I don't have cut-ups of DLaw or Sam Williams; therefore, I'm going to use some of Mika Tafua for discussion purposes.

Again, this is not about Mika Tafua per se. My goal is to demonstrate pass rush techniques.

This is a textbook DLaw pass rush move.
- Notice how he has that jump-step and it puts him on a straight line path to the QB.
- The hands and feet have to be in precise sync; otherwise, this move will be a big fail.
- DLaw does it will a bit more of a power move into the OT before the jump-step, but it's the same concept.

Nice info!
You should be a scout

 

[ChuckA1]

Excellent information as usual, XWalker

 

[Verdict]

There are 2 basic types of Edge Rushers & some that played both styles.
Speed Rusher: ex. Von Miller
Leverage Rusher: DLaw
Both: Lawrence Taylor

Obviously there is more to Von Miller than just speed rushing.
- However, he is in that category because a very high percentage of his pass rush wins are from just blowing past OTs with speed.

Leverage Rusher could also be called Technique Rusher.
- DLaw developed an array of pass rush moves based on technique over speed.
- At at 251 pounds pre-draft, DLaw didn't have great speed (4.8 forty, 1.68 ten yard).

Football media have started using the term 'Euro Step' which is taken from Basketball jargon.

Sam Williams, despite being a 4.46 forty guy, had a high percentage of his success as a leverage type rusher.

Quick note on Dante Fowler:
- In 2020 with Atlanta in Dan Quinn's defense, he played more of the leverage/technique style than before or after being with Quinn. After Quinn departed Atlanta, Fowler played as a 3-4 OLB in 2021.

Dan Quinn obviously likes the leverage style.
- UDFA Mika Tafua's style is like a DLaw clone.
- Tafua might not have the athletic ability to make it in the NFL, but he had great technique in college.
- It took DLaw 2 or 3 years in the NFL to develop the same type of pass rush techniques.

I don't have cut-ups of DLaw or Sam Williams; therefore, I'm going to use some of Mika Tafua for discussion purposes.

Again, this is not about Mika Tafua per se. My goal is to demonstrate pass rush techniques.

This is a textbook DLaw pass rush move.
- Notice how he has that jump-step and it puts him on a straight line path to the QB.
- The hands and feet have to be in precise sync; otherwise, this move will be a big fail.
- DLaw does it will a bit more of a power move into the OT before the jump-step, but it's the same concept.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but he was perceived to be the possible third round pick for the Cowboys. I think even the Cowboys hinted around that they might be looking at him in the third round.

Do you perceive that as the Cowboys underplaying their interest a little bit, or do you think that they got jumpy and reached for him?

 

[Verdict]

Guys, listen to xwalker.

He was spot-on about Bradley Anae being a star.

That sounds a bit personal.