Here is a good write-up on Seattle's Cover 3

[SackMaster]

Sounds like player development by coaches that can teach a system and develop a player in that system. And what coach developed Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Walter Thurmond, and Byron Maxwell?

The one Jerry Dumbo GM Jones fired and hired the big Blue M&M who hire Mike Nolan instead of keeping Kris Richard at DC.

I feel ya on that one.

What irritates me more than that is that we had a "Front 7" coordinator and a "Secondary" coordinator to co-run the D. Just like we have had a "passing game" coordinator and "running game" coordinator to co-run the offense some years.

There should be ONLY 1 OC and 1 DC with the HC making sure they are executing the overall theme / plan.

But no, not in Dallas. We have to have HCs that are just "walk around" guys while two coordinators try work on just their part of the offense or defense.

I don't know if Richard was all that great or not, but he sure was not put in a position to show whether or not he could be that guy in Dallas.

 

[jblaze2004]

What's this from, 2015?

In 2020, Cover-3 is the epitome of bend but don't break, because it allows a lot of easy completions in the short-intermediate areas of the field.

Sounds like previous defenses we ran.

 

[Bigdog]

It's possible to land two of those prospects as we have a top 10 pick in each rd.

Its possible but highly unlikely. Collins would probably go in in the 1st and would not surprise me if Moerhinger goes later in the 1st.

 

[Cowboyny]

Its possible but highly unlikely. Collins would probably go in in the 1st and would not surprise me if Moerhinger goes later in the 1st.

I think both corners/Collins are 1st rd picks, but it's possible to land Morherig at 42, although probably need to trade up to secure him.

 

[Ranched]

MEANWHILE....

 

[Pantone282C]

I feel ya on that one.

What irritates me more than that is that we had a "Front 7" coordinator and a "Secondary" coordinator to co-run the D. Just like we have had a "passing game" coordinator and "running game" coordinator to co-run the offense some years.

There should be ONLY 1 OC and 1 DC with the HC making sure they are executing the overall theme / plan.

But no, not in Dallas. We have to have HCs that are just "walk around" guys while two coordinators try work on just their part of the offense or defense.

I don't know if Richard was all that great or not, but he sure was not put in a position to show whether or not he could be that guy in Dallas.

It was very disjointed and had a horrible outcome. I hope that isn't what we have coming up with KM and AQ.

 

[eromeopolk]

Well, I watched Earl Thomas at Texas. I don't really think there was much that needed to be developed there. JMO

First, I agreed with your original post. However, I disagree with you about Kris Richard and player development. Earl Thomas and all those other Legion of Boom secondary players were developed by Kris Richard just like Richard was developed by Dennis Thurman.

The Cowboys had a golden opportunity to pair Kris Richard with Dennis Thurman in 2019 and passed. There is a reason Deion Sanders grabbed Dennis Thurman for his DC position at Jackson St. Thurman knows how to LTD (see Thurman Thieves and all the DBs he coached). Kris Richard knows how to LTD.

Cowboys drafted Mo Claiborne but did not have a coaching staff that could LTD (Lead, Teach, and Develop). There are many players out of college over the years with Earl Thomas and Mo Claiborne skill set. But only the ones that get that LTD from a coaching staff become play makers.

Give the Kris Richard his credit (never coached a defense that gave a team a losing record) and add letting him go to the mistake list of Jerry Dumbo GM Jones especially now that he hired Dan Quinn.

 

[eromeopolk]

MEANWHILE....

Landry is the most underrated legend in NFL history. But when Landry lost his QB, defensive Pro Bowl starters, and had no TEs, his 20 year winning streak was over.

Landry has a lot of records that only Belichick will challenge or pass. I am glad he and the real Dallas Cowboys still have that record. However, Belichick's success says so much for the B.S. salary cap excuse Jerry Dumbo GM Jones gives to the Arlington Jonesboys Kool-Aid drinkers

 

[Bigdog]

MEANWHILE....

We will start our 20 years win streak next year.

 

[fivetwos]

Agree. And FS is going to be a big, big concern as well.

We need a solid staring 1T, 3T, & FS or I fear this defense is going to look a lot more like Atlanta than Seattle.

Nice point.

Or maybe what Marinellis defense looked like without Sapp, Brooks and Lynch.

 

[DasSchnitzel]

A Seattle Cover 3 must – and I mean must – have an all-world athlete, and all-world football player, honestly, at the free safety position. The engine that makes Seattle’s aggressive defense go is safety Earl Thomas. Without Thomas on the back end being able to cover the range he does, that defense doesn’t work. We saw how fast the wheels fell off Seattle’s defense late in the year when he was hurt. Next, there has to be at least one elite lockdown outside cornerback. That’s Richard Sherman. After that you want to have another corner who is comfortable playing a man-to-man style on one side of the field. Finally, you have to have a strong safety who hits, wraps up, has the size to at least take on lead blockers, and can chase like a linebacker. That’s Kam Chancellor.

An aggressive Cover 3 is all about buying time for a good pass rush. When you have the kind of aggressive players in the secondary that Seattle does, they’re able to lock down their receivers for three to four seconds on a regular basis, which is a long time for an offensive line to block a team like Seattle.

Seattle’s defensive series end in the extremes. There aren’t all these bend-but-don’t-break drives that are long and sustained that only end in three points. More than any other style of defense, Seattle’s Cover 3 either ends in a touchdown, a turnover or a limited drive that could be as short as a three-and-out.

I believe the article was from 2017 in regards to the Seattle defense which Quinn came from.

Wait, so this is taken from an article from 2017 and you posted it here without any link or citation as though you wrote it yourself?

As a writer... not cool. Put the link in there.

 

[SlammedZero]

Oh, sorry for not clarifying, but that wasn't a single draft. It was over multiple years, and as another poster pointed out, Cliff Avril was a Lions pick before signing with Seattle in free agency.

My main point was, you don't have to spend big in Free Agency or be high draft picks to have an "All-Pro" defense.

Ah ok!! haha I was like, WOW! All good!

 

[KingintheNorth]

The RPO can really kill it too since they just read the SS.

There are counters to everything. If you have a smart Strong Safety who can scoot (fast enough), you give a "flatfoot read" and the QB has to guess.

It's just hard to get a kid to go against his instinct and training. We spent their whole football upbringing telling (yelling?) them to trigger when they read run. This is how the RPO can still get you.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

First, I agreed with your original post. However, I disagree with you about Kris Richard and player development. Earl Thomas and all those other Legion of Boom secondary players were developed by Kris Richard just like Richard was developed by Dennis Thurman.

The Cowboys had a golden opportunity to pair Kris Richard with Dennis Thurman in 2019 and passed. There is a reason Deion Sanders grabbed Dennis Thurman for his DC position at Jackson St. Thurman knows how to LTD (see Thurman Thieves and all the DBs he coached). Kris Richard knows how to LTD.

Cowboys drafted Mo Claiborne but did not have a coaching staff that could LTD (Lead, Teach, and Develop). There are many players out of college over the years with Earl Thomas and Mo Claiborne skill set. But only the ones that get that LTD from a coaching staff become play makers.

Give the Kris Richard his credit (never coached a defense that gave a team a losing record) and add letting him go to the mistake list of Jerry Dumbo GM Jones especially now that he hired Dan Quinn.

If that's what you believe, that's fine but I'm telling you, Thomas was good to go from the minute he stepped off the field in Austin IMO.

Mo Claiborne, I never liked him. When we drafted him, I knew it was a mistake.

 

[DuncanIso]

A Seattle Cover 3 must – and I mean must – have an all-world athlete, and all-world football player, honestly, at the free safety position. The engine that makes Seattle’s aggressive defense go is safety Earl Thomas. Without Thomas on the back end being able to cover the range he does, that defense doesn’t work. We saw how fast the wheels fell off Seattle’s defense late in the year when he was hurt. Next, there has to be at least one elite lockdown outside cornerback. That’s Richard Sherman. After that you want to have another corner who is comfortable playing a man-to-man style on one side of the field. Finally, you have to have a strong safety who hits, wraps up, has the size to at least take on lead blockers, and can chase like a linebacker. That’s Kam Chancellor.

An aggressive Cover 3 is all about buying time for a good pass rush. When you have the kind of aggressive players in the secondary that Seattle does, they’re able to lock down their receivers for three to four seconds on a regular basis, which is a long time for an offensive line to block a team like Seattle.

Seattle’s defensive series end in the extremes. There aren’t all these bend-but-don’t-break drives that are long and sustained that only end in three points. More than any other style of defense, Seattle’s Cover 3 either ends in a touchdown, a turnover or a limited drive that could be as short as a three-and-out.

we just need an average defense.

i will take average.

 

[erod]

Did you see what Alabama did to Ohio State's cover 3 defense?

Put Davonta Smith in the slot and ran deep routes on linebackers. He had 200 yards receiving in the first half.

The Cover 3 is dead.

 

[G2]

I'd expect to see primarily the cover 2. Two safeties and rushing the front 4.

 

[Doomsday101]

Did you see what Alabama did to Ohio State's cover 3 defense?

Put Davonta Smith in the slot and ran deep routes on linebackers. He had 200 yards receiving in the first half.

The Cover 3 is dead.

lol if we go by that then a lot of defense are deal since Alabama kicked the crap out of a lot of different defensive schemes.

 

[Doomsday101]

Did you see what Alabama did to Ohio State's cover 3 defense?

Put Davonta Smith in the slot and ran deep routes on linebackers. He had 200 yards receiving in the first half.

The Cover 3 is dead.

I guess Trevor Lawrence must not be that good, after all that OSU defense throttled Clemson and the top QB entering the draft. If he can't beat a dead defense like cover 3 then he has no business in the NFL. Of it could be Bama won because they are outright the best football team in the NCAA? Naw can't be that

 

[erod]

I guess Trevor Lawrence must not be that good, after all that OSU defense throttled Clemson and the top QB entering the draft. If he can't beat a dead defense like cover 3 then he has no business in the NFL. Of it could be Bama won because they are outright the best football team in the NCAA? Naw can't be that

If you have a great slot guy with speed, you can destroy the Cover 3. Lawrence doesn't have that. Not to mention, he was under a lot of pressure all night.

Seattle uses Lockett like that against Cover 3, and he goes off. That's why you can't really play that defense much against them.