Is our pad rush really great if we use stunts so much?

[3rdEyewarrior]

I mean stunts are a good change up, but since d jaws been here, we’ve relied a lot on stunts. It’s no surprise the sacks haven’t come recently.

 

[3rdEyewarrior]

I meant pass rush.

 

[gimmesix]

Stunts simply allow you to create favorable matchups. The players still have to execute and win those matchups.

Marinelli believed in defenders simply executing his scheme, so he kept it simple and relied on players just knowing what to do and doing it. The problem with that is when you are playing straight up, then you have to have better players than the other side to regularly win those matchups. We've got a couple of better players (although they are banged up right now) and using them creatively allows them to confuse blocking assignments and other players to succeed as well. Many of Dorance Armstrong's sacks, for instance, have come because of the games we play up front with Lawrence and Parsons. Without those games, it is easier to identify where a player is rushing from and double the threat or chip him, or design plays that neutralize him. Then, the other players have to win their matchups, but they are not good enough to regularly do that.

 

[Bullflop]

Injuries to many of our defensive stalwarts have curtailed the pass rush somewhat.

We've just become more keenly aware of the need to contain the run recently.

Accordingly, that has slowed us down to a crawl for rushing the passer.

Our d-line is now forced to plug the run first and rush the QB 2nd.