Phillips 3-4 observations

[tunahelper]

I was watching NFL replay and watched SD play the Ravens.
My attention was focused on how Phillips used the 3-4 blitz schemes.
I was really excited in what I saw!
Phillips philosophy is to over load one side with the blitz. The catch is he confuses the OL by blitzing with different people (obviously I know).
The use of the delay blitz seemed most effective. SD would slant the RDE & NT into the 4 and 6 hole and blitz Merriman on the edge. The RILB would wait a split second and shoot a open hole.
The center,guard,tackle were occupied with the inside slant of the SD's DE & NT. The RB blocked Merriman and Edwards nailed the QB, unblocked.
Phillips used a variant of the same blitz, only Edwards and Castillo changed responsibilities and Castillo pressured the QB, also unblocked.
The DE & OLB stunts were fun to watch and I could really see Spears and Canty moving as well as SD's DE.
The only thing I see could be a problem is the NT for SD really eats up blockers and I hope Fergy can duplicate his play?
It is gonna be fun!!!

 

[Angus]

Thanks for the observations. Could be a show!

 

[parchy]

Whether or not its more effective than Parcells' 3-4 has yet to been seen. But it sure will be more entertaining. At least it'll feel like the defense is creating pressure.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Whether or not its more effective than Parcells' 3-4 has yet to been seen. But it sure will be more entertaining. At least it'll feel like the defense is creating pressure.

Chances are his blitzes will be more effective. Zimmer's pass rush schemes have been a joke. He averaged 24 sacks per season from 2000-2002 under Campo using *Zimmer's* 4-3/Cover 2 scheme. In our first two years with Parcells, we still utilized *Zimmer's* 4-3 Cover 2 scheme and improved to 32 sacks per season, which still is hardly enough. And when we went to the 3-4 for the past two years, our sacks actually *improved* to 35 sacks per season (still not nearly enough).

Phillips? He's been either a head coach or a D-Coordinator in 20 of the last 21 seasons in the NFL. He's turned around awful defenses at each stop, whether it be Philly, Denver, Buffalo, Atlanta, or San Diego. Why? Because he's one of the very best at getting his defenses to sack the QB. In the last 20 years as a D-Coordinator or head coach, his defenses have averaged 44.3 sacks per season. And in those last 20 years, the teams he's been a part of have averaged 9.5 wins per year (pretty good considering the teams he's taken over and/or some of the head coaches he's worked under).

Sacks have a high correlation to winning in the NFL. Phillips is one of the best at it and that's why the team's he's a part of have been pretty successful. On the flip side, Zimmer's teams when he's been a d-coordinator have a combined record of 49-63. Why? Because his defenses don't sack the QB.

Phillips has a proven track record of sacking the QB at a high rate and being successful. Zimmer has a proven track record of not sacking the QB at a high rate and not being successful. Anything can happen, but it's likely that our pass rush will greatly improve, whether it be 2007 or 2008, with Phillips as the head coach.




YAKUZA

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Whether or not its more effective than Parcells' 3-4 has yet to been seen. But it sure will be more entertaining. At least it'll feel like the defense is creating pressure.

If it is not more effective then BP's 3-4, then we Zoners are in for another long season in 07/08. :starspin

 

[percyhoward]

Chances are his blitzes will be more effective. Zimmer's pass rush schemes have been a joke. He averaged 24 sacks per season from 2000-2002 under Campo using *Zimmer's* 4-3/Cover 2 scheme. In our first two years with Parcells, we still utilized *Zimmer's* 4-3 Cover 2 scheme and improved to 32 sacks per season, which still is hardly enough. And when we went to the 3-4 for the past two years, our sacks actually *improved* to 35 sacks per season (still not nearly enough).

Great info.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Well you folks are getting wood based on a defensive scheme that was 10th in the NFL... that ain't a whole lot better than where we were. You're all ready to anoint this a top-5 defense with 80 sacks.

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

 

[Beast_from_East]

Well you folks are getting wood based on a defensive scheme that was 10th in the NFL... that ain't a whole lot better than where we were. You're all ready to anoint this a top-5 defense with 80 sacks.

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

I really would not mind that much getting beat TRYING TO BE AGGRESSIVE.

What pissed me off was watching Zimmy drop Ware 20 yds off the freaking line and dropping everybody else into a nice soft zone. I guess the main thing that infuriated me last year was for the last 5 games of the season, we were getting pounded and we kept running the same scheme over and over and over again. Freaking Zimmy said when he went to Atlanta that he did not know what to do to fix it...........ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ZIMMY DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO TO FIX IT???

Like I said, I would rather lose being aggressive and blitzing like crazy than lose playing scared.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I really would not mind that much getting beat TRYING TO BE AGGRESSIVE.

What pissed me off was watching Zimmy drop Ware 20 yds off the freaking line and dropping everybody else into a nice soft zone. I guess the main thing that infuriated me last year was for the last 5 games of the season, we were getting pounded and we kept running the same scheme over and over and over again. Freaking Zimmy said when he went to Atlanta that he did not know what to do to fix it...........ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ZIMMY DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO TO FIX IT???

Like I said, I would rather lose being aggressive and blitzing like crazy than lose playing scared.

Well Beast that's all well and good but I remember how this board erupted after the aggressive "corner blitz" was called and Pat Watkins gave up the long TD because Ellis failed to sack McNabb... those types of plays are going to happen with much more frequency and this board will go ballistic. You see what they really want is an aggressive scheme that never gives up score-- and that isn't going to happen.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Well Beast that's all well and good but I remember how this board erupted after the aggressive "corner blitz" was called and Pat Watkins gave up the long TD because Ellis failed to sack McNabb... those types of plays are going to happen with much more frequency and this board will go ballistic. You see what they really want is an aggressive scheme that never gives up score-- and that isn't going to happen.

Winky, the reaction is always the same, even though it's under different circumstances, let's just hope Wade Phillips can teach these guys, they get it, and we add another pass-rusher, Hamlin gets back to the Hamling of old, Carp improves some more, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Good post on the SD game. Last night I watched the SD-Seattle game last year, also focusing on SD's defense, and here are some thoughts:

-- People were in the Seattle backfield all game long. I think SD had like six sacks in the game. And that's against a WCO with a lot of short QB drops.

-- Merriman got one sack when the RDE charged at and occupied Walter Jones while the RILB blitzed at the RG. That left the center to have to try to pop all the way out and take Merriman, and of course he couldn't do it in time. So Merriman got a relatively easy sack. That's the kind of creative scheming Ware never got to take advantage of.

-- Seems like Rack and someone had an argument on ROLB/LOLB vs. SOLB/WOLB. Sure looked to be like strong vs. weak, as Merriman and Phillips switched sides all the time.

-- With Wade sending four and often five guys, the middle was vulnerable to quick dump-offs over the middle to backs or TEs. Donnie Edwards was often left defending a big area there by himself. Fortunately, he was quick and experienced and instinctive enough to do it, as he broke up several passes and made quick stops. (I'm thinking Burnett might be that guy for us?)

-- Looked like Wade rotated his DL more than Parcells did. The backup NT, Bingham, played quite a few plays, as did Cesaire. And this is sacrilege, but I actually wasn't incredibly impressed with Jamal Williams. Looked to me like he didn't make tons more plays than Ferguson did for us last year.

-- Like some have said, the defense isn't foolproof by any means. This was a late season game in Seattle, with the crowd going crazy. So it wasn't that different in time and atmosphere from when we played up there in the playoffs. They gave up 17 points and Seattle moved the ball pretty well. I'm not sure they played the Seattle O much better than we did. But the odd sack or INT would kill drives for SD.

-- Yes, there were some good runs by Alexander, and one came on a stunt when it looked like the ILB (Cooper, playing for Godfrey) appeared to not get to his spot in time and got sealed off. So stunting and slanting isn't always the best.

-- On a side note, Ken Hamlin wasn't very impressive for Seattle, to be honest. But he wasn't involved in that horrendous bomb with barely a minute left in the game to lose the game. Boulware let the WR get way behind him, which is inexcusable in that situation.

-- Oh, and one last thing -- When Seattle got the ball with less than a minute left and a FG would tie, Wade still had four guys on the line, and they got pressure on the QB every time. It was nice not to see a prevent defense with a three man line that gave the QB all day to throw.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

good stuff C-lab

 

[TEK2000]

Well you folks are getting wood based on a defensive scheme that was 10th in the NFL... that ain't a whole lot better than where we were. You're all ready to anoint this a top-5 defense with 80 sacks.

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

If its better than our defense was for the first 11 games of last season... then there won't be much room for dissappointment.

As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 absolute certainties about the 2007 defense

1) IT WILL PUT PRESSURE ON THE QB!

2) We won't go through 1/4 of the season watching our defense get absolutely toasted and see absolutely ZERO adjustments.... then hear one of our best defensive players talk about a new d-coordinator candidate exclaiming: "At least he knows you can run the same exact thing every week".

There is absolutely NOTHING in Wade Phillips' coaching history that would give any kind of indication that this defense would not improve. Every defense he has taken over has shown immediate improvement.

 

[Rampage]

Well you folks are getting wood based on a defensive scheme that was 10th in the NFL... that ain't a whole lot better than where we were. You're all ready to anoint this a top-5 defense with 80 sacks.

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

i'm excited about our Defense for 2 reasons.

1: Wade's defenses have a history of not only getting great pressure but also getting a good # of sacks.
2: he will put our players in the best places for them to make plays.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

It's really hard to see that. We got minimal pressure last year. How can we do only slightly better than that?

 

[TEK2000]

i'm excited about our Defense for 2 reasons.

1: Wade's defenses have a history of not only getting great pressure but also getting a good # of sacks.
2: he will put our players in the best places for them to make plays.

Wade Phillips said that? NO WAY!!!

 

[Aikbach]

Dallas' front seven is among the most talented and deep in the modern game, if they can't live up to expectations this year, when many will be in their time to shine third season, then you can declare many of these talented prospects mentally weak and unfit to start at the professional level.

Do or die this year for Spears, Canty, Ratliff, Burnett, James, Henry, Hamlin.

Carpenter had best show marked improvement as well and Ware needs to add more pressures to his otherwise impressive resume.

Ellis needs to prove he can make a comeback.

Watkins needs to wrestle a future starting spot away from Hamlin.

Hatcher needs to show his flashes were his true form.

Lots of talent that has much to prove.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Well Beast that's all well and good but I remember how this board erupted after the aggressive "corner blitz" was called and Pat Watkins gave up the long TD because Ellis failed to sack McNabb... those types of plays are going to happen with much more frequency and this board will go ballistic. You see what they really want is an aggressive scheme that never gives up score-- and that isn't going to happen.

You make a good point my friend, playing aggressive will bite you in the arse from time to time.

But I think Wade is smart enough not to leave a 5th round rookie locked in man-to-man coverage. How in the world did Zimmy think that was a good idea to go with a corner blitz and leave a green rook on an island. This coupled with the fact that he said he did not know what to do to fix the D the last 5 games of the year.

I really think Zimmy is borderline ********.

 

[Achozen]

Chances are his blitzes will be more effective. Zimmer's pass rush schemes have been a joke. He averaged 24 sacks per season from 2000-2002 under Campo using *Zimmer's* 4-3/Cover 2 scheme. In our first two years with Parcells, we still utilized *Zimmer's* 4-3 Cover 2 scheme and improved to 32 sacks per season, which still is hardly enough. And when we went to the 3-4 for the past two years, our sacks actually *improved* to 35 sacks per season (still not nearly enough).

Phillips? He's been either a head coach or a D-Coordinator in 20 of the last 21 seasons in the NFL. He's turned around awful defenses at each stop, whether it be Philly, Denver, Buffalo, Atlanta, or San Diego. Why? Because he's one of the very best at getting his defenses to sack the QB. In the last 20 years as a D-Coordinator or head coach, his defenses have averaged 44.3 sacks per season. And in those last 20 years, the teams he's been a part of have averaged 9.5 wins per year (pretty good considering the teams he's taken over and/or some of the head coaches he's worked under).

Sacks have a high correlation to winning in the NFL. Phillips is one of the best at it and that's why the team's he's a part of have been pretty successful. On the flip side, Zimmer's teams when he's been a d-coordinator have a combined record of 49-63. Why? Because his defenses don't sack the QB.

Phillips has a proven track record of sacking the QB at a high rate and being successful. Zimmer has a proven track record of not sacking the QB at a high rate and not being successful. Anything can happen, but it's likely that our pass rush will greatly improve, whether it be 2007 or 2008, with Phillips as the head coach.




YAKUZA

Good stuff. I always enjoy reading your posts!

 

[Little Jr]

Well you folks are getting wood based on a defensive scheme that was 10th in the NFL... that ain't a whole lot better than where we were. You're all ready to anoint this a top-5 defense with 80 sacks.

I'm wondering how disappointed people will be if this defense ends up only slightly better than it was this year?

How I look at that is if they finished 10th in D and had 61 sacks. We finshed 13 with only 34. Think how mush better we would be if we could finsh with 61. Even 45+.