Stopping the run, 1 goal for any defense!

[quickccc]

We played a lot better with Woods on the field last year. 6-4 with, 2-4 without. And he's playing *behind* Poe, giving us depth at 1T, and much better bulk for short yardage. I see Gallimore as a good fit there too. It's a whole different world at 1T this year.

if Antwuan Woods was really that great, i highly doubt we would have signed up and brought in Dontario Poe.
An obvious upgrade was needed. He was decent- serviceable (yet another under Marinelli) at best. Add to
it the inconsistency and injury prone.

 

[kskboys]

if Antwuan Woods was really that great, i highly doubt we would have signed up and brought in Dontario Poe.
An obvious upgrade was needed. He was decent- serviceable (yet another under Marinelli) at best. Add to
it the inconsistency and injury prone.

Woods was like the guy before him, Hayden. Hard nosed player and good rotational type, but simply not good enough to start.

 

[quickccc]

Thanks for sharing;

If some observed more closely the Cowboys defense was mysteriously surrendering rushing yards ON THE ROAD in 2018, even before the Colts game

- And they can choose to keep their eyes only on Pats/Rams SB, but the very next week after obliterating our porous run defense, (while ironically we're ON THE ROAD again) ...gimpy Todd Gurley and fatso CJ Anderson were shut down vs NO Saints run defense; made non-factors- so.it wasn't like Rams run game was so special and something so unique vs us ,,, it was that our run defense was just so bad.

Marinelli has always preferred and valued " quick twitch " movement over size girth space eaters.
His philosophy in his 4-3 one gap scheme is stopping the run, on the way to the QB,

- Ironically Jimmie Johnson also preferred movement interior over size- girth players, he wanted guys like Casillas, Henning like 1 techs over mammoth Gilbert Brown types.

- My point is if you proving that you can make the movement quick twitch work effectively - so be it ...
but if you're seeing all kind of signs where this slanting quick twitch preference, then it's time to advance to a new different stage, a different approach.

- But the big serious problem was with Rod Marinelli - he simply does not know anything else, ..he only knows one beat drum song, one ole school, and thus the trend of bringing in low regard, average 1 techs per his recommendations ( hayden, McClain, richard ash, stephen paea, thorton, woods, etc .etc.)
He was never committed to top rated 1 techs, per draft , per free agency. And we paid the price for it ..for years!

 

[quickccc]

Yup. IMO, McCoy and Poe are simply not 3-4 players.

didn't Poe make pro bowls playing in the 3-4 scheme when he was in KC chiefs ?

 

[quickccc]

we have some good coaches.

STs are solid again.

Edwards and Tomsula are solid.

Nolan and Philbin are poison.

why is new OL coach Joe Philbin " poison" ?

 

[quickccc]

agree.

the Pats solved the Rams ground game by using the old Steelers 0 tech with their DTs. Easy fix.

marinelli was stubborn.

I celebrated that dude leaving.

Saints totally shut that Rams ground game down to a mere 48 yards, in that same 2018 playoffs but yet people here wanna to continue to make like Pats seems like they did something else special.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Most teams don't have a RB that they trust to carry the ball 24 times a game. When we run across the teams with those trustful RB's we get gashed. That's why its misleading. We didn't stop our opponents running game, they did.

If the Giants would have kept handing the ball to Barkley, they could have killed us on the ground. I think he had 13 carries for over a hundred yards in one of our wins against them. So most teams don't stick to the run, which in turn helps us out. Misleading!

Yeah, Marlon Mack is a stud. Lol.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Yeah, Marlon Mack is a stud. Lol.

He's a hard nose runner that the Colts can trust to run the ball 24 times a game when healthy.

 

[quickccc]

People forget that yes Dallas added two big DTs but they both played together for the Panthers and that defense was much worse against the run than Dallas last year. It's gonna be interesting to see how this defense plays with new coaching.

But what was Carolina coaches asking McCoy and Poe to do in their 3-4 scheme ?
what was the quality of their DL and DC coaches ? how well was their rotations in relieving them ?

- And how much did injury play with either of them ?
McCoy has been dinged and slowed with injury in his career.

- From me frankly, McCoy is just not a 3-4 guy. He's been in a 4-3 as a 3- tech all of his career as a Buc.
And the base of this DL is reportedly gonna be a 4-3 base, with occasional mixed 3-4 looks.
McCoy could even be subbed in such situations and packages.

- That's a big reason why i think will be so very important to have quality rotation backup guys
behind McCoy/Poe.
Not just for breather relief to keep them as fresh as possible, but for injury emergence sub games as well.
Gallimore is gonna counted on big, Crawford may have to counted on in nickel for his experience
and he has experience as 4-3 and 3-4 schemes, Hill will have to learn to be ready.

- Woods is not a top starter type but as a sub-rotation he could become a much bigger value as
i can see Poe injured at times. And it will times where he may be counted on to start in Poe's absence.

 

[quickccc]

We hear the same mantra from the defensive coaches: #1 priority need to stop the run, make the opponent become one dimensional.

-We are all aware the Cowboy Rush Defense was exposed in that Ram playoff loss, many would point to the Colt defeat a few weeks prior. Xwalker has explained numerous times how we failed to adjust to the zbs scheme in which New England did against the Rams in the Super Bowl.

-The Cowboy Defense was ranked #11 in the league against the run last season, this was very misleading as the defense struggled badly against the run for the majority of the season. Throw in their inability to stop the screen pass, which is an extension of the run, it was a total disaster. The three NFC North games come to mind, Green Bay, Minnesota and Chicago.

-During the Wade Phillips years as the team's HC/DC, the Cowboys were one of the better run defenses in the league. They were a defense that rarely needed to bring down a safety for run support. Many think the 3-4 scheme is more about disguising who is rushing the passer, but it is actually designed to be a better scheme to stop the run.

-The best alignment to stop the run is the 5-2 front. Five down lineman and two linebackers. Many of the early posts regarding Nolan's scheme has discussed this type of formation. We have discussed 4 down lineman and another DE/SOLB Designated Pass Rusher. This role is more for a DE then it is for a linebacker. That is a 5-2 front and should be strong at stopping the run.

-If the team is unable to win the early rushing downs, we can forget about all those exotic rush packages. Stopping the run is the team;s #1 priority, if that's accomplished, the defense vastly improves this season!

Here's the issues i had with the LBs:

- Despite all the hype i've heard from Jaylon's pre-draft profile, he's not
that instinctive to me. It's been overrated some. with great misdirection teams, he can be easily fooled and suckered into plays.He mis-reads and runs into the wrong gaps at times, a bit late anticipating and reacting to plays. And because of his off- instincts and limited agility in changing directions, he can be average player in coverage. And he was another bugged by screen passes.
He's a forward player. if he is schemed to where he can rely on his forward ability, he can gather momentum and arrive with a big wallop. Solid in pursuit down the line and he's been remarkably durable.
Can be explosive upon impact and actually pop-force fumbles on occasions. and i don't think blocking RBs can handle him on edge blitzes.
Imo, Jaylon is gonna have to be schemed well to maximize his strengths while hiding/low keying his flaws.and i question if you committ that much money in a limited player

- i really liked Vander Esch's rookie year ..and disappointed in his rookie year.
2 years ago, he displayed top notch instincts in quickly anticipating plays as they developed, and before they developed.
Tremendous range, mobility, open field tackling and knack for coverage for one his enormous size (6'5, 255) Even surprised with his ability to take on, shed take on blocking. But somehow between battling neck injury
and questionable coaching, he regressed. Missed several open field tackles and another bugged by screen passes. But i'm gonna love his move to middle LB if it holds true.

- Sean Lee; the great anticipation and knack for the game is still there, its' just a matter of keeping him
healthy and not asking him to do too much such as cover top TEs and RBs all game and cover a lot of ground.
as age and injury has a toll on his speed and range.Terrific in pass lane zone drops.
Limiting his start time worked well for him last year, hope we do same again.

- i'd like to see new coach regime scheme this group of LBs So much will depend on our new run gap scheme, the new DT personnel up front, the health in the front seven,..and how we much better defend the screen game we've struggled for years with. Don't discount the depth of the LBs , we'll need Joe thomas to be available and step up, i think the role is still in making for other LB candidates before the season/during the season, imo.

 

[fivetwos]

Yeah, it's very strange, but it's become the thing to do to give up on the running game. SF might(prolly?) would have won the super bowl last year if they'd kept running the ball. ATL would have certainly beaten NE in the super bowl if they'd have run the ball w/ a big lead.

Why are so many teams doing this?

Good point. Probably just coaches trying to be aggressive.

Interestingly enough, this is supposedly why Andy Reid had little success in the post season until last year.

Your point is intriguing, as far as if grabbing a lead and grinding out the clock on the ground has gotten obsolete.

Could be a take what the defense gives you thing, and lack of execution from there.

 

[Cowboyny]

Most people don't really read. They just skim.

It's a 4-3 with a DWare type at SLB. People might understand that.

A 3-4 is step smaller than the above alignment but it is 3 DL with 2 hybrid DE/LBs at each end which is also similar to a 5-2.

People see 5-2 and think you literally mean 5 DL. You explained what you meant but they see 5-2 and can't get past it.

-My original post was

Here's the issues i had with the LBs:

- Despite all the hype i've heard from Jaylon's pre-draft profile, he's not
that instinctive to me. It's been overrated some. with great misdirection teams, he can be easily fooled and suckered into plays.He mis-reads and runs into the wrong gaps at times, a bit late anticipating and reacting to plays. And because of his off- instincts and limited agility in changing directions, he can be average player in coverage. And he was another bugged by screen passes.
He's a forward player. if he is schemed to where he can rely on his forward ability, he can gather momentum and arrive with a big wallop. Solid in pursuit down the line and he's been remarkably durable.
Can be explosive upon impact and actually pop-force fumbles on occasions. and i don't think blocking RBs can handle him on edge blitzes.
Imo, Jaylon is gonna have to be schemed well to maximize his strengths while hiding/low keying his flaws.and i question if you committ that much money in a limited player

- i really liked Vander Esch's rookie year ..and disappointed in his rookie year.
2 years ago, he displayed top notch instincts in quickly anticipating plays as they developed, and before they developed.
Tremendous range, mobility, open field tackling and knack for coverage for one his enormous size (6'5, 255) Even surprised with his ability to take on, shed take on blocking. But somehow between battling neck injury
and questionable coaching, he regressed. Missed several open field tackles and another bugged by screen passes. But i'm gonna love his move to middle LB if it holds true.

- Sean Lee; the great anticipation and knack for the game is still there, its' just a matter of keeping him
healthy and not asking him to do too much such as cover top TEs and RBs all game and cover a lot of ground.
as age and injury has a toll on his speed and range.Terrific in pass lane zone drops.
Limiting his start time worked well for him last year, hope we do same again.

- i'd like to see new coach regime scheme this group of LBs So much will depend on our new run gap scheme, the new DT personnel up front, the health in the front seven,..and how we much better defend the screen game we've struggled for years with. Don't discount the depth of the LBs , we'll need Joe thomas to be available and step up, i think the role is still in making for other LB candidates before the season/during the season, imo.

-You make some good points:
a) Jaylon isn't an instinctive linebacker, doesn't have change of direction skills due to his injury, but he still can be a useful player if used right. He is a player that is more straight-lined who is better facing the opponent. He has elite closing quickness to explode in a hole or in passes in front of him. Can be an asset as an effective blitzer. Coaches have to find ways to play more to his strengths. He shouldn't be isolated in coverage down the field.

b) I think we kind of have to give Lve as mulligan for last season, as he was basically playing with one arm. Not sure if this was an issue earlier then that Philly injury game, but he didn't look right all season long. Our hopes he returns to rookie his rookie health, as he dealt for a similar injury in college and was able to return and had a breakout senior season. When playing at his best, he reminds me a little like Roland McClain, no not as physical a player but very instinctive against the run, reads the screen before it happens, great length against the pass. I feel he is an ascending player, it's all about his health going into this season.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Woods was like the guy before him, Hayden. Hard nosed player and good rotational type, but simply not good enough to start.

I'd say Woods was good enough to start as a cheap guy we owned the rights to for years to come and were developing. Already as good as Hayden ever was in 2018, set back in 2019 by injuries.

Our big problem at DT last year was going with only one credible 1T, so we had nothing when Woods was out, and not much for short yardage even with him.

He's kind of hosed for his career, at least in NFL terms, as he red shirted in college, then had a couple of red shirt PS years in the NFL. He'll only be UDFA in 2022 at 29.

Anyone hear if his arrest on pot in Dec has gone through the courts yet?

 

[buybuydandavis]

if Antwuan Woods was really that great, i highly doubt we would have signed up and brought in Dontario Poe.
An obvious upgrade was needed. He was decent- serviceable (yet another under Marinelli) at best. Add to
it the inconsistency and injury prone.

Didn't say he was great, said he made a difference. And he did. Especially since we had nothing behind him.

Wood is a guy to look to upgrade on but don't have to. Some of signing Poe was getting a good deal, some maybe uncertainty with Wood's legal trouble, and some just a change in philosophy, with McCarthy wanting more beef than Marinelli did, which isn't hard.

 

[glimmerman]

we have some good coaches.

STs are solid again.

Edwards and Tomsula are solid.

Nolan and Philbin are poison.

What. Poison. Explain...

 

[quickccc]

Didn't say he was great, said he made a difference. And he did. Especially since we had nothing behind him.

Wood is a guy to look to upgrade on but don't have to. Some of signing Poe was getting a good deal, some maybe uncertainty with Wood's legal trouble, and some just a change in philosophy, with McCarthy wanting more beef than Marinelli did, which isn't hard.

- ok, so if Woods had been a difference maker ..the team would have been more committed to him.. vs recruiting and signing the 350 lb Poe.
" Human Log " is just another trend of decent-JAGs that have come thru the Marinelli train when it comes to starting. As a backup, you have to use the decent- serviceable type like Woods as they have just enough experience and skill set to help get you by .... and i'm keeping an eye on Woods' situations as incoming rumors has him being disgruntled/absence or hard to contact (per media connections) about either role or contract (or both?)

- We had to go out and change/make an upgrade over Woods. Get an guy that fits your scheme and what coaches want to change how teams now have to play against you. As Jerry's commented on a post game
Opposing teams " out-physical" us. We had to gain players up front that gives us a chance to " out-physical" them.

- While i'm on Poe, with those 350+ pound guys, they have to keep on him about their shape and conditioning.
They can get so bloated until their mobility down the line stalls, they can't get their legs moving and game fatigue sets in so quickly....too quickly. i like the Poe decision over Damon "Snack " Harrison (who is still un-signed) is Poe has pass rush traits that Snack simply does not have. And Poe is a much better athlete than Snack.

- Because of his age (30 in August) and coming off an injured, down year, maybe Poe's value became marketable and in range. i was very glad we got him as cheap as we did. We got 30+ yr old vets as starting DTs, so we got to have/keep them in top shape and sub them fresh as possible, imo.

 

[xwalker]

-My original post was


-You make some good points:
a) Jaylon isn't an instinctive linebacker, doesn't have change of direction skills due to his injury, but he still can be a useful player if used right. He is a player that is more straight-lined who is better facing the opponent. He has elite closing quickness to explode in a hole or in passes in front of him. Can be an asset as an effective blitzer. Coaches have to find ways to play more to his strengths. He shouldn't be isolated in coverage down the field.

b) I think we kind of have to give Lve as mulligan for last season, as he was basically playing with one arm. Not sure if this was an issue earlier then that Philly injury game, but he didn't look right all season long. Our hopes he returns to rookie his rookie health, as he dealt for a similar injury in college and was able to return and had a breakout senior season. When playing at his best, he reminds me a little like Roland McClain, no not as physical a player but very instinctive against the run, reads the screen before it happens, great length against the pass. I feel he is an ascending player, it's all about his health going into this season.

• Jaylon in 2019
  • It is really difficult to know exactly how much the remnants of the injury limit Jaylon at this point.
  • I've spent a good bit of time reviewing game footage of him from 2019 and certain movements do look a bit awkward at times but at other times he moves better than expected.
  • I really think he played at a much higher weight last season. Seeing him, Quinn and DLaw in street clothes, Quinn looked like the smallest of the 3. Quinn is listed at 260.
    • I really wouldn't be surprised to someday find out that Jaylon was at 260 in 2019 but was at 245 in 2018.
    • We didn't find out until he was long gone that Rolando McClain played MLB at 270 one season.
    • Fisher or one of those other pseudo media guys claimed he hit 280 at one point.
  • There was an impressive play last season where Jaylon got a late start in picking up an athletic TE running a deep crossing route.
    • It appeared that somebody else should have been covering the TE but I'm not 100% certain.
    • Regardless, Jaylon dropped back from several yards away and ended up running with the TE in tight coverage.
• 
  
• 
  
• New Scheme
  • The good news is that Mike Nolan likes to use big hybrid LBs that are more like 3-4 OLBs than 4-3 LBs.
  • Nolan used Cory Biermann as a hybrid in 2014. Biermann would never be a LB in a pure 4-3 scheme, not even SLB.
  • Biermann was 6-3, 255. I'm confident that Jaylon has superior athletic ability even with limitations than Biermann had on his best day.
  • Belichick has made good usage of LB Donta Hightower (6-3, 260) and he is not the most nimble of Linebackers.
  • Hightower is not close to LVE in terms of athletic ability in coverage or sideline to sideline range.
• 
  
• 
  
• The Rams exposed the Cowboys defensive scheme weakness against specific zone running plays in the 2018 season playoff game.
  • Other teams copied the Rams when they played the Cowboys in 2019.
  • All of the LBs were out of sorts in 2019 due to scheme problems.
  • Kris Richard tried to make changes to correct the problems with Marinelli wouldn't change his DL scheme.
    • That put the LBs in impossible situations.
• 
  
• The #1 goal of the Rams in the playoff game was to target the Cowboys LBs with blocks by OLinemen.
  • The Rams realized that on specific zone running plays they could easily get 2 OL and a TE free to get out and block LBs.
  • The Rams tweaked their run blocking specifically to get the Cowboys LBs moving sideways and then to get OLinemen out to to block them.
  • A 250 pound LB is at a disadvantage against a 320 OLinemen but the LB has the agility advantage if the OL is coming at them.
  • When the LB is moving sideways, he has far less leverage to shed blocks than if he and the OLineman are running straight at each other.
• 
  
• Play-side LB
  • Zone run starts outside.
  • Play-side LB moves outside.
  • OL moves into position to the inside of the LB.
  • RB cuts back inside.
  • The LB reverses directions and runs directly into a 320 pound OL.
  • Even if the LB sheds the block, the delay allows the RB to get past that point.
• 
  
• Backside LB
  • The 2nd OL just waits to see if the backside LB moves hard towards to the play-side or if he hangs back to protect against backside misdirection.
  • If he LB stays in his area, the OL gets between the LB and the play-side.
  • If the LB moves quickly to the play-side, then the OL gets into position to keep him pinned on the play-side when the RB cuts back inside.
  • Either way the middle of the field is open and the Safeties have to come up and make the tackle.
• 
  
• 2019
  • In 2019 the LBs became focused on getting to the correct side of the blocker.
  • Sometimes that meant over-running the block to the outside to avoid getting boxed inside.
  • Sometimes that meant an exaggerated delay before moving outside to avoid getting boxed outside against an inside cut-back by the RB.
• 
  
• Details on the specific scheme problems.
  • It all came back to the fundamental problem that the DL was not preventing the free releases by 2 OL to get out and block the LBs.
  • The scheme caused specific DLinemen to basically take themselves out of position.
  • On the zone run that starts outside, the Cowboys play-side DT would quickly move towards the outside.
  • That meant the DL was taking himself out of position against the inside cut-back.
  • In the 2018 season Super Bowl, Belichick had his DTs playing straight up instead of flowing outside.
  • That kept the OLinemen occupied AND it kept the DTs in place against the inside cut-back.
  • He moved one of the LBs from behind the DL to the outside.
  • The Rams could not cut off the LBs path to the outside or back inside because the LB played his area.
  • The inside LB played the inside area. The outside LB played the outside area.
  • Having the DTs play straight up offset only having 1 LB behind the DL instead of 2.
• 
  
• Even More specific
  • The Rams figured out that the Cowboys were weakest against the zone run when the run started outside to the side of the 1tech DT.
  • Play-Side DT
    • When the 1tech is the play-side or front-side DT on an outside run, he is 1 full gap further from the outside than if the 3tech was the play-side DT.
    • That meant the 1tech in the Cowboys scheme was jumping a gap off the snap when he detected an outside run to his side.
  • Backside DT
    • The Cowboys 3tech always takes his 1st step as a pass rush step.
    • That meant that he would most often be jumping to the outside of the OG in an attempt to go around him as a pass rusher.
    • The Rams took advantage of this movement by getting their OT inside the 3tech DT on zone run that started to the other side.
    • Against most defenses, the backside OG would have to initially block the backside 3tech and then hand off the block to the OT.
    • The Cowboys made it easy for the OT to get inside the 3tech without help from the OG.
    • That gave the OG a clean release to get out and block a LB.

 

[quickccc]

• Jaylon in 2019
  • It is really difficult to know exactly how much the remnants of the injury limit Jaylon at this point.
  • I've spent a good bit of time reviewing game footage of him from 2019 and certain movements do look a bit awkward at times but at other times he moves better than expected.
  • I really think he played at a much higher weight last season. Seeing him, Quinn and DLaw in street clothes, Quinn looked like the smallest of the 3. Quinn is listed at 260.
    • I really wouldn't be surprised to someday find out that Jaylon was at 260 in 2019 but was at 245 in 2018.
    • We didn't find out until he was long gone that Rolando McClain played MLB at 270 one season.
    • Fisher or one of those other pseudo media guys claimed he hit 280 at one point.
  • There was an impressive play last season where Jaylon got a late start in picking up an athletic TE running a deep crossing route.
    • It appeared that somebody else should have been covering the TE but I'm not 100% certain.
    • Regardless, Jaylon dropped back from several yards away and ended up running with the TE in tight coverage.
• 
  
• 
  
• New Scheme
  • The good news is that Mike Nolan likes to use big hybrid LBs that are more like 3-4 OLBs than 4-3 LBs.
  • Nolan used Cory Biermann as a hybrid in 2014. Biermann would never be a LB in a pure 4-3 scheme, not even SLB.
  • Biermann was 6-3, 255. I'm confident that Jaylon has superior athletic ability even with limitations than Biermann had on his best day.
  • Belichick has made good usage of LB Donta Hightower (6-3, 260) and he is not the most nimble of Linebackers.
  • Hightower is not close to LVE in terms of athletic ability in coverage or sideline to sideline range.
• 
  
• 
  
• The Rams exposed the Cowboys defensive scheme weakness against specific zone running plays in the 2018 season playoff game.
  • Other teams copied the Rams when they played the Cowboys in 2019.
  • All of the LBs were out of sorts in 2019 due to scheme problems.
  • Kris Richard tried to make changes to correct the problems with Marinelli wouldn't change his DL scheme.
    • That put the LBs in impossible situations.
• 
  
• The #1 goal of the Rams in the playoff game was to target the Cowboys LBs with blocks by OLinemen.
  • The Rams realized that on specific zone running plays they could easily get 2 OL and a TE free to get out and block LBs.
  • The Rams tweaked their run blocking specifically to get the Cowboys LBs moving sideways and then to get OLinemen out to to block them.
  • A 250 pound LB is at a disadvantage against a 320 OLinemen but the LB has the agility advantage if the OL is coming at them.
  • When the LB is moving sideways, he has far less leverage to shed blocks than if he and the OLineman are running straight at each other.
• 
  
• Play-side LB
  • Zone run starts outside.
  • Play-side LB moves outside.
  • OL moves into position to the inside of the LB.
  • RB cuts back inside.
  • The LB reverses directions and runs directly into a 320 pound OL.
  • Even if the LB sheds the block, the delay allows the RB to get past that point.
• 
  
• Backside LB
  • The 2nd OL just waits to see if the backside LB moves hard towards to the play-side or if he hangs back to protect against backside misdirection.
  • If he LB stays in his area, the OL gets between the LB and the play-side.
  • If the LB moves quickly to the play-side, then the OL gets into position to keep him pinned on the play-side when the RB cuts back inside.
  • Either way the middle of the field is open and the Safeties have to come up and make the tackle.
• 
  
• 2019
  • In 2019 the LBs became focused on getting to the correct side of the blocker.
  • Sometimes that meant over-running the block to the outside to avoid getting boxed inside.
  • Sometimes that meant an exaggerated delay before moving outside to avoid getting boxed outside against an inside cut-back by the RB.
• 
  
• Details on the specific scheme problems.
  • It all came back to the fundamental problem that the DL was not preventing the free releases by 2 OL to get out and block the LBs.
  • The scheme caused specific DLinemen to basically take themselves out of position.
  • On the zone run that starts outside, the Cowboys play-side DT would quickly move towards the outside.
  • That meant the DL was taking himself out of position against the inside cut-back.
  • In the 2018 season Super Bowl, Belichick had his DTs playing straight up instead of flowing outside.
  • That kept the OLinemen occupied AND it kept the DTs in place against the inside cut-back.
  • He moved one of the LBs from behind the DL to the outside.
  • The Rams could not cut off the LBs path to the outside or back inside because the LB played his area.
  • The inside LB played the inside area. The outside LB played the outside area.
  • Having the DTs play straight up offset only having 1 LB behind the DL instead of 2.
• 
  
• Even More specific
  • The Rams figured out that the Cowboys were weakest against the zone run when the run started outside to the side of the 1tech DT.
  • Play-Side DT
    • When the 1tech is the play-side or front-side DT on an outside run, he is 1 full gap further from the outside than if the 3tech was the play-side DT.
    • That meant the 1tech in the Cowboys scheme was jumping a gap off the snap when he detected an outside run to his side.
  • Backside DT
    • The Cowboys 3tech always takes his 1st step as a pass rush step.
    • That meant that he would most often be jumping to the outside of the OG in an attempt to go around him as a pass rusher.
    • The Rams took advantage of this movement by getting their OT inside the 3tech DT on zone run that started to the other side.
    • Against most defenses, the backside OG would have to initially block the backside 3tech and then hand off the block to the OT.
    • The Cowboys made it easy for the OT to get inside the 3tech without help from the OG.
    • That gave the OG a clean release to get out and block a LB.

Thanks for sharing and re-posting. Great effort.

 

[quickccc]

For those that want more of an visual eye ball test of how Rams dominated Cowboys vs run
( while ironically did very little to nothing vs Saints and Pats in following weeks)

 

[xwalker]

I'd say Woods was good enough to start as a cheap guy we owned the rights to for years to come and were developing. Already as good as Hayden ever was in 2018, set back in 2019 by injuries.

Our big problem at DT last year was going with only one credible 1T, so we had nothing when Woods was out, and not much for short yardage even with him.

He's kind of hosed for his career, at least in NFL terms, as he red shirted in college, then had a couple of red shirt PS years in the NFL. He'll only be UDFA in 2022 at 29.

Anyone hear if his arrest on pot in Dec has gone through the courts yet?

We played a lot better with Woods on the field last year. 6-4 with, 2-4 without. And he's playing *behind* Poe, giving us depth at 1T, and much better bulk for short yardage. I see Gallimore as a good fit there too. It's a whole different world at 1T this year.

- ok, so if Woods had been a difference maker ..the team would have been more committed to him.. vs recruiting and signing the 350 lb Poe.
" Human Log " is just another trend of decent-JAGs that have come thru the Marinelli train when it comes to starting. As a backup, you have to use the decent- serviceable type like Woods as they have just enough experience and skill set to help get you by .... and i'm keeping an eye on Woods' situations as incoming rumors has him being disgruntled/absence or hard to contact (per media connections) about either role or contract (or both?)

- We had to go out and change/make an upgrade over Woods. Get an guy that fits your scheme and what coaches want to change how teams now have to play against you. As Jerry's commented on a post game
Opposing teams " out-physical" us. We had to gain players up front that gives us a chance to " out-physical" them.

- While i'm on Poe, with those 350+ pound guys, they have to keep on him about their shape and conditioning.
They can get so bloated until their mobility down the line stalls, they can't get their legs moving and game fatigue sets in so quickly....too quickly. i like the Poe decision over Damon "Snack " Harrison (who is still un-signed) is Poe has pass rush traits that Snack simply does not have. And Poe is a much better athlete than Snack.

- Because of his age (30 in August) and coming off an injured, down year, maybe Poe's value became marketable and in range. i was very glad we got him as cheap as we did. We got 30+ yr old vets as starting DTs, so we got to have/keep them in top shape and sub them fresh as possible, imo.

Woods was solid when healthy. The problem is that he was often not healthy. He missed games and was limited in some others due to playing through injury.

• Woods and Poe
  • The best thing about either Poe or Woods is that they allow the Cowboys to limit each others snaps.
  • Poe has also had injury issues.
  • A lower percent of snaps for both improves their chances of staying healthy.
  • It will be a challenge to have 2 pure 1techs active but the new 48 man game day roster helps.
  • Even if both are not active for a game, they can rest either one for a game if that player would have to play thought injury.
  • Most 4-3 teams tend to have 4 DTs active on game day.
    • Usually with only one pure 1tech, two 3techs and the 4th DTs is usually more 3tech than 1tech depending on the roster options.

• Snacks Harrison
  • "And Poe is a much better athlete than Snack."
    • Based on combine numbers yes. Based on game footage at their peak...not really.
  • At his peak (2016 and 2017) with the Giants, Snacks was better than Poe has been at his best.
    • Snacks showed an amazing ability to make tackles outside the OTs.
    • Nobody would believe how many tackles he made out near the sidelines if they don't watch the game footage themselves.
  • Mega-sized players can decline very quickly and Snacks did just that.
    • He was a shell of himself in 2019 and part of 2018.
    • I'm not certain if he was playing though injury or just got too fat or if age/weight just caught up to him.

There are only 2 players that I've seen give Frederick and Martin problems with power. Yes, it was Snacks and Poe.

• Gallimore and Hill
  • As a rookie they should have Gallimore focus on one position if possible.
  • They drafted Hill to be the "quick twitch" 3tech that Marinelli was always craving; however...
    • Hill's best college seasons were as a 3-4 NT.
  • If Gallimore and Hill are both active, it's more likely that Hill plays more 1tech and Gallimore plays more 3tech.

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