Zach Thomas's location

[gollum]

Anybody else know how much further Zach lined up behind the line of scrimmage than Brady did? Is that by design from Wade's defense, or a tactic to keep blockers off of him due to his size? I can't remember how far back Akin lined up in comparison to Brady last year.

 

[tunahelper]

Zach routinely lined up deep in Miami if my memory serves me correctly.

 

[JackMagist]

I also noticed how deep Zack seemed to be lining up and kinda wondered about it too. I don't remember Akin lining up that deep either though I can't say for sure that he didn't.

I don't know if he does it to keep blockers off of him or if it is to let him get a better look at the field and use his speed to get to the ball. It seems to be pretty effective for him though.

 

[Chuck 54]

Anybody else know how much further Zach lined up behind the line of scrimmage than Brady did? Is that by design from Wade's defense, or a tactic to keep blockers off of him due to his size? I can't remember how far back Akin lined up in comparison to Brady last year.

I think you want Brady in the hole first, taking on any blocker like pulling guard, HB, or FB, or just plugging the hole forcing the RB to bounce, and then you want Zach, your weakside backer running to the ball and cleaning up whatever's left....just an educated guess though...we may find later that it's Zach and not the design.

 

[theogt]

Went back and looked at some games from last year. Bradie and Akin almost always lined up with identical depth, which varied (3-6 yards off) depending on the situation and who we were playing.

 

[ethiostar]

I think Wade said that Bradie was the 'Hammer', or something like that, which allows Zach to get to the ball.

 

[BAT]

I think you want Brady in the hole first, taking on any blocker like pulling guard, HB, or FB, or just plugging the hole forcing the RB to bounce, and then you want Zach, your weakside backer running to the ball and cleaning up whatever's left....just an educated guess though...we may find later that it's Zach and not the design.

I don't care how far back Zach lined up, he was at the LOS and into the backfield a heckuva lot faster than ANY ILB Dallas has had here since Dat Nguyen (and that was when he played a 4-3 MLB).


Bradie James was on the ground A TON last night. Prone is not the position for a "Hammer", or pro bowl player.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

I also noticed how deep Zack seemed to be lining up and kinda wondered about it too. I don't remember Akin lining up that deep either though I can't say for sure that he didn't.

I don't know if he does it to keep blockers off of him or if it is to let him get a better look at the field and use his speed to get to the ball. It seems to be pretty effective for him though.

Its both..

He is 5'11 and not physically imposing.

If he lines up 4 yards deep like you are supposed to he would get abused by guards all game long. Being 6-7 yards deep allows him to 'flow' easier and avoid blockers/see the field better thus using his instincts to make plays