Last year when I looked at our defense In thought we were slow to the ball and didnt have that nasty streak that good defenses have. Last year the broncos had a killer defense under nolan. And comparing personnel, there are players that I believe are going to have breakout years. Wake=Dumervel Bell=Dawkins But what I really want, is for someone to explain the defense to me. I heard terms like thumper and rover, those are self explainatory but can anybody please elaborate and explain how they work togethor. Also who do you think will have a great year on this defense?
Not knowledgeable enough to help, good question though. My biggest anticipation for this season is to see what Nolan's D looks like and how well he takes advantage of what talent we have for him to work wit I have high hopes for Nolan and our D, but still worry about the FS position and OLB as well. Though I think Wake becomes a dominant force at WOLB, I don't think we have what/who we need at SOLB, and we are not very deep behind Dansby and Crowder IMHO. Soliai excites and worries me at the same time, and at least for the first 8 games we are REALLY in bad shape with NO REAL backup at NT behind Soliai. Yes Starks CAN play there, but it takes away from what he does best: DE.
In "most" 3-4 defenses there is an every down linebacker who goes sideline to sidelines, plays nickel packages, etc., and is typically responsible for coming up with the tackles. Often, the other defender is a more athletically limited guy whose job is to just be disruptive. Meet the fullback in the hole, shoot a gap, crash into a linemen to keep them from getting to the second level. Basically doing dirty work to keep the other linebackers job busy. Typically these players are replaced in passing situations by a smaller more athletic linebacker or a safety playing linebacker(Like Bell did here) If you got two good linebackers you dont really bother with it though. Like in New York with Harris and Scott, whatever the formation and situation is dictates who does what.
Yes, I understand the basic 3-4 but what I want to know is what are Nolans schemes. Did Dumervel rush the passer every play, who played SOLB last year in Denver, does he play alot of Nickel with a safety up top. I started this thread to see if my dream defense would fit his schemes. Here is my starting D. DE-Starks NT-Solia DE-Langford WOLB-Wake ILB-Chrowder ILB-Dansby SOLB-B.Spikes CB-V.Davis CB-W.Allen FS-S.Smith(roaming up top) SS-Bell(down in the box)
http://www.profootballfocus.com/cstats.php?tab=by_team&season=2009&teamid=10&stype=a&stats=d Here's the snap counts broken down. As you can see, Dumervil was basically a stand-up defensive end, and Mario Haggan(In base packages), and Robert Ayers took up the coverage slack as a result. I'm on the Brandon Spikes as a strongside OLB bandwagon, though.
I compared them because they play the same position and I think that Bell can get some serious respect after this year.
I wouldn't take Spikes before the 5th round. He can't run. He's a dirty player. He has no heart and **** the gators. But 5th round...yeah.
Not liking the Gators because of a college rivalry is not really an even halfway good reason to consider in drafting a player.
Which is why it was the last reason I gave. Don't dismiss the argument completely simply because I hate a hatred for the Gators. The kid can't get under 5.0 in the 40 and you're talking about brining him in as an OLB in a system where the bulk of the pass rush comes from the OLBs. Doesn't make sense. Also, there's the character issues. The man tried to poke another players eyes out. Anyone who saw that replay and says it was unintentional is just trying to defend the Gators. And what's worse is he showed no remorse until Urban Meyer basically told him he should. He has no heart, in the few games that Florida lost in his time there, when they were losing he gave up. You could clearly see it in the SEC championship game. He's not a good player and not a guy I would want to invest any sort of high draft pick in, college team be damned.
Half of this stuff is "I don't like the Gators" with a flimsy veil over it. The reality is, eye gouging stuff happens. Go look at the response of virtually every player ever asked about what goes on in a pile. As for his speed, he's not likely to become an elite edge rusher, but there are plenty of guys who can functionally play on the edge with that kind of foot speed, and he could do the "dirty work" very well. He'd essentially be asked to be Mario Haggan here.
Here's the thing- I don't. I'm not a Gators fan, I don't watch college football beyond a detached, entertainment and draft aspect.
By the way, if you scroll back through the Draft Forum you can find a Sun Sentinel Blog that illustrates all of this to you.
By the way, I don't know why we'd want a guy who runs a 5.00 40 yard dash to cover anyone at SOLB. Why draft someone when we can simply ask Crowder to do the same thing for us? Crowder may be faster over the long run.
You've probably watched more Broncos film than I have(Still haven't gotten around to that unfortunately), but what's the complexity of the coverage? He'd likely be in coverage more often than your average OLB, but I'm not sure it's particularly more complex than the normal chuck and short zone/flats kinda thing from what I've seen. Mario Haggan also apparently ran a 4.88 here, and he's listed as nearly 20 pounds heavier now too.
He will be needed to step forward on a fake blitz - even a few steps and then turn and run and cover the man going down the field. This is not a buzz zone so that everyone is clear (Pate and I have had running conversations on things so we may talk a certain level taking things for granted) it is like having a regular 230lbs LB running with Te's and backs. Only we need someone who can run well enough to carry these players down the field a ways. Nolan also brings safeties, and needs LB who can drop quickly, if not all the way back. Crowder IMO is going to have to step up at a ridiculous rate to play coverage. If he inside, he will have a simple read most times, but he will also have more complex turning and running after faking blitzes or taking steps to cover a bak then to fall back into the middle.
Yeah, but isn't the fake blitz something that is typically going to be the Nickel package part of the position, moreso than the base 3-4 package? I'd tend to think Spikes at SOLB wouldn't really so much be filling the other role. I'd tend to think Crowder is going to be pulled either way in passing situations, and that it'll be Karlos Dansby and Yeremiah Bell(Or another coverage specialist) as the passing situation combination.
