Truly Fantastic Article

BGN linked to this last night, but it's such a good article it's worth a follow-up post:  Defensive masterminds have turned up heat on NFL offenses.

Really deep.  Really good.  This is a must read.

Of course, there are a couple of points I'd nitpick on.  Jim Johnson certainly wouldn't agree that there's anything inherently less safe about his pressure packages.  A big point of emphasis for him is just how sound they are.  It just looks a little more reckless because he's middle of the pack (15th) in terms of bringing five guys, but way up near the top (3rd and 2nd) in bringing 6+ or 7+.  (All stats from PFP.)

And it's not just that the Tampa-2 "demands" that almost all the pressure comes from the front four.  There are also differences in responsibility.  JJ's system requires the line to be sound against both the run and the pass.  The Tampa-2 linemen basically only play the run if it comes up on their way to the quarterback. 

But it's still a really, really good read.  And I'd especially like to hear more about how JJ tries to get offenses "[d]oubting where the Mike (middle linebacker) is so they are unsure how to read his defense."  That's something we saw last year when Brady was mic'ed up for the game and he kept saying things like "24 [Sheldon Brown] is the MIKE."  Then it turns out he wasn't and the protection was off.

If anyone's got a link to an even deeper discussion of that stuff, I'd love to see it.

Comments

[BFH]

Just want to point out something that struck me in that article:

"... Johnson's as-yet-unnamed all-out blitzkriegs backed by aggressive man-to-man coverages remain unchanged."

The last couple of years it's been difficult to tell at times whether the blitz's have been backed my man or a soft "don't get beat deep" zone. I thought several times last year that the Eagles DB's (Lito and Hanson, especially) were giving wide receivers A LOT more room than they used to.

With Lito, it was likely the injuries and Hanson perhaps a confidence problem that might now be gone. Will James never had a problem getting up on someone, but he was so bad at it and slow the receiver never had any problem getting open.

It will really be nice to have some aggressiveness and attitude back with these guys.

[cavortingEagle]

"backed by aggressive man-to-man coverages"
That's a line that bugged me too. I believe I got a bit of crap for "advocating" a "2-5" a while back, but gimmicky or not JJ does drop his ends into coverage a fair bit. That's what makes players like Gocong (a _LB_/DE) and Cole (a _DE_/LB) so valuable.

I think I heard Tommy Lawlor in Jason's recent interview saying that Bryan Smith was also dropping into coverage (and looking good at it) on zone blitzes. For JJ's scheme it seems that being a "Hybrid" pays for the guys on the outside.

[Tracer Bullet]

Johnson's defense needs a name. "Green Swarm" is evocative, but it sounds like the nickname of a Division II college in Colorado.

I rather like "The 40 Thieves Defense" because it captures the idea that pressure can make the QB think there's more players on defense and any one of them could create a turnover. Sadly, I just made it up and I doubt it would catch on.

How about the "Hydra Defense"? A big, green, multi-headed monster. Plus, this could lead to fans dressing like Marvel Comics villains and screaming, "Hail Hydra!" during games.

[Coray S]

I liked the simplicity of the "Philadelphia blitz" or "Philly blitz" that the author mentioned in the NFL.com column. Evokes memories of dawkins, considine and brown all crashing in from the corner while end are backpedaling and the MLB of the week is flying to the sideline. LOVE IT!

How about "The Philadelphia Shuffle"?

[Adam]

Blitzadelphia.