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Patriots X and O’s interview with @DraftableXnOs

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Last week I noticed a few tweets from @DraftableXnOs breaking down the Patriots defensive scheme with the kind of depth that was beyond my own observations. I found it reassuring that he was coming to some of the same conclusions that my uneducated eyes had come to on their own, mainly that while the LBs were in an Under alignments, the Defensive Linemen were in Over alignments. I wanted to learn more so a few direct messages later and I had an email interview going with the man behind @DraftableXnOs, Alen Dumonjic.

Below you’ll find some really interesting nuggest from Alen who has long been a fan of BB and is well versed in the schemes that the Patriots have run (even though he’s a Dolphins fan). It’s clear that his understanding of football X and Os far exceed my own so after he graciously answered my unending stream of questions I feel that I have an even better grasp of the Patriots and BB’s overall philosophy.

Mike D: As someone who understands the schemes that the Patriots have been running for a while now, is there any real significance to this 4-3 look we’ve seen here at camp and in the preseason?

Dumonjic: Depends on what they do. Its nothing new I would say, based off of their teachings and what they’ve done over the years, but it could be important depending on what they do coverage wise and run fits wise this year. They are more than likely going to need some more help against the run game because the SLB position isn’t really a strong spot for them at the moment (keywords there), but it could change. Two things about defense in the NFL is despite it supposedly being a passing league, you still need to stop the run, and the number one coverage in the NFL is still Man-Free (Cover 1).

The Patriots goal in their defense is always to have coverage flexibility. That means they try to find various ways to defend the gaps presented by the offense and still try to get the defensive backfield to do their jobs. Its why they place a premium on cornerbacks that can run and have man skills. The more man skills, the more guys you can use in the box. They play over 30 coverages every year. In a clinic that Belichick gave, he stated they played 37 coverages and 17 different fronts, so its clear they try to find different ways to defend the gaps presented by the offense while having enough guys in the defensive backfield.

They’ve always played 3-4 fronts but they’ve often played 4-3 concepts out of them. They did this last year some and a lot in ‘09. Tully Banta-Cain was really a ghost 5 technique and I can’t recall who the SAM was but he played quite a bit of coverage. This year, it seems that they are going to more four down lineman with the mixes of the Over and Under fronts. They’re 2 gapping some with the two interior DL and this has become pretty common in the league with 40 fronts because it can help defeat some zone blocking OLs. You don’t really give them a pure angle to attack you at. I think that we’ll see more 4-3 concepts this year though, even out of the 3-4 front because they can slide in and out of it so easily.

Mike D: Do you think they’re abandoning the 3-4 entirely?

Dumonjic: I don’t think they are necessarily abandoning it but I do think they will be using more 4 man fronts. The reason is because of the lack of a market for stand up pass rushers. Bill Belichick does not like developing pass rushers it seems like, instead he plunges into the free agent market to get one. The reason he doesn’t seem to like to develop pass rushers (from 3 point stance to 2 point stance) is because it is easier to teach them what they already know from college. If you look at the defensive end picks the last five years in the first two rounds, with the exception of the top 5 picks, the rushers have had issues translating to the stand up role, so I think that played a role. Plus, now you’ve got everyone using hybrid defenses (even the Bucs do this now), shifting to 3-4 so that requires certain personnel so the market for those players becomes thinner.

Mike D: We’ve gone into a lot of discussion about 2-gapping vs. 1-gapping here on the blog, and you noted that the Pats were using both for their defensive linemen against the Jags. Could you expand on those techiniques a little more?

Dumonjic: One thing Belichick lives by is his gapping principles. If he’s one gapping, he says you have to get the secondary involved as a force player because you need to account for all the gaps presented by the offense. Now if you’re two gapping, you don’t have to get the secondary involved because you have a guy accounting for two gaps. The latter sounds great but you have to find a guy who can do that. He’s often been a guy to mix gap principles throughout the DL on any given play. He combo-gaps on the DL and we saw some of that during the game against Jacksonville. He two gapped his two interior DL at times, other times only one DL on the interior.

Mike D: How do you see the Patriots using Wilfork, Haynesworth and the rest of the defensive linemen within the context of this 4-3 formation?

Dumonjic: Well I think you don’t really have a choice of Wilfork at any spot other than 1 technique. We could see him at 5 technique again but I think it will be on the strong side in certain situations. Its possible they use him that way like they did last year at times. Haynesworth is going to moved around all along the OL. In Tennessee, he played 1 technique, 3 technique, and weakside 5 technique on pass downs so it will be interesting with him. What’s even more interesting is when a guy like Shaun Ellis gets involved because hes played both 5 techniques, he’s stood up and he’s played 3 technique. This gives them a lot of flexibility and versatility and most importantly, allows them to replace players at positions. The #1 thing Belichick always seeks is replaceable players. He likes plug and play guys, as you know.

Thanks to Alen for a some great, insightful stuff. We hope to have lots more from him this season. If you’re not following him @DraftableXnOs I suggest you do so now.

New England Patriots Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 Defense Essentials

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It was a fun, and hopefully insightful, 3-4 Defense Extravaganza Week and we wanted to close it out with just some select nuggets from all the posts that best illustrate what you need to know about the base defense the Patriots run.

Below is a mashup of everything from this past week, so if you missed any of them, read what follows for the essentials, which I tried to meld into one coherent post.

Happy Weekend/Rapture!

When people think of the 3-4, they associate it with Pittsburgh’s Zone Blitzing scheme. Pittsburgh’s Zone Blitz 3-4 is just one of three versions of this defense. The other two versions of this defense that are used much more than the Zone Blitz are the Phillips 3-4 and the Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 [which the Patriots run]. Not all 3-4 defenses are created equal, nor are the players that play in these systems.

Despite the fact that the Bullough can be confusing, the system relies on a lot on “bend; don’t break” thinking.  The system will often give up short yards in the run, and blitzes are not common.  The idea is that the longer the offense is on the clock, the longer it takes them to score, and the more plays the offense risks an interception, fumble, or a fourth down.

The key to the success of Belichick’s style is flexibility of personnel. To be able to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 to a dime defense and all points in between requires versatility at nearly every position. Players have to be able to run and cover and hit. Linemen have to be strong enough to hold the point in the 3-4, but get upfield in a 4-3. Defensive backs have to be very good in zone coverage but competent in man coverage when needed. It requires special skills, but also an above-average football IQ. Compared with the base Dungy-Kiffin scheme, which probably started with as little as three or four fronts and a couple of zone coverages, Belichick’s hybrid is a maze meant to confuse and confound.

Nick Saban: Our philosophy on first and second down is to stop the run and play good zone pass defense. We will occasionally play man-to-man and blitz in this situation. On third down, we will primarily play man-to-man and mix-in some zone and blitzes. We will rush four or more players versus the pass about ninety-percent of the time.

“In all situations, we will defend the inside or middle of the field first – defend inside to outside. Against the run, we will not allow the ball to be run inside. We want to force the ball outside. Against the pass, we will not allow the ball to be thrown deep down the middle or inside. We want to force the ball to be thrown short and/or outside.

“… Finally, our job is to take the ball away from the opponents’ offense and score or set up good field position for our offense. We must knock the ball loose, force mistakes, and cause turnovers. Turnovers and making big plays win games. We will be alert and aggressive and take advantage of every opportunity to come up with the ball … . The trademark of our defense will be effort, toughness, and no mental mistakes regarding score or situation in any game.”

Pass Rush

  • Must collapse the pocket to get at depth of QB.
  • Must have push up the middle – don’t let QB step up in pocket.
  • Pass Rusher behind QB – worst position in football.
  • Pass rush helps the coverage more than having four Champ Baileys will do.

Run Defense – set the edge – turn the ball back inside toward pursuit.

  • Don’t just run upfield, attack at correct angle. 
  • Don’t let the ball outside for uncontested yardage.
  • Force Inside, shed block and get in on tackle. Push back the  LOS.
  • Must teach players how to defeat blocks.
  • Wildcat – Offense will always out-gap you.  Somebody must two-gap.
  • Backside of D – still want to set edge for Reverse, Cutback, and Misdirection.
  • Emphasis is on setting the edge every week
  • Tackling – don’t leave your feet – run thru the RB.
  • Defense must fit together to build a wall to force indecision in the running backs mind.
  • Everybody pushes east and west, not north and south.

Pass Defense – must jam WRs so they don’t just run down field uncontested. 

  • Get on WRs quickly – don’t give them any space.
  • Don’t let them inside – keep good inside leverage.
  • Pass Defense – DBs – job #1 – defend the deep ball.

ESPN: Belichick re-defining the linebacker position

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ESPN: Belichick re-defining the linebacker position

This article is a definite must-read, but it’s back from September 2005 when the Patriots were coming off their 3rd Super Bowl in four years and everything was just rainbows and roses.

This is the best section…

Belichick’s 3-4 scheme is the next step in this evolution. The Steelers’ 3-4 zone blitz was defensive-line oriented and redefined what defensive linemen could do. The Patriots’ 3-4 scheme is linebacker-oriented and is similarly breaking the mold for linebackers.

Belichick recognized two problems with a defensive-line oriented zone blitz scheme. First, even though you can drop the nose tackle into the short zone, it’s not likely he’ll be agile enough at 300 or so pounds to be adept in coverage. Second, to run the scheme properly, a team must find very athletic defensive ends who not only can play the run and rush the passer but also can drop into coverage. Such players are rare.

The Patriots’ solution to the first problem was fairly simple. Instead of dropping oversized nose tackles into coverage, they opted to give that assignment to the 3-4 inside linebacker. Known as “pluggers,” these are bigger linebackers whose main purpose is to stuff the run, but they can defend the pass better than nose tackles. On passing downs, about the only time they’d need a nose tackle to drop into coverage, the Patriots replace the lineman with a plugger linebacker lined up as a nose tackle. If the opponent runs the ball, the plugger is big enough to help stop it. If the opponent passes, he’s much better equipped to drop back.

New England’s solution to the second problem was, in hindsight, fairly obvious, but it didn’t seem so at the time. In 1996, New England drafted defensive lineman Tedy Bruschi out of Arizona. At 250 pounds, Bruschi was a bit small to play defensive end and was struggling, so Belichick and his staff decided to teach Bruschi to play linebacker. His success as a rush linebacker in the 3-4 zone blitz scheme led to an epiphany of sorts. The Patriots realized they could draft undersized defensive linemen and convert them into linebackers. In doing so, they oriented their zone blitz scheme around linebackers rather than defensive linemen. This subtle and seemingly small change had several advantages.

Football University: The 3-4 Defense

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Football University: The 3-4 Defense

We’re finishing off our week of the 3-4 defense strong with this great article with pretty pictures!

“You build it from the inside out,” Collier said. “The nose tackle and the inside linebackers, those are three guys that are very important. But when you go through it, the nose tackle is probably the single-most important guy.”

What do you want from your nose tackle? 

“He has to hold it all together and make it so the guards can’t get out on the inside linebackers. Let me put it this way – the nose tackle can make the inside linebackers look pretty good, and if your inside linebackers look pretty good, you’re going to play pretty good defense.”

CoachHoover: Notes on Belichick Coaches Clinic

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CoachHoover: Notes on Belichick Coaches Clinic

Another great find! Here are the notes taken by a coach attending a coaching clinic by BB. Some great stuff, but since we’re on a defense schemology week we’re only posting the notes from that side of the ball. Note the very last note at the bottom…

Defense

  •        Just because you have 11 guys wearing the same-colored jersey doesn’t mean you are a coordinated unit.

Pass Defense – must collision WRs so they don’t just run down field uncontested. 

  •         Get on WRs quickly – don’t give them any space.
  •        Don’t let them inside – keep good inside leverage.
  •        He showed his team cut-ups of Arizona’s WRs running downfield uncontested to reinforce what NOT to do.  Then show examples of what you do want to do.
  •        Pass Defense – DBs – job #1 – defend the deep ball.

Run Defense – set the edge – turn the ball back inside toward pursuit.

  •        Don’t just run upfield – must attack at correct angle. 
  •        Don’t let the ball outside for uncontested yardage.
  •        Force player – once you force it inside, shed block and get in on tackle.  You want to push back the  LOS.
  •        Must teach players how to defeat blocks.
  •        QB as runner – Offense will always out-gap you.  Somebody must be a two-gap player.
  •        Backside of Defense – still want to set the edge for Reverse, Cutback, and Misdirection.
  •       Every week – emphasis is on setting the edge.
  •      Tackling – don’t leave your feet – run thru the RB.

Pass Rush – worst place to be is behind the QB.

  •      Must collapse the pocket to get at depth of QB.
  •       Must have push up the middle – don’t let QB step up in pocket.
  •       Michael Vick – obviously would play differently.
  •       Pass Rusher behind QB – worst position in football that you can be in.
  •       Pass rush helps the coverage more than having four Champ Baileys will do.

NYT: Guide to NFL Defenses

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NYT: Guide to NFL Defenses

Another day, another article with insight into the 3-4 defense. Great stuff and really explains a lot in terms of why it’s so hard to find OLBs that could fit the Pats system.

The key to the success of Belichick’s style is flexibility of personnel. To be able to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 to a dime defense and all points in between requires versatility at nearly every position. Players have to be able to run and cover and hit. Linemen have to be strong enough to hold the point in the 3-4, but get upfield in a 4-3. Defensive backs have to be very good in zone coverage but competent in man coverage when needed. It requires special skills, but also an above-average football IQ. Compared with the base Dungy-Kiffin scheme, which probably started with as little as three or four fronts and a couple of zone coverages, Belichick’s hybrid is a maze meant to confuse and confound.

Another important difference in Belichick’s defense is philosophical rather than playbook-oriented. Most coordinators identify the weaknesses of an upcoming opponent and game-plan to take advantage. Belichick specifically seeks to take away the strength of an offense, forcing it to operate out of its comfort zone. In a league where you may face a power offense one week and a spread offense the next, the versatility of the multiple front playbook is the only way to pull off such a philosophy.