But first, a note: I will be in Cleveland: actually between Ridge and State Roads on Brook Park, on sunday. Anyone who reads this can give me a call or something. Otherwise I'll deliver on tuesday and boogie. Dammit.
Now: Jeremy Stoltz is probably my single best source on the nuts and bolts of football. He breaks down stuff like zone-blocking, the Tampa-2, and the 46 defense for me, and is one of the reasons I know so much more about all this stuff than you guys.
Yeah, that's right. And Grossi, too. Dipsticks.
Anyway, thanks to Jeremy I know that the 46 was actually named for Doug Plank: his jersey number. Plank was Buddy Ryan's favorite safety, and a key to his 46.
The 46 deploys--very loosely defined--four down linemen. These are a nose tackle, in the center's face, two DE's head-up on the GUARDS, and an edge-rusher, 2-3 yards outside the left tackle. I say "loosely", because in that position, it's irrelevant whether this player is standing or in a 3-point stance. But these four players are all right on the line.
Two outside linebackers set up one or two yards off the line of scrimmage: both on the strong side--opposite the edge-rusher. The tight end and right tackle have to go through space to reach them.
Then there is of course the Mike Singletary; a middle linebacker. Here, there is a true strong safety, who lines up within five yards of the line of scrimmage and is a run-stopper. This is a "stacked", eight-man front.
Two other critical components are two press/man coverage cornerbacks--these guys cannot play zone here. ...And finally, a true center-fielding free safety.
The Ravens often deploy a 46, making the most of Ray Lewis and their own pro-bowl safety.
As you can imagine, this is a nightmare to run against. You can't really get around it. The middle is clogged but good. It's not even possible to double-team the nose-tackle, as both guards are engaged. Nor can the tackles really help the guards, either, as on one side there's the edge-rusher, and on the other TWO outside linebackers to contend with. And you can forget about getting a hat on the middle linebacker and the strong safety, see?
It generates tremendous pressure on the QB, as it's designed to collapse the pocket. The four "linemen" always attack--though the three in the middle are two-gapping initially--but usually one, two, three, or even four of the other guys will also blitze.
The 46 started getting picked apart by the West Coast offense. The quick shallow timing patterns got behind the aggressive front and under the single safety, and breaks to the inside make press coverage a lot tougher. Properly executed, a west coast offense will deliver 5-12 yard passes successfully with just a couple feet of separation--and before the QB can be smothered.
So the 46 can't always be used nowadays. Depends on the bad guy's offense, and also the situation. If it's used exclusively, it will get beat.
For the 2007 Browns, it's definitely an option for certain situations, and this is why:
Wimbley stays where he is, and does what he does, unless Peek is used on that side, and Wimbley as one of the guys on the strong side. The other guy on the strong side could be either Leon Williams or Chaun Thompson, because both of these guys can cover most tight ends, or blitze, or stop the run.
A. Davis, Jackson, or Williams are the MLB. Mike Singletary was smaller than Jackson, by the way. As I mentioned, this front makes it just about impossible to get a hat on this guy, so size is secondary: The most important thing is quick diagnosis, range, and aggression. Poole or Hamilton could be Doug Plank--the enforcer-safety.
I should have mentioned (and by the way, Jeremy didn't but I figured it out blush-blush): The safety is there for speed. He's centrally located, so can break left or right to intercept a run, and a running back can't really get around him. When he blitzes, he often comes clean, and gets in faster than anyone else can. Ditto if he sees it's a run. He can also drop and cover the middle zone.
Another factor here is that the center is always overmatched. He's being hit before he gets his right hand up--naturally usually from the right side. He's being driven into and bull-rushed hard on every play, and as I said the guards can't help him.
Who would be the nose tackle? OSHINOWO. Shawn Smith is a good run-stuffer and can bull-rush--he'd do okay, and I'm not knocking him. Then J'Von Parker has great potential, and could emerge as something special (not predicting it--just telling you it's possible). Oshi is about maxed out at 305 lbs., but, as we saw in his brief appearances last season, is an explosive penetrator. Here, he's not double-teamed, and this changes everything. He is the best guy we have to nail the center fast and hard and leverage him back on his heels.
The DE's, lined up on the guards? Robaire Smith and Rodney Fraserfield! Single-teams--fast and hard--then shed and tackle. These are the guys to do that, and they have pursuit-speed. They are disruptors, like Oshi. This is an attack defense. That's the whole idea. Both these guys are not only quick off the ball, but good in pursuit (which Oshi aint). Also, they can STUNT, and hit gaps as a nasty surprise.
Zone-blitzes could also be used here, too. Smith or Fraser can drop off to cover a short zone. Ryan's 46 didn't do this--it's my own humble new addition. This could break up some of the quick-timing, west coastal stuff in use nowadays. Basicly, it's just to confuse the offense in this case.
Who would be the free safety? Well, Sean Jones should be ready to do this now, but we also have a sleeper: Mike Adams is a true free saftey; ie a cornerback/safety cross who excells in coverage and has great instincts. He might actually be even better than Jones for this particular alignment.
What makes this really do-able? Jason Wright. With Bodden, this gives us two press-coverage guys. (These are imperative. With eight guys in the box, there can be no help for them, and if their guy gets by them, the only hope is the free safety. The whole idea is to smash the QB before a reciever gets loose--within 4-5 seconds. Against a zone, the QB will just throw it right away, while the CB is backpedalling upfield.)
But nobody can get behind Wright. He is one of the fastest dudes in the NFL. And man aint rocket science. He can do it immediately.
A 3 or 4-wide set messes this scheme up, of course, which is another reason it couldn't be a base defense. There are different types of nickel and dime defenses which could be used and still incorporate some of the same principles. If the slot guy is a big tall possession guy, then Hamilton or Poole is in his face, jamming him. Or maybe Minter, or even Holly for a smaller guy, with the other players bouncing him around some, too. Still eight in the box, see?
As it stands, the Browns have a lot more depth than they have had, and players will be rotated more. I mentioned all the different options at most of the non-cornerback positions, and the Browns would, more often than not, have the appropriate personnel on the field at any given time vs. a 2-wide offense.
Grantham is a smart guy. Watch for this. And when you see it, remember making sure not to read this.
Offensively, I really like what Chud told Grossi. Clean slate. Adapt system to personnel. Let QB's change plays if they prove capable of it. Already sounds like a genius to me! (Depressing, aint it?)
And in that case, watch out for Rodney Harrisonfield, man! He is tailor-made for a West-Coast type scheme! He has PROVEN that he can run both inside and outside, but the real problem for bad guys will be trying to cover him with linebackers. CAN'T BE DONE!
No, not an every-down back (I don't think). He's aspiring to just be an adequate blocker this season. If we're lucky, the pumped-up version can be like Jamal White, who would cut their legs out from under them. And, while there are a lot of little guys who were studs, Harrison's build is different, this is the AFC North, and he could break down. (We can hope for more, though, and ackowlege that it's possible.)
People keep repeating that Lewis is "an old 27", as if that says it all. It's true that he's been dinged up, and had a lot of carries. More than Earl Campbell, maybe (I don't know). But the bone-spurs that he's been trying to run with are gone now, and it appears that he'll often have a lead blocker again, and at least a lot of two-tight end sets to help him out, and (oh yeah) zone-blockers and his choice of places to go downhill into.
His declining stats are indeed a bad sign, I admit, and I really doubt he'll come roaring back as the player he was three years ago. However, I don't believe that Chud expects 30 carries a game out of him.
I think that Harrison and, yes, Wright, will spell him as change-of-pace guys. Lewis will be off the field on thirds and longs, and many second-and-longs, because he's not a very good reciever, and isn't expected to make big plays. Harrison is the home-run hitter here, and Wright is...well he can make a little into a lot sometimes. And if you try to stop either of them the way you've been stopping Lewis, you're going to be eating turf with cleat-marks up your spine.
By the way, believe it or not, "change-of-pace" is not just an expression. Regardless of how smart they are, and how well-prepared they think they are to change their tactics, defenders to get habituated, and will make critical mistakes when you go from a human wrecking ball to a waterbug, or vice-versa. It really messes them up. And this is why, so often, you see one guy getting stuffed, and then another guy nobody ever heard of tearing the same defense a new one.
This will be backfield-by-committee. Jamal's just the chairman.
Okbye.
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