Help me understand, please.

[6Lombardis]

I watch a lot of football including every steeler snap. Help me understand what other teams do with their ILBs that we don’t or visa versa. Do other teams ask their linebackers to cover as much as we do? Are their players able to do so? Does every team struggle the same way we do with this coverage delema? Do we simply not have the talent (whether LB or Safety) to do a better strategy against the passing attacks we’ve seen over the last few weeks??

 

[strat68]

Lack of talent.

 

[wig]

Tomlin and Butler generally employ 2 down linemen. They leave the other 5 of the front seven to mask what their doing in terms of their rush or coverage responsibilities. Unfortunately, this means only 2 guys get a straight on, immediate power rush at the defense. The Offensive line has time to react to the other fellows on the defensive line that are going to engage them. With only 2 clear defensive linemen, it is painfully easy to identify, isolate and neutralize them.

This defensive formation by its nature allows the offensive line to dictate engagement. If it's a run play, the offensive linemen have time to blast off the ball and engage a defender before that defender can get into a low, blocking/shedding stance. If it's a pass play, the offensive lineman has time to identify who's blitzing and who's dropping into coverage, allowing them to slide and cover as necessary.

The one strength of Tomtler's scheme is that the QB has a harder time with pre-snap reads, assuming the defense doesn't give too much away, or they don't get tricked into giving their responsibilities away with a hard count.

Ultimately, the 2 down lineman thing is failing in the current pass-happy NFL because it doesn't force the offensive line to adapt to the defender, rather it does the opposite.

 

[MT~Forged]

I am waiting for the upgrade to the 1-4-6 scheme, that should be even better.

 

[GMC]

Ideally they're covering the short middle and flats, not manning up against #1 wrs. Talent is an issue as Shazier's speed was able to mask some of the scheme issues. They have speed on the roster both inside and outside, but they aren't playing any of the young guys. I understand Bostic and Fort's experience, but they don't have the athleticism to do what's being asked of them in this defensive scheme.

 

[Coryea]

The good defenses seem to rarely use two ilbs, they use 4 Dlinemen primarily, 1 or 2 LBs and 5 or 6 DBs depending on how many LBs.

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[Vader]

Ideally they're covering the short middle and flats, not manning up against #1 wrs. Talent is an issue as Shazier's speed was able to mask some of the scheme issues. They have speed on the roster both inside and outside, but they aren't playing any of the young guys. I understand Bostic and Fort's experience, but they don't have the athleticism to do what's being asked of them in this defensive scheme.

I don't remember Shazier being lined up on anyone's #1 WR. He tried to cover TEs and RBs. Unless they were playing zone then he took an area like everybody does in a zone. I don't believe they were doing this Lb vs. WR **** last year... but they may have done it some but not to the extent that you see it now.