Now this is what everyone should be talking about. The 14 threads about Geno and Sanchez is getting old and it's nice to see an informative thread about other guys on this team. Looking forward to this defense. Lot of potential, by midseason they could be a real solid unit out there.
stupid question. Can someone explain "3 gap" "5 gap" etc., or point to a link that does so? & is that the same as "3 technique", etc?
Unsure what you mean by the numbers attributed to gaps. In my very limited experience the gaps are referred to by letters working out the width of the field depending on alignment with the A gap being either side of the centre. However when refering to 3, 5 whatever technique my understanding is that relates to where a d-linemen positions themselves relative to centre guard etc and to which side they shade. link http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2011/4...gy-the-three-technique-and-the-five-technique In a short series of posts, I'll explain what some of this terminology means. In this post, I'll cover the "3-technique" and the "5-technique" defensive linemen. Isn't a technique just an approach or process used to accomplish something? Normally, but not in this sense of the term. A defensive lineman's technique is simply where he lines up in a given defense.The "techniques" are numbered from the inside of the line out (mostly***). The numbers refer to a spot where the center of the defensive lineman's body ends up. Lining up at a "zero technique" means the DL lines up right over the Center's nose. Moving outward, the even numbers mean lining up directly over an offensive lineman, so 2 is right over the guard, 4 over the tackle, and 6 over the tight end. The odd numbers mean a DL lines up on the outside shoulder of a lineman. A 1-technique means lining up just to one side of the center, 3 technique on the outside shoulder of a guard, and 5 technique on the outside shoulder of a tackle. Lining up on the outside shoulder of the tight end is actually a 9 technique, and the inside shoulder of the TE is a 7 technique. Here is a diagram (h/t Trojan Football Analysis): Dtechniquealignments_medium This is a little confusing as it not only breaks a pattern but also puts the 7 technique inside the 6 technique. Why is it this way? No one is really sure. To quote Paul Johnson, head coach at Georgia Tech: No one knows why that is the case but Coach (Bear) Bryant numbered it that way and no one has the guts to change it. So, as you can see a 3 technique is a defensive lineman who typically lines up on the outside shoulder of a guard. A 5 technique is a defensive lineman who typically lines up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. But when you read that a guy is a "best fit as a 3 technique" the term brings a bit of baggage with it--it is being used to try to explain what the player is good at doing from this alignment and what teams will ask him to do. After all, I can line up at the 3-technique in an NFL defense, anyone can. But once the ball is snapped, I'd be snapped too (in half). Of course, in the NFL and even college football, teams will move their players around and use more than one defensive front. For this and other reasons, players won't--and shouldn't--fit cleanly into these "types."
Another - https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/08/12/defensive-line-techniques-the-prototypes/ Defensive Line Techniques – The Prototypes The NFL is as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. At its heart, it’s still a game of blocking and tackling. The offense tries to move the ball 10 yards, and 11 guys on defense try to stop them, and over and over we go. So how do we get from that to Cover 1, 2, 3, quarters, man or zone, stunts, blitzes and A-gaps, 3-technique tackles and nickel backs? Well, coaches get involved. . Coaches have spent the past 80+ years implementing various tweaks to try and put their players in the best situations to succeed. It’s not that often you get your hands on a superstar – the guy so talented he can execute any assignment and can change games from any alignment – so the rest of the time, you’ve got to scheme around the players you do have. . And so we come to defensive line techniques. . Once upon a time, everybody lined up in more or less the same way on the defensive line, usually directly in front of their blocker. It was a case of the better, stronger man wins, like an Oklahoma drill (if you’ve never seen one of these, google it, it’s well worth it!), until coaches started to figure out that shading them one way or other allowed them to have a much easier route into the backfield and they could be proactive, not reactive when it came to playing defense: instead of reading and reacting, they could attack and stop the play before it got going. . Today’s wide range of defensive schemes call for linemen to set up in different positions along the line as their roles and responsibilities are so varied now compared to what they once were. In order to make things simple (or at least simpler … in theory), there was a numbering system devised so everybody knew what everybody else was talking about. You’ll be familiar with some of these numbers, the more common ones have passed into everyday football parlance – most people know all about the “3-technique” defensive tackle. You’ll know a few more of them if you’re heavily into NFL Draft coverage, as Mike Mayock especially likes to toss the monikers around when discussing prospects. Of course, being coaches, they couldn’t just agree on a universal standard, and discrepancies remain between numbering systems, but they’re small differences, and for the purposes of this discussion, we’re going to take the system as follows: Essentially, the numbering begins from head up over the center, and works its way outward in either direction. Marking each point along the way, each numbered alignment is either head-up over an offensive player or shaded to one shoulder or the other, ready to shoot a gap. So let’s talk about the main techniques used in the NFL and point to a prototype player for each, starting from the middle: 0-Technique (3-4 NT) – Vince Wilfork The 0-technique plays head-up over the center, and is responsible for defending both A-gaps (between the guards and the center). His job is to control the center, often draw a double team from a guard, and still be able to prevent the run from going right up the gut. That’s why traditional 3-4 NTs are monsters. Wilfork is listed at 325lbs, but he looks a lot bigger than that, and it’s his sheer size and strength that allows him to anchor inside and control multiple, smaller, blockers at the point of attack. . With various one-gap 3-4 systems around these days, you find players that play the 0 technique position, but instead of playing both A gaps, they’ll shoot one and rely on linebackers behind them to plug the other. These players rely on speed and athleticism off the ball rather than size and bulk. The Cowboys under Wade Phillips were fond of this type of defense and Jay Ratliff was particularly adept at disrupting plays in the backfield from his NT spot. Alternative prototypes: Aubrayo Franklin, Paul Soliai, Sione Pouha 1-Technique (4-3 NT) – Pat Williams The 1-technique does much the same as the 0-technique, except he is shaded over the inside shoulder of one of the guards, and is rarely expected to control two gaps. He is, however, expected to command a double team from the center and guard, which frees up other linemen to be one on one with their blockers. Pat Williams has been the prototype for this position for years. Williams was an immovable force in the middle for the Vikings and required two players to try and shift him from the point of attack, leaving Kevin Williams single-blocked by a guard, and allowing linebackers to run free to the ball and make stops close to the line of scrimmage. A good 1-technique DT can dramatically improve an entire run defense, because he makes several players’ jobs much easier. Alternative prototypes: Haloti Ngata, Antonio Dixon, Colin Cole . 3-Technique (4-3 Pass Rush Tackle) – Tommy Kelly Probably the most well known of the defensive techniques, the 3-technique lines up shaded to the guard’s outside shoulder, ready to shoot the B-gap on his side of the formation. Various line shifts and defensive schemes have been developed with the express purpose of getting the 3-technique the most beneficial situation possible, which is why guys like Warren Sapp, John Randle, Keith Millard and now Ndamukong Suh have been able to rack-up sack numbers. The 4-3 Under front, discussed in our article on Hybrid defenses, was designed to isolate the weak side guard 1-on-1 with the 3-technique (or under) tackle. This player’s job is to penetrate the line of scrimmage through his B-gap and disrupt plays in the backfield, whether pass or run. Unlike the first two tackle positions, the 3-technique relies far more on speed and agility than brute strength. Oakland’s Tommy Kelly is arguably the NFL’s prototype for the position. At 6’6 and 300lbs he is quick, nimble and has the kind of burst off the ball that can make it tough for a blocker to recover position. Alternative prototypes: Kevin Williams, Shaun Rogers, Kyle Williams 5-Technique (3-4 DE) – Ty Warren Much like the 0-technique, the traditional 5-technique is a two-gap player, lining up directly over the offensive tackle, he is responsible for the B and C gaps on his side of the formation. He has to be able to stack tall offensive tackles and shed blocks to make the stop in either of his gaps. Nose tackles rely largely on their mass to control blockers and gaps, but defensive ends from the 5-technique have to be able to handle offensive tackles, who have grown into man mountains over the past decades. This is why part of the scouting profile for these players isn’t just size, but ‘length’ (height and arm length combined). Though he has seen his game time curtailed over the past few seasons through injury and the ever increasing use of sub-packages in nickel and dime situations, the prototype NFL 5-technique player remains former Patriot Ty Warren. Warren is quite possibly the NFL’s best run stuffer from the 3-4 DE spot and he has the prototypical length (6’5) and size (300+lbs) that teams look for. You might ask why I’m not listing Justin Smith, a player we regard as clearly the best 3-4 end in football, in this spot. The answer is because Smith often doesn’t play the traditional 5-technique in the 49ers’ defense, and does much of his damage inside as a DT in their sub packages (in more of a 3-technique role), and often knifes into gaps while shaded slightly to either side of the tackle (in more a 4 or 6-technique). He is certainly well capable of playing the 5, and would be a perfectly reasonable example, but if coaches were drawing up a player for the traditional 2-gap 5-technique role, he would look like Ty Warren. Alternative prototypes: Stephen Bowen, Kendall Langford, Shaun Smith
end of piece 7 & 6-Techniques (4-3 DLE) – Ray Edwards The 7-technique is often used by 4-3 teams on the left side of the defense as the run-stuffing, power end. He lines up in the gap between the RT and the TE (if there is one on that side of the formation) and is just as often playing the 6-technique depending on how the offense lines up. He’s usually responsible for setting the edge in the run game, but is also expected to be able to beat the RT for pressure in the passing game, or force his way inside the TE to do the same. Because they’re often forced to fight through a double team or at least a chip from the TE, and they face the ‘power’ right tackle, the 6 or 7-technique DE is usually a more powerful player than the speed rushing DRE, and almost always a better run defender. Ray Edwards is the prototype for this type of player. Edwards is a strong run defender who has enough pass rushing skills to be able to beat his man with speed or power. There are better run defenders as 4-3 DEs in the NFL, but they just don’t happen to play the 6 or 7-technique much. Other players you could make a case for being the prototype here would be Trent Cole and Terrell Suggs. Both players play on the right side of their formations, but they often line up just outside of the tackle and rely on strength and leverage to be exceptional run defenders. Alternative prototypes: Terrell Suggs, Trent Cole, Juqua Parker 9-Technique (4-3 DRE) – Dwight Freeney The 9-technique is the speed rushing defensive end, and aside from a few defenses in the NFL, is often used more in obvious pass-rushing situations than as an every down alignment, such is the size of the gap left between the DRE and anybody else inside him. The 9-technique lines up well outside the offensive tackle, and outside even the tight end if there is one on that side of the formation. If there isn’t a tight end there, the alignment can look almost comical with the defensive end maintaining width to be able to attack the passer. Dwight Freeney is the NFL’s prototype player from this technique. Freeney has the speed to beat anybody around the edge and the low center of gravity to be able to dip his shoulder and turn the corner on much taller offensive tackles. The width that he aligns at often forces the tackle to panic and over commit to the edge rush, allowing Freeney to spin back inside to a gaping hole. Alternative prototypes: Jason Babin, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Chris Clemons
What happens when the 5-1-5 gets stuck on the field, as in Brady converts the long 3rd down play and then goes into the no-huddle with his spread personnel on the field?
That personnel theoretically should be versatile enough to run a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 nickel. If New England subs, the Jets have to have the opportunity to sub as well. It's up to how much these players can handle on the fly.
then hed be playing right into rex's hands? think of it like a 3-3-5 with two of the linebackers up at the line. rex will trust his guys to go man while those 5 create havoc for the qb, and if he needs some of those guys to cover, they can.
I think it depends very much who is on the field 2 TE's, 2 WRs HB, or 3 WRs HB I TE and whether it is empty or or 1 back shotgun etc. If there are 4 d linemen as opposed to 3 d linemen then coverage for certain players could be problematic however it is definitely feasible with the added threat of a pass rush or disruption to the backfield potentially messing Brady's rhythm
3 gap/5 gap/etc is a hole numbering system used in WCO. Usually, even gap is the gap through the right, and odd gap is the gap through the left. It starts with 0 being center's right side hole - that's right A gap in defensive terminology - and 1 being center's left side hole. Mind you, center is the only exception with two hole designations. After C, every lineman gets one hole designation, starting from RG at 2, and LG at 3. So, when we say 3 gap run, that's usually the left side off-guard run, and 5 gap run is left side off-tackle run. [In WCO, we usually prefer 3 hole and 5 hole instead of gap - probably to avoid confusion.] Of course, it is not the same thing as the 3-technique. That is defensive alignment, starting with 0 at NT, lining up squarely against the center, then 1 technique means the NT lines up on the C, slightly shaded to either side, depending on how the defense aligns. 2T lines up on guard, shaded toward the center [applies to both left/right side] and 3T lines up on the far side of guard's shoulder. Usually, the even technique designation shades the DL toward the center while the odd technique designation shades the DL farther from the center. Also, other than NT, no DL lines up squarely against other OL. So, you have three alignment against the C [1 0 1], then 2/3 against G, 4/5 against T.
I am positive one of the reasons the team is getting athletic DLs is to avoid, you know, that "Aww shit" situation, as in 5-1-5 stuck in no-huddle. In case of Jets running 5-1-5, it is technically 5-1-5, but with Barnes and Coples at the line, and extra safety tweener in the back. If Barnes and Coples are athletic enough, they can pull back to OLB. Depending on how the extra safety plays in the box, Jets have an option to either go with 3-4 or 3-3-5 should Brady extend the drive. [This was one of the reasons I wanted 3-3-5 installed as the base defense, but Rex is getting there in different way, it seems.]
No problem, buddy. I wasted enough time perusing through these playbooks that I probably have no use for anyway. Gotta make that investment useful somehow :grin:
They had no push whatsoever. They never roughed Gabbert update for his last play when they got his arm. Coples had a great pressure on what could have been a FF but it was ruled an incomplete forward pass. The Jags opened up holes all day and Gabb had ample time to throw. The D looked overwhelmed by the no huddle
I'm sure the closer we get to regular season the more we will see, my feeling is that Rex does not want to give too much away. For me what looks the biggest issue on D is the secondary, I think we are going to really struggle there.
If only we had a top notch shutdown corner who we could -scheme around -shut down one side of the field -lockdown opponents #1 -help the run D -make a crucial play when we needed it in a big spot If only, if only
1. This was the Jags offense. Ace Sanders, Holdman, Denard Robinsonand Justin Blackmon scare no one. And they lit us up. 2. Vanilla defense isn't excuse for the horrific tackling and not beating the blocker in front of you. 3. Our 3rd and long D scheme is always the same - bring the house with 7 guys on the line. Gabbert read this easily and found his hot route for first downs. Why can't we disguise 3rd down blitzes??
