Originally posted by thl408:
I didn't know anything about Mangini's scheme when he was named DC. I went off his history of learning under Belichick as defensive backs coach. The article Phoenix posted shows how Belichick and Sabean gave birth to pattern matching. So I connected the dots and thought Mangini would keep the pattern match scheme. Pretty much the only thing he kept from the previous scheme is the base 3-4 front.
Another good link where Saban talks further about how pattern matching came about, starting with back when he was in Cleveland.
At the time, Saban and Belichick most preferred running a Cover 3 defense, which meant there were three defenders playing zones downfield. But the Steelers had consistently shredded it by running four receivers deep against those three defenders, meaning one of them would always be open. Saban continued,
"So because we could not defend this, we could not play 3 deep, so when you can't play zone, what do you do next? You play Man (cover 1), but if their mens are better than your mens, you can't play cover 1. "We got to where we couldn't run cover 1 - So now we can't play an 8 man front. The 1994 Browns went 13-5 , we lost to Steelers 3 times, lost 5 games total (twice in the regular season, once in the playoffs). We gave up the 5th fewest points in the history of the NFL, and lost to Steelers because we could not play 8-man fronts to stop the run because they would wear us out throwing it."
"We came up with this concept; how we can play cover 1 and cover 3 at the same time, so we can do both these things and one thing would complement the other. We came up with the concept 'rip/liz match.'"
Unlike a traditional zone defense, where a defender drops to a spot and reacts to any receiver that enters that area, Saban's pattern matching scheme is akin to a matchup zone in basketball. For those that aren't familiar with that hardwood concept, it simply means a defender defends their man with the technique of man-to-man coverage until he crosses with another receiver, at which time the defenders simply trade responsibilities instead of following the whole way.
This can often be very confusing for a quarterback, as the defense appears to be playing man coverage, which would open up certain patterns such as crossing routes or deep, vertical streaks like the routes Saban mentioned the Steelers ran.
The benefit for Saban and Alabama is that they can easily adapt it to whatever the offense throws their way. The defensive back is only dropping to play man coverage if the receiver takes off vertically. If the receivers cross though, they drop to play a zone, meaning their eyes are in the backfield.
By rotating a safety to the strength of the formation into the box, Saban has also now created an eight man box where the defense isn't turning their backs to the line of scrimmage in coverage against a running play, meaning they're much better prepared to stop the run.
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2014/12/46950/film-study-nick-sabans-pattern-matching-pass-defense
[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on Sep 29, 2015 at 12:57 PM ]
