Originally posted by SLCNiner:
Is there any chance John Lynch can force Steve Wilks to use DeMeco Ryans playbook? Would he even know how to?
I think this is more a style change then a playbook change.
I think it was Phoenix that said something along the lines of get use to "gap integrity" being the buzz word when things fail....it would be something we would hear a ton of this year.....and....man....we have gap issues for sure.
The coverage is a complete 180 of what we have done in the last 2 years. It is a different style. I know Wilks has been lauded for "keeping what we do right" but we all have eyes can see what is going on.
It use to be our zone guys would hold post snap as long as possible and play what is in front of them. So LBers would hand off side to side with each other, then to the secondary as plays went deeper. Once it was handed off they played the passing lanes underneath. That is commonly referred to as defending grass.
Two major advantages....it keep the eyes on the QB and run game as defenders waited for the play to develop. The longer they could hold in place, the longer it takes the other teams QB to figure out the coverage. If it takes half a second or a second for the QB to figure out what coverage he is throwing into that is time he lost against our pass rush. The second real advantage is less backs are turned to the QB, and this team can swarm to the ball once the ball is thrown or ran.
Wilks uses a pattern match low shoulder coverage along with a lot of man to man (at least here). So even when we run zone it is darn near the same as man to man. We now have defenders crossing the field chasing offensive players....that let's the offense dictate where and when our defenders are at on the field. Basically....you can scheme someone open. Low shoulder coverage basically dictates when a WR dips his shoulder on a cut, the defender is free to "jump" that rout and cross the face of receiver. The last two weeks we have had interceptions from our secondary cutting infront of the receiver once his low shoulder dips. The down side is you can get killed from double moves. Wilks covers players, not grass. He was very vocal about not defending grass....
Bottom line, we are being dictated too on defense. The other teams offense is making our defenders go where they want them to go, when they want them to go there. We are getting gashed by misdirection and double moves.
It would be hard to ask for more talent on defense, you have the pass rushers at all 4 spots on the line, you have rangy LBers that can cover, and run support...you have a solid cover CB you don't have to hide and you have a playmaker at safety. All this talent and the defense simply is not working.
