Ahh, that's better. My apology's to Blitzology for chaffing their picture. So the character that we're interested in is represented -- unsurprisingly -- by the letter "N". What interests me about this image is that it shows the Nickel back aligned just slightly inside the slot receiver to the right of the picture.
This is something we're seeing more and more of in both College football and the NFL, though the inside alignment of that Nickel back is often even more dramatic than you see here, sometimes splitting the difference between the slot receiver and the offensive tackle to that side. What this does is provides the defensive coordinator with a remarkable degree of flexibility.
Despite being shifted inward, the Nickel back can still cover the slot receiver man-to-man, providing the receiver doesn't slant hard to the sideline at the snap. He can also drop back into a short zone. He can trade zones with a linebacker. He can dash out and play the underneath zone to the far right while the corner drops deep into, say, cover 3. Importantly, the Nickel back can still blitz the QB off the edge and is in good position to play as the primary force defender on a run play to his side of the field.
Even more importantly, he doesn't need to tip off the QB through alignment to do any of these things.
As I said, if you watch enough college clips you'll see this tactic is becoming increasingly common place. Even the NFL is starting to latch on. Of course what is needed to play this role is a solid all round defender; someone who can play zone coverage, can cover a slot receiver (typically a teams 3rd choice wide out) man-to-man, and someone who -- unlike a lot of corners -- has the balls to get stuck in against the run.
Notice then that the Green Bay Packers are increasingly shifting CB Charles Woodson inside to handle this duty. Woodson can cover in both man and zone. He still has the speed to blitz. And he is a rare(ish) breed among corners in that he has no problems putting his shoulder in and taking on a lead blocking fullback or a pulling lineman.
This I think is important. It sets a precedent for defensive coordinators in how to handle 3 wide receiver offensive sets. It also highlights the impact that a quality all-round Nickel back can bring to a modern NFL defense. I'd venture to say that rookie Syd'Quan Thompson of the Broncos fits the mold well and that increasingly we may see teams reach out in the draft in the next year or two looking for a well rounded corner prospect to come in and be a teams "Super Nickelback".
Just a thought. Keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground on that one.
Here's another thought while you're at it; in March/April of this year, the going trade rate for Michael Vick was a second round pick. It was widely believed that, that was all the Eagles would ask for him. Now I appreciate that much of his success in Philadelphia this year can be attributed to the next potential "Queen Prima Donna" of the NFL -- DeSean Jackson -- but still, Vick on his own is a formidable package. For a second round pick, he'd be looking like a complete steal right about now. Just check this out (you'll need to create an account. I tried embedding it but it's being an asshole.)
Tomorrow I shall be back at some point with a quick recap of the Thursday Night game, but hopefully either attached to that post or somewhere in between that post and this one, I'd like to hand out my award for the "Most Improved Analyst From a Major Network" award. Or as I like to call it; the MIAFMN award.
And the winner is..... don't be a cheap skate. Comeback tomorrow to find out.
Laters.
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Thursday Night pick and some Nickel and dime stuff
Just a quick hello and how are you?
Good, time to make a pick for the Week 16 Thursday Night game.
Carolina Panthers @ Pittsburgh Steelers:
Do I really have to sit down and go through this one? The Panthers may have won at the weekend but that had little to do with the Panthers inherent ability to win tough games and a hell of a lot to do with playing the Cardinals. The Steelers will not prove to be such a cake walk.
Even though they've booked a place in the post season, the Steelers still haven't secured for sure the AFC North, so they definitely still have something to play for. Now despite the loss of Troy Polamalu, the Steelers still have an excellent defense, and certainly they have a favourable match up on Thursday.
They're pretty good from a run defense perspective and running is just about the only thing the Panthers entire team does well. You also have to remember that the Panthers lean heavily on their tight ends to make plays in the passing game, so the loss of speed & play making instincts in the Steelers secondary shouldn't be too noticeable in this one.
Sorry Panthers fans, but I'm taking the Steelers. Steelers win.
Now for something a little different. Basically I want to talk to you about Nickel Backs, as in the extra defensive back typically brought onto the field by defenses that are expecting a pass and/or are facing a three wide receiver set. To say what I want to say about Nickel backs, I need a bit of a visual aid so I'm going to pinch a diagram from the Blitzology blog (http://www.blitzology.blogspot.com/)
Ahh, that's better. My apology's to Blitzology for chaffing their picture. So the character that we're interested in is represented -- unsurprisingly -- by the letter "N". What interests me about this image is that it shows the Nickel back aligned just slightly inside the slot receiver to the right of the picture.
This is something we're seeing more and more of in both College football and the NFL, though the inside alignment of that Nickel back is often even more dramatic than you see here, sometimes splitting the difference between the slot receiver and the offensive tackle to that side. What this does is provides the defensive coordinator with a remarkable degree of flexibility.
Despite being shifted inward, the Nickel back can still cover the slot receiver man-to-man, providing the receiver doesn't slant hard to the sideline at the snap. He can also drop back into a short zone. He can trade zones with a linebacker. He can dash out and play the underneath zone to the far right while the corner drops deep into, say, cover 3. Importantly, the Nickel back can still blitz the QB off the edge and is in good position to play as the primary force defender on a run play to his side of the field.
Even more importantly, he doesn't need to tip off the QB through alignment to do any of these things.
As I said, if you watch enough college clips you'll see this tactic is becoming increasingly common place. Even the NFL is starting to latch on. Of course what is needed to play this role is a solid all round defender; someone who can play zone coverage, can cover a slot receiver (typically a teams 3rd choice wide out) man-to-man, and someone who -- unlike a lot of corners -- has the balls to get stuck in against the run.
Notice then that the Green Bay Packers are increasingly shifting CB Charles Woodson inside to handle this duty. Woodson can cover in both man and zone. He still has the speed to blitz. And he is a rare(ish) breed among corners in that he has no problems putting his shoulder in and taking on a lead blocking fullback or a pulling lineman.
This I think is important. It sets a precedent for defensive coordinators in how to handle 3 wide receiver offensive sets. It also highlights the impact that a quality all-round Nickel back can bring to a modern NFL defense. I'd venture to say that rookie Syd'Quan Thompson of the Broncos fits the mold well and that increasingly we may see teams reach out in the draft in the next year or two looking for a well rounded corner prospect to come in and be a teams "Super Nickelback".
Just a thought. Keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground on that one.
Here's another thought while you're at it; in March/April of this year, the going trade rate for Michael Vick was a second round pick. It was widely believed that, that was all the Eagles would ask for him. Now I appreciate that much of his success in Philadelphia this year can be attributed to the next potential "Queen Prima Donna" of the NFL -- DeSean Jackson -- but still, Vick on his own is a formidable package. For a second round pick, he'd be looking like a complete steal right about now. Just check this out (you'll need to create an account. I tried embedding it but it's being an asshole.)
Tomorrow I shall be back at some point with a quick recap of the Thursday Night game, but hopefully either attached to that post or somewhere in between that post and this one, I'd like to hand out my award for the "Most Improved Analyst From a Major Network" award. Or as I like to call it; the MIAFMN award.
And the winner is..... don't be a cheap skate. Comeback tomorrow to find out.
Laters.
Ahh, that's better. My apology's to Blitzology for chaffing their picture. So the character that we're interested in is represented -- unsurprisingly -- by the letter "N". What interests me about this image is that it shows the Nickel back aligned just slightly inside the slot receiver to the right of the picture.
This is something we're seeing more and more of in both College football and the NFL, though the inside alignment of that Nickel back is often even more dramatic than you see here, sometimes splitting the difference between the slot receiver and the offensive tackle to that side. What this does is provides the defensive coordinator with a remarkable degree of flexibility.
Despite being shifted inward, the Nickel back can still cover the slot receiver man-to-man, providing the receiver doesn't slant hard to the sideline at the snap. He can also drop back into a short zone. He can trade zones with a linebacker. He can dash out and play the underneath zone to the far right while the corner drops deep into, say, cover 3. Importantly, the Nickel back can still blitz the QB off the edge and is in good position to play as the primary force defender on a run play to his side of the field.
Even more importantly, he doesn't need to tip off the QB through alignment to do any of these things.
As I said, if you watch enough college clips you'll see this tactic is becoming increasingly common place. Even the NFL is starting to latch on. Of course what is needed to play this role is a solid all round defender; someone who can play zone coverage, can cover a slot receiver (typically a teams 3rd choice wide out) man-to-man, and someone who -- unlike a lot of corners -- has the balls to get stuck in against the run.
Notice then that the Green Bay Packers are increasingly shifting CB Charles Woodson inside to handle this duty. Woodson can cover in both man and zone. He still has the speed to blitz. And he is a rare(ish) breed among corners in that he has no problems putting his shoulder in and taking on a lead blocking fullback or a pulling lineman.
This I think is important. It sets a precedent for defensive coordinators in how to handle 3 wide receiver offensive sets. It also highlights the impact that a quality all-round Nickel back can bring to a modern NFL defense. I'd venture to say that rookie Syd'Quan Thompson of the Broncos fits the mold well and that increasingly we may see teams reach out in the draft in the next year or two looking for a well rounded corner prospect to come in and be a teams "Super Nickelback".
Just a thought. Keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground on that one.
Here's another thought while you're at it; in March/April of this year, the going trade rate for Michael Vick was a second round pick. It was widely believed that, that was all the Eagles would ask for him. Now I appreciate that much of his success in Philadelphia this year can be attributed to the next potential "Queen Prima Donna" of the NFL -- DeSean Jackson -- but still, Vick on his own is a formidable package. For a second round pick, he'd be looking like a complete steal right about now. Just check this out (you'll need to create an account. I tried embedding it but it's being an asshole.)
Tomorrow I shall be back at some point with a quick recap of the Thursday Night game, but hopefully either attached to that post or somewhere in between that post and this one, I'd like to hand out my award for the "Most Improved Analyst From a Major Network" award. Or as I like to call it; the MIAFMN award.
And the winner is..... don't be a cheap skate. Comeback tomorrow to find out.
Laters.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday news
-- "Lombardi Watch" continues agains in earnest with this latest gem from Michael Lombardi. Essentially Michael is trying to argue that in the process of running their two-minute drill at the end of the game the 49ers should have treid harder to use some of the clock. This suggestion is just perverse in the extreme and the perfect example of someone comfusing fan talk for journalism. In fact it's worse, because if you read the comments section you'll notice that most of the fans actually do understand the difficulty faced by the 49ers.
The first question that we have to ask ourselves is that given the state of the 49ers offense lately, how likely was it for them to drive 82 yards in just 8 plays? Could they really have anticipated being that successful? The second major question we have to ask is thus; what is the primary motive during a 2 minute drill? The answer is of course to work your way downfield whilst using as little time as possible off the clock.
The obvious goal that San Francisco had was to drive down the field and score a touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion. Not knowing beforehand how many passes they might throw incomplete or how many times they might get stuffed for a small gain, the 49ers rightly had to use as little clock as possible on the way. The goal of giving the ball back to New Orleans with little time left was secondary. It was an afterthought.
To expect the players to turn their back on years of training and mental conditioning in the two minute drill in order to fit this one particular situation is ridiculous. It's the perfect example of why I started doing this blog, because of my frustration that paid football journalists always seem to have highly illogical answers smothered heavily in hindsight. I'm an unashamed (most of the time) 49ers fan, and even I can't find it in me to criticise the execution of that series.
-- My thoughts pause on a more sombre note for the passing of Broncos WR Kenny McKinley in an apparent suicide. Unfortunately I'm not abreast of the latest details at the moment, but suffice to say that it's a very saddening incident. I wish his family, friends and team mates all the very best in the hard times facing them.
-- Ok. Moving on to Philadelphia now and Head Coach Andy Reid has stated that Michael Vick will get the nod for this weeks game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Having previously backed Kolb for the starting role, it's surprising to see such a U-turn. Not that Vick doesn't deserve the job. His play has been outstanding so far. A few tweaks here and there and the Eagles offense will be rolling along beautifuly.
But you do have to wonder what's going through Kolbs mind right now as he sees the starting job that he thought he'd won disappear into the ether. Can Kolb overcome this latest barrier mentally and continue to focus on what he needs to get done as the back up QB? It'll be an interesting test for him and one that should only make him stronger... providing it doesn't break him.
-- The Jets are staying classy this season, following up allegations of sexual harassment of a female reporter at their facility with Braylon Edwards getting arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Edwards reportedly tested in at twice the legal driving limit. It appears he'd been out celebrating the win over the Patriots with fellow players D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Gholston when they were stopped by police, initially for having overly tinted windows.
Just have to laugh at this. Three millionaires and not enough between them for a cab? C'mon. The worst bit is that the NFLPA doesn't permit teams to deactivate, suspend or otherwise sanction players for DUI arrests as agreed in the CBA. This is nuts. What kind of message does this send to young players and fans? I'm increasingly beginning to hate the NFLPA more than I ever did the Panthers.
Have a great day everyone.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thoughts for the week
I promised a fantastic and well thought out article on some subject. Unfortunately you're left with this:
- Watching back the video of Chris Johnson vs. the Raiders, the most interesting thing for me was the way he ran behind his pads, often cutting back into the middle and earning those tough yards. Last year he sometimes had a tendency to hide behind a blocker and keep working to the sideline. That did produce him some big gains, but there was also times when the Titans just needed him to get North/South and instead he got stuffed. It's a testament to his character and maturity that he has gone away in the off season and developed his game further, despite being the leading back in the NFL last year.
- The Miami Dolphins, the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons all have serious questions to answer on offense. These are three teams that had high expectations for their offenses to have a prolific year and have failed to live up to that promise. Even in the pre-season they struggled to score points. This week they at least need to start looking like they might put the ball in the end zone, or you can expect the media to ramp up the pressure and for fissures between offense and defense to start forming in their locker rooms.
- The 49ers secondary was supposed to be more organised this year. They were going to finally support Patrick Willis and the rest of the front seven. But they struggled mightily against Seattle and I can't imagine Mike Singletary was best pleased. Still, as long as they don't have to play New Orleans any time soon......... ah f**k!
- Having seen Michael Vick gash the Packers for over a hundred yards, could the unthinkable happen; could Andy Reid start running the ball more? Will he see the possibilities? I doubt it.
- And talking of Andy Reid, his poor game management is legendary. I found a great article covering this on NFL.com. What was shocking for me was that it was written by Michael "did I ever tell you about my time with Bill Walsh?" Lombardi. Yes, Michael Lombardi wrote a good article. Don't say I never give credit where it is due.
Right, I shall be back tomorrow with some picks for the weekend ahead. Hopefully this week I'll go a little better than my abysmal 6-10. Hopefully.....
Have a great day everyone.
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