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Lovie Smith Defense


Pastor Dillon

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1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

What’s he gonna do?

He pretty much lives and dies with Cover 2/Tampa 2.

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

How does his system change what we currently do?

Lot more zone coverages (in fact, I'd wager we'll never seen man coverage in our secondary again) and a 4-3 front that gets a shallow three coverage from the LBs. Pressure is going to come from the DL near exclusively. S are going to fan out and play halves up on the roof - if pressure doesn't get to the QB, the middle post/TE seam route is wide open and very hard to contain.

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

What are the most important players in his system?

Probably DE/DT and MLB or SLB - gotta create pressure up front and have that guy who can create plays in both coverage and against the run (Tommie Harris, Adwale Ogunleye, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher). CBs are very specific, you can have guys without elite physical skill but Mensa-level smart pre and post snap (Peanut Tillman). An athletic S such as Mike Brown really makes the system go, but not required - Justin Reid and Lonnie Johnson should be fine, less thinking for them.

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

Who do we currently have that fits what he wants to do? 

Zach Cunningham could be a special talent in the lineup, as either the SLB or MLB. He's got traits that compare favorably to Briggs and Derrick Brooks, so he'll be a holdover. Lonnie Johnson and Justin Reid both fit just about any system as a S tandem. This system is a thinking CBs system, so I don't see a viable CB option on the team - are corners are all good athletes, but very dumb in coverage.

My issues with this defense is that it sort of fell off in the '10s, as teams started to employ more read option and spread elements - it's not hard for a spread offense to overload a side of the defense, get everyone flowing to a direction, while sending a guy on a short rub route to the opposite side, setting up big catch and runs. You sort of saw this with Illinois - their defense was really REALLY bad.

The plus side is that all eyes are in the backfield, so an errant throw could lead to a lot of turnovers - your CBs and LBs are taught to pounce on the ball the minute they see it, so we'll do better on our nine turnovers from last season.

All in all - I'm not excited, but there is promise with the right bodies brought in. Lovie hasn't been very good since leaving Chicago, and that includes his college coaching. But, maybe he's learned from that experience.

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1 hour ago, ET80 said:

He pretty much lives and dies with Cover 2/Tampa 2.

Lot more zone coverages (in fact, I'd wager we'll never seen man coverage in our secondary again) and a 4-3 front that gets a shallow three coverage from the LBs. Pressure is going to come from the DL near exclusively. S are going to fan out and play halves up on the roof - if pressure doesn't get to the QB, the middle post/TE seam route is wide open and very hard to contain.

Probably DE/DT and MLB or SLB - gotta create pressure up front and have that guy who can create plays in both coverage and against the run (Tommie Harris, Adwale Ogunleye, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher). CBs are very specific, you can have guys without elite physical skill but Mensa-level smart pre and post snap (Peanut Tillman). An athletic S such as Mike Brown really makes the system go, but not required - Justin Reid and Lonnie Johnson should be fine, less thinking for them.

Zach Cunningham could be a special talent in the lineup, as either the SLB or MLB. He's got traits that compare favorably to Briggs and Derrick Brooks, so he'll be a holdover. Lonnie Johnson and Justin Reid both fit just about any system as a S tandem. This system is a thinking CBs system, so I don't see a viable CB option on the team - are corners are all good athletes, but very dumb in coverage.

My issues with this defense is that it sort of fell off in the '10s, as teams started to employ more read option and spread elements - it's not hard for a spread offense to overload a side of the defense, get everyone flowing to a direction, while sending a guy on a short rub route to the opposite side, setting up big catch and runs. You sort of saw this with Illinois - their defense was really REALLY bad.

The plus side is that all eyes are in the backfield, so an errant throw could lead to a lot of turnovers - your CBs and LBs are taught to pounce on the ball the minute they see it, so we'll do better on our nine turnovers from last season.

All in all - I'm not excited, but there is promise with the right bodies brought in. Lovie hasn't been very good since leaving Chicago, and that includes his college coaching. But, maybe he's learned from that experience.

So we are going to need to find some pass rushing DEs? Perhaps move Mercilus and martin to DE and BlackLock and Omenihu slide inside, or keep Omenihu on the outside? I like Adams at MLB in a 4-3 with cunningham at OLB. 

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1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

So we are going to need to find some pass rushing DEs?

More than likely, yes.

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

Perhaps move Mercilus and martin to DE

I'm thinking this is the case - Martin/Greenard and Ominehu/Mercilius probably make the most sense at this 43 DE spot. You're probably rotating each spot a lot, keeping fresh bodies going at the LT on every snap. 

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

BlackLock and Omenihu slide inside

I keep Omenihu on the edge, and go with PJ Hall (who looked great last season, all things considered) Carlos Watkins (who is a FA but is probably VERY cheap) Ross Blacklock and Corey Liguet rotating inside. DT is probably one of my biggest needs, where depth and quality need a significant overhaul. 

1 hour ago, Pastor Dillon said:

I like Adams at MLB in a 4-3 with cunningham at OLB

I'd prefer Micah Parsons at SLB and Cunningham at MLB, but if Parsons isn't on the menus, Adams at the Mike she Cunningham at the Sam is workable (maybe Dylan Cole, Peter Kaylambi or Duke Ejifor could play the Will? Cole and Kaylambi could rotate).

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2 hours ago, ET80 said:

More than likely, yes.

I'm thinking this is the case - Martin/Greenard and Ominehu/Mercilius probably make the most sense at this 43 DE spot. You're probably rotating each spot a lot, keeping fresh bodies going at the LT on every snap. 

I keep Omenihu on the edge, and go with PJ Hall (who looked great last season, all things considered) Carlos Watkins (who is a FA but is probably VERY cheap) Ross Blacklock and Corey Liguet rotating inside. DT is probably one of my biggest needs, where depth and quality need a significant overhaul. 

I'd prefer Micah Parsons at SLB and Cunningham at MLB, but if Parsons isn't on the menus, Adams at the Mike she Cunningham at the Sam is workable (maybe Dylan Cole, Peter Kaylambi or Duke Ejifor could play the Will? Cole and Kaylambi could rotate).

I think Cole played WLB in college and PFF has him listed / graded as either MLB or WLB.

Ejiofor??  You are hopeful (as am I) that he plays in the NFL again...

Hall didn't play well in Raiders' 4-3; to me, he is an explosive 34DE.

I hope Lovie as evolved (probably not at this stage of his career).  Defenses need to be more hybrid than ever before to keep offenses guessing as well as confound their adjustments.

Let's be honest Lovie is being brought in because (1) God-fearing, Christian man; (2) from Texas; and (3) not a lot of people wanted the job (Thank goodness Illinois went another direction... insert eye roll emoji here).

I'd grab a space eating NT in the draft (young guys can be taught to just eat blocks and collapse holes... TWSS).  Try to grab another pass rusher via free agency (oh yeah.... with what $$$?) and a vet CB that is looking for a new home or re-sign Conley to a prove-it deal.  (But Conley probably works best in a m2m system. )

I.haz.a.sad

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