Naming our defense
I am a little confused about the names that have been given to the formations that our defense has been in. Looking at how we line up, the names of positions on our depth chart, and some of the posts on the blog/board I have some of this figured out but some of the information contradicts and that's what I want to get sorted out.
Our depth chart shows a DE (Brandon Graham), a NT (Mike Martin), a DT (Ryan Van Bergen), a SLB (Stevie Brown), a MLB (Obi Ezeh), a WLB (Jonas Mouton), and an OLB (Craig Roh). This would indicate a 3-4 base, but I have been seeing it described as 4-3. Am I right in thinking this should be called a 3-4 or is there a reason for the OLB to count as a down lineman as well?
Alright, so for this question I am assuming that the answer is that I am missing something and Craig Roh is actually a lineman. Stevie Brown was lining up at the edge most of the game and I have seen this as described as the 4-3 under, but wouldn't that be 4-3 over? I thought that the under indicated that the linebackers were favoring the weak side, but SB is on the strong side...
Also, it seems that if Craig Roh should be considered a lineman while standing at the edge, Stevie Brown should be considered a lineman as well, which would really put us in more of a 5-2.
Anyway, thanks in advance.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:50 PM ^
After trying to figure out more about our defense, I read this today about USC's 4-3 under and it looks very similar to the formations we were running last week, it is long but I found it interesting.
http://www.trojanfootballanalysis.com/usc_elephant_defense.html
September 10th, 2009 at 2:06 PM ^
It really depends on what each player's responsibilities are. Steve Brown spends most of his time (at least on pass plays) covering a zone or a man, so he shouldn't count. Craig Roh also rushes sometimes and sometimes he drops off.
Anyway, I don't see a need to "name" our defense. Does it really matter? Almost every team runs some 3-fronts, some 4-fronts, some nickel packages, some dime packages, etc. We could call it a 4-3 but that doesn't account for Roh's coverage responsibilities. We could call it a 3-4, but what about when Roh gets into a three-point stance and rushes the passer?
Our defense is amorphous. I don't think it really needs a name.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:39 PM ^
It's not so much so that I can really put a name to the defense, but more for general football knowledge.
Consider it this way. If Brian says 4-3 under in a UFR, I expect to see 4 down linemen, but when I look at the play there are 3. What am I missing here?
September 10th, 2009 at 7:27 PM ^
I would say it's more 4-3 than 3-4 or 5-2. The Deathbacker is more of a defensive end than a linebacker. He's capable of dropping back, though.
Typically, a 3-4 will have a nose tackle either head up on the center or shaded to one shoulder. We do have some 3-man fronts, but the majority looks like 4-3.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:07 PM ^
look at our defense in all its hybrid glory!
September 10th, 2009 at 2:21 PM ^
Oh yeeeeeah!