Most defenses will not make the switch. The concept of playing the run game to the right side of an offense (and placing the TE there) is so ingrained in football that most offenses will only place a TE on the left as part of a man-in-motion scheme. Both the offense and defense play by this tradition. If a team is lining up a TE on the left, it is likely because the defense is getting so much penetration against the left tackle. This would cause the TE to be tied down to guarding the weakside. If the offense is in that bad of shape, the defense isn’t likely to change what they are doing.

In order for an offense to mix things around (as in lining up with the TE on the left side as a game plan) they would have to double the size of their playbook, or play everything mirrored against years of player and coaching experience. One notable exception (and it is very, very minor) is SD. Though Gates will line up on the strong side, SD uses an awful lot of weakside runs. But even that really isn’t an example of a team lining up the TE on the left.

I’ve never really seen it done. If I was the defensive coordinator, and a HS came out with the TE on the “wrong side”, I would keep my players where they’re at doing what they do best. If we’re the better team, we’ll be dictating to the offense and not vice versa.

A TE can line up on the left, and they do, but rarely and not as part of a regular program.

but I appreciate the pat. Thanks counsel!

I admit that I hadn’t considered that angle. Yes; his experience as a FB would make him a good Ted. You’ve pursuaded me.

But no, I don’t think Shanahan was moving towards the 3-4. We played around with it last year (terribly), but I don’t think the pieces were in place at all. But that’s just my opinion, and there may be some smart fans that have good reasons to disagree.

1) Folks either call 3-4 LBs “ROLB, RILB, LILB, LOLB” or “WILL, MIKE, TED, SAM”, regardless of the system used. Nobody calls a 3-4 ILB a MLB. In a 4-3, the terms are “ROLB, MLB, LOLB” or “WILL, MIKE, SAM”. That’s just how they do it.

2) I think the decision in the current system is because DJ likes to use his athleticism to roam and attack, not think. He’s a great guy, but not a vocal leader (though most MIKEs are), so that could be a factor. DJ should be blitzing or zoning, and he has more chances to do that at RILB than LILB. At least that seems to be the reasoning for Denver. With Davis at LILB, it also points to a perfect shot at using DJ to blitz with Davis as the bruising TED block. Teams can (and do) make adjustments based on the guys that they have to line up. I can’t speak for th situation with Mayo, but it seems to make sense in the case with DJ.

3) There are a lot of good arguments from a lot of smart folks that differ as to where Ayers should go. I would like see him play at LDE. I see him as more of a run stopping threat, and someone who can tie up a RT and TE to allow the LOLB a blitzing chance. My next bet would be at LOLB, but I don’t like it too much. He isn’t a strong pass rusher, and seems to play better in limited space. There are good arguments against my view on this, but this is where I’m staking out.

4) I think Moss and Doom are good fits for RDE or ROLB. They are pass rushers (especially Doom) and not so much run stoppers. It is a tough call. Doom is athletic enough to play as an OLB, but his short reach makes covering a TE a little difficult. He also has big competition with guys like Boss Bailey and now (zccording to recent reports) even Barrett (for LOLB). Honestly, not being a big fan of the hybrid DE-OLB, I’d have a hard time placing Doom. In a 4-3 he’d be a great RDE. In a 3-4, its a tougher call. I agree with you that Moss could have a break out year this year.

5) Bailey is definately a LOLB. Elvis Doom (as I mentioned in point 4) is tougher to guage for a 3-4. Woodyard could play either OLB, but I think he’s more of a pass rusher/blitzer. Because we have more names at LOLB, I might lean slightly towards him at ROLB. I don’t know how well his TE coverage skills are, but if they are good, he’s also a terrific run stopper and could play LOLB.

6) I think we will go 2 gap, but it isn’t a sure thing. Some months ago, I would have said 1 gap because we don’t have the right NT for a 2 gap. But over time, it sure looks (to me anyway) that the coaches are trying to acquire NTs (like Fields) and bulk up the remaining group (like Powell). I’m not sure we’re suited for 2 gap, but it seems to be the direction we’re heading in. Given that, it looks like we are becoming more suited as time goes on.

Solid stuff OC2!

My thought also.

Thanks!

I think this article might do the trick for you. If not, send me some clarifying questions and I’ll be glad to help!

Thanks BroncoJoe!

Glad it helps out!

The QBs blind side is now to the left, so the TE might just stay where he’s at and do more pass blocking. However, the runs will still likely go to the right in any event. Some teams might swap the tackles, but it depends on the versatility of the tackles on that team. In other words, there are a lot of variables to consider. Mostly, nothing changes.

But the runs are pretty much to the right whether the QB is left or right handed. In most cases, the TE will stay on the right too.

This year I’m going to be learning a lot. The transition is a big one for me, and I’m going to learn a lots seeing how things play out.

I’m really looking forward to camp and preseason.

I don’t know for sure. I’ve also heard that the game is a form of linear warfare (like some other sports), which goes back (much like marching formations) to a time when the best swordsmen or pikemen lined upon the right (again, likely a “right handed” thing). To this day, subordinate officers walk to the left of superior officers.

I would imagine “handedness” is at the root of it all. But I don’t know definitively.

Keep up that sharp thinking over there!

It is somewhat simpler that the LOLB position, and easier to fill. (You can get away with a pure athlete and much less decision making at ROLB).

A to Moss, I defer to an answer I gave earlier. I’m not very strong on the whole hybrid concept. I know what it is, but it is very alien to the school of thought that I was brought up in football. A weakness I have in assesing players is that I come from an old school, black and white kind of approach when it comes to specialization. A guy is a good RDE or LDE, not both. A guy is a great DE or OLB, not both. So I look at Moss as a DE, and would then break him down as either more of a pass rusher or a run stopper (in a 4-3). In a 3-4, I need to know if he is going to play one or two gap (which I don’t know yet). The thought of extrapolating this out to having him at OLB just messes with my head. I can’t see him covering a TE, because that’s not what I see when I look at him. Kind of like asking me to see a QB out of college as a WR. What do I go on?

Other members might have a better grasp for where Moss fits in under a hybrid 3-4. I’ll admit when I’m stumped. I WILL say that I think Moss is an underrated player, and he has a big chance this year to prove it.

An article on gap responsibilities here, and more specific to the 3-4 are gap blocking lessons here and here. A little about the NT responsibilities here.

I think you have just described the ‘09 Bronco defense perfectly. We might not have the most talent, but we will be extremely difficult to scheme against. Good comment and rec’d.

That line of thinking (yours and the Patriots) is what makes my job so hard this year. I’ll be doing a lot of learning with everyone else. I wasn’t brought up in the theory of interchangable players and diversification. The whole hybrid concept is difficult for me to wrap my mind around too. I like to think that I have strong skills thinking abstractly, but my concept of football is much simpler that what the Patriots run. I see a guy who is born to play LDE, and I just don’t see him as a LOLB. Taking the thinking a step further, I see a guy as a WR or a QB, not both. Perhaps because at the HS level, I only had four years (if that) to assess and play a player. I didn’t have the luxury of cross training positions year around.

The only solace I take in my ignorance is that I recognize it, which gives me a small amount of credit for wisdom (I guess). I respect and admire what McDaniels is bringing to the team with the Ameoba philosophy. I’m eager to learn a lot this year. This is why my discovery of Williams moving from ROLB to RILB is such a feather in my cap and I shared it in the article today – I’m just thrilled to have gotten one little thing right in a complex swarm of ideas this year. Beyond my prediction of what was yet another Williams move, I’m very uninformed to go much further.

: )

Your post, Ponderosa, raises an interesting subject. And I thought I’d re-introduce the subject of fuzzy logic in order to made a few points.

A player such as Ayers could be called a ‘hybrid.’ He’s both a DE and an OLB, so in fuzzy logical terms he has membership in both sets. Membership in a set is measured by degrees. We’ll say Ayers is 80% DE and 70% OLB.

A player such as Karl Mecklenburg is a ‘tweener.’ He’s neither a DE nor a OLB but somewhere in between. Actually, he was 50% DE and a 40% OLB, but he specialized in pass rushing and could find mismatches by moving around.

To contrast bivalent logic and multi-valent logic (fuzzy logic) — a premise is either true or not (is A or not A), but the scene changes when we switch to fuzzy logic. It’s not so much a question of whether something is ‘true’ or not but ‘what’ is true, and how much is it true. Under bivalent logic (“crisp” logic), saying that Ayers is a DE necessarily implies that he’s not something else, such as an OLB. But under fuzzy logic, he can be both a DE and a OLB, and to varying degrees for each.

I’m reminded of the movie LadyHawke, in which the riddle — “a day without night; a night without day” — is used. There’s a bit of ‘cake and have it, too’ to fuzzy logic.

As I posted directly above, I expect we’ll be seeing tweeners who have unique skills used in certain situations and hybrids who have many skills used for a variety of tasks, which will confuse the offense, not to mention us since positions become ambiguous once they’re fuzzy-fied.

I wanted to raise this issue because the tendency to think in stereotypical terms is somewhat antithetical to the idea behind a flex system. BTW — it should also be noted that the negative reports on Denver’s draft completely and utterly missed this point.

Lakers AND Refs lead Nuggets 3-2

If you’re picking something up, I’m doing things right. If I ever write anything that doesn’t make sense to you, please shoot me a mail. I want to help people learn about the game that has given me so many good years with good kids and friends. If I ever write over someone’s head, I’m failing somewhere.

Thanks for the kind words my friend.

Most folks that don’t use “RILB” use “Jack” (as DJ did). “TED” is more recent. It was the term used in much of what I’ve found about the 49ers and the TED block scheme.

Having been away from football for a few years, I’m not sure what the dominant term is today, and it also varies by region. But “RILB”, “Jack”, and “TED” are all correct. TED may relate specificaly to the position as used in the “block to QB” role, but I can’t say that with any certainty. If anyone knows more about this, I’d appreciate learning something about it.

many 4-3s don’t call them Sam, Mike, or Will either.
I believe, based on info on the DB website, that the position are called (left to right) Sam, Ted, Jack, and Will in Nolan’s scheme

is what I like to hear!

Jack is RILB (or WILB, as a few folks call it. Haven’t heard that one in awhile).

Good call.

But really now; any decent margarita should cause more enthusiasm than a sports write-up. C’mon now.

: )

got my Jack, Mike, and Ted mixed up :)

He has the natural athleticism to play at ROLB (and speed), but his tackling skills are good enough to move to RILB. In a pinch, he could play LILB, but I think that’s a waste of his talents. He would be great at LILB, but better on the right (weak) side. Given DJ’s lock on RILB, and a strong premonition I have for Davis at LILB, I think Woodyard has a shot at ROLB (despite the hint that DJ drops). Why?

Because I think DJ is being charitable too. Winborn just wasn’t cutting it anywhere, and DJ just isn’t going to put it that bluntly (in my opinion).

That’s why I do this gig for free. Because folks like you are kind enough to comment (either positively or negatively). Thanks for taking the time to say thanks. It’s why I love writing for MHR.

The TED block is something I’ve read about, but never really been able to watch enough to catch the specifics of how it is executed. It looks like it will be in our playbook, and I’m excited to get a chance to watch it. For an old school coach like me, it is an exotic play. I can’t wait to see it in action enough times to fully appreciate it.

(I’ve seen the play run before, but not enough times to really enjoy it, and it was always unexpected. The TV guys never seem to replay it for the Xs and Os guys like me that would drool to check it out again in slow mo).

lol

I expect to be much less of the “teacher” this year and much more of a learner. I know enough to get by with the Patriots system and playbook (I can only “get by” with a HS level of coaching), but the Ameoba philosophy spin (and the implied hybrid models that go with it) are going to be a treat for me. I love learning as much as teaching, and this year I expect to learn an awful lot along with my friends at MHR.

And you’re very welcome.

I don’t expect any CBs to be rested during a drive. DL and (to a lesser extent) LBs get rested on drives, but CBs and SAFs much, much less so.

If a back-up comes in, I would expect McBath to play at FS. I’m still not sure (or even sold yet) on Bruton being second string (I’ll need to see more). I hate to see a rookie like Smith back-up the #1 CB position, since he already has to learn the nickle position in the play book. He may also be groomed for eventual #2 CB, making things more complex. For the sake of experience, I might have Smith back up Goodman, and Williams backing Bailey (even if Smith is a better corner than Williams).

But I don’t expect Bailey and Dawkins to be rested a lot.

hoosierteacher@yahoo.com