How good are the Ravens?  Don't be fooled by the 3-3 record.  They've beat the teams they should have (KC and CLE), and won against a tough SD team.  Their losses came to teams that are pretty good (NE, CIN, and MIN).  Don't sell this team short.

On the other hand, many folks are more likely to sell Denver short.  Vegas has them down by 3 points at the time of this writing, despite a 6-0 record.  Denver beat two teams that beat BAL (NE and CIN), as well as CLE, SD, OAK, and DAL.  How good is Denver?

Special Teams - Sep and Oct players of the month (Kicker Matt Prater and Returner Eddie Royal).

Offense - Kyle Orton, who played the first four games with a protective glove has thrown only one INT (a bomb throw to end a half with no time left) and holds a 100+ QB rating.

Defense - Keeping opponents to an average 11 points a game.

But how do the teams match up?  Both teams come off of a bye week, and have had ample time to draw up superior game plans.  Who wins in each aspect of the game, and how should they plan the game?  Let's look at some possibilities....

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I get a lot of questions regarding three formations.  The first is the 5-2 variant of the 3-4 (such as employed by the Denver Broncos).  My last MHR-U was on this topic, and several members and staff have written on this issue.  Since Denver uses it, you can expect MHR to be on top of it.

I also get a lot of e-mails about the wildhorses formation.  I've told several members that I would write on this, but many members have stepped into the gap and written excellent posts about the formations and how they are used.  For my part, I am going to put together a reference guide so that the inquiring scholar may look up all of the information he or she needs in one, easy to find place (below).

The 4-4 is a common formation at many smaller HS programs, and a great number of middle school programs.  It isn't really seen at the pro level, but an understanding of this formation is a building block for anybody's knowledge of a good defense.  I'll discuss the two main variants of this formation, and how the formation was used at one middle school program that I was associated with.

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I'm making a pretty bold pronouncement.  I do not believe that the Denver Broncos are running a true 3-4 defense at all, despite what the mainstream media may be reporting.  I believe that the Broncos are running a 5-2, and I believe this for more than one reason.  Below the fold, I will explain why I believe this to be true, and I will also explain some concepts about the 5-2 and also the system that seems to be emerging in Denver.  I will also cover counters, as well as personnel considerations.

I have also received a lot of requests for information about the 5-2 under other posts.  If I've left out a question, please accept my apologies and post it under this story.  I will do my best to get to every question.

Defining the 5-2

Allow me to borrow from a comment I made under another post...

There are two ways to look at how a player is defined. Coaches will argue this point until they are blue in the face.

1. A player is strictly defined by where he lines up. If Peyton Hillis lines up in the slot, he is a slot receiver – period.

2. A player is defined by the position he is best suited for and defined by the team as. If Hillis lines up in the slot he is "a HB lined up in the slot".

My training placed me in the second camp, but there are very good coaches who were brought up either way.

Now back to the 5-2. My point was that, regardless of which school of though you come from, the Broncos are running a 5-2. Here’s why….

If you belong to the first camp – we have five players on the line. By definition, five on the line is automatically a 5-2.

If you belong to the second camp (mine) – we are using true DEs at DE, NOT OLBs! If we were some kind of 3-4 with the OLBs cheating up to the line, it might be a trickier analysis. But we aren’t! We’re not training guys like Elvis Dumervil or Tim Crowder to play at OLB at all! They’re playing their natural role as DEs on the line! (If Doom plays like an OLB, it is only because he’ll get dropped back in a zone blitz, or because the formation changes).

For me to see this unfolding and to realize what was going on was like a light turning on. In another words, no matter how you slice it (and reasonable people will slice it in different ways), this HAS to be a 5-2.

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(Many, many thanks to Ted Bartlett for putting in the time to put together the diagrams to illustrate an example Ted Block play.  He was able to knock out the diagrams in less than a day!  My attempts at diagrams take much longer and don't look nearly as good.  Please join me in appreciating his hard work). 

In the last MHR University, we took a broad look at the Ted Block scheme.  The concept (used in San Francisco under new Broncos DC Mike Nolan) is very likely going to be seen in Denver's 3-4 this year.  The scheme calls for the LILB to block the way to the QB for the ROLB.

Andra Davis may be the right guy (not very fast, but very physical) to line up at LILB.  Spencer Larsen, who has played at LB but has also played run-blocking duties as a FB is another terrific candidate to clear the way to the QB.

Join Ted and I, as we take a closer look at the Ted Block, including a look at how the different D-Linemen and LBs affect the scheme in a hypothetical play.

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A little over a year ago, "Fooch" (Editor of Niners Nation) interviewed me about the Ted position and a nifty scheme that the 49ers run on defense (linked further down).  After the 2008 season, former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan came to Denver and brought his (and head coach Josh McDaniels) 3-4 to town.

Flash forward...

Some months ago (Feb 08), I commented under a post that D.J. Williams should move to RILB, and a month later (Mar) I wrote in a story that Williams was better suited for RILB.   "Move him AGAIN?"

Flash forward again...

Wednesday, May 27th I read the Associated Press wire that defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is now going to play D.J. Williams at RILB.

Rock Me Amadeus!  (Some of you old timers will get the inside joke).

No, my real name is not Coach Nolan.  But more of the pieces of the defense are coming together.  Could it be that we can have a "penetrating" defense (as stated recently by McDaniels), but might I still be correct in thinking that we will be a 2-gap defense?  How can that be?  A one-gap defense (such as the "Phillips") is the "penetrating" defense that we might expect.  On the other hand, a "Fairbanks-Bullough" defense can be penetrating too, if you use the TED Blocking scheme, and guys are bulking up to play the line.   Hmmmmmm.

Read on.....

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If you ever get out to Indiana and decide you want to try your hand at coaching 7th-grade football, be careful.  Just north of Indianapolis lies Westfield Middle School (home of the Shamrocks).  I've seen the facilities on the east side of 31 driving to Indy, and they are very, very impressive.  There, Coach Todd Hagemeier runs a 3-4 defense.  Not a lot of middle schools can go that route, and he even tells me they also use a scheme that transposes from a 3-4 into a 46.  Wow!

Todd writes this e-mail to MHR University:

...I started doing some digging on the 3-4 and your site came up.  You do a great job and I plan on using your info for my 7th grade team this fall.  I am also living in Indiana AND a Purdue fan.  So getting to my questions.  Have you considered writing about the aspects of the 3-4 in the red zone, how a coach should call the defense, and maybe even more importantly what NOT to do in the red zone?...

This is a wonderful question, and well worth the time for all of us to look at in some depth.  Let's take a look at implications...

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So you want to be a sportswriter?  Perhaps you just want to be noticed more at MHR.  Maybe you want to write some of the articles that get linked at Sports Illustrated, or to interview your favorite player, or get invited to the draft?

It's all possible.  At MHR, your dreams can come true.  We at MHR pride ourselves on providing a service that everyone can jump on.

• For the fan - a place to come and read, write, discuss, debate, ponder, predict, analyze, learn, and teach about the Denver Broncos and football.
• To rise above the nasty message boards of mainline media publications, where folks insult and degrade each other.
• To create an atmosphere that is family friendly, appealing to young and old alike.
• To create a "family" atmosphere, where friendships blossom, and members take a genuine interest in each other.
• To provide the most up-to-date, accurate, and best-analyzed news and reports on the Denver Broncos.
• To provide multiple, daily stories for the membership; ensuring that there is never a day without several articles to read.
• For the Broncos organization, we provide an unofficial outreach to fans beyond just the borders of Colorado.  Our membership is global, with fans from around the world.

And how do we do this?  The secret ingredients come from our Chief Editor and leader, Guru.  Here is his special approach:

1. The site is always for and about the members, not the staff.  The staff keeps things moving along, and serves the membership.  But the members will always be the true, driving force.  Front page stories are nice, but the conversations they generate are the heart and soul of the site.  FanPosts and FanShots are where the majority of MHR's expression come from, and a recommended FanPost gets longer exposure than even the front page.
2. Respect is key.  Newcomers (many from the hate boards of other media), learn quickly that we don't tolerate personal attacks.  We all enjoy a good debate, but we don't allow full-blown arguing.
3. Accessibility is a priority.  At MHR, if you like what you read (or even if you don't), you have a direct line to the writer.  More importantly, he or she will respond to you.  Try that with a mainstream-media sports-site, magazine, or radio show!

Currently, the Denver Broncos are having a crisis between the new coach and the franchise QB.  This has brought in a lot of folks to check out MHR.  Awesome!  But some of the strong feelings about the team's situation have started to spill over to the site.  No problem.  We're going to weather that, and here's how...

Below the fold, we're going to explore several ideas.  We're going to show how YOU can be a better sportswriter, a better commentator, and a better member.  If we each follow the guidelines below on how to "fit in" at MHR, we can each bring our respective talents and gifts to the table and make the experience a better one for everyone.

Read on...

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Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts.

The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't.

The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet.

Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back.  That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".

-From the movie "The Prestige"-

Denver scored on this draft in so many ways it would be difficult to make a credible case against it.  Denver brought in solid players (indeed, players considered the best at what they do), and brought in youth where Denver is thin (where Denver has aging players).  While homemade draft boards are based entirely on who folks want at a given position, Denver followed the successful Patriots strategy of going for best available, a concept that always confounds mock drafts.

Denver not only caused confusion amongst the "my player or it must be a bust" crowd, but doubled down on the type of draft they had last year (where Denver also confused the "need-based" crowd, but scored with solid picks).  If Denver had used the drafting style favored by the Patriots like they did this year and last, Denver would be further along by now.

Read further to see the point illuminated. 

In fact, midway through this epic, long article I promise to share the "meaning of life" I discovered for this team, and I'll do it in giant, bold, easy-to-find print. 

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