Birdwell
07-31-2009, 02:48 PM
Like most everyone else who has the time and inclination, I've been following the blogs and news from reporters about the activity of training camp. To an individual, the sportswriters have made fun of what's going on, the focus on fundamentals.
IDIOTS!!!!!!
The Raiders have had absolutely the worst gap discipline on D I have ever seen at the pro level. Really. For the past three years under Ryan, this lack of discipline has cost the Raiders maybe six games a season. Seriously. Watch the highlights for every team that has gashed us with the run, every long run against us, and you will see the RB getting past the line free through what counts as a gaping hole at this level, and the guys in the next line of attack are flailing to make the tackle because they are not in the necessary position to make a form tackle.
At the D-line level, we have guys just going wherever they feel they can get penetration, far too often abandoning their assigned gaps. At LB, Morrison and Howard spend forever and a day looking for the ball, reading the play, and while they do that they get eaten up by O-linemen -- in other words, they are not filling their gap. (At the SAM spot, undersized Ricky Brown last year, and Robert Thomas the year before did a creditable job at exploding their gaps.)
When Stu got to the Redskins he bitched, ''When the runner gets to me, eight guys have already missed him. The highlight, though, would only show me." And Stu would miss that tackle, being too slow to get himself into position to make it. But the broader point is correct -- the front 7 and the SS are just letting guys run free at the single high FS.
Marshall, from what I've been able to tell from some comments by Cable, looks to be installing an all odd-gap front, likely a 73-53, maybe 73-52 -- where the Raiders the last four years have run a 73-52, with the RDT lining up over the LG and being responsible for both the 1 and 3 gaps. Executed properly, this D will not even give up 3 yards per carry. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy, and there will be plenty of times that the execution is less than perfect. Overall, however, there is no reason to average worse than 4 yard per carry. When the Giants' D is at it's best, when the Philly D is at its best, they're executing this scheme to perfection. (Again, God rest Jim Johnson's soul.)
This attacking style of D is more aggressive, with plenty of run blitzes to push the action to the O side of scrimmage. Three guys blow their assignments, and it'll be worse than it was under Ryan.
On the flip side, this present the opportunity to the C to fine tune his line callls, and the QB to fine tune pre-snap read and audibles. It gives the O-line and the rest of the O to get accustomed to the QB's cadence, work on timing. For WRs, it's about setting up the CBs, reading the coverage.
A lot of the problems that this team has had come from poor execution of stuff we learn at the Pop Warner level. And we learn it the same way, except not as long because it's little kids with short attention spans and they're not getting paid big bucks. Cable stressed that you get the mind right, the body follows. I would put it this way: Once you know what you're supposed to be doing, really KNOW, you can act without thinking and use your athletic ability to get the job done.
And the reporters don't know what to cover. At least they could tell us whether in fact the Raiders have gotten away from the 73-52. It's just not that hard to see where the D-linemen line up, and which gaps the LBs are hitting.
I know that we're supposed to put training camp stuff in the one thread, but it's getting very long, and this is something I really needed to vent my spleen about, hopefully getting some people to read and comment. Hard when there are fifty-eleven discussions all going at once.
Don't taze me, bror.
IDIOTS!!!!!!
The Raiders have had absolutely the worst gap discipline on D I have ever seen at the pro level. Really. For the past three years under Ryan, this lack of discipline has cost the Raiders maybe six games a season. Seriously. Watch the highlights for every team that has gashed us with the run, every long run against us, and you will see the RB getting past the line free through what counts as a gaping hole at this level, and the guys in the next line of attack are flailing to make the tackle because they are not in the necessary position to make a form tackle.
At the D-line level, we have guys just going wherever they feel they can get penetration, far too often abandoning their assigned gaps. At LB, Morrison and Howard spend forever and a day looking for the ball, reading the play, and while they do that they get eaten up by O-linemen -- in other words, they are not filling their gap. (At the SAM spot, undersized Ricky Brown last year, and Robert Thomas the year before did a creditable job at exploding their gaps.)
When Stu got to the Redskins he bitched, ''When the runner gets to me, eight guys have already missed him. The highlight, though, would only show me." And Stu would miss that tackle, being too slow to get himself into position to make it. But the broader point is correct -- the front 7 and the SS are just letting guys run free at the single high FS.
Marshall, from what I've been able to tell from some comments by Cable, looks to be installing an all odd-gap front, likely a 73-53, maybe 73-52 -- where the Raiders the last four years have run a 73-52, with the RDT lining up over the LG and being responsible for both the 1 and 3 gaps. Executed properly, this D will not even give up 3 yards per carry. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy, and there will be plenty of times that the execution is less than perfect. Overall, however, there is no reason to average worse than 4 yard per carry. When the Giants' D is at it's best, when the Philly D is at its best, they're executing this scheme to perfection. (Again, God rest Jim Johnson's soul.)
This attacking style of D is more aggressive, with plenty of run blitzes to push the action to the O side of scrimmage. Three guys blow their assignments, and it'll be worse than it was under Ryan.
On the flip side, this present the opportunity to the C to fine tune his line callls, and the QB to fine tune pre-snap read and audibles. It gives the O-line and the rest of the O to get accustomed to the QB's cadence, work on timing. For WRs, it's about setting up the CBs, reading the coverage.
A lot of the problems that this team has had come from poor execution of stuff we learn at the Pop Warner level. And we learn it the same way, except not as long because it's little kids with short attention spans and they're not getting paid big bucks. Cable stressed that you get the mind right, the body follows. I would put it this way: Once you know what you're supposed to be doing, really KNOW, you can act without thinking and use your athletic ability to get the job done.
And the reporters don't know what to cover. At least they could tell us whether in fact the Raiders have gotten away from the 73-52. It's just not that hard to see where the D-linemen line up, and which gaps the LBs are hitting.
I know that we're supposed to put training camp stuff in the one thread, but it's getting very long, and this is something I really needed to vent my spleen about, hopefully getting some people to read and comment. Hard when there are fifty-eleven discussions all going at once.
Don't taze me, bror.