Bold Prediction About Our Defense - D Packages And Starters

[blueman]

Kinda tough predicting packages right now before the young guys get to show their stuff. And the inevitable injuries hit. We can guess based on what we know right now, sure, but I just think there will be so much new info, not only on the kids but on a guy like Thomas: where does Bradley want to use him? With who else on the field? What about White adding weight, and Perryman losing some? Will Watkins and Williams factor in like we want them to? Does Broughton earn time, and at whose expense? I can guess, but TC will determine all this IMHO, I'm content to let the unexpected come at me as it does, just damn glad TT has stocked the cupboard at every D spot so I don't have to slot player X here, and that's my only real option. It's insane how the depth has filled out on D, very excited to see what we get.

[Steve]

Most teams just like to sub in DB in place of LB and/or S. You don't change the assignment at all, you just make sure the coaches call the right groups to matchup vs the personnel. So, if a team goes a little pass happy, you bring in a S for a LB, because the S is a better coverage guy than a LB. If they go a lot pass happy, you bring in a CB who is a better coverage guy than the S. This is personnel limited. If you don't have much depth, then it is tough to do much.

A little terminology

Penny - 3 CB, 1 S, 3 LB
Little Nickel - 3 CB , 2 S
Big Nickel - 2 CB, 3 S

Little Dime - 4 CB, 2 S, 1 LB
Dime - 3 CB, 3 S, 1LB
Big Dime - 2 CB, 4 S, 1 LB

Quarters - 7 DB, 0 LB

The last couple of years the only packages we have been able to play is Little Nickel, and Dime, and then mixed in the Quarters coverage vs Baltimore, which we hardly used before that game. Our only real "extra" CB was King, and our extra S was Phillips, and Quarters was nerve-racking with Addae coming up to play Mike and Jenkins playing FS.

I don't think the X&O' will change that much. We will be playing the same D we have been playing with Gus. It is a 34/43 hyrbid DL, with a rush LB instead of a second DE, and then basically 4 LB behind, giving a classic 4-4 look to the box. Only when we do it, sometimes the box has 3 LB, and James in it, and sometimes it has 1 LB with James, King and Phillips in it. The D doesn't change. If a team tries to run against us, King, Phillips and James are good run and pass defenders and they can attack the line, slow play it, or drop and cover. Now, we have some new guys in the mix who fit the same MO. Decent size, who are fast and can read plays as they happen.

Outside CB - Hayward, Davis and Williams (3) - outside guys who use size and speed, and are athletic enough to play #1 and #2 WR all over the field.
Hyrbid CB - King and Watkins (2) - quicker than fast, but also stand up vs the run, and get under TE and RB routes.
Box S - Phillips (1) - Pretty much the same as the Hyrid CB, only more about having a smarter player on the field than pure coverage.
Hyrbid S - James, Jenkins (these guys have the range to play deep, and the size and tackling to play in the box). (2) - Can do a bit of everything, but you probably don't want Jenkins vs a WR, and might not want James man to man vs a #1 WR (depends on who it is)
Deep S - Adderley/Pickett (I know he is an outsider, but he has been making a lot of pick in OTA's from what I hear) (2) - deep help over the top or rotating up to cover the flats.

Mix and match to get the matchups we want.

[blueman]

That's what's so awesome, we have players we can mix and match everywhere. Very geeked.

[Fleet]

Most teams just like to sub in DB in place of LB and/or S. You don't change the assignment at all, you just make sure the coaches call the right groups to matchup vs the personnel. So, if a team goes a little pass happy, you bring in a S for a LB, because the S is a better coverage guy than a LB. If they go a lot pass happy, you bring in a CB who is a better coverage guy than the S. This is personnel limited. If you don't have much depth, then it is tough to do much.

A little terminology

Penny - 3 CB, 1 S, 3 LB
Little Nickel - 3 CB , 2 S
Big Nickel - 2 CB, 3 S

Little Dime - 4 CB, 2 S, 1 LB
Dime - 3 CB, 3 S, 1LB
Big Dime - 2 CB, 4 S, 1 LB

Quarters - 7 DB, 0 LB

The last couple of years the only packages we have been able to play is Little Nickel, and Dime, and then mixed in the Quarters coverage vs Baltimore, which we hardly used before that game. Our only real "extra" CB was King, and our extra S was Phillips, and Quarters was nerve-racking with Addae coming up to play Mike and Jenkins playing FS.

I don't think the X&O' will change that much. We will be playing the same D we have been playing with Gus. It is a 34/43 hyrbid DL, with a rush LB instead of a second DE, and then basically 4 LB behind, giving a classic 4-4 look to the box. Only when we do it, sometimes the box has 3 LB, and James in it, and sometimes it has 1 LB with James, King and Phillips in it. The D doesn't change. If a team tries to run against us, King, Phillips and James are good run and pass defenders and they can attack the line, slow play it, or drop and cover. Now, we have some new guys in the mix who fit the same MO. Decent size, who are fast and can read plays as they happen.

Outside CB - Hayward, Davis and Williams (3) - outside guys who use size and speed, and are athletic enough to play #1 and #2 WR all over the field.
Hyrbid CB - King and Watkins (2) - quicker than fast, but also stand up vs the run, and get under TE and RB routes.
Box S - Phillips (1) - Pretty much the same as the Hyrid CB, only more about having a smarter player on the field than pure coverage.
Hyrbid S - James, Jenkins (these guys have the range to play deep, and the size and tackling to play in the box). (2) - Can do a bit of everything, but you probably don't want Jenkins vs a WR, and might not want James man to man vs a #1 WR (depends on who it is)
Deep S - Adderley/Pickett (I know he is an outsider, but he has been making a lot of pick in OTA's from what I hear) (2) - deep help over the top or rotating up to cover the flats.

Mix and match to get the matchups we want.

Thanks Steve. Now what are you seeing with the LBs. What would be your vision for how we use the players we have.

My guess is that early down or base run D will have Nwosu at SAM and Davis at Weak. Perryman inside. Its the sub packages and money Ds that are causing me a little hesitation. Im wondering if White moves inside for Perryman on passing downs. I expect to see Ingram playing MLB some on goaline situations.

The LB placement is confusing to me and i think its a good problem to have because we have a lot of guys that are pretty versatile.

[Steve]

Pass coverages (small sample of the most common).

Cover 0 - man to man across the board, no safety help - blitz coverage

Cover 1 - (called man free)- usually man to man across with 1 deep FS - this is the coverage that got Gus on the map with Seattle. Sherman in tight man pressing the WR and Earl Thomas playing the deep FS. Usually a LB blitzes or spies the QB.

Cover 1 Robber - Same as above, only Robber plays the middle of the field to jump routes underneath. Typically the Robber takes a deep drop and keeps most of the routes in front of him. Great for breaking up crossing routes. I can see James doing a lot of this with Adderley, Jenkins or Watkins behind him. He might kill someone though.

Cover 2 zone - 2 deep zones (playing halves) and 5 under zones (not a staple of the Gus Bradley D).

Cover 2 man under - same as above, only the 5 short defenders play man to man, and (usually) press the receivers all over the field.

Cover 2 Robber - If teams don't like to send out 5 receviers, then defenses will sometimes drop a S or LB as a Robber (see above).

Cover 2 man - 2 deep zone defenders helping vs long passes, 4 short zones with a single DB playing man.

Cover 3 zone - 3 deep defenders, 4 short defenders, often if teams line up in the classic cover 2 shell (look) they will rotate one of the DB down into the box, which can be very effective vs the run, or swing passes (or jet sweeps). If the CB rotates, it is called a "Cloud" rotation, if the S, then a "Sky" rotation.

Cover 3 man - 4 underneath defenders playing man, with 3 deep defenders in zone.

Cover 4 - 4 deep zones, with 3 short coverage, either man or zone. Increasingly popular with so many teams using a lot of vertical routes.

Cover 6 - the way we played it last year was a 3 short zones, 3 deep zones, with Addae cheating to one side or the other, and James in man coverage vs the #2 receiver on his side.

Traditional Cover 6 - many teams will play 2 deep zones to the 3 receiver side, and only 1 deep defender on the other side of the field, and 4 short defenders. We used some of this too to help cover up for Addae. The Steelers did it a lot too with Polamalu.

Cover 8 - 4 deep look, with rotating one of the S down into the box, based on the direction the play goes. Pagano used this is preseason and Bob Sanders made the only play of his Charger career vs GB in the 1st preseason game. It is a good D for attacking outside zone teams running games.

[Steve]

The LB thing is pretty murky, it is mostly going to depend on who can stay healthy.

OTTO - Nwosu, Egbule (I think he can be like Emmanuel and play all 3 LB spots).
Nwosu will probably continue to rotate at both OLB and as an situational pass rusher. He was not a great pass rusher in college, but he really stepped his game up. It frees up Bosa and Ingram to move inside. We don't play the base and goalline packages to much that it will take away from his rush downs.

Egbule is a bit of a mystery. Great athlete, but doesn't make a lot of plays. I think he is just being very boring and playing his keys. Some guys like him really excel as pro guys, because pro coaches will really coach the hell out of what to do in every situation and give him the extra film study to really finally get it. If he puts it together, look out. He has some highlights were he just knocks the crap out of RB coming to block him or chip him on routes. He doesn't always do it, but when he lands his punch on the shoulder pads, it's like a mini-cooper hitting a semi, the RB goes spinning out of control. He needs to learn how to use that punch on the blitz coming off the corner. Nothing disrupts the QB more than watching his RT go flying past him forcing him up into Tillery and Bosa. Even if he can't put it together at LB, I could see him getting some Nwosu type time as a situational edge rusher, allowing Rochelle, Bosa and Ingram to get more rest and mix up the inside rush.

I know few people share my excitement about rotating pass rushers, but 2 years ago, watching Ingram and Bosa run out of steam late in the year was heartbreaking. Add in 2 young fast, edge rushers to let us move some of our other DE around, it is going to be Baltimore all over again. I think these guys will really help our pass rush, and probably turn into good OTTO edge players who force the run right up into the middle of our D on goalline.

LB - Davis, White, Brown and Perryman - I don't really see much difference in these guys in terms of position. In think they may get moved around, again to get matchups.

Perryman has played both Mike and Will before. A bigger, run stuffer is traditionally is the kind of guy you want at Mike. But you put him at Will, and a guy like Perryman can just run to the ball and make the tackle, which is a lot easier if the rest of the front 7(8) are taking on blockers, so he is free to just run.

Davis may be the guy who is just here to be the extra coach. But I watched him play in Carolina last year. He is not the player he was in his prime, but he is still better than most LB. He is starting to slow down, but he can still attack the line and blow up plays in the backfield. White and Brown just need to figure out how to stay healthy. When Brown is healthy, he does make plays. He is incredibly fast, although now that we have White, we kinda define what speed at LB is. Not Ryan Shazier fast, but close and none of the cheapshot neck breaking helmet tackle nonsense that Shazier loved.

The real wildcard is Tranquill. High energy guy who I think is going to need a year to learn to be a real LB. he is getting it, but it is a big step up for LB from college. Now, in the meantime, I think he can replace Dzubnar. I am as big a fan of ST aces. You HAVE to have 1 ST ace on every team, just to make sure everyone who is on ST is focused on ST, and not just on playing on O or D. Dzubnar does some of that OK, but he is not exactly doing the Hank Bauer thing (making half the ST tackles for the year by himself), plus he has 1 or more personal fouls every season. If you are a full time guy, you can make enough big plays to come out as a positive, but Dzubnar only makes a few tackles every year.

[Fleet]

Thanks Bud. I know you have some things coming up so im looking forward to building cards with positions and depth on them. For the various looks we employ on D.

[wu-dai clan]

There is a whole lot of meat here Steve.

What about a sub package with 2 LBs, understanding that this often involves Phillips or whoever blurring the line between LB & S.

What about 4/3 Over vs 4/3 Under, vis a vis 4/3 3/4 Hybrid w/Rush LB ?

Much thanks...getting smarter every day.

[La Costa Boy]

There is a whole lot of meat here Steve.

What about a sub package with 2 LBs, understanding that this often involves Phillips or whoever blurring the line between LB & S.

What about 4/3 Over vs 4/3 Under, vis a vis 4/3 3/4 Hybrid w/Rush LB ?

Much thanks...getting smarter every day.

What about a 1960 Lincoln Continental Convertible and we go cruise PCH?

[Formula 21]

Here's a thought I never thought I'd have. Davis is in competition with Dzub for a job.

Davis, Brown and White are all in competition for a job at Will. Are we keeping 3 Wills? Is there even a 3rd Will spot on a squad? Especially ours where we probably keep an extra QB, OT and WR.

So if Davis isn't the starter, he has to play special teams. Which puts him in direct competition with one of our ST aces, Dzubner. I thought Dzub was a certain cut. I'm not so certain now since I don't expect Davis to play teams.

Special teams tackles, 2018. Dzub was #9 in the NFL. Not to shabby.

1	Adrian Phillips	Los Angeles Chargers	S	17
9	Nick Dzubnar	Los Angeles Chargers	LB	13
19	Uchenna Nwosu	Los Angeles Chargers	LB	11
19	Rayshawn Jenkins	Los Angeles Chargers	S	11
26	Geremy Davis	Los Angeles Chargers	WR	10
49	Austin Ekeler	Los Angeles Chargers	RB	8

[Fleet]

I absolutely think Davis and his football IQ will earn him a starting gig. He didnt even take other offers. This was a shot at a SB and im sure the team made it clear that he was going to be a big part of that. What he lacks from his prime he will make up for with his knowledge on the field. Godfrey had that impact for us late in his career.

[Formula 21]

I always have a concern when players start to substitute smarts for athleticism. It just never seems to work out IMO.