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Defensive Line: Long look back, brief look
forward

post from Niners Nation on 09 February 2010 11:17:00 AM. © Niners Nation

In looking at the 49ers defense, the front seven is generally a fairly quiet group. Obviously you've got Pro Bowlers like Patrick Willis and Justin Smith (even if it was because of injury, I'll still refer to him as such), but as we mentioned in discussing the outside linebackers, you don't think much about them and then come the end of the game you realize they've put on an impressive effort. The defensive line personifies this across the board as a unit that handles its business in an unassuming manner.

There are some talented guys on draft boards and in free agency this offseason, but I really wonder how much money the team is going to invest in additional players. Obviously you're always looking to improve, but how much do they need on the line at this point? Kentwan Balmer hasn't exactly set the world on fire up to this point, but I think they'll give it another spin in 2010 and make a decision at that point what to do next.

Justin Smith

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Justin Smith16665000401555

After years of excellent but under-the-radar play, Justin Smith was finally rewarded this season with his first Pro Bowl appearance. His numbers were actually down from last year (1 less sack, 18 fewer tackles), but as is always the case with Smith, it felt like he was all over the field all the time. In 2008, Mike Nolan used him all over the field in 7 of the 8 front seven positions at some point or another. Once Mike Singletary took over, Smith settled in at right defensive end. The defensive ends in the 3-4 are not going to put up monster numbers. They often are there to clear space for the OLBs to bust through and make the plays. Nonetheless, Justin Smith still was a big-time impact player and a leader of this defense.

As we head into 2010 and the potential of an uncapped year, salary discussions don't exactly jump out as much. However, if the league comes through this season with a salary cap on the other end, Smith is in a fairly decent position contract-wise. The team loaded up year 2 of his contract (2009) with almost a quarter of the cap charge ($10.583 million), with the remaining years all under $10 million. He's signed through 2013, which would put him at 34 by the time his contract expires. He won't exactly be a young pup, but if he makes it to the last year of his deal, he won't exactly be a drain on the team. For the next couple years though he'll be the anchor of that defensive line.

After the jump we look at the rest of the defensive line and the options on the market...

Aubrayo Franklin

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Aubrayo Franklin162141100261137

Franklin's performance in 2009 might have some people thinking, "Oh it's just a contract year push." Well, I'd say it's been more like a two-year push, or at least a year and a half push for Aubrayo Franklin. After a very quiet first year with the 49ers, Aubrayo Franklin came on strong in 2008 and really made a name for himself in 2009. While Franklin isn't exactly a prototypical 3-4 nose tackle, he handles the role he's been assigned with great skill. I lost count of the number of times he burst through the offensive line to take down a running back in the backfield. He showed some decent pass defense abilities with 3 pass deflections and an interception. All in all, he's provided a strong, steady presence in the middle of the 3-4.

Of course, given his big push over the last two seasons, the issue naturally turns to money. Patrick Willis has gone on record in support of re-signing Aubrayo Franklin. Obviously there are other opinions to be considered, but Willis is one of the guys who has benefited from Franklin's strong play, and he knows it. At this point in time there are no updates on contract negotiations. The 49ers would appear content to simply slap him with the franchise tag and see what they can do from there. If the team uses the franchise tag they get a sizable window of time to try and re-sign him before the tender must be signed. The question in considering a long-term deal is whether he'll maintain such a high level of play. He turns 30 this August, so it's questionable even how long a deal you would want to give him.

If you were GM, how would you handle this contract situation? Obviously you can franchise him, but if you'd elect to do that, what else would you do in terms of long-term planning at the nose tackle position.

Isaac Sopoaga

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Isaac Sopoaga1618000191029

Isaac Sopoaga is a guy I've always had a tough time assessing. Given his role in the 3-4, that's not exactly shocking. Of course, Justin Smith and Aubrayo Franklin play in the same 3-4 and people are quick to jump on their bandwagon (and rightfully so). Sopoaga doesn't put up the monster numbers, but he's another guy who seems to be doing what he needs to do whether it be opening up holes for the OLB behind him, or closing off a potential running lane for a running back. He's no superstar, but he seems to do the little things. I'd love to hear more informed opinions on the work of Isaac Sopoaga.

Given the need to develop Kentwan Balmer, the question is how this affects Isaac Sopoaga, among others. Thanks to a 5-year deal signed in 2008, Sopoaga is locked up through 2012 with reasonable cap figures. If Balmer can actually turn into a valuable asset, will Sopoaga drift into the background as a guy who provides some depth, or does the team move to some kind of platoon at the left defensive end spot?

Ray McDonald

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Ray McDonald16319000628

Ray McDonald doesn't put up mind-blowing statistics, but he appears to be turning into an impact player in the pass rush. McDonald is fast becoming known for his ability to block field goals (replay is about 25 seconds in). This season he managed a blocked field goal and a blocked extra point. He has proven himself to be a solid pass rush specialist. I doubt we'll ever see him as an everydown player, but he fills a specific role quite capably. McDonald has his struggles with jumping offsides at times, but generally when we hear his name called, it's because he's just made an impact play. You need those kind of role players to help take your team to the next level.

McDonald is actually a free agent after this coming season. His free agent status will depend on what happens with the collective bargaining agreement. If this offseason's rules roll over to 2011, McDonald would be a restricted free agent. Of course, who knows what will end up happening with the labor strife. For now, the 49ers could probably lock him up fairly cheap. Although, McDonald and his agent may think they can find somebody else out there who would give him more money and insert him into the starting lineup.

Kentwan Balmer

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Kentwan Balmer11000005712

Balmer's 2008 rookie season, while not completely lost, did not see a whole lot of development for him. When you're a defensive lineman who has almost as many kick returns as tackles, something clearly is amiss. As one of the up-men (not sure if that's the proper term) in the kick return unit, Balmer has ended up with 7 kick returns in his two seasons as a 49er. Of course, given that he was drafted in the first round as a defensive lineman, those return numbers have become more of a sick joke than anything else.

In 2009, before a torn labrum ended his season in early December, Balmer was slowly gotten more playing time. While it's probably too soon to label him a bust, another poor season in 2010 could end the Kentwan Balmer 49ers experience before it even gets going. I took a look at some of MM's player-by-player reviews for last season (or at least the ones I could find), and it's generally a mixed bag of comments. There are times it sounds like Balmer is making improvements, and there are also times when he struggles. I know one comment I've read a lot around here is that he really would have been better suited as a 4-3 defensive lineman. Any further thoughts on that? This coming training camp will be a big one for him. It seems like the team could rotate him along the line and mix in some time for him at nose tackle on occasion. Part of the problem with assessing his development is knowing where he actually belongs on the field.

Demetric Evans

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Demetric Evans141.5140005712

Evans signed a 2-year deal last offseason and has spent his time as a reserve lineman for the team. He'll be 31 at the beginning of the 2010 season and depending on what happens this offseason, he could quickly find himself on the bubble in training camp.

Ricky Jean-Francois

Sacks Interceptions Tackles G Sacks YdsL Int Yds IntTD Solo Ast Total 2009 - Ricky Jean-Francois30000000

As as seventh round pick, not a whole lot was expected of RJF, and he more or less met expectations. He saw some action on special teams and on the defense in late December, but otherwise was inactive the whole season. Even with low expectations, the 2010 training camp is big for him. He'll need to show he can actually bring something to the table and earn a roster spot. I really hope he can at least prove himself better than Demetric Evans. Evans made contributions last season, but it'd be nice to get a much younger guy in there in that rotational depth role.

Looking Forward
Free agency
First off, for a simple alphabetical rundown, check out this on defensive ends and defensive tackles. Football's Future provides some good info, but the one problem is that they've included a bunch of outside linebackers in the mix. So take it for what it's worth. At this point, given what the 49ers have in place, I don't know if I see them adding much more than camp bodies. Nonetheless there are some talented individuals on the market.

2010 NFL Draft
In looking at draft options, the defensive line requires a bit of massaging of the possibilities because many players make a position change when they get into the NFL. A lot of college defensive ends are way too undersized to be effective at the next level, so they become outside linebackers more often than not. Of course some might end up being effective as 4-3 defensive ends, but not as 3-4 defensive ends. For now I've posted the rankings for 3-4 DTs and 3-4 DEs. If you'd like to view the rankings for 4-3 DEs and DTs, click on the draft link above.

Overall Rank3-4 Defensive TackleSchool17Dan WilliamsTennessee49Terrence CodyAlabama102Cam ThomasNorth Carolina276Jeff OwensGeorgia324Boo RobinsonWake Forest345Martin TevaseuUNLV355Jaron BastonMissouri478Abe KoromaWestern Illinois

Overall Rank3-4 Defensive EndSchool1Ndamukong SuhNebraska11Carlos DunlapFlorida24Jared OdrickPenn State34Corey WoottonNorthwestern98Alex CarringtonArkansas State124Arthur JonesSyracuse145Mike NealPurdue180Vince OghobaaseDuke194Linval JosephEast Carolina229Clifton GeathersSouth Carolina318Doug WorthingtonOhio State364John FletcherWyoming

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ninersnation.com/2010/2/9/1301743/defensive-line-long-look-back

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Post-mortem of Stampede Blue's Super Bowl
Coverage

post from Stampede Blue on 09 February 2010 11:16:54 AM. © Stampede Blue

More photos » Mike Groll - AP

1 day ago: Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell leaves the field after the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game against the New Orleans Saints in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. The Saints won 31-17. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Browse more photos »

We have a lot of content from our coverage at the Super Bowl which we will publish over the next few days, including interviews and conversations with coaches and players. One of my favorite interviews was with Coach Huey, the running backs coach; just a really cool guy to talk to about football. However, before we post all that, I wanted to give you all a few final thoughts on our time in Miami and what we tried to do.

This was the first time bloggers from our network were credentialed to cover an event as big as the Super Bowl. This meant the fans, real fans, were going to go to Miami and cover the biggest sporting event in the world. We were awarded the same access to players and coaches they award to people like Paul Kuharsky. We were working in media areas alongside Jason Cole, Gregg Doyel, and many of the other writers we so often voice our frustrations against. We had locker room access after the game and press seats during the game.

It was a tremendous experience for me personally, but that was not why I wanted to take the assignment to go to Miami. I took it was an opportunity for us bloggers to show the "big boys" that we could work as hard and produce superior content as they did. Joel Thorman and I wanted to prove that, with this kind of unprecidented access for our blog network, we were not going to f*ck around.

We interviewed over 30 people, recording hours of conversations.

We wrote, on average, six or seven stories a day.

We produced content not just for our own site, but for others.

We did all this with the expressed notion of showing all of you, our fellow NFL fans, what the Super Bowl was like from a fan's point of view. We felt this was our job, our duty. The Super Bowl is a very un-fan-friendly event. It is a convention for the league and their corporate sponsors. We wanted to show the convention from the eyes of the everyday fan. It is our sincere hope that after hours of running around, interviewing league people, posting articles, snapping pictures, transcribing, drinking bad soft drinks to stay awake, and driving to media events at 6:30am so we could drink bad coffee and talk with the Fili Moalas and Scott Fujitas of this game.

We did this to show you how this whole NFL machine works. After the Super Bowl, I had several established media people tell me that the work we did this past week was top notch. Some of those people were writers I've taken shots at. Their kind words are appreciated, but their words are not what I am interested in right now. I'd like yours. Let us know what you liked or disliked about our coverage. Let us know what you think.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2010/2/9/1301678/post-mortem-of-stampede-blues

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Should Eagles Keep Brian Westbrook for 2010

post from 2 Minutes to Midnight Green on 09 February 2010 10:25:00 AM. © 2 Minutes to Midnight Green

Is it worth keeping Westbrook around next season?

While talking to a TV station in Tennessee, Brian Westbrook refuted the reports by Howard Eskin that he has decided to retire due to concussions and ankle and knee injuries. He says that he simply didn't wait long enough before coming back onto the field, causing his second concussion.

"What happened to me was that I was not completely healed from the first concussion," he said. "Even though I waited that long amount of time and passed all the tests I still wasn't completely healed...and it came back just like that. After that I had to sit out another five or six weeks just for me to be completely sure that I was 100 percent OK."

So, from what we can gather from that quote, he's saying that he's 100 percent healed from the concussions. And while he'll never be 100 percent healed from the ankle and knee injuries, he refutes any claims that the chronic pain will stop him from continuing his career.

Right now, I'm sure Westbrook is a hot topic of discussion within the Eagles' organization. He's been so good for so long that cutting him seems like an awful thing to do, but his $7.5 million salary is far too high for the production he can give them anymore.

So what do they do with him?

If it were me, the first thing I would do is attempt to convince him to take a pay cut. We'll see how much he really wants to stay an Eagle by asking him to take a much lower base salary, but high in incentives. Incentives like playing 50 percent of the snaps, playing in at least 12 games, rushing for 800 yards, receiving for 400, and 8 total touchdowns.

Some are certainly attainable, and others are not. It may be a juicy enough worm for him to take (if he's still really confident in his abilities) because it keeps him in Philly and out of a very questionable running back free agent market that has seen little to no action over the past few seasons.

Running backs 30 and over just aren't collecting the big money, or starting opportunities. A guaranteed spot here in Philly might be tempting enough to convince him to take whatever the Eagles are offering.

He will not, however, be this team's starter in 2010. I said before last season that LeSean McCoy would be more productive than Westbrook. He was, by a long shot, and has earned a chance to be this team's starter.

Westbrook would then become the third down back, a situation he's most suited for. It would take advantage of his blocking and receiving abilities -- abilities that McCoy hasn't quite acquired at this point in his career.

If the load is not on his shoulders, it's possible that he could still contribute to this team. He is still a talented player, and teams would still fear him on the field, regardless of whether or not he's the same player as he was even a few years ago or not.

He could still run away from a linebacker, or even a safety, so he's worth keeping around -- but only if the price is right. There is no way the Birds can pay him the $7.5 million. If he won't take the pay cut, then it's time that he goes. If he will, then he's certainly worth keeping around.

Maybe it's just the loyalty of seeing him in Eagle green for eight years, but something tells me Westbrook still has something left, and it would be a shame to miss out on it and see him do it in another jersey.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2minutestomidnightgreen/pdiV/~3/HP4eNhbFXAU/should
-eagles-keep-brian-westbrook-for.html

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About the question at right guard: Sign Bobbie
Williams back or move on

post from Cincy Jungle on 09 February 2010 10:16:12 AM. © Cincy Jungle

More photos » Ed Reinke - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals guard Bobbie Williams (63) celebrates after they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

The Bengals 2009 offensive line was hardly the 2005 lineup that many considered the team's best since the days of Anthony Munoz, Max Montoya, Joe Walter and Bruce Kozerski. But considering the line's performance in 2008, this year's group of Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Nate Livings, Kyle Cook, Evan Mathis, Dennis Roland and Andre Smith is a large reason for the team's newfound obsession with running the football, recording 2,056 yards rushing -- the first time Cincinnati rushed for over 2,000 yards since the 2000 season.

A large part of that success stems from the team's veteran guard Bobbie Williams. Not only has he been one of the most effective members with the Bengals since Marvin Lewis' rookie season, his durability is dependable and his strength as a team leader and spokesman will be very hard to replace.

Now that Williams is an unrestricted free agent, the question is, do you sign him to a two-year deal or move on with the hopes of moving Livings, Mathis, Dan Santucci or Jason Shirley to right guard? Do you elect to draft a natural guard in this year's draft or do you consider moving Jonathan Luigs?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.cincyjungle.com/2010/2/9/1302303/about-the-question-at-right-guard

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The predictable mock outrage over Manning not
shaking hands

post from Stampede Blue on 09 February 2010 09:17:01 AM. © Stampede Blue

More photos » Mike Groll - AP

1 day ago: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) walks off the field after the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game against the New Orleans Saints in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. The Saints won 31-17. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Browse more photos »

Vegas should create whole new betting categories on mock media and blogger outrage after a Colts loss. Today, we have people freaking out about Peyton Manning not shaking hands with Drew Brees after the Super Bowl loss:

When it was over and the New Orleans celebration had begun, Manning tight-roped the sideline without talking to anybody, his helmet low on his head, walking purposely toward the locker room. There was no midfield handshake with Brees or anybody.
It was a mistake.
"I'll certainly talk to Drew,'' he said. "I know how it was three years ago when we won, and there's not much consolation for the guys that didn't win. There's the stage being set up, and the celebration, and it's time for the Saints to celebrate. It's their field. They deserve the moment. But I certainly congratulate all their players and the Saints organization. I will speak to Drew, speak to Sean and they deserve all the credit.''

First off, we all know the reason Manning is "tight-roping" the sidelines without talking to anybody. It's because he HATES to lose. We know that. Drew Brees knows that. And it's why we love him. Hell, he didn't even take his helmet off. He was that pissed with himself. As a fan, how can you not love that? Give me 100 people with that kind of drive, and I'll build a elevator to them moon.

Manning is the Mayor of the NFL, and he will do what Manning does. He'll call Brees. He'll call Sean Payton. All will have tremendous personal and professional respect for one another today and loooooong after the post-mortem of Super Bowl 44 is put to bed. Not shaking hands wasn't a slight. It wasn't disrespectful. It wasn't even a "mistake." It was Peyton wrapped up in his thoughts, killing himself for not being perfect.

It's why we love him. It's why he's the best. Drew Brees and Sean Payton would agree with that.

And, predictably, media are droning about how "TERRIBLE!" it is that Manning didn't shake hands with the opponent when the cameras were on him, as if that is the only time such gestures mean anything.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2010/2/9/1301637/the-predictable-mock-outrage-over

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2009 NFL Draft Retrospective: Cornerback William
Middleton

post from The Falcoholic on 09 February 2010 08:00:00 AM. © The Falcoholic

More photos » Seth Perlman - AP

This is the one photo of me in a Falcons uniform. Woe! (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Browse more photos »

This is the fifth entry in a series of articles examining players from the 2009 NFL Draft. The Falcoholic will also be putting together a retrospective on the 2009 season when the collective brain trust has sorted out just what happened this season. The brain trust is drunk. Next on our list, fifth-round cornerback William Middleton.

William Middleton was supposed to be a project. It wasn't supposed to be for the Jacksonville Jaguars, though.

Middleton was a head-scratching pick in the fifth round, considering the relative depth we have at cornerback (relatively unknown at the time) and the fact that the Falcons had just drafted Chris Owens (probably known). I reasoned that the team would cut someone who they didn't believe would perform up to their lofty standards and bury Middleton on the depth chart, or maybe give him a spot on the practice squad and hold onto him for the season. Instead, he was claimed by the hated Tampa Bay Bucs and eventually ended up on the Jags, where he played in parts of twelve games and accumulated 20 tackles. Ho-hum.

Obviously, Middleton could be a quality cornerback in the NFL someday, so it's tough to criticize this pick completely because it was in the fifth round, and the Comrade was dreaming of his days in Soviet Russia, and the sun was at an odd angle, and William Middleton was a vision in blue. So you can understand that. Still, it underscores the one real criticism I've had of the Falcons' drafting strategy, which is that the team seems to love to blow their low round picks on corners they have no real intention of doing anything with. This year it was Middleton, last year it was Wilrey Fontenot, and who knows who it might be this year. When you build through the draft, every pick matters.

So obviously, the Middleton pick didn't do us crap for good. I am a man who forgives, and I still like the rest of the 2009 draft, but I'm going to grade harsh on this one. Sorry folks.

Initial Draft Grade: C-

Final Draft Grade: F

Read The Full Article:
http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/2/9/1301984/2009-nfl-draft-retrospective

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BBS on 590 The Fan St. Louis

post from Stampede Blue on 09 February 2010 07:16:29 AM. © Stampede Blue

BBS on 590 The Fan St. Louis

At 7:40am this morning Eastern time I will be a guest on Don Jeffries' morning show for 590 The Fan in St. Louis.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2010/2/9/1302166/bbs-on-590-the-fan-st-louis

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Golden Nuggets: Make something out of nothing

post from Niners Nation on 09 February 2010 06:15:45 AM. © Niners Nation

Morning folks, we're officially into our offseason and all that stuff so let's settle in and hope we get plenty of links, yeah? Last offseason there were days with only one or two links, but I assure you I'm doing my best to find any of interest. Good news is I finally get my laptop back tomorrow (hopefully) and I'll be able to write more and put more time into these Nuggets and whatever else I happen to do for Niners Nation. I've got a few links for you today, unsure as of right now as to whether or not I'll be making a jump but let's find out together, eh? I spent a good portion of yesterday on the Colts and Saints blog and man.. getting reaaaal jealous of some of those Saints fans. Let's hope the Niners get there soon. Anyway, I'm probably going to ramble because I'm just in that kind of mood. Here's some links.

Barrows takes a look at some of the 49ers upcoming free agents. He claims that WR Arnaz Battle and OT Tony Pashos will have suitors. I'm fine with that, honestly. I'll respect Battle until he retires but he no longer fits on this roster and watching him return kicks/punts has left a sour taste in my mouth. As far as Pashos, I forgot he even existed so let whoever take him. Agree about Battle landing in Baltimore, as well. (SacBee.com)

Maiocco profiles the 49ers defensive backs. I'm very happy with Shawntae Spencer and Dashon Goldson. The only way I'd want to replace Goldson is with Berry or maybe O.J. Atogwe through free agency, but I don't see that happening and even then I'd be hesitant to put Goldson back on the bench considering he improved significantly throughout the season. Clements.. I'm just unsure of. The only noticeable lapse the team had when he was hurt was their ability (or lack thereof) to cover the screen play. When Clements was on the field he shut down the screen on his side. Without him the team could only watch hopelessly as tackles were missed and defenders were held. (PressDemocrat.com)

Talks of the 49ers stadium in Santa Clara continue tonight. I'm starting to think Jed York is a mastermind. Considering I was wildly opposed to the Santa Clara stadium idea at first. I think his way of getting people to come around was promote Oakland as their second option. I legitimately think he said that to get more fans on board for Santa Clara. Nicely done, Jed. (ESPN.com)

Continue on to see more links, folks...

Ken Willard has someone arguing pretty convincingly for him to make it into the Hall of Fame. Probably his biggest fan, too. (SFGate.com)

Is it weird that I can't even bring myself to read this article? It's about the 49ers supporting national wear red day, but the fact that the people in the picture are all wearing blue (I know.. not the same time.. it's just reading the title and seeing the picture) is just hilarious to me. Also, I think it's possibly because I'm suffering from a very big case of sleep deprivation. Oh well. (49ers.com)

This link is a few days old, but I was thinking about it today so I'll post it anyway (don't remember if I posted it before or not). CB Walt Harris is eager to return, whether the 49ers want him or not. Would you want the team to re-sign Dre' Bly or Walt Harris? Personally I'd want Walt, even coming off the injury. (ESPN.com)

A pretty good summary of what went down at the Super Bowl and what it means. The reason I link it is because you can add one more person who cares heavily about the Montana vs Peyton argument. I don't really see the logic in comparing rings to how good a quarterback is, it's a team sport. I do understand, however, if what was keeping the argument from being decided was Peyton's ability (or lack thereof) to be clutch, then yeah, I can see how this settles it because Joe was as clutch as they get. (49ersWebZone.com)

May as well keep up with our divisional rivals and see who it is the St. Louis Rams will be cutting as they're not able to make said cuts. (TurfShowTimes.com)

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ninersnation.com/2010/2/9/1302084/golden-nuggets-make-something-out

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Rufio's Playbook: Pattern Matching in Zone
Defenses

Zone defenders play an area instead of a man, right? Not always. Not the good zone defenses, anyway.

Have you ever seen a Browns defender guarding a patch of grass while his teammate has to try to hopelessly guard two receivers? Were you frustrated? If you answered yes, this post is for you.

There are two schools on teaching zone defense. pattern matching, and spot dropping. Spot dropping is exactly what it sounds like: dropping to a landmark on the field while reading the QB's eyes. It is simpler to teach than pattern matching, which requires a lot of study and practice. Pattern matching is basically a set of rules that help zone defenders play a man within their zone, and on some occasions play a coverage that will not look like the original call.

For brevity's sake, I will give a simplified version of these rules and we can see how they apply to a few common pass plays.

A few preliminaries

Releases. The first thing each defender is watching is the initial release of a specific receiver or two. Generally, a receiver's release can be classified as vertical or not vertical.

Some teams have tendencies such that the combination of the releases/stems of the receivers' routes will actually give away the exact play they are running. This is the best thing that could happen for a well prepared, smart defense. If an offense isn't able to run multiple plays from the same stems, a pattern matching defense can effectively predict the future, and that means big plays (sacks, INTs, 3rd down stops).

Even if the receivers' releases don't narrow things down to one play for a defense, the initial releases at least narrow things down. Instead of having to guard 10 routes, a defender only has to guard 2 or 3 and can better anticipate the route.

IDing the receivers. The defense will usually number the receivers 1 to 3 or 4, starting with the widest and moving in for each side of the formation.

Note above that because the RBs are directly over the center, their eventual number will depend on the side to which they release.

Seams. Good offensive coordinators look to do more than put their receivers in good one-on-one matchups, they look to outnumber the opposing defense in a given area. Offensive coordinators want to put their guys in 2 receivers vs. 1 defender, 3 receivers vs. 2 defenders, etc. One of the best ways to do this against Cover-3 defense is to attack the seams as pictured below. Remember, we are playing a Cover-3 here.

Let's take a look at what this might look like on the field. We'll say our team plays a 4-3 defense and the offense is in a 2RB, 1TE, 2WR (pro) formation. Our defense on this play will be a traditional Cover-3 zone.

Pattern matching rules

Strong side CB

The strong-side CB will be keying first the #1 receiver, and then the #2 receiver. If #1 is vertical, the CB must stay with #1. If #1 breaks, the CB must then determine if #2 is vertical. If #2 is vertical, the CB must pick him up, if not, the CB is free to jump the route of #1.

Strong Safety

The SS is first and foremost concerned with the seam on his side. Between the SS and the Sam, one must reroute #2. He could attempt to jam or press #2 within 5 yards, and even simply place his body between #2 and the seam as to re-route him (by making the receiver run around him). The SS will take any underneath break by #1 and hold that route until another receiver crosses in front of him.

Sam Linebacker

The Sam linebacker will first take away any underneath route by #2, and carry him to the ball if #2 releases inside. If #2 releases outside, the Sam looks to cover whichever of #1, #2, or #3 are closest to the Center and then works to a "Hook" zone.

Mike Linebacker

The Mike linebacker will essentially do the same thing as the Sam linebacker, but on the weak side of the formation. He can pay more attention to #1 or receivers coming from the strong side because there is no immediate threat as #2.

Will Linebacker

The Will is taking away any underneath route by #1 weak. He will hold that route until #2 crosses him horizontally, and then he will flow to #2 (if a RB releases to his side). The Will and the Mike must work together to not allow anyone to get into the seam without being rerouted. Note that this is essentially what the SS is doing on the other side of the field.

Weak (Free) Safety

The Free Safety plays the deep center 1/3 of the field. Vs. this pro formation, he is looking at the TE, who presents the most immediate inside vertical threat (remember those seams?). If the formation has two such receivers (such as 1 TE and a slot WR), he is praying one of the underneath guys can reroute one of them.